11/9/2011
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Jimmy Owens Captures 2011 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship; Jared Landers Takes Quarter Master Rookie of the Year Honors
WAYCROSS, GA (November 9, 2011) – Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN has captured the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship. The Newport Nightmare claimed his first series championship with an 80-point margin over Scott Bloomquist, the two time defending series champion.
In one of the most competitive points battles ever in a national tour, Owens and Bloomquist traded the points leads during this season a total of seven times. Owens’ remarkable consistency during the year enabled him to clinch the title at the season finale “U.S. Steel Dirt Track World Championship” (OH). Owens set fast time at the event and finished second in the feature event while Bloomquist finished fourth.
Owens won eight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events during the season. His wins came at East Bay Raceway Park (FL), Lucas Oil Speedway (MO), Cleveland Speedway (TN), Fonda Speedway (NY), Florence Speedway (KY), Volunteer Speedway (TN), Knoxville Raceway (IA) and Rome Speedway (GA).
During the season, Owens recorded 32 top five finishes and 35 top ten finishes. Owens started the season with a string of 24 top five finishes in 25 starts. Owens completed every LOLMDS points race that was contested during the season with no DNF’s the entire season.
Scott Bloomquist led the series with 15 wins and finished second in the final Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship points standings. Don O’Neal (a two-time series runner-up) finished an impressive year in third. Steve Francis of Ashland, KY claimed fourth place in his first full year of competition in the series and Jared Landers of Batesville, AR finished in fifth place.
Completing the top ten in the series championship points standings are: the 4-time series champion, Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL (sixth), John Blankenship of Williamson, WV (seventh), Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY (eighth), Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC (ninth) and Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA finished tenth.
Along with finishing in fifth place, Jared Landers won the 2011 Quarter Master Rookie of the Year Award. Landers bested 15-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA to win the title in his first full-year of dirt late model racing. Landers won a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Tazewell Speedway (TN). He had a total of seven top five finishes and 15 top ten finishes, which allowed him to distance himself from Reddick as the season progressed.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will honor the series champion and the top ten in the series points standings at the series year-end awards banquet to be held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN on December 8th, in conjunction with the IMIS Trade Show.
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series you can visit www.lucasdirt.com or call the series office at (951) 532-2503.Follow the series on the social media outlets as well at http://www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and http://twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields