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Scott Bloomquist Leads Team Zero Sweep on Saturday Afternoon
at East Bay DART Winternationals
by: James Essex, Public Relations Coordinator
TAMPA, FL (February 6, 2010) - Leading all 50 laps, Scott Bloomquist of
Mooresburg, TN held off Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN by two car lengths to win
Saturday afternoon's Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at East Bay
Raceway Park. The $10,000 to win race was washed out on Friday and
rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader of action during the 34th
Annual DART Winternationals. Trailing Bloomquist and Owens to the finish was
Eric Jacobsen of Seacliffe Beach, CA; Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR; and
Rick Eckert of York, PA.
Bloomquist and Owens started on the front row of the 26 car starting field.
Bloomquist quickly opened up a three-car length advantage over Owens,
current DART Winternationals point's leader Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb,
and Eric Jacobsen. Jacobsen then dueled side-by-side with Babb for two laps
before finally clearing the veteran racer to take over the fourth position.
Just as Bloomquist was picking up the tail end of the field on the track.
The first caution came out for Jimmy Mars, who came to a halt in the middle
of backstretch. Mars was pushed off the track, becoming the first car out of
the event.
On the restart, Bloomquist held the point as the race went green for a lap
until the next caution came out for Tyler Reddick. The third restart still
had Bloomquist in front, just ahead of Owens, Erb, Jacobsen and Babb.
The top five remained the same until Jacobsen was able to make a pass on Erb
for third on lap 21. Owens was able to chase down Bloomquist as the race for
the lead was getting interesting. He pulled even with Bloomquist on a couple
of occasions after lap 23. All that seemed to accomplish was wake Bloomquist
up as he started to open up some distance between himself and Owens.
On lap 29, the third and final caution flew for Michael Walker who stopped
in turn one. The final restart had the field line up single file behind
Bloomquist who had led every lap until this point of the race. The trio of
Bloomquist, Owens and Jacobsen continued to show their superiority pulling
away from the rest of the running order with 20 laps to go.
The distance between the top three was basically even with four-to-five car
lengths separating the trio of Bloomquist, Owens and Jacobsen. Behind those
three was an excellent battle between several drivers as Erb, Babb, Billy
Moyer and Earl Pearson, Jr. were jockeying for a spot in the top five.
With ten laps to go, things were looking good for Bloomquist as he was
comfortably out in front of Owens and Jacobsen. With 44 laps down Moyer
charged to fourth in front of Erb, but he was running out of time to catch
the cars in front of him. With five laps remaining, Owens started to pick up
the pace closing the gap on Bloomquist as the fans were anticipating another
close finish like the Wednesday and Thursday Night had provided as Owens
closed to within four lengths of Bloomquist with two to go.
Owens then reduced the lead to two lengths on the white flag lap as another
last lap charge looked imminent, but Bloomquist got into and out of turn
four with no problems. He held off Owens by two lengths to record his second
victory of the week and his fourth ever at the one-third mile oval.
In the Lucas Oil Victory Lane for 19th time in his Hall of Fame career, the
2009 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Bloomquist commented
that the track was a lot racier than he thought it would be, "for a daytime
race it was good, we knew tire selection was going to be critical. I was
just hoping we had made the right choice, Jimmy, I figured was right there
and I guess Eric ended up third, so that makes us feel good, to win here
twice in one week is something we've never done before an it's a great way
to get the season started," said the 46-year-old driver who has seven
national touring titles to his credit.
"I have to thank Bob and Barb Miller for all their support through the years
and my crew did a great job preparing this car we've come awfully close to
winning a third time this week so we'll give it a shot tonight and try to
end the week on a solid note," said Bloomquist, who drives his own
Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and
sponsored by Miller Brothers Construction, Hawkeye Trucking, Sweet Mfg,
Ohlins, VP Racing Fuels, Arizona Sport Shirts, Lane Automotive and Hoosier
Racing Tires.
Owens, in the Reece Monument Company/Cornett Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race
Cars Ford Fusion finished second followed by Jacobsen in his VP Racing
Fuels/Bell Helmets/Bloomquist Race Cars Monte Carlo SS. Completing the top
five in the finishing order were 13th starting Billy Moyer in the Henderson
Motorsports/Cornett Racing Engines/Moyer Victory Circle M1 Ford Mustang GT
and Eckert in the J&K Salvage/Jay Dickens Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race
Cars Corvette to give Bloomquist built-cars four of the top five spots.
Completing the top ten were Dennis Erb, Jr. of Carpentersville, IL. Shannon
Babb of Moweaqua, IL, Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL, Brady Smith of
Solon Springs, WI and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, NY.
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 Day, February 6th, 2010
"34th Annual DART Winternationals"
East Bay Raceway Park - Tampa, FL
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time: Steve Francis / 14.403 seconds
Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist,
Dennis Erb, Jr., Steve Francis, Billy Moyer, Jimmy Mars, Ray Cook, Travis
Varnadore, Jason McBride, Tim Isenberg, Jordan Bland, Leon Henderson, Danny
Mitchell, Brandon Thirlby
AFCO Racing Products Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Shannon Babb, Rick
Eckert, Jason Feger, Justin Rattliff, Tim fuller, Tyler Reddick, Russ King,
Dillan White, Brad Neat, Mark Andersen, James O'Hara, Chad Hollenbeck
Allstar Performance Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Eric
Jacobsen, Don O'Neal, Earl Pearson Jr., Brady Smith, Mike Marlar, Daniel
Stone, Dale McDowell, Steve Casebolt, Lee Thomason, Tim Dohm, DNS Mike
Collins
Wrisco Aluminum Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): Dan Schlieper, Austin
Hubbard, Tim McCreadie, Chris Wall, John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Matt
Miller, Tommy Kerr, Kyle Berck, Bub McCool, Shan Smith, Michael Walker
Hawk Brake First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers): Tim Fuller, Jimmy Mars,
Tyler Reddick, Ray Cook, Tim Isenberg, Dillan White, Russ King, Jordan
Bland, Danny Mitchell, Brad Neat, Travis Varnadore, Leon Henderson, Mark
Andersen, James O'Hara, DNS Jason McBride, Chad Hollenbeck, Brandon Thirlby
Performance Rod and Custom (PRC) Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Transfers):
John Blankenship, Brady Smith, Mike Marlar, Daniel Stone, Eric Wells, Matt
Miller, Tim Dohm, Bub McCool, Steve Casebolt, Tommy Kerr, Michael Walker,
Lee Thomason, Shan Smith, Kyle Berck, DNS Dale McDowell, Ricky Weiss, Mike
Collins
PRC Strawberry Dash (NO DASH- Random Draw): Michael Walker
34th Annual DART Winternationals Saturday (Day) Feature Finish (50 Laps):
Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Eric Jacobsen, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckert,
Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb, Earl Pearson Jr., Brady Smith, Tim McCreadie,
Chris Wall, Dan Schlieper, Steve Francis, Don O'Neal, John Blankenship, Ray
Cook, Justin Rattliff, Austin Hubbard, Jason Feger, Dillan White, Dale
McDowell, Michael Walker, Mike Marlar, Tyler Reddick, Tim Fuller, Jimmy Mars
Finish (Start) Car Number Driver Name - Hometown
1. (1) 0 Scott Bloomquist - Mooresburg, TN
2. (2) 20 Jimmy Owens - Newport, TN
3. (6) 5 Eric Jacobsen - Seacliffe Beach, CA
4. (13) 21 Billy Moyer - Batesville, AR
5. (7) 24 Rick Eckert - York, PA
6. (5) 28e Dennis Erb Jr. - Carpentersville, IL
7. (3) 18 Shannon Babb - Moweaqua, IL
8. (14) 44 Earl Pearson Jr. - Jacksonville, FL
9. (20) 2 Brady Smith - Solon Springs, WI
10. (12) 39 Tim McCreadie - Watertown, NY
11. (16) 71w Chris Wall - Holden, LA
12. (4) s9 Dan Schlieper - Sullivan, WI
13. (9) 15 Steve Francis - Ashland, KY
14 (10) 71 Don O'Neal - Martinsville, IN
15. (18) 23 John Blankenship - Williamson, WV
16. (24) 53 Ray Cook - Brasstown, NC
17. (15) 16 Justin Rattliff - Campbellsville, KY
18. (8) 11 Austin Hubbard - Laurel, DE
19. (11) 25f Jason Feger - Bloomington, IL
20. (25) 54w Dillan White - Crofton, KY
21. (23) 71m Dale McDowell - Chickamauga - GA
22. (26) 64 Michael Walker, Franklin, TN
23. (22) 34 Mike Marlar - Winfield, TN
24. (21) 11t Tyler Reddick - Corning, CA
25. (17) 19t Tim Fuller - Watertown, NY
26. (19) 25 Jimmy Mars - Menomonie, WI
Race Statistics
Entrants: 50
Lap Leaders: 1-50 Scott Bloomquist
Caution Flags: (Lap 9) Jimmy Mars; (Lap 10) Tyler Reddick; (Lap 29) Michael
Walker
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Dale McDowell, Ray Cook
DART Fast Pass Provisional: Dillan White
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Brady Smith (Started 20th; Finished
9th; Advanced 11 positions)
Ohlins Shocks Performer of the Race: Eric Jacobsen
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Billy Moyer
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: None
Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Vic Hill Racing Engines
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Brandon Thirlby
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tommy Hicks (Scott Bloomquist)
Time of Race: 25 minutes, 22 seconds
34th Annual DART Winternationals Championship Points:
1. 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. 995
2. 71 Don O'Neal 905
3. 7 Matt Miller 900
4. 18 Shannon Babb 885
5. 21 Billy Moyer 880
6. 53 Ray Cook 860
7. 5 Eric Jacobsen 855
8. 39 Tim McCreadie 805
9. 71w Chris Wall 800
10. 0 Scott Bloomquist 790
2010 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sponsors
ASI Racewear - "The Official Merchandise Vendor" of the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series
Canidae Pet Foods - "The Official Pet Foods" of the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series
DART Machinery - "The Official Engine Components" of the Lucas Oil Late
Model Dirt Series
E3 Spark Plugs - "The Official Spark Plug" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series
Geico Power Sports - "The Official Insurance" of the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series
General Tire - "The Official Tire" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Hoosier Tire - "The Official Race Tire" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series
K&N Filters - "The Official Filter" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Products - "The Official Oil" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series
MavTV - "The Official Men's Network" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
R&L Carrier - "The Official Carrier" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Rockstar Energy Drink - "The Official Drink" of the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series
Sunoco Race Fuels - "The Official Fuel" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series
2010 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Supporters Include: AFCO, Allstar,
American Racer, Banshee Graphics, Bloomquist Race Cars, COMP Cams, Cornett
Racing Engines, Cruise with the Champions, Custom Race Engines,
DirtonDirt.com, Dominator Race Products, Dyers Rods, ECR Race Engines, FAST
Shafts, GRT Race Cars, HAWK Brake, Hyperco, Jay Dickens Race Engines, JRI
Shocks, Malcuit Race Engines, Mastersbilt Chassis, Ohlins, Penske Shocks,
PBM/Erson Cams, Performance Bodies, PRC, Pro Power, Quarter Master, Red Buck
Cigars, Rhyne Race Engines, Rick Schwallie Photography, Rocket Chassis,
Safety Solutions, Vic Hill Race Engines, Warrior Race Cars, Wrisco, Wiles
Drive Shafts, WD Enterprises, 5150 Race Trailers.
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