Halligan Highlights Summer Outlaw Swing with 6th Place Run at The Speed Palace

The World of Outlaws annual summertime swing through Pennsylvania provided Jeff Halligan and Risser Motorsports with three opportunities to measure themselves against the best in the business.

Halligan seemed to be peaking at the perfect time leading up to the summer test. His most recent pair of outings included a nearly perfect night at Williams Grove and a victory at Port Royal Speedway.

July 20:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

     [33 cars, Qualifying 9th, Heat 2nd (3), Dash 6th (5) A-main 6th (6)]

The first of the three summertime tests for Halligan took place where he has been most comfortable and successful in 2022, Port Royal Speedway.  The Ephrata, PA wheelman has two wins, four total podium finishes, and sits third in the championship points there aboard the Risser Motorsports / TheTreeCenter.com / Victory Auto of Lewistown / EMM Sales & Service / Jake’s Golf Carts / Pine Hill Trailers / Keystone Ag Spraying, No.45.

The midweek contest between the PA Posse and the Outlaws drew 33 teams to take a shot at the $20,000 top prize.  Despite a fairly late slot in the qualifying order (23rd), Halligan tripped the timing light as the 9th quickest in the field and put his team in position for a good night.

Four 8-lap heat races were scheduled, with the top 5 finishers advancing to the main event.  Only the top two finishers from each qualifier would earn a spot in the dash and the opportunity to improve their starting spot inside the first four rows on that main event. 

Having earned the third starting spot in the first heat race, Halligan did not want to waste the opportunity.  He immediately went to work, using the low side off turn two to take 2nd away from outside front row starter Lance Dewease.  Jeff never relinquished the runner-up spot, driving his way directly into the dash and feature in one shot.

In the dash, Halligan didn’t have the same opening lap success that he did in the heat race.  A poor start dropped him from his 5th starting spot to 8th, but he soon got back to work and was able to climb back to 6th by the checkered flag, giving himself the outside row three starting spot for the lucrative A-main.

In the 30-lap A-main, Jeff was in an intense battle for a top five spot from the drop of the green.  During the first third of the event, he slipped in and out of the top five.

As the race reached the middle phase, Halligan raced his way into the 4th position and began eyeing a podium spot.  Entering the final ten laps, Anthony Macri closed on Halligan and grabbed the 4th spot away.

A few laps later, Brent Marks battled his way past the No.45 to claim 5th.  Halligan went on to finish 6th to record his first career top ten with the World of Outlaws.

July 22:  Summer Nationals Night 1 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     [36 cars, Qualifying 25th, Heat 6th (6), B-main 3rd (3), A-main 25th (23)]

Halligan and the Risser Motorsports team rolled into Williams Grove Friday for night one of the Summer Nationals with momentum.  They were coming off a top ten against the Outlaws at Port Royal, plus a heat win, a dash win and a top ten finish in their last trip to ‘The Grove’.

Qualifying carries critical importance in the World of Outlaws format and Halligan’s night didn’t get off to an ideal start.  He timed 25th quick in the field of 36 cars, putting him 7th on the grid for the first heat race of the night.

The top five finishers from each 8-lap heat race transferred directly to the A-main, but Halligan wasn’t able to climb that far.  He grabbed 6th on the opening lap but could not quite reach a transfer spot and was relegated to the B-main.

Halligan started 3rd in the 12-lap last chance qualifier, often referred to as the B-main.  The race is a bit like going for it on 4th down in football.  There is a hint of desperation and urgency.

Jeff needed to hang on to a top four finish to transfer to the 30-lap main event and he did just that.  After briefly taking over 2nd about mid-race, Halligan flashed under the checkered flag in 3rd.

The A-main didn’t unfold with the comeback of the night story the team was hoping for.  After starting 23rd, Halligan was not moving forward in the early going and made the smart decision to call it a night eight laps into the event to save his equipment.  He was credited with a 25th place finish.

July 23:  Summer Nationals Night 2 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     [35 cars, Qualifying 29th, Heat 7th (8), B-main 11th (7)]

Saturday’s finale of the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway fell into the category of ‘same story, different day’ for Halligan.

A qualifying effort below expectations led to another battle from the back half of their heat race and a trip to the B-main.  This time he wasn’t able to convert on ‘4th down’ and find his way to the A-main.  Instead, an 11th place finish ended his night one step short of the goal.

“We had a good weekend overall.  We proved we can run with anyone at Port Royal, and I guess we proved that despite some good runs at Williams Grove, we don’t quite have it all figured out there yet.“, Halligan said with a grin.  

“It was a productive weekend for us despite the final results at Williams Grove.  Seems like we’ve been either really good or really bad there this year, so we need to find some consistency.  We were able to compare ourselves to the fastest cars in the country on the same night on the same surface.  That helps us learn about our car.“

Up Next

Jeff and the Risser Motorsports team will return to Port Royal Speedway this Saturday night, July 30th, for the 16th Annual Living Legends Dream Race, which boasts a hefty $60,000 total purse.

Each 20-lap segment of the main event offers $6,000 to win and $500 to start, plus there is a $3,000 bonus for sweeping both events.  This means everyone who qualifies will take away a minimum of $1,000 and someone could walk away with $15,000 if they win both segments.

Season Stats

27 races, 2 wins, 9 top 5’s, 15 top 10’s, 20 top 15’s