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James Essex
COLUMBUS, Miss. (July 11) - Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR took his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2009 as he won the Clash at the Mag on Saturday Night at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Moyer's win was the 710th of his illustrious career. Moyer fought off a mid-race challenge from Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL and then a hard charging Chris Wall of Holden, LA for the victory in front of a packed grandstand. Wall, who started 14th, came on strong late in the race to finish second followed by Pearson, Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN.
Moyer and Bub McCool started on the front row on the 50 lap main event, with Moyer grabbing the early advantage over McCool from the onset. There were two cautions in the first four laps which kept the field tightly bunched on the restarts. On the lap four restart Moyer had the lead, but McCool and Pearson were closing quick on him as McCool's attempt at a slide job on Moyer resulted in contact with the leader damaging the right side of McCool's car. Moyer also suffered some left rear damage but both cars continued on as the race stayed green.
Back to back cautions on lap eight kept Moyer from building his lead over the field. On the lap restart Pearson made a move on McCool to grab the second spot as the race set in for a long green flag run. Steve Casebolt, who started eighth, was now in hunt as he climbed to third around McCool as McCool was starting to fade.
Moyer's lead came in handy as lapped traffic started to enter the picture by lap 17. That allowed Pearson to close on him as the frontrunners were predominately using the top groove on the race track. Casebolt was holding the third spot with Dale McDowell running in fourth followed by Chris Wall, who was up to fifth.
Pearson was able to maneuver by Moyer at the halfway mark of the race to momentarily take over the point, but Moyer rebounded to regain the lead a lap later as the two drivers were going at it door to door in the race for the lead. Once Pearson showed his hand Moyer got on the accelerator and moved out to a five car length lead over Pearson with 28 laps complete.
Casebolt still held the third spot with a terrific five-car battle for fifth going on between Owens, Wall, Don O'Neal, McDowell, and point's leader Scott Bloomquist, who had started 16th. Up front Moyer continued to widen his lead over Pearson as the two battled in traffic, but a caution with 15 laps remaining for Jimmy Cliburn, who lost a wheel in turn number one, set up a 15 lap shootout to the finish.
On the final restart of the race Moyer led Pearson and Casebolt to the green as Moyer sprinted out to a lead of ten lengths with five laps to go it looked like clear sailing for Moyer to the checkers. But Moyer had to contend with traffic; Pearson could not close the gap on Moyer in the last few laps and it looked like Moyer had a safe enough of a lead. Wall came out of nowhere in the last two laps getting by both Casebolt and then the second place running Pearson.
Wall then had one last shot at Moyer on the final lap as he rapidly gained ground on Moyer, but he ran out of time and laps as Moyer flashed across the finish line for his 11th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph. With one more lap Wall may have had the car to steal the win on the final lap but he settled for second earning the PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race.
In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Moyer did an interview with Dave Argabright of the SPEED Channel who was on hand to tape the event and then told the capacity crowd how the track was too his liking. "I've always liked these slick types of tracks, it's really a driver's track, you have to maintain your momentum out there and we just put it up against the wall. Traffic was a little bit of a problem because they were running two and three wide in front of us sometimes. That early contact from the 57J car, I am not sure what he was trying to do, it about took both of us out" said the 51-year-old National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer.
"I can't thank my crew enough, Steve Norris my crew chief and all the other guys, they work so hard, the car was great all night and drove like a dream, Earl and I had a good race there for a while and I thought it was Earl who was there coming on at the end, but it was Wall, I want to thank all my sponsors especially Cooley Transport who is from near here, Clements Racing Engines and everybody else associated my race team and thanks for the fans coming out here tonight, if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be here and to win the race; it means a lot," said Moyer who claimed his ninth overall win of the 2009 season and his 710th of his career.
"To win that many races, it's just an awesome feeling; I don't know what else to say except thanks to all my fans and family," said Moyer who drives his own Moyer Victory Circle M1 Chassis sponsored by Banner Valley Hauling, J&J Steel, Watters Auto Land, Karl Chevrolet, Minx Show Palace, M&S Concrete, Red Line Oil, Performance Rod and Custom, New Vision Graphics, CarCity.com and Sunoco Race Fuels.
Wall finished second in his C&M Gator Farm/Wall2WallPerformance Engines/MasterSbilt by Stuckey Monte Carlo SS. Pearson took third in the Bobby Labonte Racing/Lucas Oil Slickmist/MasterSbilt Chassis. Completing the top five were Owens in the Reece Monuments/Cornett Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Ford Fusion, and Casebolt in his Dixie Chopper/Cornett Engines/Rocket Monte Carlo SS.
The remainder of the top ten in the finishing order were Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN; who maintains his points lead; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA was seventh; followed by Scott Slay of Clinton, MS; Wendell Wallace of Batesville, AR; and Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN.
In preliminary action, Chris Wall was the PRC Fastest Qualifier with a lap of 15.072 seconds among the 47 cars entered. Heat race winners were Billy Moyer, Jimmy Cliburn, Bub McCool and Earl Pearson Jr. The B-mains were taken by John Blankenship and Wendell Wallace.
The visit to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series marked the 50th different race track the series has raced at. The facility was promoted by Johnny Stokes and sponsored by the Columbus Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
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, July 11th, 2009
"Clash at the Mag" @ Magnolia Motor Speedway - Columbus, MS
PRC Fast Time: Chris Wall / 15.072 seconds
Hawk Brake First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Billy Moyer, Justin McCree, Chad Thrash, Scott Dedwylder, Chris Brown, Jason Cliburn, Bo Gordon, Michael Walker, Ross Camponovo, Mark tice, Brad Neat, Joey Baroni
Hawk Brake Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Jimmy Cliburn, Eric Jacobsen, Don O'Neal, Dan Schlieper, John Blankenship, Christopher Showah, Ray Cook, Eddie Rickman, Clint Byars, Jim McDuffie, Shay Knight, Joey Baroni, Bill Hasselle
AFCO Racing Products Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Bub McCool, Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, Chris Wall, Wendell Wallace, Rick Rickman, David Breazeale, Neil Baggett, Robbie Stuart, Chris Hoomes, Clint Logan, Chris Ragan
Tiger Rear Ends Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Earl Pearson Jr., Steve Casebolt, Scott Slay, Scott Bloomquist, Brian Rickman, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Freddy Smith, Scott Creel, Jamie Elam, Leon Henderson, Dane Dacus
Mason Racin' Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): John Blankenship, Chris Brown, Ray Cook, Brad Neat, Jason Cliburn,Clint Byars, Michael Walker, Ross Camponovo, Eddie Rickman, Bo Gordon, Bill Hasselle, Joey Baroni, Jim McDuffie, Shay Knight, Mark Tice-DNS
Wiles Drive Shafts Second B-Main (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Wendell Wallace, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Robbie Stuart, Freddy Smith, Rick Rickman, Neil Baggett, Dane Dacus, Brian Rickman, Jamie Elam, Scott Creel, Chris Hoomes, Clint Logan, Leon Henderson, Chris Ragan, David Breazeale
Feature Finish (40 Laps): Billy Moyer, Chris Wall, Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Owens, Steve Casebolt, Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Scott Slay, Wendell Wallace, Don O'Neal, Eric Jacobsen, Chad Thrash, David Breazeale, Scott Dedwylder, Ray Cook, Robbie Stuart, Justin McRee, Dan Schlieper, Bub McCool, Chris Brown, Jimmy Cliburn, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Brad Neat, John Blankenship, Michael Walker
Finish (Start) Car Number Driver Name
1. (1) #21 Billy Moyer
2. (14) #71 Chris Wall
3. (4) #44 Earl Pearson Jr.
4. (10) #20 Jimmy Owens
5. (8) #s9 Dan Schlieper
6. (16) #0 Scott Bloomquist
7. (6) #17M Dale McDowell
8. (12) #6s Scott Slay
9. (18) #B1 Wendell Wallace
10. (11) #71 Don O'Neal
11. (7) #5 Eric Jacobsen
12. (9) #1c Chad Thrash
13. (24) #54 David Breazeale
14. (13) #33 Scott Dedwylder
15. (21) #53 Ray Cook
16. (22) #6R Robbie Stuart
17. (5) #25 Justin McRee
18. (15) #s9 Dan Schlieper
19. (2) #57J Bub McCool
20. (19) #21B Chris Brown
21. (3) #88c Jimmy Cliburn
22. (20) #18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth
23. (23) #41N Brad Neat
24. (17) #23 John Blankenship
25. (25) #64 Michael Walker
Race Statistics
Entries: 47
Caution Flags: Lap 1 (Brad Neat, Michael Walker); Lap 3 (Brad Neat); Lap 8 (David Breazeale); Lap 8 (Bub McCool); Lap 35 (Jimmy Cliburn)
Lap Leaders: Billy Moyer (Laps 1-24); Earl Pearson Jr. (Lap 25); Billy Moyer (Laps 26-50)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Brad Neat, David Breazeale
Emergency Provisional: Michael Walker
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Chris Wall
Allstar Performance Performer of the Race: Jimmy Owens
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: David Breazeale
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: David Breazeale
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Time of the Race: 42 minutes 18 seconds
2009 Championship Points Standings
1. Scott Bloomquist (Mooresburg, TN) 4175
2. Earl Pearson Jr. (Jacksonville, FL) 3900
2. Dale McDowell (Chickamauga, GA) 3900
4. Jimmy Owens (Newport, TN) 3880
5. Don O'Neal (Martinsville, IN) 3690
6. Ray Cook (Brasstown, NC) 3645
7. Steve Casebolt (Richmond, IN) 3635
8. Brad Neat (Dunnville, KY) 3300
9. Eric Jacobsen (Seacliffe Beach, CA) 3120
10. Dan Schlieper (Sullivan, WI) 3055
11. John Blankenship (Williamson, WV) 3030
12. David Breazeale (Four Corners, MS) 2810
13. Josh McGuire (Grayson, KY) 2720
14. Freddy Smith (Seymour, TN) 2575
16. Michael Walker (Franklin, TN) 2040
2009 Quarter Master Rookie of the Year Points Standings
1. John Blankenship (Williamson, WV) 3030
2. David Breazeale (Four Corners, MS) 2810
3. Michael Walker (Franklin, TN) 2040
4. Jeep VanWormer (Pinnconning, MI) 1590
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