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Billy Moyer Runs Tight Rope To $100,000 Victory In Sunday’s
‘Dream XVI’ At Eldora Speedway
ROSSBURG,
OH - June 13, 2010 - Billy Moyer walked a tight rope to victory in Sunday
afternoon’s postponed DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned Dirt Late Model Dream XVI at
Eldora Speedway.
Living up to his ‘Mr. Smooth’ nickname, the 52-year-old dirt Late Model Hall
of Famer from Batesville, Ark., overtook Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., for
the lead on a lap-20 restart and never made a mistake the remainder of the
100-lap distance. He tamed a slick daytime track surface dominated by a
precarious top lane to pocket the prestigious race’s $100,000 winner’s check
for the second time in his legendary career.
In a race that saw cars repeatedly sustain right-rear body damage from bouts
with the Big E’s unforgiving outside wall – including those driven by
runner-up Cook and third-place finisher Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga. –
Moyer got his Clements-powered Victory Circle Chassis to the checkered flag
virtually unscathed.
“Your mind’s gotta be razor sharp to run on that ledge for a hundred laps
like that and never bobble,” said Moyer, describing the thin cushion just
inches from the high-banked, half-mile oval’s concrete barrier. “This track
is like running on an ice cube. You just slide in there and time it just
perfectly to where you get your right front on that lip first. If you get in
there a little bit too hard, you’re in the wall over that little berm.”
Moyer, who started from the pole position, weathered a mid-race challenge
from 2008 World 100 winner Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., before
pulling away from Cook during the final laps. He crossed the finish about a
half-straightaway ahead of Cook, who started second and led laps 1-20 in his
battle-scarred MasterSbilt car.
McDowell, who started 19th, benefitted from the race’s attrition to place a
quiet third in NASCAR star Clint Bowyer’s Warrior machine. Chris Madden of
Grey Court, S.C., started 21st and wasn’t far behind McDowell throughout the
distance en route to a fourth-place finish in his Team Zero by Bloomquist
car, while Madden’s chassis builder, five-time Dream champion Scott
Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., completed the top five after recovering
from a lap 75 pit stop to change a flat right-rear tire.
Moyer’s triumph returned him to the spotlight at Eldora, a track he
dominated during the ‘90s. He won the World 100 a record five times between
1991 and 2000 and captured the Dream in 1998.
“The last three or four years I haven’t even been close here,” said Moyer,
who joined Bloomquist (five) and Freddy Smith (two) as repeat winners of the
Dream event. “I’ve been working to try and figure this place out again.
Things are so much different from the last time I won here to now.
“The sport evolves so fast and you just gotta stay on top of it, and I think
we finally found something that works here again.”
Moyer flexed his new-found Eldora muscle on a lap-20 restart following a
caution flag for Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who slowed in turn four
with body damage. The veteran dove underneath Cook entering turn one and
exited turn two in control of the lead for good.
“I measured him up there on that first (re)start,” said Moyer, who won one
of six heat races run on Saturday night before thunderstorms postponed the
remainder of the program to Sunday afternoon. “I could’ve did it (made the
pass) that first time, but I went in a little soft and I just didn’t want be
an idiot and wreck us both like that.
“The next (restart) I just kind of knew where his little weak spot was. It
was really early in the race, but I figured the way the track was I better
get after it right now and get into the lead.”
Cook, 38, had already damaged the right-rear corner of his car from slapping
the wall, but he credited Moyer with a slick move to take command.
“Billy done a good job there,” said Cook, a five-time Dream starter who
matched his career-best event finish of second in 2000. “We were talking
about him being a senior citizen earlier, but that experience paid off. He
got a good run on me on the restart and got us with a slide down there.”
Cook was happy to secure a $20,000 runner-up finish despite racing nearly
the entire distance with a crushed rear spoiler and losing second place
briefly to Clanton.
“I knocked that (spoiler) off while we were leading actually,” said Cook,
who added to his car’s body damage when he slid into the turn four wall
while battling for second with Clanton on lap 61. “I just got up there (in
the corner) too hard.
“This track was probably as challenging as it gets because it was just
really, really slick right to that concrete cushion. But it’s Eldora, and
you just gotta stay after it. We almost got it done, so we’ll just come back
and try it again.”
Moyer likely saw his stiffest late-race threat disappear when Clanton’s bid
came to an abrupt end. Sixth at the halfway mark after starting 10th, the
34-year-old driver vaulted up to second by lap 61 and caught Moyer moments
later.
Clanton ducked underneath Moyer rounding turns one and two on lap 65, but
that was as close as he got to the lead. His attempt to join Moyer,
Bloomquist, Donnie Moran and Jimmy Owens as the only drivers to win both the
World 100 and the Dream evaporated when he slowed with a broken right-rear
shock bolt on lap 69, bringing out the seventh of the race’s eight caution
flags.
The rough-and-tumble A-Main was slowed by three caution flags for debris on
the track and four for disabled cars. The only serious accident occurred on
lap 58 when Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., gave up his race-long
hold on third place after slapping the turn-one wall, bouncing off Clanton’s
passing car and collecting fifth-place Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind.,
whose machine sustained heavy damage, and eighth-place John Blankenship of
Williamson, W.Va., who was able to continue.
Defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards of
Shinnston, W.Va., who started 16th, finished sixth after being knocked from
the top five by Bloomquist on lap 91. Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.,
transferred to the Dream after running the C- and B-Mains and marched
forward from the 25th starting spot to finish seventh and Blankenship was
the last driver on the lead lap in eighth place.
Several potential challengers saw their hopes dashed by smacks of the wall
that tore up their cars and led to their early departures. That group
included World of Outlaws regulars Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who hit
the concrete on lap one but still ran fourth until a turn-four wall
encounter on lap 41 ended his day; Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who
climbed from the 13th starting spot to fifth in just eight laps but bent up
his mount’s front end when he caught the turn-two wall three circuits later
(he ultimately retired with an overheating engine while still holding fifth
on lap 55); and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who was bidding for sixth
when he crushed the right-rear corner of his mount on lap 49.
Sunday’s preliminary action saw Doug Drown of Wooster, Ohio, emerge
victorious in the 15-lap C-Main and McDowell capture the 20-lap B-Main.
For more information on DIRTcar Racing, visit
www.dirtcar.com.
Dirt Late Model Dream XVI Finish (Finish/Start/Driver/Laps Completed):
1. (1) Billy Moyer/100
2. (2) Ray Cook/100
3. (19) Dale McDowell/100
4. (21) Chris Madden/100
5. (12) Scott Bloomquist/100
6. (16) Josh Richards/100
7. (25) Don O’Neal/100
8. (11) John Blankenship/100
9. (20) Jeep VanWormer/97
10. (7) Dan Schlieper/97
11. (5) Jonathan Davenport/80
12. (24) Brad Neat/76
13. (10) Shane Clanton/68
14. (8) Steve Casebolt/59
15. (13) Tim McCreadie/54
16. (14) Darrell Lanigan/49
17. (3) Brandon Kinzer/47
18. (18) Mike Marlar/45
19. (15) Brady Smith/45
20. (9) Brian Birkhofer/45
21. (4) Steve Francis/42
22. (24) Dennis Erb Jr./30
23. (25) Bub McCool/28
24. (17) Jimmy Owens/22
25. (22) Brian Shirley/19
26. (6) Casey Roberts/11
C-Main Finish (15 laps – Top 7 Transfer to B-Main): 1. Doug Drown[2]; 2. Don
O'Neal[3]; 3. Zack Dohm[4]; 4. Jeremy Payne[20]; 5. Jason Feger[7]; 6.
Donnie Moran[11]; 7. Wayne Chinn[10]; 8. Jared Landers[16]; 9. John
Henderson[15]; 10. Keith Foss[13]; 11. Wayne Maffett Jr.[9]; 12. Brian
Ruhlman[5]; 13. Curtis Roberts[1]; 14. Clint Smith[12]; 15. Dave
Hartman[19]; 16. Shanon Buckingham[6]; 17. Jon Henry[8]; 18. Jerry
Bowersock[14]; 19. Nick Marolf[17]; 20. Shannon Thornsberry[17]
B-Main Finish (20 laps – Top 7 Transfer to A-Main): 1. Dale McDowell[2]; 2.
Chris Madden[7]; 3. Brian Shirley[9]; 4. Brad Neat[3]; 5. Dennis Erb
Jr.[14]; 6. Bub Mccool[1]; 7. Don O'Neal[20]; 8. Chad Smith[12]; 9. Earl
Pearson Jr.[8]; 10. Terry Phillips[16]; 11. Will Vaught[10]; 12. Jason
Feger[18]; 13. Chub Frank[18]; 14. Wayne Chinn[19]; 15. Jared Landers[21];
16. Tony Knowles[14]; 17. Donnie Moran[24]; 18. John Henderson[19]; 19. Doug
Drown[15]; 20. JR Hotovy[5]; 21. Dustin Neat[3]; 22. Matt Miller[6]; 23.
Jeremy Payne[22]; 24. Jackie Boggs[11]
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