1/26/2023
Pearson begins 2023 Lucas Oil season at Golden Isles and Bubba
On Thursday, Earl Pearson Jr. and Papich Racing visited Golden Isles Speedway (Brunswick, Ga.) for the opening night of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
With 50 Late Model entries for the Super Bowl of Racing, EPJ locked down a win in the second B-Main, after just missing the A-Main transfer in his heat race. Earl started the $10,000-to-win opener from the 20th-position and recorded a 22nd-place finish at the end of the night.
The following night, Pearson Jr. picked up a heat race win after a fast lap in his qualifying group. With $12,000 on the line, Earl fell back to seventh early but rebounded to finish inside the Top-5 in fourth.
For Saturday's $25,000 finale, EPJ followed up a eight-fastest qualifying effort with a runner-up finish in his heat race. For the 60-lap feature, Earl ran as high as ninth before settling for an 11th-place finish.
Celebrating his 51st birthday at Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, Fla) on Sunday, Earl recorded a strong 4th-place qualifying lap in his group before winning the last heat race of the night. For the $10,000-to-win feature, Pearson was running in the second spot before an untimely flat caused him to come pitside. After the Papich Racing crew quickly changed the tire, Earl went back out and was scored 16th when the checkers flew.
Wrapping the first week of Speedweeks at Bubba, Pearson was the quickest qualifier in his group. Starting on the pole of his heat race, Earl slipped up on the start and faded to finish third. For Monday's $10,000 A-Main, EPJ started 10th and finished 10th in the 40-lap feature.
Earl Pearson Jr. currently sits ninth in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point standings.
Full results from the weekend are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Josh James Artwork
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