UNION, KY (August 14, 2010) – 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.
“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 14thplace 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.
The stars of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be back in action next weekend for the 18th Annual COMP Cams “Topless 100” at Batesville Motor Speedway in Batesville, AR. Events at the speedway will kick off on Thursday Night, August 19th with an open practice session in the evening. Friday Night, August 20th, there will be Red Buck Cigars Time Trials and Heat Races. The weekend will be capped off on Saturday, August 21st with B-Mains and the $40,000 to win 18th Annual COMP Cams “Topless 100”.
For more information on Batesville Motor Speedway and the 18th Annual COMP Cams “Topless 100”, log onto www.batesvillemotorspeedway.net.
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, July 31st, 2010 The 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
Feature Finish – 100 Laps
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 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 |
Race Statistics Entrants: 71 Lap Leaders: Eddie Carrier Jr. (Laps 1-18); Don O’Neal (Laps 19-77), Jimmy Owens (Laps 77-87); Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 88-98); Jimmy Owens (Laps 99-100) Caution Flags: Bart Hartman (Lap 21); Tim Isenberg (Lap 23); Wendell Wallace (Lap 63) Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: Tim Isenberg Florence Speedway Track Provisional: Josh Williams PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. (Started 14th; Finished 2nd; Advanced 12 positions) Ohlin’s Shocks Performer of the Race: Don O’Neal K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Jimmy Owens Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Eric Wells Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Steve Casebolt DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Chris Fox (Jimmy Owens) Time of Race: 51 minutes, 45 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 5340 |
| 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 5110 |
| 3 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 5085 |
| 4 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC | 4785 |
| 5 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 4690 |
| 6 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | 4425 |
| 7 | 71w | Chris Wall | Springfield, LA | 4065 |
| 8 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | 4060 |
| 9 | s9 | Dan Schlieper | Sullivan, WI | 4055 |
| 10 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 4000 |
| 11 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY | 3935 |
| 12 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY | 3810 |
| 13 | 9t | Tim Isenberg | Marshfield, WI | 3330 |
| 14 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | 3020 |