10/17/2017
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil National Championship Decided this Weekend!
BATAVIA, OH (October 17, 2017) - Three of the nation’s top dirt late model drivers are locked into an unprecedented three-man battle for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship. The tightest points chase in series history will be decided this weekend at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Tim McCreadie of Watertown, NY enters the weekend leading the Lucas Oil championship standings by 40-points over Josh Richards of Shinnston, WV and 75-points ahead of Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN.
The continued consistency of Tim McCreadie lifted him into the championship points lead for the first time after his third-place finish at Rome (GA) Speedway on October 1st. “It feels great to be the point leader going into the season finale, we just need to close it out strong,” said McCreadie. “This team has worked so hard all year and it has come to crunch time. This is what we have all worked so hard for, a championship.”
Josh Richards had held the championship points lead from early July through the October 1st event at Rome Speedway. The 29-year-old is looking forward to the $100,000-to-win DTWC at Portsmouth, where he won a 50-lap main event earlier this year.
“I can’t believe we’re really in this position at the end of the year because we had some bad runs where I was just trying to figure things out,” commented Richards. After running [Portsmouth] the last couple times, I feel good there. But that’s one of Scott’s best tracks and McCreadie was good there this year, too, so it’s just a crapshoot. With the format in the heat races, that’s going to throw a monkey wrench in it. But we just have to go race. That’s what got us here to begin with.”
Bloomquist saw his hopes for a second consecutive and fourth overall series title take a major hit at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, after contact with the outside wall on lap 13 ultimately resulted in him finishing 24-laps down in 18th place, dropping him to third in the championship standings. “It’s going to be a tough road after Portsmouth, but it has been a great season and we’re going to keep digging,” Bloomquist commented.
The 37th Annual Rhino Ag Dirt Track World Championship - Presented by Optima Batteries will get underway on Thursday night, October 19th with preliminary events for the Modified division. On Friday night, October 20th the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will take to the track for Hot Laps and two rounds of qualifying Heat Races. Saturday night’s program will include: Late Model B-Mains, the $4,000-to-win Modified feature, the $3,000-to-win DirtonDirt.com Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifier race, and the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win Dirt Track World Championship main event.
“The intensity of our season finale is greater than ever,” said Rick Schwallie, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Director. “Fans are sure to be on the edge of their seat all weekend in anticipation of who will come out on top. We are looking forward to a thrilling finish to what has been a great year for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2017.”
For additional information, visit: www.thedtwc.com or www.lucasdirt.com.
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields