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BIRKHOFER NETS FIRST CAREER SHOW-ME 100 VICTORY AT WEST
PLAINS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
WEST PLAINS, Mo. (May 23) - Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, IA lapped up to
the seventh place finishing car as he dominated the 17th Annual O'Reilly
Auto Parts Show-Me 100 Presented by DART Machinery. He pocketed $40,000 on
Saturday Night at West Plains Motor Speedway in the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series sanctioned event. Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI used a late race
caution to close behind Birkhofer in the waning laps, but Birkhofer was just
too strong as he and Mars' MB Custom Chassis scored a one-two finish.
Five-time Show-Me 100 winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN finished
third followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN and Don O'Neal of Martinsville,
IN who completed the top five.
Polesitter Jimmy Owens got a good start on fellow front row starter Scott
Bloomquist on the initial start of the race, but a multi-car pileup on the
opening lap brought out a red-flag as former race winner Terry Phillips left
the race on a hook ending his night. On the restart, Owens won the race
heading into turn number one with Bloomquist, Mars, Birkhofer, who started
fifth and Jeremy Payne.
Owens quickly opened up a three top four car length lead over Bloomquist in
the early going of the race as a battle for third was taking place between
Mars and Birkhofer. Those two drivers would race side-by-side for four
consecutive laps crossing the start-finish line dead even for position.
A caution came out for Brian Shirley with nine laps scored; Owens saw the
lead he had built up over Bloomquist now gone. On the restart, there was a
three-car pile-up in turn two which once again slowed the racing action.
Owens led the field to the restart as both Mars and Birkhofer got by
Bloomquist a lap into the restart.
Mars and Birkhofer dueled side-by- side as they closed on Owens who was
still out in front, but his lead turned precarious as both Mars and
Birkhofer were on the prowl. Birkhofer settled into second by lap 16 and
then four laps later he grabbed the lead away from Owens on the 19th
circuit.
Birkhofer then stretched out his lead over Owens as he started to pick-up
the tail end of the field by lap 25, Mars moved into second passing Owens.
Birkhofer was setting a torrid pace and with 30 laps down he held almost a
straightaway lead over Mars, Owens, Bloomquist and O'Neal. With no caution
flags to clear lapped traffic Birkhofer maneuvered his way around several
cars from lap30-40 putting multiple cars in between him and second place
running Mars.
As the race approached the half-way mark, Birkhofer had lapped up to the
ninth position car as he was totally running away with the race at this
point. Birkhofer had built a half-a-lap lead over Mars, who was having
trouble negotiating traffic as he could not gain any ground on Birkhofer as
"Birky" put two more of the top ten a lap down as there were only seven cars
now on the lead lap.
The final caution of the race on lap 71 for a slowing Jeremy Payne was the
break that Mars was looking for as with Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
rules all lapped cars would have to restart on the tail end of the field.
Birkhofer was left with a clear track, but it also allowed Mars, Bloomquist,
Owens, O'Neal, Ray Cook and Earl Pearson Jr. the only cars still on the lead
lap to restart behind him in single-file order.
With 29 laps to go after the restart Birkhofer set sail again as he exploded
out to a quick three car length lead over Mars and Bloomquist. Birkhofer,
with his blistering pace closed quickly on the back of the field one more
time with less than 20 laps remaining in the race.
With Birkhofer having to deal with cars directly in front of him, Mars took
the opportunity to close the gap on Birkhofer. Mars was able to chase down
Birkhofer with less than five laps to go, but passing Birkhofer would be
another story as Mars was unable to get close enough to Birkhofer to try a
last lap pass. Birkhofer crossed the finish line first to add another crown
jewel event win to his impressive resume'.
In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Birkhofer was overcome with emotion in
describing his win. He was starting for the seventh time in his career. "I
just can't believe it, I have been wanting to win this race for a long time,
the Gibsons' are a great family, they treat everybody so well and they have
a great race track here, we just haven't had the luck in the past here, but
this car was just a dream to drive," said the 37-year-old driver who earned
his ninth career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.
"Man it's so great to have Jimmy (Mars) run second, this MB Custom Chassis
we put about six laps on it in practice for the Diamond Nationals at
Wheatland and this is the first time we have raced it and I can't imagine
having a better race car than what we had tonight, the other car we've been
running was good, but we thought we would bring this one out for the Show-Me
and it turned out to be a very good decision," said Birkhofer.
"It feels great to win one of these crown jewel events like this, I want to
thank Jeff Roby, Jimmy and Chris Mars, Bill Schlieper of Pro Power Engines,
everyone at Lucas Oil for the series they have, it's an honor to come here
and win this race and having Lucas Oil sanction it for the first time,
thanks to them for helping the Gibson's promote this race," said the winner
who has now won $70,000 in first place prize in the last three weeks racing
in the State of Missouri has he earned $30,000 for winning the SuperClean
Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway back on May 9th.
Birkhofer's MB Custom Chassis Monte Carlo SS has a Pro Power Engine and is
sponsored by J&J Steel, S&S Concrete, Daufeldt Transport, Etchenberger
Trucking, Asi Racewear, 34Raceway.com, Integra Racing Shocks, Port City
Racing, Hoosier Tires, McDonald's of the Quad Cities, VP Racing Fuels,
McFarland Pain Clinic, Muscatine Tire and Wheel and Baileigh Industrial.
Mars crossed the line second in his Deppe Enterprises/Pro Power Engines/MB
Custom Malibu with Bloomquist coming third in his Miller Brothers Coal/Vic
Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS. Completing the top
five was Owens who led the first 18 laps in the Mike Reece/Reece Monuments/Bloomquist
Race Cars Ford Fusion and O'Neal in the Racing United Marketing/Jay Dickens
Racing Engines/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo SS.
Rounding out the top ten were Ray Cook, Earl Pearson Jr., Chris Madden,
Billy Moyer and Brandon Kinzer.
To find out more about 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, May 22, 2009
17th Annual O'Reilly Show-Me 100 Presented by DART Machinery at West Plains
Motor Speedway in West Plains, MO
Finish (Start) Car Number Driver Name
1. (5) #15B Brian Birkhofer
2. (4) #28M Jimmy Mars
3. (2) #0 Scott Bloomquist
4. (1) #20 Jimmy Owens
5. (9) #71 Don O'Neal
6. (13) #53 Ray Cook
7. (19) #44 Earl Pearson Jr.
8. (10) #44M Chris Madden
9. (12) #21 Billy Moyer
10. (6) #18K Brandon Kinzer
11. (11) #41N Brad Neat
12. (17) #s9 Dan Schlieper
13. (16) #55 Jeep VanWormer
14. (18) #83 Scott James
15. (20) #17M Dale McDowell
16. (21) #23 John Blankenship
17. (24) #5 Eric Jacobsen
18. (23) #41 Josh McGuire
19. (25) #54 David Breazeale
20. (3) #74 Jeremy Payne
21. (8) #88 Wendell Wallace
22. (22) #71W Chris Wall
23. (15 #3s Brian Shirley
24. (7) #c9 Steve Casebolt
25. (14) #75P Terry Phillips
PRC Fast Time: Jimmy Owens/15.575 seconds
Hawk Brake First Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Steve Casebolt,
Ray Cook, Earl Pearson Jr., John Blankenship, Josh McGuire, Bill Frye, Billy
Moyer Jr., Howard Willis, Jason Utter
Hawk Brake Second Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Jeremy Payne, Don O'Neal,
Brian Shirley, Jeff Floyd, James Ward, Justin Wells, Mark Douglas, Mitchell
Byars, Michael Walker, Raymond Merrill, Jared Landers
AFCO Racing Products Third Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Brian Birkhofer,
Brad Neat, Dan Schlieper, Jason Hughes, Jack Sullivan, Will Vaught, Matt
Miller, Skip Arp, Tony Knowles, Stacy Caldwell, Chuck Laney
Tiger Rear Ends Fourth Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Scott Bloomquist,
Wendell Wallace, Terry Phillips, Dale McDowell, Chris Wall, Mike Marlar,
Jason Cliburn, Michael Murphree, Kyle Beard, Ray Moore, Dewaine Hottinger
AFCO Racing Products Fifth Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Jimmy Mars, Chris
Madden, Jeep VanWormer, Dane Dacus, Brad Looney, Eric Jacobsen, David
Breazeale, Gary Stolba, Chad Wheeler, Wade Byers, Joey Baroni
AFCO Racing Products Sixth Heat (20 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Brandon Kinzer,
Billy Moyer, Scott James, Eric Turner, Shanon Buckingham, Freddy Smith, Tony
Jackson Jr., Chris Simpson, Jon Kirby, Brandon McCormick, Gregg Hill
Manufacturer's Dash for Cash (10 Laps): Don O'Neal, Ray Cook, Billy Moyer,
Michael Murphree, Wendell Wallace, Josh McGuire, Steve Casebolt, Dan
Schlieper, Jimmy Owens, Jeremy Payne, Dale McDowell
Mason Racin' Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main (20 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Earl
Pearson Jr., John Blankenship, Jack Sullivan, Jason Hughes, James Ward, Jeff
Floyd, Josh McGuire, Will Vaught, Justin Wells, Billy Moyer Jr., Tony
Knowles, Mark Douglas, Bill Frye, Mitchell Byars, Ron McQuerry, Michael
Walker, Jason Utter, Matt Miller-DNS, Skip Arp-DNS, Howard Willis-DNS,
Raymond Merrill-DNS, Stacy Caldwell-DNS, Jared Landers-DNS, Chuck Laney-DNS
Wiles Drive Shafts Second B-Main (20 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Dale McDowell,
Chris Wall, Shanon Buckingham, Eric Turner, Mike Marlar, Eric Jacobsen,
Freddy Smith, Jason Cliburn, Chad Wheeler, David Breazeale, Michael Murphree,
Gary Stolba, Chris Simpson, Ray Moore, Dewaine Hottinger, Jon Kirby, Tony
Jackson Jr., Wade Byars, Gregg Hill, Joey Baroni, Kyle Beard, Dane Dacus,
Brad Looney, Brandon McCormick
Race Statistics
Entries: 66
Caution Flags: Brian Shirley (Lap 9); Eric Jacobsen, Chris Wall, Biran
Shirley (Lap 10); Jeremy Payne (Lap 71)
Lap Leaders: Jimmy Owens (Start-18); Brian Birkhofer (19-21); Jimmy Mars
(22); Brian Birkhofer (23-100)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Josh McGuire, Eric Jacobsen
Emergency Provisional: David Breazeale
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. (Started 19 and
finished 7 - advanced 12 positions)
Allstar Performance Performer of the Race: Brian Birkhofer
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Brian Birkhofer
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jeep VanWormer
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Pro Power Racing Engines
Time of the Race: 51 minutes 35 seconds
2009 Championship Points Standings
1. #0 Scott Bloomquist - Mooresburg, TN 1695
2. #21Billy Moyer - Batesville, AR 1590
3. #17M Dale McDowell - Chickamauga, GA 1540
4. #44 Earl Pearson Jr. - Jacksonville, FL 1505
5. #20 Jimmy Owens - Newport, TN 1485
6. #53 Ray Cook - Brasstown, NC 1445
7. #83 Scott James - Lawrencburg, IN 1430
8. #71 Don O'Neal - Martinsville, IN 1360
9. #c9 Steve Casebolt - Richmond, IN 1340
10. #41 Josh McGuire - Grayson, KY 1290
11. #55 Jeep VanWormer - Pinconning, MI 1285
12. #5 Eric Jacobsen - Seacliffe Beach, CA 1240
13. #41N Brad Neat - Dunnville, KY 1225
14. #23 John Blankenship - Williamson, WV 1185
15. #s9 Dan Schlieper - Sullivan, WI 1165
16. #54 David Breazeale - Four Corners, MS 1080
17. #00 Freddy Smith - Seymour, TN 950
21. #64 Michael Walker - Franklin, TN 780
2009 Rookie of the Year Points Standings
1. #55 Jeep VanWormer - Pinconning, MI 1285
2. #23 John Blankenship - Williamson, WV 1185
3. #54 David Breazeale - Four Corners, MS 1080
4. #64 Michael Walker - Franklin, TN 780
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