MARYVILLE, TN (July 9, 2016) – Dale McDowell debuted a new Sweet-Bloomquist Chassis on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway, and put it in victory lane by winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Mountain Moonshine Classic.
McDowell’s seventh career LOLMDS win came before a record-setting crowd at the famed 4/10-mile, speed-plant. He led a Sweet-Bloomquist Chassis sweep of the top three finishers. Jared Landers came from sixth to finish second, followed by LOLMDS point-leader Scott Bloomquist in third. Tim McCreadie and Steve Francis completed the top five.
McDowell started on the pole and quickly bolted to the lead at the start of the main event. He was already into lapped traffic by the tenth circuit.
“First off, I need to thank my brother Shane, and Scott [Bloomquist], we have been talking about this since Knoxville last year over a beer,” said the 50-year-old driver, who picked up his first LOLMDS win of the season, ending Bloomquist’s three-race win streak.
“I have been looking forward to working with Scott. We were both on slightly different set-ups tonight. Our driving styles are a lot alike. Coming to this track and not knowing what to change on this new car; I didn’t change anything. I hope he can learn from that, and I hope that I can learn as well. A big thanks to all of the fans, our sponsors, and to Lucas Oil for putting on this show.”
“Since we are working with Scott and Jared [Landers], and they are already familiar with these cars, we will put our heads together and go from here. I am sure that I am going to be on the other end at times, but if you can get a top five with this bunch, that’s a great night! Scott has worked his tail off to build what he has,” said the driver of the Bad Boy Off-Road, Klotz, Cometic Gasket, University of Northwestern Ohio, Clements-powered entry.
Bloomquist held the second spot behind McDowell for most of the race. He stayed there until a lap 50 restart when Landers passed him for second. Landers then tried to track down McDowell, but McDowell opened his lead up as he headed to the checkers.
Landers dedicated his second place finish to his crew chief Jason Durham who has been battling kidney stones all weekend. “We had a good car. Dale was tough tonight. This track is extremely fast and wide-open. I want to thank Crop Production Services, Mark Martin Automotive. Bad Boy Mowers, Big Dog Motorsports and ASC Warranty.”
Bloomquist maintains the series points lead with his finish tonight and was pleased with the efforts of his Sweet-Bloomquist counterparts. “It feels good to see our cars run so well. Dale is a very experienced driver, and with him and his brother, I thought it was good choice to get him in one of our cars. I wish we could have won tonight, but great job to Dale and Jared.”
Completing the top ten were Brandon Sheppard, Earl Pearson Jr., Derek Ellis, Donald McIntosh and Darrell Lanigan.
In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group B) amongst the 30 entrants, with a lap of 15.679 seconds. Casey Roberts set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 15.874 seconds. Dale McDowell, Don O’Neal, Scott Bloomquist, and Jimmy Owens won their respective heat races. Derek Ellis and Skip Arp won their respective B-Mains.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, July 9th, 2016
Lucas Oil Mountain Moonshine Classic
Smoky Mountain Speedway – Maryville, TN
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Casey Roberts / 15.874 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Scott Bloomquist / 15.679 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Dale McDowell, Casey Roberts, Brandon Sheppard, Dennis Erb, Jr., Derek Ellis, Robby Moses, Tommy Kerr, Colton Flinner
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar, Darrell Lanigan, Craig Vosbergen, Ryan King, Chad Ogle
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson, Jr., Skip Arp., Donald McIntosh, Mark Vineyard, Shanon Buckingham-DNS
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Chris Madden, Steve Francis, Billy Ogle Jr., Skylar Marlar, Kayne Hickman, Bobby Giffin
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Derek Ellis, Craig Vosbergen, Chad Ogle, Robby Moses, Colton Flinner, Ryan King, Tommy Kerr
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Skip Arp, Donald McIntosh, Skylar Marlar, Mark Vineyard, Kayne Hickman, Bobby Giffin, Shanon Buckingham-DNS
Feature Finish (60 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 1 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | $12,000 |
| 2 | 6 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | $6,200 |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $4,500 |
| 4 | 7 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $3,450 |
| 5 | 12 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $2,950 |
| 6 | 9 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $2,500 |
| 7 | 14 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,500 |
| 8 | 17 | 99 | Derek Ellis | Chatsworth, GA | $1,300 |
| 9 | 20 | 7 | Donald McIntosh | Dawsonville, GA | $1,200 |
| 10 | 15 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,800 |
| 11 | 16 | 201 | Billy Ogle Jr. | Knoxville, TN | $1,075 |
| 12 | 23 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | $1,150 |
| 13 | 19 | 8 | Craig Vosbergen | Perth, W. Australia | $1,025 |
| 14 | 3 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,800 |
| 15 | 13 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,700 |
| 16 | 11 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $1,000 |
| 17 | 10 | 6 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | $2,000 |
| 18 | 5 | 101 | Casey Roberts | Toccoa, GA | $1,000 |
| 19 | 8 | 44 | Chris Madden | Gaffney, SC | $1,000 |
| 20 | 4 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,800 |
| 21 | 22 | 11M | Skylar Marlar | Winfield, TN | $1,000 |
| 22 | 24 | H3 | Kayne Hickman | Soddy Daisy, TN | $1,000 |
| 23 | 18 | 128 | Skip Arp | Georgetown, TN | $1,000 |
| 24 | 21 | 10 | Chad Ogle | Sevierville, TN | $1,000 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 30
Lap Leaders: Dale McDowell (Laps 1 – 60)
Cautions: Darrell Lanigan (Lap 30); Chris Madden (Lap 49); Jonathan Davenport, Casey Roberts (Lap 50); Dennis Erb Jr. (Lap 52)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Colton Flinner
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Miller Welders Fast Time Provisional: Kayne Hickman
Wrisco Feature Winner: Dale McDowell
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Donald McIntosh (Started: 20th; Finished: 9th; Advanced 11 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Scott Bloomquist
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Brandon Sheppard
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jared Landers
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Colton Flinner
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Shane McDowell (Dale McDowell)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Dale McDowell (Lap #3 – 16.6763 seconds)
Most Laps Led: Dale McDowell
PFC Brakes Tough Break Award: Jimmy Owens
Time of Race: 34 minutes 35 seconds