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James Essex
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (March 27) - Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN dominated the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned 13th Annual Indiana Icebreaker on Saturday Night at Brownstown Speedway for his 14th career series win. Owens led all 50 laps. Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL finished second, followed by series points leader, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN; Bart Hartman of Zanesville, OH; and Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN.
Owens and first- time Brownstown visitor, Chris Wall started on the front row of the $10,000 to win event, which was held before a standing room only crowd. Owens got the jump on the field at the drop of chief starter Eric Roll's green flag. Pearson took the second slot followed by Wall, Bloomquist and Hartman.
Owens quickly built his lead over the field as Pearson and Bloomquist battled for second. Owens had a five-car length lead as the first caution appeared for a three-car pileup in turn two. On the restart, Owens continued to show his prowess as he pulled away from the field. Bloomquist moved into second as Steve Casebolt climbed to third, just ahead of Pearson.
Pearson then regrouped after the restart as he and Casebolt went door-to-door for two laps before eventually clearing him on lap 12 to re-take third. With 15 laps in the books Owens had a straightaway lead over Bloomquist, who was still running second with Pearson third followed by Casebolt and Hartman. By Lap 17, Owens picked up the tail end of the field as he now battled cars running two and three wide in front of him. Bloomquist could'nt gain any ground on Owens..
At the halfway mark Owens was putting on a clinic has he developed a huge lead over the field with 20 laps remaining. Bloomquist was still keeping Pearson at bay for second as Hartman ramped up his effort and got by Casebolt to take over fourth. Thirteenth starting Shannon Babb was beginning to make a charge into the top five.
With 40 laps recorded, Owens was up to a half-a-lap lead over Bloomquist as Owens was still fighting his way through traffic. Pearson was pressuring Bloomquist for second with ten to go. Pearson kept the heat on Bloomquist and with five laps to go, Pearson finally cleared Bloomquist to take over the runner-up spot.
Owens was still on cruise control as he went on unchallenged to record his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2010. Owens had previously won two open wheel modified features at Brownstown and took home his first ever Late Model win at the historic Jackson County Fairgrounds track.
In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Owens emerged in front of the cheering crowd to talk about his domination from start to finish. "The car was great right of the box, we didn't have to do anything to it, we put the right tire on, I want to thank Chris (Fox, his crew chief), I want to thank Mike Reece, Reece Monuments, Gantte Appraisals and all of our other sponsors, we needed this win, we struggled at Bulls Gap and Cherokee, this crew we've have all been together since we started racing, it means a lot to win here and it was a good points night," said Owens who climbed to second behind Bloomquist in the championship points standings.
Owens' Mike Reece owned Bloomquist Race Cars Ford Fusion and Cornett Racing Engines powered entry is sponsored by Reece Monument Company, Gantte Appraisals, Red Line Oil, VP Racing Fuels, Byrd's Radiator and C&C Trucking.
Pearson, who finished second, saw his two-race Lucas Oil Series win streak at Brownstown end also wound with a good points' night in the Bobby Labonte Racing Racing/Lucas Oil Products/MasterSbilt Dodge Charger. "Jimmy was gone tonight, we did what we could to stay with him, but we couldn't, I finally got around Scott there at the end and the way we ran at Bulls Gap and Cherokee a few weeks ago we will definitely take this finish,"
Bloomquist finished third, he said afterwards. "Congratulations to Jimmy on the win, we had the same tires on as he did and then elected to change and go to the hard stuff, but Jimmy had us all covered tonight, we'll just move onto the next one," said the 2009 series champion in his Miller Brothers Construction/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS.
Hartman in his first race of the season placed fourth in The912Project.com/Cornett Racing Engines/Rocket Aero followed by O'Neal in the Superior Cleaning/Jay Dickens Racing Engines/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo SS put on a late race charge to take fifth.
Completing the top ten were Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, IL, Greg Johnson of Bedford, IN, Wayne Chinn of Bradford, OH, Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN.
Brad Neat was officially credited with an 11th place finish after originally being scored in 23rd place. A transponder error was found after the finish and his final position was determined to be 11th Place.
For the latest breaking news on 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, March 27th, 2010
"13th Annual Indiana Icebreaker"
Brownstown Speedway - Brownstown, IN
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Jimmy Owens / 15.418 seconds
Wiles Driveshaft's First Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Steve Casebolt, Shannon Babb, Dale McDowell, Wayne Chinn, Dennis Erb Jr., Mike Collins, Brad Neat, Scott James, Sammy Epling, Brandon Webber
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Advances): Earl Pearson Jr., Josh McGuire, Matt Miller, Tyler Reddick, Chad Stapleton, Ryan Unzicker, Dillan White, Brandon Thirlby, Marty O'Neal, Brian Wilhite
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Tim Isenberg, Eric Wells, Steve Barnett, Jeep VanWormer, Patrick Sheltra, Dona Marcoullier, Brad Eitinear, Michael Walker, Mitchell Lankford
Wrisco Aluminum Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance):Chris Wall, Jason Feger, Rohn Moon, Will Vaught, Mike Marlar, Bub McCool, Dustin Neat, Tim Rivers, Kevin Weaver, Jimmy Fairbanks
Wiles Driveshaft's Fifth Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Transfer): Bart Hartman, Don O'Neal, Dan Schlieper, John Blankenship, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Eric Jacobsen, Jason Smith, Joe Janowski, Tim Prince, Tim Dohm
AFCO Racing Products Sixth Heat (10 Laps-Top 3 Transfer): Eddie Carrier Jr., Greg Johnson, Ray Cook, Justin Rattliff, Zack Dohm, Chris Streeval, Mike Jewell, Mark Andersen, Doug Dodd, Kenny Carmichael
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 2 Transfers): Dale McDowell, Wayne Chinn, Steve Barnett, Mike Collins, Chad Stapleton, Jeep VanWormer, Dillan White, Ryan Unzicker, Dennis Erb Jr., Brandon Thirlby, Dona Marcoullier, Tyler Reddick, Brad Eitniear, Michael Walker, Patrick Sheltra, Brandon Webber, Brad Neat, Marty O'Neal, Brian Wilhite, Scott James
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 2 Transfers): Mike Marlar, Will Vaught, Bub McCool, Justin Rattliff, Chrs Streeval, Kevin Weaver, Frank Heckenast Jr., Jason Smith, Mark Andersen, Sammy Epling, John Blankenship, Joe Janowski, Tim Rivers, Tim Dohm, Mike Jewell, Dustin Neat, Eric Jacobsen, Mitchell Lankford, Tim Prince, Kenny Carmichael, Doug Dodd, Zack Dohm, Jimmy Fairbanks
"13th Annual Indiana Icebreaker" Feature Finish (50 Laps): Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Bart Hartman, Don O'Neal, Shannon Babb, Greg Johnson, Wayne Chinn, Mike Marlar, Steve Casebolt, Brad Neat, Josh McGuire, Will Vaught, Dan Schlieper, Dennis Erb Jr., Jason Feger, Matt Miller, Dale McDowell, Chris Wall, Rohn Moon, Steve Barnett, Ray Cook, Tim Isenberg, Eddie Carrier Jr., John Blankenship, Eric Wells
"13th Annual Indiana Icebreaker"
1 1 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
2 3 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
3 5 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
4 4 75 Bart Hartman Zanesville, OH
5 10 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
6 13 18 Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL
7 12 15 Greg Johnson Bedford, IN
8 21 1c Wayne Chinn Bradford, OH
9 20 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
10 7 C9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
11 26 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
12 9 41 Josh McGuire Grayson, KY
13 22 1 Will Vaught Crane, MO
14 16 S9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI
15 23 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. Carpentersville, IL
16 8 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL
17 15 7 Matt Miller Watertown, OH
18 19 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
19 2 71w Chris Wall Holden, LA
20 14 56 Rohn Moon Greenwood, IN
21 25 89 Steve Barnett Franklin, IN
22 18 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
23 11 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI
24 6 28 Eddie Carrier, Jr. Salt Rock, WV
25 24 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
26 17 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
Race Statistics
Entrants: 61
Lap Leaders: Jimmy Owens (Laps 1-50)
Caution Flags: Lap 7 (Dale McDowell, Eric Wells, John Blankenship)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Dennis Erb Jr., John Blankenship
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: Brad Neat
Brownstown Speedway Track Provisional: Steve Barnett
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Wayne Chinn (Started 21st; Finished 8th; Advanced 13 positions)
Ohlin's Shocks Performer of the Race: Don O'Neal
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Will Vaught
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Eric Wells
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Chris Fox
E3 Spark Plugs TV Challenge All stars: Jimmy Owens
Time of Race: 17 minutes, 19 seconds
2010 Point Standings
1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 925
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 835
3 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN 805
4 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 735
5 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 730
6 71w Chris Wall Holden, LA 725
7 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI 715
8 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 710
9 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN 670
9 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 670
11 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. Carpentersville, IL 655
12 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 610
13 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 600
14 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 595
15 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL 550
16 57j Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS 530
17 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI 505
18 5 Eric Jacobsen Seacliffe Beach, CA 500
19 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY 495
20 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 490
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