TAZEWELL, TN (June 3, 2011) – Jared Landers of Batesville, AR led all the way in winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned Toyota of Knoxville 75 on Friday Night at Tazewell Speedway. Landers earned $10,00 for his second career super late model victory in a hotly contested race. Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA finished a close second followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; and 23rd starting Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN.
“I don’t know what to say, except that the car was strong all night long, thanks to my crew they did a great job. Tommy Grecco is now my new crew chief, and to win here at Tazewell is just unbelievable,” said the 30-year-old Landers, who currently leads the Quarter Master Rookie of the Year chase for the series. There was a massive pileup on the first lap included Davenport, Ray Cook, Scott Bloomquist, Owens and Steve Casebolt resulted in a red flag. When the race resumed Landers grabbed the lead with Davenport in tow. Mike Marlar followed in the third, being chased by Francis and John Blankenship. The top five remained the same until a caution came out on lap 24. Owens, who had to restart on the tail because he went to the pits, was up to ninth in the running order. Landers maintained his lead as Davenport, Marlar and Francis all closed on him. Francis dove to the inside of Marlar in the race for third as the top three ran door-to-door Francis got caught behind Billy Ogle Jr. who was exiting the track, causing Francis to loose several spots. With 25 laps to go Landers was still out in front with Davenport and Marlar putting the heat on him. Owens had climbed inside the top five after getting around Tyler Reddick and was now hunting down the leaders. Marlar, saw his night go up in smoke as his engine let go six laps from the finish. Marlar slowed on the front stretch, bringing out the final caution of the race. This set-up a shootout to the finish between Landers, Davenport, and Owens.
Landers managed to withstand several challenges from Davenport and Owens, but beat the duo to the line for his first series win of the year in the Lance Landers-owned Rocket Chassis Chevrolet powered by an ECR Racing Engine. Crawford Supply, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Mark Martin Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer Racing sponsor his car. Bloomquist still holds the series points lead despite finishing three laps down with severe damage to his car. Owens is now just 15 points behind Bloomquist.
Rounding out the top ten were: Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA; John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA; Eric Wells of Hazard, KY; and Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY.
In preliminary events Jonathan Davenport was the Red Buck Cigar Fast Qualifier and also earned $300 from Martin Roofing. Heat race winners were Jared Landers, Steve Francis, Jimmy Owens, and Scott Bloomquist. The B-Mains were won by Tommy Kerr and Bub McCool.
The next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be on Saturday Night, June 4th at Florence Speedway in Union, KY for the 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial paying $10,000 to win. For more information visitwww.florencespeedway.com. For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com or call the series’ office at (951) 532-2503. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Friday Night, June 3rd, 2011 Toyota Knoxville 75 Tazewell Speedway – Tazewell, TN
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Jared Landers / 11.024 seconds (Group A) Jonathan Davenport / 10.983 seconds (Group B and Overall) Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jared Landers, John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Dale McDowell, Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks
Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Steve Francis, Eric Jacobsen, Vic Hill, Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Terry Wolfenbarger
Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Brad Neat, Tyler Reddick, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Victor Lee, Don O’Neal HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Mike Marlar, Ray Cook, Steve Casebolt, Bub McCool, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks, Terry Wolfenbarger Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Bub McCool, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Don O’Neal-DNS “Toyota of Knoxville 75” Feature Finish – 75 Laps: Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Don O’Neal, Tyler Reddick, John Blankenship, Dale McDowell, Eric Wells, Brad Neat, Eric Jacobsen, Chris Wall, Scott Bloomquist, Mike Marlar, Bub McCool, Vic Hill, Ray Cook, Tommy Kerr, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Earl Pearson, Jr., Billy Ogle, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Steve Casebolt “Toyota of Knoxville 75” Feature Finish – 75 Laps
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 1 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 2 | 6 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA |
| 3 | 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 4 | 3 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 5 | 23 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 6 | 14 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA |
| 7 | 5 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 8 | 13 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA |
| 9 | 9 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY |
| 10 | 10 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY |
| 11 | 7 | 5 | Eric Jacobsen | Watsonville, CA |
| 12 | 19 | 71w | Chris Wall | Springfield, LA |
| 13 | 4 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 14 | 8 | 36 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN |
| 15 | 18 | 57J | Bub McCool | Vicksburg, MS |
| 16 | 11 | 1v | Vic Hill | Mosheim, TN |
| 17 | 12 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC |
| 18 | 17 | 4T | Tommy Kerr | Maryville, TN |
| 19 | 20 | 5h | Bryan Hendrix | Knoxville, TN |
| 20 | 22 | 90J | Jason Trammell | Knoxville, TN |
| 21 | 15 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 22 | 21 | 201 | Billy Ogle | Knoxville, TN |
| 23 | 24 | 99jr | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL |
| 24 | 16 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN |
Race Statistics Entrants: 30 Lap Leaders: Jared Landers (Laps 1 – 75) Caution Flags: Scott Bloomquist, Bub McCool, Steve Casebolt, Ray Cook, Jonathan Davenport (Lap 1); Frank Heckenast Jr (Lap 3); Jason Trammell (Lap 24); Vic Hill (Lap 55); Mike Marlar (Lap 69) Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Don O’Neal, Frank Heckanast Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Don O’Neal (Started 23rd; Finished 5th; Advanced 18 positions) Allstar Performer of the Race: Tyler Reddick K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Jimmy Owens Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jared Landers COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: ECR Race Engines Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Chris Wall Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Frank Heckenast Jr. DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tommy Grecco (Jared Landers) Time of Race: 47 minutes 58 seconds Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 2095 |
| 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 2080 |
| 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 1900 |
| 4 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 1730 |
| 5 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 1700 |
| 6 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY | 1635 |
| 7 | 36 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | 1610 |
| 8 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 1600 |
| 9 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | 1595 |
| 10 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC | 1575 |
| 11 | 57J | Bub McCool | Vicksburg, MS | 1530 |
| 12 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | 1480 |
| 13 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 1465 |
| 14 | 71w | Chris Wall | Springfield, LA | 1440 |
| 15 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY | 1410 |
| 16 | 99jr | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL | 1280 |
| 16 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | 1280 |