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James Essex
GAFFNEY, S.C. (March 7) - Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN passed race leader Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA in turn four of the final lap as he outsprinted McDowell to the checkered flag in winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned March Madness race Sunday at Cherokee Speedway. Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN crossed the stripe in third followed by 16th starting Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN and Chris Madden of Gaffney, SC rounded out the top five.
A wild first lap saw Bub McCool and Ray Cook get together on the backstretch with Cook suffering heavy damage to his car. Cook went pit-side and fell several laps down as his crew made repairs to the car. While the race was under red outside front row starter Dan Schlieper went to the pits for the night after fluid began leaking out from under his car. So that put Madden to the outside of polesitter John Blankenship. The second time would be a charm to get the race underway. Madden took the lead, followed by McDowell, Blankenship, Chris Wall, and Johnny Pursley. Wall, who was making his first appearance at Cherokee, climbed to third on lap three as Blankenship fell to fourth.
McDowell then started to put the heat on Madden for the lead pulling even with him on lap ten as the two crossed the start-finish line. McDowell pulled ahead of Madden on lap 11 as Wall maintained third. The second caution of the race flew on lap 12 as McCool slowed on the backstretch.
The restart saw McDowell on the point of the Delaware double-file restart as Madden and Wall lined up side-by-side ready for the return of chief starter Bruce Coyle's green flag. McDowell showed his power; but Madden did not giving up easily as the hometown favorite closed to the bumper of McDowell's mount with 16 laps complete. Bloomquist, who started seventh, was now in the hunt. He was running in the fourth spot bringing Randy Weaver with him. Bloomquist and Weaver then began to pressure Wall for third, but Wall, who was the Red Buck Cigars fast qualifier for the night was doing a good job in fighting off the challenges of the two.
McDowell continued to show the way as he and Madden raced through traffic through the mid-point of the race. Madden then pulled dead even with McDowell on lap 27 as the crowd came to its collective feet. McDowell led lap 28, but a circuit later Madden was scored as the race leader. The torrid battle for the lead had all eyes on the two frontrunners. Madden then took a five-car length lead over McDowell on lap 32 as it looked like he was going to be the car to beat in the remaining laps of the race, but McDowell re-grouped and closed quickly on Madden as the two continued to race through some heavy lapped traffic.
With ten laps to go Madden was still showing the way, followed by McDowell. Bloomquist and Weaver had managed to get around Wall back on lap 38 to take over third and fourth places, but they looked to be too far out of it to make a run in the final laps. Bloomquist was out to prove the naysayers wrong as he put on a charge in the last five laps that would give him a shot at the win.
Bloomquist went around Madden on lap 45 as he set his sights on McDowell. A caution with four laps to go for Casey Roberts bunched the field for a four-lap shootout to the finish. McDowell was under constant pressure from Bloomquist as the two went side-by-side coming off of turn number two. McDowell managed enough momentum to maintain the lead. As the two drivers took the white flag, McDowell was a car length ahead of Bloomquist and going into turn number two he moved up just enough out of the groove to allow Bloomquist room on the bottom to pull even with him as Bloomquist carried that momentum as the two were still side-by-side in turn three.
Bloomquist slid up in front of McDowell in turn four and led him on a drag race down the frontstretch as the two headed to the checkered flag. Bloomquist got the win by one car length as a stunned crowd looked on as Bloomquist had recorded another come from behind victory for his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the year.
In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 20th time in his Hall of Fame Career, the reigning series champion was out of breath in his post-race interview. "Well the car was super, it just got better and better as the race went on, everything went well today for us, Chris (Madden)is good at this place, we share a lot of information, if he would have had my tire combination on he would have won," said the 46-year-old driver who is quickly approaching 500 career wins.
"We had out a Jay Dickens Engine in today, what can I say, everything went good for us. Dale and I had a great race, we raced each other clean, before that last caution I was catching them and I didn't know if the caution was good or bad for us, the car just fired up real good on the restart, this race track was real good today, everybody was giving each other room, there was some good racing going on out there. Dale and I have raced together several times in the past and it was going to be tough to get around him," said the winner who continues to lead the series points standings heading into the next event on March 27th at Brownstown (IN) Speedway.
Bloomquist' Jay Dickens Racing Engine powered Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS is sponsored by Miller Brothers Construction, Hawkeye Trucking, Sweet Mfg, VP Racing Fuels, Hoosier Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, Ohlins and Lane Automotive.
McDowell in the Clint Bowyer Racing/Dollar General/Warrior Race Cars Impala SS moved to third in the points after his runner-up finish. Weaver was third in the BKW Disaster, Recovery and Rebuilding/Race Engine Design/Bloomquist Race Cars Corvette. Fourth went to the hard charger of the race Don O'Neal in the Superior Cleaning/Jay Dickens Racing Engines/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo SS as Madden took fifth in the Century Plastics/Cornett Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS.
Completing the top ten were Chris Wall of Holden, LA, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, IL, Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN, Clint Smith of Senoia, GA and Johnny Pursley of Clover, SC.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Sunday Night, March 7th, 2010
"March Madness VIII"
Cherokee Speedway - Gaffney, SC
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Chris Wall / 16.381 seconds
Wiles Driveshaft's First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): John Blankenship, Jimmy Owens, Casey Roberts, Jeff Smith, Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport, Eric Jacobsen, Freddy Smith, Tim Isenberg, Justin Rattliff, Wayne Chinn
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advances): Johnny Pursley, Scott Bloomquist, Eric Wells, Dennis Erb Jr., Steve Casebolt, Steve Shaver, Chris Ferguson, Jordan Bland, Ray Cook, Brent Dixon, Danny Howell
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Dan Schlieper, Dale McDowell, Chris Wall, Clint Smith, Jason Feger, Will Vaught, Tyler Reddick, Donald Bradshear, Jim Rasey, Brad Neat, Michael Walker
Wrisco Aluminum Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Chris Madden, Jeff Cooke, Randy Weaver, Don O'Neal, Bub McCool, Mike Collins, Earl Pearson Jr., Daniel Baggerly, Mike Gault, Tim Rivers, John Henderson
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers): Mike Marlar, Steve Shaver, Jonathan Davenport, Eric Jacobsen, Steve Casebolt, Freddy Smith, Tim Isenberg, Ray cook, Chris Ferguson, Justin Rattliff, Wayne Chinn, Jordan Bland, Brent Dixon, Danny Howell
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers): Jason Feger, Will Vaught, Bub McCool, Tyler Reddick, Jim Rasey, Daniel Baggerly, Mike Gault, Tim Rivers, Mike Collins, Donald Bradsher, Michael Walker, Earl Pearson Jr.-DNS, Brad Neat-DNS, John Henderson-DNS
"March Madness VIII" Feature Finish (50 Laps): Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Randy Weaver, Don O'Neal, Chris Madden, Chris Wall, Dennis Erb Jr., Jimmy Owens, Clint Smith, Johnny Pursely, Mike Marlar, John Blankenship, Jeff Cooke, Steve Shaver, Jonathan Davenport, Jeff Smith, Will Vaught, Freddy Smith, Earl Pearson Jr., Eric Wells, Brad Neat, Bub McCool, Casey Roberts, Jason Feger, Ray Cook, Dan Schlieper
Finish Start Car Number Driver Name - Hometown
1 7 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
2 6 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
3 12 116 Randy Weaver Crossville, TN
4 16 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
5 4 44m Chris Madden Gaffney, SC
6 10 71w Chris Wall Holden, LA
7 15 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. Carpentersville, IL
8 5 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
9 14 44c Clint Smith Senoia, GA
10 3 9 Johnny Pursley Clover, SC
11 17 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
12 1 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
13 8 99c Jeff Cooke Gaffney, SC
14 19 6 Steve Shaver Vienna, WV
15 21 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
16 13 18m Jeff Smith Gastonia, NC
17 20 1 Will Vaught Crane, MO
18 26 0 Freddy Smith Seymour, TN
19 23 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
20 11 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
21 25 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, NC
22 22 57j Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
23 9 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
24 18 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL
25 24 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
26 2 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI
Race Statistics
Entrants: 39
Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1-10); Dale McDowell (Laps 11-28); Chris Madden (Laps 29-41); Dale McDowell (Laps 42-49); Scott Bloomquist (Lap 50)
Caution Flags: Bub McCool, Ray Cook (Start); Bub McCool (Lap 12); Casey Roberts (Lap 46)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Earl Pearson Jr., Ray Cook
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: Brad Neat
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: (Started ; Finished ; Advanced positions)
Ohlin's Shocks Performer of the Race: Dale McDowell
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Scott Bloomquist
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: none
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Dan Schlieper
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tommy Hicks
E3 Spark Plugs TV Challenge All stars: n/a
Time of Race: 35 minutes, 41 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
1 0 Scott Bloomquist 700
2 71 Don O'Neal 595
3 17m Dale McDowell 585
4 71w Chris Wall 575
4 53 Ray Cook 575
6 20 Jimmy Owens 570
7 s9 Dan Schlieper 545
8 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. 500
8 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. 500
10 c9 Steve Casebolt 485
11 157 Mike Marlar 480
11 18e Eric Wells 480
13 23 John Blankenship 470
14 44m Chris Madden 435
15 5 Eric Jacobsen 420
15 41n Brad Neat 420
17 57j Bub McCool 410
18 11t Tyler Reddick 405
19 25f Jason Feger 400
20 116 Randy Weaver 395
21 9t Tim Isenberg 385
21 16 Justin Rattliff 385
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