|
James Essex
WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 9) - For the second time in three years, Brian Birkhofer was the winner of the SuperClean Diamond Nationals on Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway. Birkhofer took the lead on the fifth lap and never looked back in taking the $30,000 first place prize money. The event was co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and O'Reilly MLRA Late Model Series. Dale McDowell, who went to a backup car and started 29th, managed to finish second followed by 27th starting Billy Moyer finishing third. Jimmy Mars who started 12th finished fourth and Steve Casebolt crossed the line in fifth place.
Defending race winner Shannon Babb and David Breazeale started on the front row of the 75-lap event with Babb taking the lead on the opening lap. The race began with two green flag laps until a multi-car wreck in turn four eliminated Terry Casey and James Ward who were among the victims as their nights came to an end with only two laps in the books.
On the restart Babb held the top spot with Birkhofer running in second after he had started in third. Brad Neat and Breazeale would go two-wide for third with Casebolt running fifth. Birkhofer then challenged Babb for the lead, overhauling him on lap five to take away the top spot. The two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side for lap six with Birkhofer officially scored the race leader.
Neat then made a move coming off of turn two on Babb, but the two made contact with Babb suffering left front suspension damage. He also brushed the backstretch wall as Babb lost several spots in the running order.
Babb brought out the second caution of race as he stopped on the track with eight laps in the books. On the restart, Birkhofer lead the field to the green with Neat in second followed by Earl Pearson Jr., Casebolt, and Wendell Wallace who made his first appearance in the top five.
Birkhofer was now setting a blistering pace as he started to pick up the tail end of the field by lap 12; starting to put lapped cars between himself and Neat. Will Vaught moved into the top five, dislodging Wallace from the fifth spot.
Birkhofer continued to build his lead in traffic over Neat and Pearson. By the 20th circuit he had several lapped cars as a cushion from Pearson who was starting to give Neat a battle for second. With 25 laps scored, it was still Birkhofer holding a good size lead over Neat, Pearson, Casebolt and Vaught.
The top five remained the same until Mars closed the gap on the frontrunners, nabbing the fifth spot by lap 29 just as caution came out for a stopped Wallace in turn number four. On the Delaware double-file restart, Birkhofer held the lead with Pearson and Neat racing side-by-side for two laps with; Neat finally relinquishing the second position to Pearson.
Birkhofer built a huge lead on the restart, opening up a several-car-length lead as the cars neared the half-way mark of the event. A four-car battle ensued for second between Pearson, Neat, Casebolt, and Mars. Mars moved by Casebolt to take fourth as he was on the move a lap later passing Neat for third.
With 30 laps to go, Birkhofer was on cruise control dominating the race as he built what appeared to be an insurmountable lead over the field. With 51 laps complete Scott James, who was the last car on the lead lap suffered a flat tire bringing out caution number four. The action was short this time; with only two more green flag laps before the fifth and final caution for Will Vaught, who did a 360 in the middle of the backstretch after receiving contact from another car, ending his night.
On the final restart, Birkhofer made quick work of the final 17 laps as he quickly established a significant lead over Mars who took the second spot on the restart with Casebolt, McDowell and Moyer in the hunt for a top five finish.
Both McDowell and Moyer had gone to backup cars for the race and towards the end they were hoping for a caution so they could have had a chance at Birkhofer. Mars held onto second place until McDowell overtook him with less than five laps remaining in the race. Moyer then took his turn, passing Mars for the third position a lap later.
Birkhofer then went on to pick-up his second SuperClean Diamond Nationals in three years as he went on for a convincing win becoming the ninth different Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner in eleven races this season.
In the Sunoco Race Fuels Road to Wheatland Victory Lane, Birkhofer was in victory for the third time in his career at Lucas Oil Speedway backing up his Diamond Nationals win in 2007. "I don't know what is about this place, but we've won a lot of money here, I want to thank Forrest Lucas, all the Lucas Oil officials and everyone involved here, it's great place to race and I'm just tickled to death to win this race again," said the 37-year old as the fans gathered in victory lane.
"Hats off to the track crew, after the rain yesterday they did a good job, there was a soft spot in one, they tried their best to work on it and it turned out to be a good race, the MB Custom Chassis and the Pro Power Engine is just performing flawlessly right now, we are looking forward to having a really good year."
Birkhofer, the defending Dirt Track World Championship winner has sponsorship from J&J Steel, Daufeldt Transport, Etchenberger Trucking, S&S Concrete, 34Raceway.com, Port City Racing, Asi Racewear, Integra Racing Shocks, McDonald's of the Quad Cities, Baileigh Industrial, Hoosier Racing Tires and VP Racing Fuels.
McDowell was pleased with his performance after going to a back-up Warrior Car. "I really needed a yellow there at the end, our luck hopefully is changing for the better, this is our first time here, what a great facility, the Lucas Oil Series is so tough when you have people like Bloomquist and Moyer taking provisionals, you know its tough, we look forward to coming back here in July," said the driver of the Clint Bowyer Racing/Chevrolet/Warrior Impala SS.
Moyer went to a back-up Moyer Victory Circle Car and was happy to finish third. "The car ran really well early on and then got even better as the race wore on, just like Dale said we both need a caution, but I don't think either of us had anything for Brian, he was that strong tonight, so congratulations to him for a great run," said the driver of the Banner Valley Hauling/Clements Racing Engines #21.
Mars was fourth in the Deppe Enterprises/Pro Power Engines/MB Custom Malibu with Casebolt having a solid finish placing fifth in his Dixie Chopper/Cornett Racing Engines/Rocket GTO.
Completing the top ten were Earl Pearson Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Scott James, Brian Shirley and Brad Neat.
In preliminary action Will Vaught set fast time among the 76 entrants on hand for the event. Heat race winners were Shannon Babb, Brian Birkhofer, Brad Neat, David Breazeale, Steve Casebolt and Terry Casey. The B-mains went to Dale McDowell and Bart Hartman.
The next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events will take place on Friday Night, May 15th and the Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY and Saturday Night, May 16th at La Salle Speedway in La Salle, IL. Both shows will pay $10,000 to win.
To find out more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log on to www.lucasdirt.com or call the series office at (951) 532-2503.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, May 9, 2009
Lucas Oil Speedway - Wheatland, MO
PRC Fast Time: Will Vaught/14.905 seconds
Hawk Brake First Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Shannon Babb, Will Vaught,
John Blankenship, Ray Moore, Chad Mahder, John Mason, Jeep VanWormer, Rylan Long, Larry Clawson, Jeremy Kelley, Davey Johnson, Josh McGuire, Scott Bloomquist - DNS
Hawk Brake Second Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Brian Birkhofer, Matt Miller, James Ward, Dale McDowell, John Anderson, Billy Moyer, Rickey Frankel, Don O'Neal, David Turner, Aaron Seabaugh, Jason Sivils, Todd Morrow, Brent Kreke - DNS
AFCO Racing Products Third Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Brad Neat, Kevin Cole, Eric Jacobsen, Terry Phillips, Clint Smith, Chris Simpson, Chad Simpson, Ricky Weiss, Justin Wells, Matt Johnson, Tyler Reddick, Wesley Briggs, Zachary Goulden
Tiger Rear Ends Fourth Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): David Breazeale, Wendell Wallace, Ray Cook, Alan Vaughn, Jack Sullivan, Al Purkey, Bill Frye, Eric Turner, PJ Haskins, Mike Collins, Steve Rushin, Kelly Boen - DNS, Joe Kosiski - DNS
AFCO Racing Products Fifth Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Steve Casebolt, Earl Pearson, Jr., Freddy Smith, Brian Shirley, Bart Hartman, Scott James, Brandon McCormick, Bill Koons, Jason Bodenhamer, Brett Wood, Jeremy Payne, Larry Jones
AFCO Racing Products Sixth Heat (15 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Terry Casey, Jimmy Mars, Jimmy Owens, Dan Schlieper, Denny Woodworth, Tony Jackson, Jr., Shawn Harker, Andrew McKay, Shad Badder, Jeremy Grady, Daniel Eckhoff, Michael Walker
Mason Racin' Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main (15 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Dale McDowell, Ray Moore, Chad Mahder, Clint Smith, John Anderson, Chris Simpson, Billy Moyer, Chad Simpson, Terry Phillips, Jeep VanWormer, Don O'Neal, David Turner, John Mason, Tyler Reddick, Rickey Frankel, Jeremy Kelley, Rylan Long, Larry Clawson, Matt Johnson, Aaron Seabaugh, Wesley Briggs, Jason Sivils, Josh McGuire, Justin Wells, Scott Bloomquist, Zachary Goulden, Ricky Weiss - DNS, Davey Johnson - DNS, Todd Morrow - DNS, Brent Kreke - DNS
Wiles Drive Shafts Second B-Main (15 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Bart Hartman, Brian Shirley, Alan Vaughn, Denny Woodworth, Jack Sullivan, Al Purkey, Dan Schlieper, Bill Frye, Brandon McCormick, Tony Jackson, Jr., Michael Walker, Shawn Harker, Bill Koons, Mike Collins, Eric Turner, Scott James, Jason Bodenhamer, Jeremy Grady, Andrew McKay, Shad Badder, Brett Wood, PJ Haskins, Larry Jones, Jeremy Payne, Daniel Eckhoff, Steve Rushin - DNS, Kelly Boen - DNS, Joe Kosiski - DNS
33rd Annual Dart Winternationals Night 6 Feature Finish (75 Laps): Brian Birkhofer, Dale McDowell, Billy Moyer, Jimmy Mars, Steve Casebolt, Earl Pearson, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Scott James, Brian Shirley, Brad Neat, John Blankenship, Jimmy Owens, Bart Hartman, Kevin Cole, Eric Jacobsen, Freddy Smith, Eric Turner, Ray Cook, Ray Moore, David Breazeale, Will Vaught, Alan Vaughn, Matt Miller, Wendell Wallace, Chad Mahder, Al Purkey
33rd Annual Dart Winternationals
1 15B Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA $30,000
2 17M Dale McDowell Chickmauga, GA
3 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
4 28M Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
5 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
6 44 Earl Pearson Jr Jacksonville, FL
7 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
8 83 Scott James Lawrenceburg, IN
9 3S Brian Shirley Chatham, IL
10 41 Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
11 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
12 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
13 75 Bart Hartman Zanesville, OH
14 81 Kevin Cole Buckner, IL
15 5 Eric Jacobsen Seacliff, CA
16 00 Freddy Smith Seymour, TN
17 99T Eric Turner Hermitage, MO
18 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
19 93 Ray Moore Shreveport, LA
20 54 David Breazeale Four Corners, MS
21 1V Will Vaught Crane, MO
22 22T Alan Vaughn Belton, MO
23 7 Matt Miller Watertown, OH
24 88 Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR
25 55c Chad Mahder Eau Claire, WI
26 33 Al Purkey Coffeyville, KS
27 18 Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL
28 42 Terry Casey New London, WI
29 W3 James Ward Lettsworth, LA
|
