7/15/2006
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sees Wall to Wall Excitement at Columbus Speedway
COLUMBUS, MS (July 15, 2006)- The "Intimagator" Chris Wall of Holden, LA scored his first ever Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win on Saturday Night at the Columbus (MS) Speedway as the 38 year old racer took the lead on third lap of the 50 lap Cliburn Tank Lines 8th Annual James Nickoles Memorial Race presented by the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau and then withstood several caution flags to become the 12th different winner on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tour in '06 as he led the remainder of the race.
Wall earned $10,000 for the victory in front of one of the largest crowds in the history of the Johnny Stokes promoted facility. Wall drove his Xtreme Graphics/Stuckey Enterprises/C&M Gator Farm/Gator Trax Boats/GVS Racing/Eagle Motorsports/American Racer Tires/Wall2Wall Performance Engines/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo to his 18th overall win this season. Mike Boland of Cuba, AL also put up an exceptional effort running right with Wall for the entire race as he came home in second in his Boland Performance/Jay Dickens Racing Engines/Rocket GTO with 15th starting Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN passing Earl Pearson, Jr. on the final lap to finish third in his Miller Brothers Coal/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars Chevrolet as Pearson finished fourth in the Lucas Oil Products/Larry Wallace Racing Engines/MasterSbilt Ford Taurus. Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN who started 17th on the grid wound up fifth in the Dargie Race Engines/Rocket Ford Taurus. A total of 58 cars were on hand for the event which was also a points race for the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series.
Fellow Alabama drivers Mike Boland and Ronny Lee Hollingsworth would draw the front row from the six heat race winners but it was Kentucky's Brad Neat who would sprint from his third place starting spot to nab the lead as the first lap was being scored. Disaster however would strike Neat on the second go round as he spun coming off of turn number two and came to a halt bringing out the caution flag. With Neat relegated to the tail Boland would inherit the lead with Wall, Don O'Neal, Earl Pearson, Jr. and Donnie Moran your top five at this point. On the restart Wall who started fifth would take the lead from Boland as the pace up front and throughout the field was fast and furious around "The Baddest Bullring in the South."
Moran would make a charge taking over third on the fourth circuit with Scott James coming to fourth place. On the sixth lap James and O'Neal would make contact as both drivers would eventually go pit side following their lap six skirmish. On the restart a four car wreck would again slow the action with Wall still holding the point. As the race progressed to green flag action with ten laps in the books it was Wall showing the way with Pearson back in the thick of things taking the runner-up slot just ahead of Boland, Moran and Matt Miller.
A caution for debris on lap 12 would again halt the action as Boland would get the advantage over Pearson for second on a lap 13 restart. The race for the lead was extremely exciting as Wall, Boland and Pearson were putting on a show for the huge crowd on hand. Boland and Pearson would run side by side for not only this portion of the race but for most of the half as well. At the halfway mark Wall was still in command with Boland and Pearson in tow.
Billy Moyer who had slipped from fourth to 11th in the early running order was now getting it going as he was headed to the front moving into the fourth slot by lap 24 with Scott Bloomquist the previous night's winner at North Alabama hot on his heels. With 20 laps to go Wall would maintain a two car length lead over Boland and Pearson. With Boland and Pearson dueling it out side by side and Moyer and Bloomquist going door to door there was action all over the track.
A caution on lap 36 for Eddie Rickman would slow the field for the next to last time. A total of four good green flags would then get scored until the final caution for debris on the track would see the yellow wave for the last time on lap 40. With ten laps to go Wall would again see Boland and Pearson right behind him on the double file restart. A car who really showed strength as the laps wound down was Steve Casebolt.
Casebolt who started 17th was hanging tough with Moyer and Bloomquist as he would pass Bloomquist and then Moyer for fourth. With five laps to go Wall was still only one to two car lengths at the most ahead of Boland and Pearson. Boland and Pearson would swap second place lap after lap with Boland scored in second with nine laps to go. The two would still go side by side with Pearson on the low groove and Boland riding the rim of the track.
With the five to go signal given it was finally showtime for Boland and Pearson as the question remained could they eventually pass Wall in the closing laps. Boland would shoot off the corners charging to the outside of the middle groove running Wall with Pearson showing his talents on the hub.
With the white flag Boland and Pearson would once more give it their all but Wall was just too tough as he would hold on and cross the finish line first for his initial Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory in front of a cheering crowd. Boland who drove a great race as well finished with Bloomquist taking the high side in the last few laps to go by Pearson on the white flag lap to claim third. Pearson would cross the stripe in fourth followed by the strong effort of Casebolt.
In victory lane the popular Wall would greet the home area crowd with a fence climbing victory celebration and then told the throng of fans. "Man that was a great race, to outrun Mike and Earl and this great field of drivers is just fantastic." "The car was just great all race long, there were a lot of cautions and we just hung in there and kept our line and you know you can race anywhere on this track and those other guys were giving it their all, but we just had everything right tonight." "I want to thank all the great fans that came out here tonight; I believe they saw a tremendous race."
Completing the top ten were Billy Moyer, Donnie Moran, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Rick Rickman and Matt Miller.
In preliminary action at Columbus Earl Pearson, Jr. would garner the Comp Cams Fast Time for the 58 entrants with a quick lap of 13.93 seconds. The PBM Performance Products Heat Races were won by Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Billy Moyer, Donnie Moran, Brad Neat, Mike Boland and Chris Wall. The Mason Racin' Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main was won by Rob Litton and the Penske Shocks Second B-Main saw David Breazeale victorious. The K&N Engineering "Clean Pass of the Race" would go to Scott Bloomquist with his move in passing Earl Pearson, Jr. for third place on the final lap. The K&N Engineering "Clean Pass of the Race" is awarded at each Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event and can take place during a heat, consy or feature event.
The much anticipated trip to the Midwest for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series awaits the competitors and fans next as the series heads to the historic Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, IA for the "Iowa Telecom Summer Classic" this Friday Night, July 21. On Saturday Night, July 22 the series makes its first ever visit as well to the Lucas Oil Speedway "The Diamond of Dirt Tracks" in Wheatland, MO and to conclude the upcoming weekend with a visit to the Gundaker family promoted Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL awaits the drivers on Sunday Night, July 23. All three events will pay $10,000 to win and the cameras of SPEED Channel will be on hand all three nights to tape the action. The event will be shown on a date and time to be announced in the future. For more information on these races you can visit the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series website at www.lucasdirt.com.
Race Summary Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Saturday Night, July 15, 2006 Columbus Speedway-Columbus, MS
Comp Cams Fast Time: Earl Pearson, Jr. 13.93
PBM Performance Products First Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Earl Pearson, Jr., Scott James, Dean Carpenter, Bub McCool, Shawn Edwards, Joe Baroni, Mark Stokes, Cliff Williams
PBM Performance Products Second Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Billy Moyer, Matt Miller, Tombo Callahan, Jim Bo McDuffie, John Mason, Terrance Nowell, Dennis Duncan, Jason Cliburn, Mark Dodson
PBM Performance Products Third Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Donnie Moran, Don O'Neal, Scott Bloomquist, Rob Litton, Jay Blair, Clint Logan, Chad Thrash, Dwight Falcon, Ray Mottz
PBM Performance Products Fourth Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Brad Neat, Scott Dedwylder, Rick Rickman, David Breazeale, Justin McRee, Anthony Burroughs, Jack Daughtry, Stacy Holmes, Terry Wilson
PBM Performance Products Fifth Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Mike Boland, Garrett Durrett, Steve Casebolt, Scott Slay, Chris Jimerson, Wade Byars, Jessie Bailey, Roger Shirley, Freddy Smith
PBM Performance Products Sixth Heat: (10 Laps-Top 3 Advance): Chris Wall, Jamie Elam, Eddie Rickman, Neil Baggett, Michael England, Jimmy Cliburn, Jerry Inmon, Ricky Rawson, Don Cliburn
Mason Racin' Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Rob Litton, Dean Carpenter, Bub McCool, Terrance Nowell, Jay Blair, John Mason, Dwight Falcon, Clint Logan, Mark Dodson, Dennis Duncan, Jason Cliburn, Chad Thrash, Joey McKinney, Shawn Edwards, Ray Mottz, Jim Bo McDuffie
Penske Shocks Second B-Main: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): David Breazeale, Stacy Holmes, Jimmy Cliburn, Jessie Bailey, Ricky Rawson, Jerry Inmon, Wade Byars, Jack Daughtry, Scott Slay, Anthony Burroughs, Neil Baggett, Justin McRee, Michael England, Chris Jimerson, Freddy Smith
8th Annual James Nickoles Memorial A-Main Finish: (50 Laps): Chris Wall, Mike Boland, Scott Bloomquist, Earl Pearson, Jr., Steve Casebolt, Billy Moyer, Donnie Moran, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Rick Rickman, Matt Miller, Rob Litton, Scott Dedwylder, Jamie Elam, Scott Slay, Jay Blair, Eddie Rickman, Stacy Holmes, David Breazeale, Brad Neat, Michael England, Dean Carpenter, Tombo Callahan, Scott James, Don O'Neal, Garrett Durrett, Shawn Edwards
Race Statistics Entries: 58 Caution Flags: 12 Red Flags: 0 Lap Leaders: Brad Neat 1, Mike Boland 2, Chris Wall 3-50 Allstar Performance Performer of the Race: Steve Casebolt (started 17th and finished 5th, advanced 12 positions) K&N Engineering Clean Pass of the Race: Scott Bloomquist Hawk Break Tough Break Award: Brad Neat Quarter Master Move of the Race: Chris Wall On the Edge Graphics Fastest Non Qualifier: John Mason Weld Wheels Award: Matt Miller Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Race: Steve Casebolt Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Freddy Smith and Michael England Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series Provisionals: Jay Blair and Scott Slay Track Provisional: Shawn Edwards
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields