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James Essex
PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (July 16) - Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL won a series record, fourth straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event, tonight at Tri-City Speedway. He took home the $10,000 payday in winning the "Budweiser 50". Pearson withstood a mid-race challenge from several drivers as he went on to lead all 50 laps of the event. It was his seventh series win of the year. July 16 Race Photos
Finishing second was Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR; followed by series point's leader, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN. Completing the top five were Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, IA and Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN. Birkhofer managed to get by Owens as the duo approached the finish line on the final lap.
"I want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight," exclaimed Pearson in Lucas Oil Victory Lane, "I would like to give credit to my crew for all of their hard work, and the guys back at the race shop. I also want to thank Bobby Labonte, Lucas Oil Products, Red Buck Cigars, Larry Wallace Racing Engines, and MasterSbilt Race Cars."
In the early stages of the race, the top five set a blistering pace with Pearson breaking away from the rest of the field. Pearson held a comfortable lead over Bloomquist, Moyer, Chris Wall, and Don O'Neal. It wasn't until a lap 21 caution for Tyler Reddick, that the dynamics of the race changed for the remainder of the event.
After the restart, Pearson maintained his patented bottom shelf around the track. Bloomquist and Owens found traction on the top groove of the racing surface, allowing them to close in on Pearson by the halfway mark. Moyer made it a three-car battle for second, using the same line as Pearson. After starting tenth, Birkhofer made a mid-race surge into the top five as he went around O'Neal on lap 31. In the waning laps of the event, Pearson managed to distance himself from Moyer, who had passed Bloomquist with four laps to go to take over the second spot.
Coming home in sixth was O'Neal of Martinsville, IN. Twenty-third starting, Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA finished seventh. During time trials, McDowell got into the wall coming off of turn four and flipped his primary car. He went to a back-up car and was involved in a wreck during his heat race. His crew managed to repair the damage in time for him to take a series provisional for the main event. John Blankenship of Williamson, WV finished eighth, followed by Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI; and Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC.
In preliminary action, Earl Pearson Jr. set the Red Buck Cigars Fast Time among the 42 entrants. Heat race winners were Pearson, Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN; Billy Moyer, and Don O'Neal. The B-Mains were won by Bub McCool and Brad Neat.
Tonight's event will be featured as an hour-long broadcast on SPEED at 1 PM (Eastern) on Saturday, August 7th.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be back in action tomorrow night, July 17th at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO for the Fourth Annual "CMH Diamond Nationals". The event will pay $10,000 to win and will feature a full racing program with Red Buck Cigars Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and the 50-lap main event.
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
Friday Night, July 16th, 2010
"Budweiser 50"
Tri-City Speedway - Pontoon Beach, IL
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Earl Pearson Jr. / 14.753 seconds (Overall and Group A)
Billy Moyer/ 15.223 seconds (Group B)
Wiles Driveshaft's First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Earl Pearson Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Tim Isenberg, Brady Smith, Bub McCool, Wendell Wallace, Chad Zobrist, Tyler Reddick, Rickey Frankel, Billy Laycock, Butch Kruckeberg
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Steve Casebolt, Chris Wall, Ray Cook, John Blankenship, Pat Doar, Bryan Collins, Kevin Weaver, Brian Wolfmeier, Jeremy Payne, Aaron Ricketts
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Billy Moyer, Jimmy Owens, Brian Birkhofer, Dan Schlieper, Billy Moyer Jr., Crag Smith, Mark Voigtn, Dewayne Kiefer, Claude Walker, John Anderson, Brian Shirley
SuperFlow Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Don O'Neal, Jimmy Mars, Eric Wells, Mark Burgtorf, Brad neat, Terry Phillips, Rodney Melvin, Dave Eckrick, Chris Fetter, Dale McDowell
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Bub McCool, Chad Zobrist, Wendell Wallace, Pat Doar, Rickey Frankel, Billy Laycock, Brian Wolfmeier, Kevin Meier, Kevin Weaver, Bryan Collins, Butch Kruckeberg, Tyler Reddick, Jeremy Payne-DNS, Claude Walker-DNS
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Brad Neat, Billy Moyer Kr., Terry Phillips, Mark Voigt, Brian Shirley, John Anderson, Chris Fetter, Claude Walker, Craig Smith, Dave Eckrich, Dewayne Kiefer, Dale McDowell-DNS, Rodney Melvin-DNS
"Budweiser 50" Feature Finish - 50 Laps
1 1 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
2 2 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
3 5 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
4 10 15b Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA
5 6 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
6 4 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
7 23 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
8 15 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
9 8 28m Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
10 11 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
11 3 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
12 7 71w Chris Wall Holden, LA
13 13 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
14 18 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
15 9 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI
16 22 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO
17 21 88 Wendell Wallace Grayson, KY
18 16 7b Mark Burgtorf Quincy, IL
19 12 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
20 19 78 Chad Zobrist Highland, IL
21 14 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI
22 25 81 Craig Smith Godfrey, IL
23 17 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
24 24 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
25 20 21JR Billy Moyer, Jr. Batesville, AR
Race Statistics
Entrants: 42
Lap Leaders: Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 1-50)
Caution Flags: Tyler Reddick (Lap 21)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Dale McDowell, Tyler Reddick
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Tri-City Speedway Track Provisional: Craig Smith
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Dale McDowell (Started 24th; Finished 7th; Advanced 17 positions)
Ohlin's Shocks Performer of the Race: John Blankenship
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Dale McDowell
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Chris Wall
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Larry Wallace Racing Engines
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Dale McDowell
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Jason Fitzgerald (Earl Pearson Jr.)
Time of Race: 21 minutes, 45 seconds
Point Standings
1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 4200
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 3990
3 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 3965
4 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 3725
5 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN 3635
6 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 3395
7 71w Chris Wall Holden, LA 3230
8 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 3210
9 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI 3160
10 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 3130
11 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 3030
12 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 2920
13 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI 2485
14 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 2335
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