9/4/2010
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Dale McDowell Takes $20,000 Victory in Pepsi 75 River Days Rumble at Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH, OH (September 4, 2010) – Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA claimed the $20,000 victory in the Pepsi 75 River Days Rumble on Saturday Night at Portsmouth Raceway Park. McDowell inherited the lead when Eric Wells shredded a right rear tire with seven laps to go. McDowell led the remaining laps in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event in front of a mammoth crowd. Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY finished second, followed by 18th starting Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, WV. Rounding out the top five were R.J. Conley of Wheelersburg, OH and Chris Wall of Springfield, LA.
“I want to thank the fans for coming out tonight, they saw a very entertaining race,” said the 44-year-old veteran driver. “It was a tough break for Wells and we were just in the right place at the right time. I have to thank Clint Bowyer, the crew and all of my sponsors on the car. A special thanks goes to Cheerios, Dollar General, Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Warrior Race Cars and Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines.”
Tyler Reddick, the 14-year-old sensation from Corning, CA, took the lead at the start of the race and led the first ten circuits. McDowell got around Reddick for the lead on lap eleven. McDowell then pulled away from the field as Josh McGuire, who started 17th, came through the pack to take over second on lap 19.
McGuire challenged McDowell for several laps in an exciting battle for the lead until McGuire got sideways in turn two on lap 36, ending up in the wall. With McGuire out of the race, Quarter Master Rookie of the Year candidate, Eric Wells, surged by Neat and closed quickly on the leader.
Wells caught and passed McDowell on lap 42 to take the lead. He broke away from McDowell, despite racing with a broken shock mount. Wells built a substantial lead over the pack by lap 60. As the duo of McDowell and Neat rebounded, they started to reel in the leader with ten laps to go. On lap 68, Wells’ right rear tire blew, ending the young rookie’s hopes for the richest payday of his career.
With McDowell out in front for the second time of the race, he managed to hold off Neat and Carrier for the win. It was McDowell’s second LOLMDS win in the last three events. The win also marked his fifth career series victory.
Completing the top ten were Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC; Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN; John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL; and Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN.
Series point’s leader, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN broke a left front spindle on lap three while running in fourth. His crew made repairs and Bloomquist returned on lap 36. He finished 17th in the final rundown.
The series will be back in action on Sunday, September 5th at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, WV with the 42nd Annual “Hillbilly Hundred”. The event is America’s oldest major late model event and pays $42,000 to win. For further details log onto www.wvspeedway.com.
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, August 28th, 2010
“Pepsi 75 River Days Rumble”
Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Josh McGuire / 14.782 seconds (Overall and Group A); Josh Bocook / 15.074 seconds (Group B)
Wiles Driveshaft’s First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Tyler Reddick, Billy Guillion, Kevin Wagner, Jimmy Owens, Delmas Conley, Justin Rattliff, Josh McGuire, Ben Adkins, Earl Pearson Jr., Chris Wilson
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Doug Drown, Chris Wall, Tim Isenberg, Mike Marlar, Dan Schlieper, Chris Brown, Shannon Thorsberry, Brandson Fouts, Jackie Boggs
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Dale McDowell, Josh Bocook, Eric Wells, RJ Conley, Mark Frazier, John Blankenship, Paul Davis, Kevin Layne, Albert Butcher, Steve Casebolt, Eddie Carrier Jr.
Superflow Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Don O’Neal, Bart Hartman, Brad Neat, Ray Cook, Audie Swartz, John Mason, Kenny Christy, James Watson, Adam Colley, Kenneth Howell
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Josh McGuire, Mike Marlar, Dan Schlieper, Delmas Conley, Chris Brown, Justin Rattliff, Chris Wilson, Earl Pearson Jr., Ben Adkins-DNS, Shannon Thornsberry-DNS, Brandon Fouts-DNS, Jackie Boggs-DNS
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Eddie Carrier Jr., John Blankenship, John Mason, Audie Swartz, Kenny Christy, Steve Casebolt, Adam Colley, Kevin Layne, Mark Frazier-DNS, Paul Davis-DNS, James Watson-DNS, Albert Butcher-DNS, Kenneth Howell-DNS
Feature Finish – 50 Laps: 1. 17M-Dale McDowell[2]; 2. 41N-Brad Neat[12]; 3. 28-Eddie Carrier Jr[18]; 4. 71C-RJ Conley[14]; 5. 71W-Chris Wall[11]; 6. 53-Ray Cook[16]; 7. 36-Mike Marlar[19]; 8. 23-John Blankenship[20]; 9. 44-Earl Pearson Jr[23]; 10. 20-Jimmy Owens[13]; 11. 9T-Tim Isenberg[15]; 12. C9-Steve Casebolt[24]; 13. S9-Dan Schlieper[21]; 14. B1-Josh Bocook[6]; 15. 18E-Eric Wells[10]; 16. 72-John Mason[22]; 17. 0-Scott Bloomquist[3]; 18. 33-Kevin Wagner[9]; 19. 41-Josh McGuire[17]; 20. 11T-Tyler Reddick[1]; 21. 12-Doug Drown[7]; 22. 71-Don O'Neal[4]; 23. C7-Kenny Christy[25]; 24. 11G-Billy Gullion[5]; 25. 75-Bart Hartman[8]
Race Statistics
Entrants: 41
Lap Leaders: Tyler Reddick (Laps 1-10); Dale McDowell (Laps 11-41); Eric Wells (Laps 42-68); Dale McDowell (Laps 69-75)
Caution Flags: Doug Drown (Lap 2); Scott Bloomquist (Lap 3); SAFETY (Lap 18); Tyler Reddick (Lap 35); Josh McGuire (Lap 36); Eric Wells (Lap 68)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Earl Pearson Jr., Steve Casebolt
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Portsmouth Raceway Park Track Provisionals: Kenny Christy
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Eddie Carrier Jr. (Started 18th; Finished 3rd; Advanced 15 positions)
Ohlin’s Shocks Performer of the Race: Chris Wall
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Brad Neat
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Chris Wall
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: ECR Racing Engines
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Eric Wells
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Mark Hopper (Brad Neat)
Time of Race: 43 minutes, 53 seconds
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields