UNION, KY (June 4, 2011) – Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN outran Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN to win the 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial on Saturday Night at Florence Speedway. O’Neal earned his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season as he held off Owens to take the $10,000 victory. Scott James of Lawrenceburg, IN finished third followed by Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY and Earl Pearson, Jr. of Jacksonville, FL.
“We’ve been close several times this year, but it sure feels good to get one here at Florence. This is one of my favorite tracks, the track was in great shape tonight, you could run anywhere on it. I knew Jimmy was going to give me a run for it, we raced each other clean, I know I shut the door on him a few times, but after last week when he passed me late in the race with traffic, I wasn’t going to let this one slip away,” said O’Neal.
Scott Bloomquist led the first four laps until O’Neal took over the point. O’Neal then battled with polesitter Scott James for several laps before putting some distance between the two. The red flag came out on lap 17 when both Greg Johnson and Steve Casebolt flipped in turn one. Johnson’s car was destroyed and Casebolt, who did a complete flip, was remarkably able to restart on the tail after pitting.
When the race resumed O’Neal still held the point followed by James, Bub McCool, Bloomquist and Owens, who was up to fifth after starting in 11th. Owens the overhauled Bloomquist for fourth on lap 21 and three laps later he had passed both McCool and James to take over second.
Owens began to track down O’Neal as the two went nose-to-tail with 20 laps remaining. Owens pulled even off of turn number two on several occasion, but each time O’Neal slammed the door. With 19 laps to go, a major accident took place after a restart when several cars piled up in turns one and two. The cars of Bloomquist and Dale McDowell, who were running fourth and fifth at the time, were among those eliminated in the melee.
On the restart O’Neal again maintained his lead over Owens and with five laps to go Owens was right on the left rear quarter panel of O’Neal. The final caution came out for a flat tire on Tyler Reddick’s car. That set up a four-lap dash with O’Neal beating Owens to the finish line to become the ninth different series winner of 2011.
O’Neal’s MasterSbilt Race Car entry is sponsored by Magnaflow Exhaust, Superior Cleaning, Jones Core, VP Racing Fuels, Second Chance Livestock Dispatch, and Brownstown Speedway. The car is powered by a Jay Dickens Racing Engines.
Completing the top ten were: Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; Jared Landers of Batesville, AR; Jerry Rice of Verona, KY; Jason Montgomery of Jackson, OH; and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN.
In preliminary action Scott James was the Red Buck Cigars Fast Qualifier among the 45 entrants. Heat race winners were Scott James, Don O’Neal, Scott Bloomquist and Darrell Lanigan. The B-Mains went to Jason Montgomery and Eddie Carrier Jr.
Up next for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be a trip to Cherokee Speedway and Wythe Raceway on June 17th and 18th. Both events will pay $10,000 to win.
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 Saturday Night, June 4th, 2011 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial Florence Speedway – Union, KY Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Scott James / 17.039 seconds (Group A and Overall) Ray Cook / 17.251 seconds (Group B) Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott James, Dustin Neat, Jerry Rice, Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship, Greg Johnson, Josh Williams, Dan Schlieper, Robby Hensley, David Spille, Wayne Chinn, Jim Price-DNS Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Don O’Neal, Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Jason Montgomery, Earl Pearson Jr., Jared landers, John Gill, Rick Combs, Jeff Alsip, James Rice Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Ray Cook, Kent Robinson, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Jesse Lay, Corey McKenzie, Terry lanigan, Jason Jameson, Eric Wells, Bobby Pierce HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Darrell Lanigan, Bub McCool, Chris Wall, Frank Heckenast Jr., Eddie Carrier Jr., Matt Miller, Mike Marlar, Joe Janowski, Tyler Reddick, Steve Landrum, Tim Prince JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Jason Montgomery, Greg Johnson, Earl Pearson Jr., Josh Williams, Dan Schlieper, John Gill, Robby Hensley, Rick Combs, Jeff Alsip, James Rice, Jared landers, Wayne Chinn, David Spille, Jim Price-DNS Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Eddie Carrier, Jr., Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Matt Miller, Jesse Lay, Eric Wells, Joe Janowski, Tyler Reddick, Tim Prince, Corey McKenzie, Terry Lanigan, Jason Jameson, Steve Landrum, Bobby Pierce-DNS
“25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial” Feature Finish – 50 Laps: Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Scott James, Darrell Lanigan, Earl Pearson, Jr., Steve Francis, Jared Landers, Jerry Rice, Jason Montgomery, Steve Casebolt, Eric Wells, Bub McCool, Chris Wall, Tyler Reddick, Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Brad Neat, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Frank Heckenast, Jr., John Blankenship, Robby Hensley, Ray Cook, Dustin Neat, Kent Robinson, Greg Johnson, Josh McGuire
“25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial” Feature Finish – 50 Laps
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 2 | 11 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 3 | 1 | 81 | Scott James | Lawrenceburg, IN |
| 4 | 4 | 29 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY |
| 5 | 24 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 6 | 15 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 7 | 23 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 8 | 9 | 1b | Jerry Rice | Verona, KY |
| 9 | 17 | 21 | Jason Montgomery | Jackson, OH |
| 10 | 13 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN |
| 11 | 25 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY |
| 12 | 8 | 57J | Bub McCool | Vicksburg, MS |
| 13 | 12 | 71w | Chris Wall | Springfield, LA |
| 14 | 26 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA |
| 15 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 16 | 7 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA |
| 17 | 20 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY |
| 18 | 18 | 28 | Eddie Carrier, Jr. | Salt Rock, WV |
| 19 | 16 | 99jr | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL |
| 20 | 21 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 21 | 27 | 21h | Robby Hensley | Walton, KY |
| 22 | 6 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC |
| 23 | 5 | 25n | Dustin Neat | Dunnville, KY |
| 24 | 10 | 7R | Kent Robinson | Bloomington, IN |
| 25 | 19 | 30 | Greg Johnson | Bedford, IN |
| 26 | 14 | 41 | Josh McGuire | Grayson, KY |
| 27 | 22 | 36 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 45 Lap Leaders: Scott James (Lap 1), Scott Bloomquist (Laps 2-4), Don O’Neal (Laps 5-50) Caution Flags: Darrell Lanigan, Ray Cook, Chris Wall, Brad Neat (Lap 1), Jason Montgomery, John Blankenship (Lap 2), Dustin Neat (Lap 14), Steve Casebolt, Greg Johnson (Lap 17), Kent Robinson (Lap 22), Jerry Rice (Lap 36), Jared Landers (Lap 36 Restart), Chris Wall, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Bub McCool, Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship, Jerry Rice, Ray Cook (Lap 36 Restart), Debris (Lap 37), Tyler Reddick (Lap 46) Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jared Landers, Earl Pearson, Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: Eric Wells, Tyler Reddick Florence Speedway Track Provisional: Robby Hensley PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson, Jr. (Started 24th; Finished 5th; Advanced 19 positions) Allstar Performer of the Race: Jimmy Owens K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Don O’Neal Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jared Landers COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens Racing Engines Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Mike Marlar DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tader Masters (Don O’Neal) Time of Race: 60 minutes 7 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 2310 |
| 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 2250 |
| 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 2150 |
| 4 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 1930 |
| 5 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 1895 |
| 6 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 1805 |
| 7 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY | 1780 |
| 8 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | 1745 |
| 9 | 36 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | 1735 |
| 10 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC | 1710 |
| 11 | 57J | Bub McCool | Vicksburg, MS | 1700 |
| 12 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | 1640 |
| 13 | 71w | Chris Wall | Springfield, LA | 1605 |
| 14 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 1595 |
| 15 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY | 1585 |
| 16 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | 1460 |
| 17 | 99jr | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL | 1415 |