Chad Simpson Brings Knoxville to its Feet Friday at Late Model Nationals!
by Bill Wright
Knoxville, IA, September 25, 2015 – Chad Simpson scored one for the “Hawkeye State” Friday night on Night #2 of the 12th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The Mount Vernon, Iowa native passed race-long leader, Mike Marlar with two laps to go to score a huge win and put himself on the pole for Saturday night’s $40,000 to win 100-lap finale at Knoxville Raceway!
Marlar shot out to the early lead in the 25-lap feature, ahead of Scott Bloomquist and Tim McCreadie. Kent Robinson moved into the top three by the third circuit, when Earl Pearson Jr. came to a stop to bring out the only caution of the event.
Simpson shot from fifth to fourth on the restart and passed Robinson to move into the top three on lap six. He reeled in Bloomquist, but when he made a move on the high side in turns three and four on lap eleven, but Bloomquist ran across turn four, and slowed Simpson’s momentum.
Seven laps later, Simpson made good on his run on the cushion and captured the runner-up spot. All eyes were on the lead trio in traffic. Marlar became mired in traffic. On lap 23, Simpson shot around the high side of three and four to take the lead. The pair made contact at the flag stand. Simpson stumbled and Marlar was back in the lead momentarily.
Simpson hit the top of turn two perfectly and reclaimed the lead and his first career feature win at Knoxville Raceway. Marlar, Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens and Robinson followed. Jared Landers, Don O’Neal, Tim McCreadie, Darrell Lanigan and Shannon Babb rounded out the top ten. Owens and Lanigan set quick time in their respective groups, while Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Pearson, Jimmy Mars, O’Neal and Simpson claimed heat races. Jason Papich won the C main and Jason Feger claimed the B main.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Simpson in Victory Lane. “I’ve had a lot of big wins, a lot of championships, but this is something else right here! Those guys weren’t gaining any ground. I was sticking with them, sticking with them. I was driving the wheels off that thing. I was gaining ground on Scott. We got beside him and he squeezed me into the fence a little bit. Once I got my momentum up again, I was able to get by Scott and Marlar was struggling in lapped traffic. I had a run on the top and I knew I had to take it.”
“He was better than me,” said Marlar of Simpson. “The only reason I got back around him was I touched his quarter panel. He got loose, and I hate to have done that. Congratulations to Chad. I know he had a lot of fans and sponsors here. It’s cool to see a guy win like that.”
“It was a good run,” said Bloomquist. “We elected not to run the cushion too hard. We’re working on our setup for the feature (Saturday night). The race is going to be won in the middle of the track tomorrow. The car feels good. We might do a few adjustments, but I think we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
Join us Saturday night, September 26, as the 12th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores reaches its finale at the Knoxville Raceway! For more information on Knoxville Raceway, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
Late Models Results
Group A Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (14), 17.490; 2. 21B, Rich Bell, Sheffield, IL (4), 17.724; 3. 777, Jared Landers, Batesville, AR (16), 17.791; 4. O, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (20), 17.799; 5. 91P, Jason Papich, Nipomo, CA (19), 17.891; 6. 25F, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (2), 17.917; 7. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (6), 17.938; 8. 54W, Matt Westfall, Ludlow Falls, OH (13), 17.994; 9. 18B, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (10), 18.053; 10. 25Z, Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, PA (1), 18.089; 11. 21JR, Billy Moyer Jr., Batesville, AR (26), 18.124; 12. 58, Ray Guss Jr., East Moline, IL (5), 18.126; 13. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfurt, IL (11), 18.146; 14. 98, Jason Rauen, Farley, IA (17), 18.205; 15. 32, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (18), 18.254; 16. 15, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY (23), 18.258; 17. 28, Eddie Carrier Jr., Salt Rock, WV (27), 18.298; 18. 50, Denny Eckrich, Oxford, IA (7), 18.332; 19. 21H, Brian Harris, Davenport, IA (12), 18.338; 20. B5, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (9), 18.412; 21. 1, Earl Pearson Jr., Trinity, NC (24), 18.465; 22. 14M, Morgan Bagley, Longview, TX (21), 18.492; 23. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (28), 18.544; 24. 31U, Jason Utter, Columbus Junction, IA (8), 18.574; 25. 58E, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (22), 18.637; 26. 15K, Justin Kay, Wheatland, IA (15), 18.649; 27. 1M, Rob Moss, Iowa City, IA (25), 19.092; 28. R21, Ray Sveeggen, Beresford, SD (3), 20.239; 29. 56, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (29), 23.951.
Group B Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 29, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (21), 18.212; 2. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (17), 18.254; 3. 25, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (8), 18.262; 4. 7R, Kent Robinson, Bloomington, IN (3), 18.284; 5. 6, Jonathan Davenport, Mount Airy, NC (19), 18.348; 6. 7W, Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB, Can. (6), 18.365; 7. 6M, Wendell Wallace, Batesville, AR (26), 18.537; 8. 1R, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (25), 18.539; 9. 17M, Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA (11), 18.562; 10. 28E, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (16), 18.607; 11. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (4), 18.621; 12. 29D, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (2), 18.648; 13. 6W, RC Whitwell, Tucson, AZ (9), 18.672; 14. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (22), 18.719; 15. 58D, AJ Diemel, Elk Mound, WI (1), 18.735; 16. 74M, Mitch McGrath, Waukesha, WI (7), 18.739; 17. 21BX, Chris Brown, Spring, TX (24), 18.779; 18. 19R, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (14), 18.969; 19. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (15), 19.059; 20. 3S, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (5), 19.116; 21. 40, Joel Callahan, Dubuque, IA (29), 19.140; 22. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (18), 19.151; 23. 17S, Jim Shereck, St. Charles, MO (13), 19.196; 24. OKB, Kerry King, Delmar, DE (27), 19.412; 25. 22M, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (10), 19.494; 26. 8, Sonny Findling, Kirksville, MO (23), 19.759; 27. 54, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (20), 19.872; 28. 3X, Skip Frey, Swisher, IA (28), 19.939; 29. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (12), NT.
Group A Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Scott Bloomquist (7); 2. Mike Marlar (6); 3. Jimmy Owens (8) / 4. Mason Zeigler (5); 5. Brian Harris (2); 6. Morgan Bagley (1) / 7. Dave Eckrich (9); 8. Frank Heckenast Jr. (4); 9. Ray Sveeggen (10); 10. Steve Francis (3)
Group A Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:51.8: 1. Brandon Sheppard (2); 2. Billy Moyer Jr. (5); 3. Chase Junghans (1) / 4. Matt Westfall (6); 5. Eddie Carrier Jr. (3); 6. Jason Rauen (4) / 7. Jason Papich (7); 8. Rich Bell (8); 9. Justin Kay (9); DNS – 10. Chris Spieker
Group A Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:51.0: 1. Earl Pearson Jr. (2); 2. Jared Landers (6); 3. Shannon Babb (4) / 4. Jason Utter (1); 5. Denny Eckrich (3); 6. Jason Feger (7) / 7. Ray Guss Jr. (5); 8. Rob Moss (8) DNS – 9. Chris Simpson
Group B Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Jimmy Mars (1); 2. Darrell Lanigan (8); 3. Kent Robinson (7) / 4. Dennis Erb Jr. (5); 5. Skip Frey (10); 6. Charlie McKenna (9) / 7. Wendell Wallace (6); 8. Mitch McGrath (3); 9. Tim Lance (2); 10. RC Whitwell (4);
Group B Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:56.0: 1. Don O’Neal (4); 2. Tim McCreadie (5); 3. Chris Brown (3) / 4. Jonathan Davenport (7); 5. Billy Moyer (8); 6. Brian Shirley (2) / 7. Josh Richards (6); 8. Jim Shereck (1); 9. Sonny Findling (9) DNS – 10. Jay Johnson
Group B Heat three (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Chad Simpson (8); 2. AJ Diemel (4); 3. Spencer Diercks (5) / 4. Dale McDowell (6); 5. Ryan Gustin (3); 6. Ricky Weiss (7) / 7. Joel Callahan (2); 8. Mike Fryer (9); 9. Kerry King (1);
C main (started), 12 Laps, 4:02.6: 1. Jason Papich (2); 2. Frank Heckenast Jr. (5); 3. Josh Richards (3); 4. Rich Bell (1) / 5. Mitch McGrath (6); 6. Tim Lance (7); 7. Rob Moss (12); 8. Chris Spieker (15); 9. Dave Eckrich (9); 10. Jim Shereck (10); 11. Mike Fryer (14); 12. Joel Callahan (8); 13. Justin Kay (11); 14. Ray Sveeggen (13); 15. Ray Guss Jr. (4) DNS – 16. Wendell Wallace 17. RC Whitwell 18. Chris Simpson 19. Steve Francis 20. Kerry King 21. Sonny Findling 22. Jay Johnson
B main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Jason Feger (1); 2. Matt Westfall (3); 3. Mason Zeigler (5); 4. Dale McDowell (8); 5. Billy Moyer (2); 6. Ricky Weiss (6) / 7. Jason Rauen (7); 8. Morgan Bagley (15); 9. Frank Heckenast Jr. (20); 10. Dennis Erb Jr. (10); 11. Eddie Carrier Jr. (9); 12. Ryan Gustin (12); 13. Rich Bell (22); 14. Jason Utter (17); 15. Josh Richards (21); 16. Jason Papich (19); 17. Brian Harris (13); 18. Skip Frey (18); 19. Charlie McKenna (16); 20. Brian Shirley (14); 21. Jonathan Davenport (4); 22. Denny Eckrich (11)
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Chad Simpson (6); 2. Mike Marlar (1); 3. Scott Bloomquist (3); 4. Jimmy Owens (7); 5. Kent Robinson (4); 6. Jared Landers (5); 7. Don O’Neal (12); 8. Tim McCreadie (2); 9. Darrell Lanigan (8); 10. Shannon Babb (9); 11. Brandon Sheppard (13); 12. Billy Moyer Jr. (11); 13. Mason Zeigler (21); 14. AJ Diemel (14); 15. Jimmy Mars (18); 16. Billy Moyer (23); 17. Chase Junghans (17); 18. Dale McDowell (22); 19. Matt Westfall (20); 20. Ricky Weiss (24); 21. Spencer Diercks (10); 22. Jason Feger (19); 23. Chris Brown (16); 24. Earl Pearson Jr. (15). Lap Leaders: Marlar 1-22, Chad Simpson 23-25. Hard-charger: Zeigler.
12th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals Points
A-Main Lineup (100 Laps)
| 1. | 25
Chad Simpson (496) |
20
Jimmy Owens (492) |
| 2. | O
Scott Bloomquist (490) |
6
Jonathan Davenport (487) |
| 3. | 5
Don O’Neal (484) |
21BX
Chris Brown (484) |
| 4. | 777
Jared Landers (483) |
157
Mike Marlar (483) |
| 5. | 29
Darrell Lanigan (481) |
7R
Kent Robinson (480) |
| 6. | 1
Earl Pearson Jr. (476) |
39
Tim McCreadie (463) |
| 7. | 28E
Dennis Erb Jr. (462) |
18B
Shannon Babb (460) |
| 8. | 32
Chris Simpson (460) |
21
Billy Moyer (456) |
| 9. | 21JR
Billy Moyer Jr. (455) |
25Z
Mason Zeigler (449) |
| 10. | 1R
Josh Richards (444) |
58D
AJ Diemel (443) |
| 11. | B5
Brandon Sheppard (442) |
54W
Matt Westfall (441) |
| 12. | 17M
Dale McDowell (441) |
15
Steve Francis (438) |
Page Break
12th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals Points
B Main Lineup (20 Laps, top 6 transfer to A Main)
| 1. | 7W
Ricky Weiss (437) |
99JR
Frank Heckenast Jr. (434) |
| 2. | 25F
Jason Feger (433) |
29D
Spencer Diercks (432) |
| 3. | 28M
Jimmy Mars (430) |
40
Joel Callahan (422) |
| 4. | 14M
Morgan Bagley (419) |
18
Chase Junghans (418) |
| 5. | 21B
Rich Bell (415) |
91P
Jason Papich (406) |
| 6. | 58
Ray Guss Jr. (401) |
98
Jason Rauen (397) |
| 7. | 28
Eddie Carrier Jr. (386) |
15K
Justin Kay (384) |
| 8. | 19R
Ryan Gustin (382) |
6M
Wendell Wallace (379) |
| 9. | 15D
Donny Schatz (378) |
21H
Brian Harris (370) |
Page Break
12th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals Points
C Main Lineup (15 Laps, top 4 transfer to B Main)
| 1. | 31U
Jason Utter (369) |
48
Tim Lance (367) |
| 2. | 56
Chris Spieker (363) |
50
Denny Eckrich (362) |
| 3. | 58E
Dave Eckrich (360) |
3S
Brian Shirley (359) |
| 4. | 22M
Charlie McKenna (351) |
74M
Mitch McGrath (350) |
| 5. | 3X
Skip Frey (350) |
6W
RC Whitwell (339) |
| 6. | 1M
Rob Moss (330) |
17S
Jim Shereck (315) |
| 7. | 54
Mike Fryer (310) |
R21
Ray Sveeggen (296) |
| 8. | 93
Jay Johnson (296) |
OKB
Kerry King (294) |
| 9. | 8
Sonny Findling (286) |
7D
Austin Theiss (285) |
Category: Iowa, Knoxville Raceway
