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James Essex
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (August 28) - Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN won his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season on Saturday Night at Bluegrass Speedway. The win was also his second career "Bluegrass Classic." O'Neal led all 50 laps to finally make it to victory lane after he had led in five of the previous seven events he has entered. Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN chased O'Neal for most of the race to finish second, followed by 11th starting, Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, IA; Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN; and Brady Smith of Solon Springs, WI.
"It's about time we got back to victory lane," said O'Neal, who earned $10,000 for the win. "We have always run well here, and tonight this was a new car we brought out. I can't thank Tader Masters enough for his support, we have run really well over the last month and had nothing to show for it, so I'll savor this win for a while," said O'Neal, who claimed his 14th career Lucas Oil Series win.
"I want to thank my sponsors, Independence Lumber, Superior Cleaning, Scott Clippinger, Sunoco Race Fuels, Jay Dickens at Roush-Yates Engines and of course, MasterSbilt Race Cars. The car drove great all night. I could hear Marlar a few times and saw his number on the scoreboard and I knew he would give us a good clean race."
O'Neal, who started on the pole, was a rocketship all night long as he got the advantage over Bloomquist heading into turn one on the opening circuit. Marlar was able to get by Bloomquist on lap six. He challenged O'Neal several times; just as began to catch the tail-end of the field, the caution flag came out.
O'Neal held a two to three car length lead in the final ten laps as he outran Marlar to the checkers, scoring his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win since February at East Bay Raceway Park. Marlar in the Wells Racing, Rocket Chassis was able to hold off Birkhofer in the Hilton Head National, MB Customs entry for the runner-up spot.
Completing the top ten were Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC; Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA; Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; and Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL.
In preliminary action O'Neal was the Red Buck Cigars Fast Qualifier with a lap of 14.772 seconds, narrowly missing his current track record by a mere two-tenths of a second. There were 34 entrants on hand for the event. Heat race winners were O'Neal, Mike Marlar, Scott Bloomquist, and Brady Smith. The B-Mains were won by Scott James and Shane Clanton.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be back in action this upcoming Labor Day Weekend with two events. On Friday and Saturday, September 3rd and 4th the series heads to Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH for the Pepsi 75 River Days Rumble. On Friday Night there will be Red Buck Cigar Time Trials and Heat Races. Saturday will see the B-Mains along with the $20,000 to win main event. On Sunday, September 5th the LOLMDS will be at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, WV for the 42nd Annual Hillbilly Hundred paying $42,000 to win.
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, August 28th, 2010
"10th Annual Bluegrass Classic"
Bluegrass Speedway - Bardstown, KY
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Don O'Neal / 14.772 seconds (Overall and Group A)
Scott Bloomquist / 14.961 seconds (Group B)
Wiles Driveshaft's First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Don O'Neal, Jimmy Owens, Chris Wall, Tim Isenberg, Matt Miller, Dan Schlieper, Joey Daniel, Doodle Farris, Freddy Smith
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Mike Marlar, Brad neat, Brian Birkhofer, Dale McDowell, Scott James, Steve Casebolt, Tim Rivers, Jeff Watson
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Steve Francis, Eric Wells, Ray Cook, Aaron Hatton, Victor Lee, Dustin Neat, Brandon Kinzer, Chris Stilwell
Superflow Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Brady Smith, John Blankenship, Justin Rattliff, Tim Tungate, Shane Clanton, Tyler Reddick, Lee DeVasier, Earl Pearson Jr.
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Scott James, Matt Miller, Steve Casebolt, Dan Schlieper, Joey Daniel, Jeff Watson, Tim Rivers, Doodle Farris, Freddy Smith
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Shane Clanton, Dustin Neat, Brandon Kinzer, Victor Lee, Lee Devasier, Aaron Hatton, Chris Stilwell, Tyler Reddick, Earl Pearson Jr.-DNS
A-Main
1 1 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
2 3 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
3 11 15b Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA
4 2 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
5 4 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
6 14 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
7 7 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
8 15 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
9 5 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
10 23 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
11 19 7 Matt Miller Waterville, OH
12 9 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA
13 20 25n Dustin Neat Dunnville, KY
14 18 25c Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA
15 21 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
16 10 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
17 6 15 Steve Francis Grayson, KY
18 22 18k Brandon Kinzer Allen, KY
19 8 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
20 13 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI
21 25 F11 Jeff Watson Campbellsville, KY
22 16 18t Tim Tungate Campbellsville, KY
23 24 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI
24 12 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
25 26 5x Lee DeVasier Crestwood, KY
26 17 s44 Scott James Lawrenceburg, IN
Race Statistics
Entrants: 34
Lap Leaders: Don O'Neal (Laps 1-50)
Caution Flags: Scott James (Lap 10); Eric Wells (Lap 21); Tim Isenberg, Steve Francis (Lap 33); Dan Schlieper (Lap 37); Eric Wells (Lap 42)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Earl Pearson Jr., Dan Schlieper
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Bluegrass Speedway Track Provisionals: Jeff Watson, Lee DeVasier
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. (Started 23rd; Finished 10th; Advanced 13 positions)
Ohlin's Shocks Performer of the Race: Mike Marlar
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Brian Birkhofer
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Chris Wall
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Roush Yates Racing Engines
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Tim Isenberg
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tader Masters (Don O'Neal)
Time of Race: 41 minutes, 57 seconds
Point Standings
1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 6070
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 5895
3 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 5845
4 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 5485
5 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN 5455
6 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 5215
7 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 4720
8 s9 Dan Schlieper Sullivan, WI 4695
9 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA 4665
10 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 4635
11 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 4565
12 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 4390
13 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI 3900
14 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 3485
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