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Hometown Star
Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Ready To Challenge World of Outlaws Late Model
Series Stars On March 19 At Ocala Speedway
OCALA, FL - March 16, 2010 - Ivedent
Lloyd Jr. has waited a long time for the country's best dirt Late
Model drivers to visit his playground.
So, with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series set to make its
first-ever stop at Lloyd's hometown Ocala Speedway this Friday night
(March 19), the veteran Sunshine State racer is ready for action.
"I'm excited all the Outlaws are coming to town," said Lloyd, a
native and life-long resident of Ocala, Fla., who lives just miles
from the three-eighths-mile oval. "I think it's gonna be a great
event for the racetrack and dirt Late Model racing in the state of
Florida. I want people to see a great show and then phone my shop a
couple days later to talk about it.
"Hopefully they'll be calling to congratulate me on winning it, but
if not I at least want them to tell me they saw a great race and
want the Outlaws to come back again next year."
A dirt-track racer for more than a quarter-century, Lloyd, 43, ranks
as one of Florida's top dirt Late Model drivers. His resume includes
two Ocala Speedway championships (1992-1993), two O'Reilly Southern
All-Stars Series titles (2007-2008), five National Late Model Series
crowns and over 130 career feature wins, but he's never come close
to victory in limited appearances on the nationally-renowned WoO LMS.
Lloyd would love to change that on Friday night when the nation's
premier tour contests a 50-lap, $10,000-to-win event at Ocala
Speedway, a unique track that will join Volusia Speedway Park
outside Daytona Beach as only the second facility in Florida to host
a WoO LMS show. He's hoping his vast knowledge of the quirky layout
benefits him against the invading Outlaws regulars, most of whom
have never raced at Ocala. The track, after all, is new to the dirt
scene; it operated with a dirt surface from 1952-1995, then spent
more than a decade as a paved track before having clay put back down
prior to the 2008 season.
"It's definitely an odd-shaped track," said Lloyd, who has won four
times over the past two seasons at Ocala. "I basically describe it
as being shaped like an egg. Turns one and two have a big radius and
are wide, and then there's a dog-leg on the backstretch that you
pretty much run through on the gas. Turns three and four are
tighter, like the pointed end of the egg.
"Because of the shape, it's hard to get used to racing around there.
The two ends are like two different tracks and you don't need a lot
of motor – especially come feature time – because it usually slicks
up, so it puts more emphasis on the driver positioning his car in
the right spots.
"I feel like I've got an advantage because I have so many laps
there," he continued, shifting his thoughts to Friday's program. "I
absolutely love the racetrack, and I think I know what tires
(compounds) to run there because I'm one of the few guys from down
here in Florida who has experience with open-tire racing (the WoO
LMS event does not have a tire rule).
"But I also know the guys coming (with the WoO LMS) are good for a
reason. Some guys might not have run at Ocala in years – and a lot
of them probably have never run there – but they'll roll up to the
racetrack on Friday, take a look at it and know what to do. It won't
take them long to figure the place out, so we'll have to be on top
of our game."
Primarily due to commitments with his business (he operates Marion
Machine & Tool in Ocala) and family (he's married with three sons),
Lloyd doesn't get many chances to do battle in WoO LMS events. He's
entered only nine events – all at Volusia Speedway Park – since the
tour was reincarnated under the World Racing Group banner in 2004,
and his three career A-Main starts show finishes of 16th (2008),
18th ('08) and 19th ('09).
But while his WoO LMS statistics are unspectacular, Lloyd is
confident that his self-owned equipment (cars built by Snow Brothers
Racing of Jacksonville, Fla., and Pro Power engines) has the juice
to compete with the big stars – and with a little home cooking on
his side, he might just have that extra magic to spring an upset.
"I've won races that have paid as much as $20,000, but nothing would
mean more to me than winning a World of Outlaws race," said Lloyd,
who also plans to follow the WoO LMS to the event scheduled for
Saturday night (March 20) at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.
"I want that trophy that says 'World of Outlaws' on it. It would be
the biggest race I've ever won."
Ocala Speedway’s pit gates are scheduled to open at 1 p.m. on March
19 and the grandstands will be unlocked at 5 p.m. Racing is set to
start at 8 p.m.
General admission tickets to the WoO LMS program, which will also
include action for the track’s Hobby Stock and Mini-Stock divisions,
will be $25 (adults), $12 (ages 6-16) and free for kids 6-and-under.
Pit passes will cost $35 and $15 for children 12-and-under.
More information on Ocala Speedway is available by logging on to
www.ocalaspeedway.com or calling 352-622-9400.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com. 
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