Don O’Neal Dazzles at East Bay, Wins Main Event

 

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TAMPA, FL (February 15, 2013) – Don O’Neal captured his 15th career win at East Bay Raceway Park tonight after taking the lead on lap 39. Doug Drown and O’Neal had a hard fought battle, exchanging the lead several times during the main event. O’Neal captured $10,000 for winning the first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Points event of the season.
 
Drown led the majority of the 50-lap main event and held the top spot until O’Neal chased him down in lapped traffic. Drown fought back hard, closing to within a car length of O’Neal near the end of the race, but came up short in his bid for a first ever LOLMDS win. Pierce; the 16-year-old, second generation driver; held his own, finishing third. He was followed by the Optima Batteries Hard Charger, Earl Pearson Jr., who drove his way from the 18th starting spot to claim fourth, just ahead of Dennis Erb Jr.
 
“That was a thrilling race, the fans could not have asked for a better feature! We changed so many things on this car, and it was perfect in the end,” said the winner, O’Neal. “I got up to second and we (Drown) raced hard for the lead, I would get by him, then he would come back around me”. The 48-year-old O’Neal piloted the Optima Batteries and Jay Dickens-powered MasterSbilt House Car.
 
Drown is racing at East Bay for the first-time in his career this week and was excited with his runner-up finish. “Hats off to Don, he drove a great race! I thought we were going to get it for a moment. I looked over at the scoreboard and saw the 71 behind me, and I thought maybe I could him hold him off, but he is obviously one of the best drivers in the country. Just to run with these guys is quite an honor,” exclaimed the elated driver.
 
Pierce was looking for a clean sweep on the night and was equally excited with his finish. After the race, the young driver commented: “The top groove came back to us late in the race, and I thought maybe we could get Doug and Donnie. We learned a lot tonight and hopefully we will come back tomorrow and do even better!”

In preliminary action, Bobby Pierce (Group A) set the overall Fast Time amongst the 37 entrants, with a lap of 14.404 seconds. Jimmy Owens set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 14.518 seconds. Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr., Doug Drown, and Don O’Neal won their respective Heat Races. Vic Coffey and Earl Pearson Jr. won their respective B-Mains. LOLMDS Series Provisionals were Jared Landers and Jerry Lierly (Based on Fast Time, as there was only one series provisional). Jason McBride was the DirtOnDirt.com Fast Time Provisional. Stormy Scott was the PRC Strawberry Dash Winner.

After the main event, Doug Blashe won the $1,000-to-win Non-Qualifiers Race. Todd Frank finished second, followed by Brad Malcuit, James O’Hara, and Nick Davis, who rounded out the Top-5.
 
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series will be back tomorrow, Saturday, February 16th with a double-header of high-flying action from the 37th Annual DART Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL. Hot Laps for Thursday’s make-up event will take place at noon (12pm) and Hot Laps for tomorrow evening’s event is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm. Both events will feature RedBuck Time Trials, Heats, B-Mains, PRC Strawberry Dash and Full Features ($7,000-to-win, 35 Laps for the day event; $10,000-to-win, 60 Laps for the evening event). For more information on the event or EBRP, log onto www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
 
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and follow the series on www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday Night, February 15th, 2013
37th Annual DART Winternationals
East bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
 
Red Buck Fast Time Group A: Bobby Pierce / 14.404 seconds
Red Buck Fast Time Group B: Jimmy Owens / 14.518 seconds

 
Wiles Drive Shafts Heat Race #1 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Bobby Pierce, Tyler Reddick, David Breazeale, Donnie Moran, Chad Stapleton, Jerry Lierly, Jared Landers, Jason McBride, Leon Henderson

 
Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Dennis Erb Jr., Justin Rattliff, Austin Hubbard, Jason Riggs, Vic Coffey, Scott Bloomquist, James O’Hara, Todd Frank, Doug Blashe
 
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Doug Drown, Jimmy Owens, John Blankenship, Eddie Carrier Jr., Devin Moran, Stormy Scott, Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Moyer Jr., Scott Phillips

 
HAWK Performance Heat Race #4 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Steve Francis, Chad Hollenbeck, Eric Jacobsen, Ricky Weiss, Braden Mitchell, Brad Malcuit, Nick Davis, Bob Geiger
 
CV Products B-Main #1 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Vic Coffey, Scott Bloomquist, Chad Stapleton, Jared Landers, Todd Frank, Jerry Lierly, Doug Blashe, Jason McBride, James O’Hara, Leon Henderson

Wrisco Aluminum B-Main #2 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson Jr., Devin Moran, Ricky Weiss, Brad Malcuit, Stormy Scott, Nick Davis, Billy Moyer Jr., Scott Phillips, Braden Mitchell, Bob Geiger
 
PRC Strawberry Dash Finish: Stormy Scott, Todd Frank, Billy Moyer Jr., Doug Blashe, Brad Malcuit, Scott Phillips, James O’Hara, Nick Davis, Bob Geiger

Feature Finish (50 Laps):
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 4 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
2 2 63 Doug Drown Wooster, OH
3 1 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
4 18 44 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL
5 3 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL
6 10 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
7 17 32c Vic Coffey Caledonia, NY
8 8 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
9 6 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
10 12 4-Ds Chad Hollenbeck Montrose, PA
11 15 81JR Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL
12 5 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
13 11 11h Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
14 24 7L Jerry Lierly Camp Point, IL
15 24 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
16 25 77 Jason McBride Carbondale, IL
17 14 28 Eddie Carrier Jr. Salt Rock, WV
18 20 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
19 9 54 David Breazeale Philadelphia, MS
20 19 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
21 26 2s Stormy Scott Woodward, OK
22 22 7w Ricky Weiss Headingley, MB
23 16 5J Eric Jacobsen Watsonville, CA
24 7 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
25 21 32s Chad Stapleton Edinburgh, IN
26 13 99 Donnie Moran Dresden, OH
Non-Qualifiers Race Finish (8 Laps): Doug Blashe, Todd Frank, Brad Malcuit, James O’Hara, Nick Davis, Bob Geiger, Braden Mitchell, Phillips
 
Race Statistics
 
Entrants: 37
Lap Leaders: Doug Drown (Laps 1 – 38); Don O’Neal (Laps 39 – 50)
Caution Flags: Chad Stapleton (Lap 8); Donnie Moran, Justin Rattliff, Ricky Weiss, Jason McBride, Chad Stapleton (Lap 9); Justin Rattliff, Jared Landers, Devin Moran (Lap 9); Eric Jacobsen (Lap 16)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jared Landers, Jerry Lierly (Fast Time)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: n/a
DirtonDirt.com Fast Time Provisional: Jason McBride
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. (started: 18th, finished: 4th, advanced: 14 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
JRi Shocks/Dunn Benson Ford Rookie of the Race: n/a
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens Race Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: MasterSbilt Race Cars
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Sean Weekley (Doug Drown)
HAWK Performance Fastest Lap of the Race: Doug Drown (Lap# 2; 15.433 seconds)
Time of Race: 32 minutes 17 seconds
 
DART Winternationals Point Standings:
POS CAR# DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL 935
2 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 900
3 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 780
4 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 755
5 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL 730
5 32c Vic Coffey Caledonia, NY 730
7 5J Eric Jacobsen Watsonville, CA 715
8 99 Donnie Moran Dresden, OH 690
9 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 685
10 63 Doug Drown Wooster, OH 680
 
 
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

 
POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 250
2 63 Doug Drown Wooster, OH 230
2 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL 230
4 44 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL 210
5 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL 205
6 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 200
7 32c Vic Coffey Caledonia, NY 195
7 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 195
9 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 190
10 4-Ds Chad Hollenbeck Montrose, PA 180
11 81JR Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL 175
12 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 170
13 11h Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE 165
14 7L Jerry Lierly Camp Point, IL 160
15 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 155
16 28 Eddie Carrier Jr. Salt Rock, WV 145
17 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH 140
18 54 David Breazeale Philadelphia, MS 135
19 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 130

 

*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*
       

 

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