---

Johnny Scott shines, hangs on late to capture 16th annual CMH Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway

WHEATLAND, MO. (July 16, 2022) - Johnny Scott took command on lap two of the 16th annual CMH Diamond Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment and never gave up the lead - even as four-time race winner Jimmy Owens made a frantic late charge.

It was enough to make Scott plenty anxious, with Owens closing in and with lapped traffic to navigate on the final circuit around Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday night.

But Scott, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, held on to beat Owens by .678 seconds in a caution-free 50 laps that clicked past in just 14 minutes, 32 seconds.

Scott, a one-time nationally renowned Modified ace, earned $15,000 and a diamond ring for the biggest victory of his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Lucas Oil MLRA career.

"It's a heck of a night," Scott said in victory lane. "I've been trying so hard to win these Lucas Oil races. It just feels good to get one."

Brandon Sheppard rallied late to finish third with Mark Burgtorf fourth in his first appearance at Lucas Oil Speedway. Strickler slipped over the last two laps and finished fifth in the quickest Diamond Nationals in terms of elapsed time.

Scott earned an MLRA Spring Nationals feature win at Lucas Oil Speedway and the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson during Memorial Day Weekend, a preliminary to the Show-Me 100. The Diamond Nationals triumph marked his fifth Lucas Oil MLRA victory of the season and gave him back the series points lead.

It did get a little nerve-wracking near the end as Owens, who's also a four-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champ, made it interesting.

"My stick guy was telling me they were coming," Scott said of the final two laps. "I knew they were right there. It worked out for us, that's all I can say. I just have to thank all my crew. Without them none of this would be possible, and my sponsors.

"Everybody at Longhorn (chassis) and my brother (Stormy), without them none of this would be possible. They help me a ton on this car. I'm just glad we could put it all together."

Third-starting Owens, of Newport, Tennessee, got a great run at the start and had the lead after one lap, but it was Scott moving from fifth to first by lap two. He would lead Owens as the duo entered lapped traffic until Kyle Strickler slipped past Owens and into the runner-up spot on lap 22.

From there, Scott's lead peaked at 2.09 seconds by lap 35 as the leaders continued to work slower traffic. Scott had a difficult time for several laps getting past his brother, Stormy, along with Logan Martin and Tyler Erb and that allowed Strickler and Owens to gain ground.

Owens regained second by lap 45 and continued to cut into the margin, trying to work the high side as Scott maintained his line and said tried to stay consistent.

"We were just moving around," Owens said. "The bottom was so dominant the whole race. It's usually not like that. We were just trying to get around lapped cars. I just got up about three or four laps too late.

"I had the opportunity to win the race. I just slipped up off the bottom and let Johnny get by me. I knew he was going to be tough to beat. He's been good here the last several times he's been here. Hats off to those guys. They deserve a good win."

Sheppard called his third-place run solid with his car finding its best footing near the end.

"It (the track) slowed down there at the end and we were able to move out on the race track some. It was a solid night for us. Obviously we wanted to win, but the car was really good and we had a solid night. Hopefully we can carry some of this momentum into the next couple of weeks."

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader Tim McCreadie finished sixth.

Johnny Scott had the fast overall qualifying lap in time trials - which started about an hour later than planned due to a late-afternoon rain shower - at 14.762 seconds in Group A. Spencer Hughes had fast time in Group B at 15.059.

A total of 35 Late Models entered the Diamond Nationals, one more than in 2021. Hudson O'Neal, who won the first two legs of the weekend tour at I-70 Speedway and Tri-City Speedway, wound up 11th after starting 18th.

Johnson rolls to USRA Modified victory: Matt Johnson of Adrian captured his second Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified feature win of the Lucas Oil Speedway season in five attempts, leading all 20 laps. He finished 3.2 seconds in front of Dustin Hodges.

Johnson started on the pole and immediately grabbed command, running off to a four-second lead over Hodges nine laps into the event. But a caution wiped out that big margin and bunched the field for a restart.

Once again, Johnson exerted his dominance and drove off to win by nearly a straightaway margin as the final 11 laps went without a caution. Along with his two wins, Johnson has three other top-four finishes at the speedway this season.

Hodges edged Robbie Reed, track champ in 2019 and 2020, for second. Reigning points champ and 2022 championship leader Dillon McCowan wound up fourth and Nic Bidinger was fifth.

"This track is amazing right now," Johnson said. "I'm blessed to have my family with me tonight and I couldn't be happier.

"I was worired about my tires sealing over and I tried not to run too hard. But hats off to Scott Bailey Racing Engines and Tommy McCoy has this MB Customs on a rail."

USRA Stock Cars win to Willie: Dean Willie earned his second O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars feature win of the season, holding off William Garner by one car length.

Willie, of Warresnburg, started fifth and he took over the lead from Rodney Schweitzer coming off turn two on lap four. But Schweitzer used the inside groove to regain the top spot the next time around.

The order stayed that way until they flipped positions again on lap 13 as Willie edged by and William Garner was right behind the top two.

Garner advanced into second on lap 16 and pressured Willie the rest of the way, but could not get by. Willie prevailed by .341 seconds. It was Garner's second straight runner-up feature finish.

"We were just a little bit tight tonight," Willie said of the car, "but we figured out enough to make it happen. Somebody was there on me and got me plumb sideways on that last lap. That's racing. It made it fun. We were tight at the end and causing me to be higher on corner exit than I wanted to be."

Schweitzer finished third with Ed Griggs fourth and Robert White taking fifth.

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (July 16, 2022)
16th annual CMH Diamond Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series/Lucas Oil MLRA
A Feature - 1. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 4. 7B-Mark Burgtorf[9]; 5. 8-Kyle Strickler[1]; 6. 39-Tim McCreadie[11]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[13]; 8. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 9. 11-Spencer Hughes[2]; 10. 18D-Daulton Wilson[15]; 11. 71-Hudson O'Neal[18]; 12. 1S-Jeremy Shaw[6]; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[12]; 14. 1T-Tyler Erb[19]; 15. 25-Chad Simpson[17]; 16. 36-Logan Martin[8]; 17. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[22]; 18. 7-Ross Robinson[23]; 19. 2S-Stormy Scott[20]; 20. 10G-Garrett Smith[10]; 21. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[14]; 22. 10-Jacob Magee[26]; 23. 78S-Steve Stultz[25]; 24. 7H-Brett Hansen[24]; 25. 93-Mason Oberkramer[16]; 26. 15L-Payton Looney[21]
Fast Shafts B Main 1 - 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. 15L-Payton Looney[5]; 4. 50K-Kayden Clatt[8]; 5. 7H-Brett Hansen[7]; 6. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 7. 14M-Reid Millard[9]; 8. 22M-Steve McDowell[4]; 9. 65-Jon Binning[2]; 10. (DNS) 96-Dalton Imhoff
UNOH B Main 2 - 1. 71-Hudson O'Neal[1]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 3. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[2]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 5. 7W-Cole Wells[5]; 6. 10-Jacob Magee[7]; 7. 3-Brennon Willard[8]; 8. 49-Justin Wells[6]; 9. (DNS) 80-Rich Dawson
Penske Shocks Heat 1 - 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[4]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[1]; 3. 7B-Mark Burgtorf[3]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[2]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[7]; 7. 15L-Payton Looney[5]; 8. 7H-Brett Hansen[6]; 9. 14M-Reid Millard[9]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2 - 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 5. 65-Jon Binning[7]; 6. 22M-Steve McDowell[9]; 7. (DNF) 50K-Kayden Clatt[6]; 8. (DNF) 96-Dalton Imhoff[4]; 9. (DNF) 78S-Steve Stultz[8]
Simpson Race Products Heat 3 - 1. 11-Spencer Hughes[1]; 2. 1S-Jeremy Shaw[2]; 3. 10G-Garrett Smith[3]; 4. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 71-Hudson O'Neal[6]; 6. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 7. 7W-Cole Wells[7]; 8. 10-Jacob Magee[8]; 9. 80-Rich Dawson[9]
Ohlins Shocks Heat 4 - 1. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 2. 36-Logan Martin[1]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 4. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 5. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[4]; 6. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 7. 49-Justin Wells[6]; 8. 3-Brennon Willard[8]

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds
A Feature - 1. 1X-Matt Johnson[1]; 2. 22H-Dustin Hodges[3]; 3. 5-Robbie Reed[2]; 4. 8-Dillon McCowan[5]; 5. 3B-Nic Bidinger[4]; 6. 38C-Jason Pursley[8]; 7. 20JR-Todd Shute[21]; 8. 96-Cody Brill[12]; 9. 4R-Jared Russell[13]; 10. 89-Tate Cole[9]; 11. 55H-AJ Hoff[14]; 12. 88-Jimmy Dowell[10]; 13. 23-Lucas Dobbs[15]; 14. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[17]; 15. 24D-Jesse Dill[6]; 16. 73-Jay Arnold[20]; 17. 73B-Mickey Burrell[18]; 18. 11JR-Randal Schiffelbein Jr[7]; 19. (DNF) 28C-Thomas Creech[16]; 20. (DNS) 16S-Eric Turner; 21. (DNS) 21TW-Tracy Wolf
Heat 1 - 1. 1X-Matt Johnson[4]; 2. 3B-Nic Bidinger[3]; 3. 24D-Jesse Dill[2]; 4. 11JR-Randal Schiffelbein Jr[6]; 5. 88-Jimmy Dowell[1]; 6. 96-Cody Brill[8]; 7. 55H-AJ Hoff[9]; 8. 23-Lucas Dobbs[5]; 9. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[7]; 10. 73-Jay Arnold[10]
Heat 2 - 1. 22H-Dustin Hodges[1]; 2. 5-Robbie Reed[5]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[4]; 4. 38C-Jason Pursley[6]; 5. 16S-Eric Turner[3]; 6. 89-Tate Cole[9]; 7. 4R-Jared Russell[11]; 8. 28C-Thomas Creech[7]; 9. 73B-Mickey Burrell[8]; 10. 21TW-Tracy Wolf[2]; 11. 20JR-Todd Shute[10]

O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars
A Feature - 1. 68-Dean Wille[5]; 2. 7-William Garner[2]; 3. 74-Rodney Schweizer[1]; 4. 47-Ed Griggs[4]; 5. 5-Robert White[7]; 6. 41-Bryan White[8]; 7. 8M-James McMillin[11]; 8. 7D-Doug Keller[9]; 9. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[6]; 10. 3C-Chad Staus[14]; 11. 2-Zeb Keepper[12]; 12. 83-James Ellis[17]; 13. 12-Christopher Sawyer[10]; 14. 2C-Colton Bourland[16]; 15. 0F-Mason Beck[3]; 16. 111-Jason Newman[18]; 17. (DNF) 13-Lyle Dietrich[15]; 18. (DNF) 21P-Darren Phillips[13]; 19. (DNF) 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[20]; 20. (DNS) 5K-Steve Herrick
Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 1 - 1. 7-William Garner[1]; 2. 47-Ed Griggs[2]; 3. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[4]; 4. 5-Robert White[7]; 5. 41-Bryan White[9]; 6. 2-Zeb Keepper[6]; 7. 21P-Darren Phillips[3]; 8. 13-Lyle Dietrich[10]; 9. 83-James Ellis[5]; 10. 111-Jason Newman[8]
Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 2 - 1. 74-Rodney Schweizer[2]; 2. 0F-Mason Beck[4]; 3. 68-Dean Wille[5]; 4. 12-Christopher Sawyer[1]; 5. 7D-Doug Keller[9]; 6. 8M-James McMillin[8]; 7. 3C-Chad Staus[3]; 8. 2C-Colton Bourland[7]; 9. (DNF) 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[10]

Midweek Madness next: Coming up at Lucas Oil Speedway, some different types of cars than normal will be in action in a special Wednesday Night Midweek Madness program. Legend cars, Pure Stocks, Midwest Mods and USRA Tuners are scheduled for the week-night show. All four classes will run $300-to-win main events. Pits and spectator gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Weekly Racing resumes Saturday: The Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes next Saturday night with Ozarks Food Harvest Food Drive Night Presented by KY3. Fans bringing four non-perishable food items will be admitted free. The O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars will be featured in a special 25-lap, $750-to-win main event. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Off Road action ahead: Also next Saturday, UTV Short Course racers tackle the off road track. Race classes will include Pro N/A, Pro, Youth 1000, Youth 570, Youth 170 Mod, Youth 170 Stock, Sportsman, Women’s and Mini Stock Truck. Spectator gates open at 9 a.m. with practice at 10 and heat races at noon. Awards are scheduled for 5 p.m. Drivers can check out the rules & registration forms on the Driver Dashboard portion of the Lucas Oil Speedway website.

To purchase tickets for any event on Lucas Oil Speedway's schedule, or to inquire about camping information, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com.

CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
?
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984. The Lucas Oil Speedway EZ Texting number is (417) 804-4141.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.

2022 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Arizona Sport Shirts
"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Dixie Chopper
"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"

General Tire
"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Products
"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

MAVTV
"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Optima Batteries
"The Official Battery" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper
"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

RacingJunk.com
"The Official Classifieds" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios
"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels
"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Super Clean
"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2022 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Arizona Sport Shirts, Ash Grove Aggregates, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Branstetter & Lightfoot LLC, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Camden on the Lake Resort, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Comfort Inn-Bolivar,DirtonDirt.com, Dixie Chopper, eBay Motors, Eibach Springs, Evans Pipe & Steel Co., Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Frog Signs, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Highway 54 RV Park, Hobbytime Motorsports, Hoosier Race Tires, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, Kettle Treats, Keyser Manufacturing, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, Margaritaville Lake Resort, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Department of Tourism, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, RacingJunk.com, Rains Ice Company, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Stillwater Resort, Sunoco Race Fuels, Sunflower Resort, TA/PETRO, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets, Wrisco Industries.

---

Back to News