OWENS PASSES PEARSON TO TAKE 28TH ANNUAL NORTH/SOUTH 100 WIN AT FLORENCE SPEEDWAY

Dirt Late Model
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James Essex
UNION, Ky. (August 14) - Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN passed race leader, Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL as the pair headed for the white flag. Owens held off Pearson on the final circuit to win the 28th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil on Saturday Night at Florence Speedway. The $50,000 victory was celebrated by Owens; car owner, Mike Reece; and team in victory lane before a huge crowd. Trailing Owens and Pearson to the finish line were Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN; Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; and Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC.  North/South 100 Race Photos

"First off, I want to dedicate this win to Dewayne Hommell," said Owens, who captured his second Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil victory in the last four years. "I didn't know if I could catch Earl, he got boxed in behind another car and I decided to run up against the wall, and the car just took off and we were able to track him down and pass him as we took the white flag." The elated Owens continued, "I have to thank my car owner, Mike Reece; he hadn't been at a race since we won at Cleveland back in June. Thanks also to Reece Monument Company, Gantte Appraisals, Hoosier Tires VP race Fuels, Cornett Racing Engines and Bloomquist Race Cars."

Eddie Carrier Jr. took the lead at the start of the 100-lap event and held the lead for the first 18 circuits of the race. O'Neal took over the point on lap 19 from Carrier after the two made contact down the backstretch. O'Neal built a solid lead over the field, and by lap 30 he had a ten car length advantage over the field. Carrier and Francis managed to close on O'Neal in heavy traffic and slice his lead to five lengths with 40 laps complete.

Owens, who started fifth, climbed into the top five on lap 41. He moved into third by the halfway-mark of the race, catching up to behind O'Neal and Carrier. "The Newport Nightmare" overhauled Carrier for second with 55 laps scored. O'Neal kept a steady pace out front, but Owens and Pearson started to make some noise with 25 laps remaining. Pearson climbed to third on lap 73.

O'Neal saw his lead dissolve on lap 78 as Owens passed him for the top spot. Pearson followed suit, and drove around O'Neal with 16 laps to go. Pearson used his patented bottom groove to take the lead from Owens on lap 88. Pearson then pulled away from Owens and appeared to be on his way to the victory. He got caught behind another car with less than five laps to go and Owens capitalized and made a late-race charge.

While Pearson was trapped down on the bottom of the track, Owens went to the topside and closed quickly on the leader. Owens made his move as the two exited turn four, heading to the white flag. Owens cleared "The Hurricane" to click off the lead as the two approached the flag stand. He withstood a strong surge of power from the machine of Pearson, extinguishing his last lap effort to take the victory. Pearson's second place finish earned him the PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger honor for the event, having advanced 12 spots from his 14th place starting position.

Completing the top ten were Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN; Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI; Chris Madden of Gaffney, SC; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA; and Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, IA.

Capturing heat race wins earlier in the night were Chris Madden, Dan Schlieper, Jimmy Owens, Eddie Carrier Jr., Don O'Neal, Steve Francis.

The B-Mains were won by Wendell Wallace and Justin Rattilff.


Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, July 31st, 2010
28th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels "North/South 100" Presented by Lucas Oil
Florence Speedway - Union, KY

Red Buck Cigars $1,000 Fast Time: Dale McDowell / 17.335 seconds (Overall and Group A)
Earl Pearson Jr./ 17.393 seconds (Group B)

Wiles Driveshaft's First Heat (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Chris Madden, Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Chris Brown, Tim Isenberg, Jason Jameson, Chris Wilson, David Spille, James Rice, Wayne Chinn, Josh McGuire-DNS, John Mason-DNS

AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Dan Schlieper, Freddy Smith, Bub McCool, Wendell Wallace, Steve Shaver, Mike Marlar, Brett Wyatt, Zack Dohm, Roger Williams, Steve Landrum, Matt Miller, John Blankenship

Allstar Performance Third Heat (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Jimmy Mars, Brady Smith, Greg Johnson, Jerry Rice, Darrell Lanigan, Stacy Taylor, Tim McCreadie, Tim Rivers, Tim Prince, Skip Arp, Jason Whitaker

Superflow Fourth Heat (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Eddie Carrier Jr., Ray Cook, Earl Pearson Jr., Chris Wall, Billy Moyer Jr., Rod Conley, Jesse Lay, Jack Sullivan, Mick Sansom, Duane Chamberlaine, Tyler Reddick, Bob Lanter-DNS

Wiles Driveshaft's First Fifth (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Don O'Neal, Brian Birkhofer, Justin Rattliff, Dustin Neat, Audie McWilliams, Robby Hensley, Adam Dixon, Billy Moyer, Brandon Green, Steve Casebolt, Mark Vineyard

AFCO Racing Products Sixth Heat (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Steve Francis, Brad Neat, Eirc Wells, Billy Ogle, Mike Jewell, Chad Smith, Scott James, Jeep VanWormer, Jordan Bland, Josh Williams, D.J. Wells

Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Wendell Wallace, Greg JohnSon, Darrell Lanigan, Chris Brown, Mike Marlar, Steve Shaver, Jerry Rice, Jason Jameson, Tim Isenberg, John Blankenship, Chris Wilson, Brett Wyatt, Roger Williams, David Spille, Wayne Chinn, James Rice, Steve Landrum, Zack Dohm-DNS, Stacy Taylor-DNS, Tim McCreadie-DNS, Tim Prince-DNS, Matt Miller-DNS, Skip Arp-DNS, Josh McGuire, John Mason-DNS

Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Justin Rattliff, Chris Wall, Audie McWilliams, Billy Moyer Jr., Jesse Lay, Dustin Neat, Rod Conley, Chad Smith, Mick Sansom, Billy Ogle Jr., Scott James, Jeep VanWormer, Josh Williams, Steve Casebolt-DNS, Robby Hensley-DNS, Jack Sullivan-DNS, Adam Dixon-DNS, Billy Moyer-DNS, Brandon Green-DNS, Jordan Bland-DNS, Duane Chamberlain-DNS, Tyler Reddick-DNS, Mark Vineyard-DNS, Bob Lanter-DNS, D.J. Wells-DNS

A-Main
1 5 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
2 14 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
3 4 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
4 6 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
5 8 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
6 7 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
7 11 28m Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
8 1 44m Chris Madden Gaffney, SC
9 13 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
10 16 15b Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA
11 2 28 Eddie Carrier, Jr. Salt Rock, WV
12 12 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
13 17 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
14 20 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
15 3 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI
16 24 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
17 18 18e Eric Wells Grayson, KY
18 22 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA
19 21 49 Greg Johnson Bedford, IN
20 9 G1 Freddy Smith Seymour, TN
21 19 88 Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR
22 15 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
23 26 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI
24 23 c9 Steve Casebolt  Richmond, IN
25 10 75 Bart Hartman Zanesville, OH
26 25 JJ2 Josh Williams W. Harrison, IN

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings

1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 5290
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 5060
3 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 5035
4 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 4735
5 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN 4640
6 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 4375
7 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA 4015
8 c9 Steve Casebolt  Richmond, IN 4010
9 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI 4005
10 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 3950
11 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 3885
12 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 3760
13 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI 3280
14 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 2970