4/22/2006
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Scott Bloomquist Takes Inaugural Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
CONCORD, NC (April 22, 2006)- Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN added another huge win to his racing career on Saturday Night as he captured the Inaugural Circle K "Colossal 100" at The Dirt Track@Lowe's Motor Speedway featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series taking the lead on the 70th lap and then going on to capture the $50,000 to win first mega dirt late model event of the 2006 racing season.
Bloomquist driving his own designed Bloomquist Race Cars Chevrolet with a Vic Hill Racing Engine power plant under the hood is sponsored by Miller Brothers Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Sweet Manufacturing, Allstar Performance and Ohlins. 25th starting Donnie Moran of Dresden, OH finished second in his Donnie Moran Racing/PBM Performance Products/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo with Steve Francis of Ashland, KY taking third in his Valvoline/MOPAR/Rocket Dodge Charger.
Completing the top five were Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA in his Dover Cylinder Heads/Racetek/Rocket by Shaw Grand Prix and 32nd starting Chub Frank of Bear Lake, PA in his Lester Buildings/Allstar Performance/Rocket Monte Carlo. There were 119 cars on hand for the two day show.
Outside pole sitter Shannon Babb looked like the man to beat early on in this 100 lap affair as he grabbed the lead at the start of the field which had 36 cars make up the starting lineup. Babb quickly built a three car length lead over Steve Francis and fourth place starter, Scott Bloomquist.
Babb's early momentum was slowed on lap four when Randy Weaver stopped on the track bringing out the first caution of the race. With the choose double file restart Babb and Francis would line up on the front row and when the race resumed Francis would snare the lead from Babb on the fifth circuit as Babb fell to second. A red would come out on lap seven when Virginia driver Ronnie DeHaven, Jr. would flip several times on the front-stretch infield.
DeHaven checked out okay after the incident, but his car was heavily damaged. On the ensuing restart a pileup on the front straightaway saw Andy Anderson's car was sitting on top the hood of Mike Marlar's ride. When the track was cleared Babb would retake the lead from Francis on the restart. Babb again would start to pull away from Francis as he now had to contend with Bloomquist who was right on his rear bumper of the second place runner.
Chuck Harper was running a solid race as the West Virginia veteran was closing in to challenge Bloomquist for third. The race would go green for six laps until Weaver brought out another caution as his night ended stalled up against the fourth turn wall. At this point of the race Babb would still be the race leader with Francis, Bloomquist, Harper and Dale McDowell the top five cars. But those drivers would begin to feel the heat from Darren Miller, who had raced his way from the 26th starting spot to go to sixth by the 13th circuit.
After Weaver's ride was cleared from the track Babb would again beat Francis into turn one on the restart maintaining his grip on the lead. Miller would make his first appearance in the top five sub-planting McDowell on lap 16. On lap 22 the caution would wave once again as Furman Parton would stop on the track just as Babb was picking up the tail end of the field. With lapped traffic cleared on the restart it was still Babb showing the way until the field was slowed for a stalled Jared Landers.
The race would go four more green flag laps to lap 30 when top ten runner, Tim Dohm's night ended as he stopped in turn two. On the restart Babb again fired better than Francis as Bloomquist stayed close in third.
The ninth caution of the race came out on lap 34 when another driver who was running inside the top ten, Jonathan Davenport came to a halt on the track. After a lap 35 restart the race would go 15 laps until being slowed once more. During this point of the race Babb would still lead with Francis and Bloomquist going door to door for second.
Bloomquist finally was able to get by Francis on lap 45 taking the runner-up position while a heated battle for fourth was waging between Harper and Miller. The 10th caution of the race on lap 50 was for Rick Rickman and Jack Pennington as both cars stopped on the track.
On the lap 51 restart Bloomquist who lined up beside Babb on the choose-style restart stormed into the lead for the first time in the race. Caution number 11 waved on lap 53 for Andy Anderson. On this restart Bloomquist showed his strength beating Babb into turn one to hang onto to the top spot. Then it was Miller's turn to advance more positions as he went to fourth past Harper, then to third around Francis and then began to put the pressure on his fellow Illini pilot, Babb.
Miller got the job done passing Babb on lap 60 to take second as Harper would pass Francis for fourth. With 65 laps scored it was Bloomquist on the point followed by Miller, Babb, Harper and Francis. On lap 67 the 12th caution of the race came out for Miller who had suffered a flat tire. As Miller went off the track a tremendous run had ended for the driver who had gained 24 spots during the race, but his night was over.
Babb was also involved in a mishap at the same time as he would go pit-side for repairs, but returned to the race on the lead lap and as Harper's stout effort came to an end as he headed pit-side. On the restart that would put Francis alongside Bloomquist. Francis led the restart into the first corner and continued to lead Bloomquist for two circuits until Bloomquist was able to get around for the lead. McDowell was now quietly up to third with 32nd starting Chub Frank in the thick of things in fourth. The 13th and final caution would come out for sixth place running Tim McCreadie on lap 72.
In the final 28 laps Bloomquist would hold a good sized lead over the remaining field of cars. One driver who was starting to gain momentum was 25th place starter, Donnie Moran. Moran was now running fifth with 25 laps left. Moran would pass Frank for fourth on lap 79 and then set his sights on third place running car of McDowell. Moran did the deed on lap 85 flying by McDowell for third.
Moran was not through yet as he continued to power by some of the best in the business as Francis was now in his sights. Up front Bloomquist would continue to hold a comfortable lead even thought he was still racing with some lapped cars in front of him. Moran would catch Francis and pass him for second on lap 98, but with two laps to go Bloomquist was just too far ahead of Moran for him to track him down and complete a big rally from the 13th row. Bloomquist would flash across the line to pick up yet another big payday in his illustrious career with Moran finishing second followed by Francis, McDowell and Frank. Completing the top ten were Babb, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Booper Bare, Furman Parton and Ricky Weeks.
In the preliminary events held on Friday Night, Shannon Babb was the fastest qualifier overall with a time of 15.421 seconds. The 10 heat race winners were Shannon Babb, Chuck Harper, Mike Marlar, Jared Landers, Shane Clanton, Clint Smith, Mike Balzano, Justin Fegers, Booper Bare and Matt Miller. The C-Mains went to Furman Parton and Gary Mabe. The B-Mains were captured by Brady Smith and Tim Dohm.
The next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event will be at the Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Maryland on Saturday Night, April 29. It will be the first ever appearance for the series at Hagerstown as the 25th Annual "Stanley Schetrompf Memorial Race" paying $10,000 to win will be contested.
Race Summary Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series The Dirt Track@Lowe's Motor Speedway-Concord, NC Friday and Saturday, April 21 and 22, 2006
Fast Qualifier: Shannon Babb 15.421 seconds
First Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Shannon Babb, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Mars, Steve Casebolt, Bart Hartman, Rick Rickman, Dan Schlieper, Scott Shirley, Dave Eckrich, Darrell Lanigan, Jeff Gress, Evan Harrell
Second Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Chuck Harper, Jonathan Davenport, Freddy Smith, Chub Frank, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Brandon Kinzer, Danny Breuer, J.T. Spence, Josh McGuire, Brian Ledbetter, Shane Tankersley
Third Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Mike Marlar, Andy Anderson, Tim McCreadie, Tony Izzo, Jr., Ed Basey, Buckshot Miles, Steve Shaver, Perry Delaney, Josh Bocook, Nick Bocook, Casey Roberts, Don O'Neal
Fourth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Jared Landers, Steve Francis, Denny Eckrich, Jeremy Miller, Rick Aukland, Shaun Poling, Gabe Wilson, G.R. Smith, Earl Pearson, Jr., Marshall Green, Chuck Southard, Jimmy McCormick
Fifth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 advance): Shane Clanton, Randy Weaver, Jeff Cooke, Eddie Rickman, John Blankenship, Petey Ivey, Furman Parton, Stacy Holmes, Rick Eckert, Larry Blankenship, Ray Cook, Lewis Hudson II
Sixth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Clint Smith, Chris Madden, Todd Andrews, Ricky Weeks, Al Shawver, Jr., Steve Hendren, Jackie Boggs, Bill Bray, Chris Wall, Brian Tavenner, Jeff Smith
Seventh Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Mike Balzano, Dale McDowell, Garrett Durrett, Brady Smith, Doug Sanders, Frank Ingram, Jimmy Owens, John Gill, Michael England, Richie Nieman, Brian Birkhofer
Eighth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Justin Fegers, Jack Pennington, Tim Dohm, John Mason, Brett Miller, Brandon Ifft, Gary Mabe, Chris Winters, Davey Johnson, Mo Gordy, David Smith
Ninth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Booper Bare, Damon Eller, Donnie Moran, Ricky Elliott, Corey Conley, Keith Barbara, Tracy Pearson, Tracy Hallman, Tim Allen, Billy Hicks, Scott James
Tenth Heat: (12 Laps-Top 2 Advance): Matt Miller, Dennis Franklin, Ronnie DeHaven, Jr., Darren Miller, Shane Tankersley, David Webb, Randle Chupp, Mike Duvall, Jason Dupont, Josh Richards, Billy Moyer
First C-Main: (20 Laps-Top 4 to First B-Main): Furman Parton, Stacy Holmes, Billy Hicks, Ray Cook, Don O'Neal, Dave Eckrich, Scott Shirley, Jeff Gress, Rick Eckert, Jimmy Owens, Richard Nieman, Steve Shaver, Michael England, Larry Blankenship, Tracy Pearson, Perry Delaney, Josh Bocook, Nick Bocook, Evan Harrell, Casey Roberts, Lewis Hudson II, DNS: Dan Schleiper, John Gill, Tracy Hallman, Tim Allen, Darrell Lanigan, Brian Birkhofer, Scott James
Second C-Main: (20 Laps-Top 4 to Second B-Main): Gary Mabe, Mike Duvall, Earl Pearson, Jr., Shane Tankersley, Jackie Boggs, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Brian Ledbetter, Davey Johnson, Jimmy McCormick, G.R. Smith, Chris Winters, Danny Breuer, Chuck Southard, Josh McGuire, Gabe Wilson, Jeff Smith, DNS: Randle Chupp, J.T. Spence, Bill Bray, Chris Wall, Jason Dupont, Marshall Green, Brian Tavenner, Mo Gordy, Josh Bocook, David Smith, Josh Richards, Billy Moyer
First B-Main: (25 Laps-Top 6 to Feature): Brady Smith, Garrett Durrett, Donnie Moran, Rick Rickman, Furman Parton, Ray Cook, Ed Basey, Stacy Holmes, Billy Hicks, Tony Izzo, Jr., Doug Sanders, Keith Barbara, Corey Conley, Jimmy Mars, Petey Ivey, Tim McCreadie, Jeff Cooke, Eddie Rickman, John Blankenship, Buckshot Miles, Steve Casebolt, Bart Hartman, DNS: Ricky Elliott, Frank Ingram
Second B-Main: (25 Laps-Top 6 to feature): Tim Dohm, Jeremy Miller, Darren Miller, Denny Eckrich, Ricky Weeks, Chub Frank, Freddy Smith, David Webb, Al Shawver, Jr., Brandon Ifft, Brandon Kinzer, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Mike Duvall, Gary Mabe, Todd Andrews, John Mason, Earl Pearson, Jr., Shaun Poling, Rick Aukland, Tony Morris, Shane Tankersley, Ronnie DeHaven, Jr., Steve Hendren DNS: Brett Miller
Inaugural Circle K "Colossal 100" Main Event: Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran, Steve Francis, Dale McDowell, Chub Frank, Shannon Babb, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Booper Bare, Furman Parton, Ricky Weeks, Ed Basey, Damon Eller, Tim McCreadie, Chuck Harper, Darren Miller, Justin Fegers, Garrett Durrett, Brady Smith, Jack Pennington, Rick Rickman, Denny Eckrich, Mike Marlar, Mike Balzano, Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden, Tim Dohm, Jared Landers, Matt Miller, Jeremy Miller, Ray Cook, Andy Anderson, Dennis Franklin, Clint Smith, Randy Weaver, Ronnie DeHaven, Jr., Shane Clanton
Race Statistics Entries: 119 Yellow Flags: 13 Red Flags: 1 Lap Leaders: Shannon Babb 1-4, Steve Francis 5-8, Babb 9-50, Scott Bloomquist 51-67, Francis 68-69, Bloomquist 70-100 Hard Charger of the Race: Chub Frank (Started 32nd and finished fifth) advanced 27 positions Early Entry Provisionals: Ed Basey and Ronnie DeHaven, Jr. Fast Time Provisionals: Ronny Lee Hollingsworth and Tim McCreadie
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields
