WHEATLAND, MO (July 16, 2011) – Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN inherited the top spot when race leader, Steve Francis had driveline failure with six laps to go. He went on to lead the rest of the way in the 5th Annual CMH Diamond Nationals on Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway. John Blankenship of Williamson, WV finished second, followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN. Polesitter, Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA and Bub McCool of Vicksburg, MS rounded out the top-five. The event was sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model Series.

Reddick led the first 15 laps of the race until Bloomquist took over the top spot with 18 laps scored. Bloomquist’s lead was short-lived as Francis took his car to the high-side of the track and swept by Bloomquist for the lead on lap 21.

Francis pulled away from Bloomquist as he continued to power around the top side of the track. Bloomquist ran a solid second during this stretch as a terrific battle for third was going between Reddick, Blankenship, Owens, and McCool went back-and-forth for the rest of the race.

With Francis in command, he held an eight-to-ten car length lead over Bloomquist and appeared to be on his way to his first win of the year. Francis had two lapped cars between himself and Bloomquist as the sizable lead looked strong enough at the time.

With six laps to go Francis slowed suddenly on the backstretch as his driveline failed ending his night. Bloomquist then inherited the lead, but a caution with five laps to go for Jared Landers set up a five-lap dash to the finish. Reddick held second briefly but a three-wide race between Reddick, Blankenship, and Owens resulted in Reddick getting shuffled back.

Blankenship and Owens tried their best to stay with Bloomquist, who went on to win for the ninth time in LOLMDS competition this season. He extended his points lead to 60 over Owens. “Sometimes you have to be lucky and we were tonight, Francis went to the top before I could get there and he was strong tonight no doubt about it. It looked like we were going to finish second again here, but to come home with the win, it feels good. The car is running exceptionally well with Lucas Oil in the Roush-Yates Ford.”

Blankenship matched his career best in the Coal America’s Energy, Rocket. Owens followed suit in his Mike Reece-owned, Reece Monument Company, Bloomquist Ford. Reddick came home fourth in his Broken Bow Records, Bloomquist Chevrolet and McCool’s Southern Belle, Moyer Victory Circle capped off the night with the fifth spot.

Completing the top ten were Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR; Chris Simpson of Oxford, IA; Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN; Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY and Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC.

In preliminary action Tyler Reddick captured his first career Red Buck Cigars Fast Time among the 36 entrants. Heat race winners were Reddick, Francis, Bloomquist and Bloomquist. The B-Mains went to Terry Phillips and Earl Pearson Jr.

The event was taped by Lucas Oil Production Studios to air on SPEED at a later date.

The series will round out the month of July with an East Coast tripleheader. On Wednesday, July 27th the series will make its second appearance at the historic Fonda Speedway in Fonda, NY . On Thursday, July 28th the series heads back to Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, NY and rounds out the month on Saturday, July 30th at “The Capitol of Dirt Track Racing” Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, MD. All three shows will pay $10,000 to win.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com or call the series’ office at (951) 532-2503.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, July 16th, 2011
“5th Annual Diamond Nationals”
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO

Red Buck Cigars Fast Time:
Tyler Reddick / 15.180 seconds (Group A and Overall)
Scott Bloomquist / 15.579 seconds (Group B)

Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Tyler Reddick, Bub McCool, Ray Cook, Brad Neat, John Anderson, Terry Phillips, Eric Turner, Bill Koons, Reid Millard

Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Steve Francis, Billy Moyer, Jared Landers, David Turner, Don O’Neal, Frank Heckenast Jr., Dustin Walker, Steve Casebolt, Jason Sivils

Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Chris Simpson, Jeremy Payne, John Mason, Tim Isenberg, Bryon Allison, Jarry Jones, Patrick Johnson
HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Dale McDowell, Al Purkey, Earl Pearson Jr., Kyle Berck, Brant Goldsmith, Chris Brown, Joe Walkenhorst

JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Terry Phillips, Steve Casebolt, Frank Heckenast Jr., John Anderson, Eric Turner, Bill Koons, Jason Sivils, Don O’Neal, Dustin Walker, Reid Millard-DNS

Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Earl Pearson Jr., Kyle Berch, Tim Isenberg, John Mason, Bryant Goldsmith, Larry Jones, Patrick Johnson, Chris Brown, Joe Walkenhorst, Bryon Allison

Feature Finish – 50 Laps
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 2 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
2 4 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
3 6 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
4 1 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
5 5 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
6 7 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
7 10 32x Chris Simpson Oxford, IA
8 23 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
9 13 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
10 9 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
11 19 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
12 11 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
13 8 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
14 18 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
15 21 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL
16 3 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
17 12 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
18 22 9t Tim Isenberg Marshfield, WI
19 16 33 Al Purkey Coffeyville, KS
20 20 14 Kyle Berck Marquette, NE
21 24 2a John Anderson Omaha, NE
22 14 74 Jeremy Payne Springfield, MO
23 15 15t David Turner Creighton, MO
24 17 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO
25 25 33x Eric Turner Hermitage, MO
26 26 24g Bryant Goldsmith Corning, IA

Race Statistics
Entrants: 36
Lap Leaders: Tyler Reddick (Laps 1 – 15); Scott Bloomquist (Laps 16 – 20); Steve Francis (Laps 21 – 44); Scott Bloomquist (Laps 45 – 50)
Caution Flags: Bryant Goldsmith, Frank Heckenast Jr. (Lap 7); Steve Francis (Lap 44); Jared Landers (Lap 45)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Don O’Neal
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
Red Buck Cigars Fast Time Provisional: Eric Turner
Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association Provisionals: Bryant Goldsmith, John Anderson
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Don O’Neal (Started 23rd; Finished 8th; Advanced 15 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Scott Bloomquist
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Steve Francis
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Tyler Reddick
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yate Race Engines
Janowski Insurance Feature Winner: Scott Bloomquist
Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Steve Casebolt
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Steve Francis
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tom Buckingham (John Blankenship)
Time of Race: 27 minutes 5 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 3680
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 3620
3 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 3320
4 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 3005
5 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 2930
6 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 2835
7 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 2805
8 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 2750
9 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS 2715
9 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 2715
11 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 2700
12 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 2690
13 1G Mike Marlar Winfield, TN 2415
14 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 2395
15 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 2340
16 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL 2255

NETWORK AIR DATE AIR TIME VENUE EVENT NAME LOCATION EVENT DATE
SPEED 7/31/11 1:00 PM Magnolia Motor Speedway Clash at the Mag Columbus, MS 7/9/11
SPEED 8/7/11 1:00 PM Tri-City Speedway Budweiser Battle at the Beach Pontoon Beach, IL 7/15/11
VERSUS 8/27/11 2:30 PM Batesville Motor Speedway Bad Boy 98 Batesville, AR 5/21/11
SPEED 9/4/11 11:00 AM Florence Speedway 29th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil Florence, KY 8/13/11
MavTV 9/8/11 9:00PM Batesville Motor Speedway Bad Boy 98 Batesville, AR 5/21/11
SPEED 9/17/11 2:00 PM Lawrenceburg Speedway Lawrenceburg, IN 8/26/11
SPEED 10/2/11 1:00 PM Portsmouth Raceway Park River Days Rumble Portsmouth, OH 9/3/11
SPEED 10/9/11 1:00 PM Virginia Motor Speedway ASi Racewear USA 100 Saluda, VA 9/17/11
SPEED 10/23/11 6:00 PM Brownstown Speedway 32nd Annual Jackson 100 Brownstown, IN 9/24/11
SPEED 10/30/11 3:00 PM Dixie Speedway Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout Woodstock, GA 10/8/11
VERSUS 12/18/11 6:00 PM Florence Speedway 29th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil Florence, KY 8/13/11
MavTV 12/29/11 9:00PM Florence Speedway 29th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil Florence, KY 8/13/11
SPEED TBA TBA Lucas Oil Speedway Diamond Nationals Wheatland, MO 7/16/11
SPEED TBA TBA Knoxville Raceway 8th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Knoxville, IA 10/1/11
MavTV TBA TBA Dixie Speedway Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout Woodstock, GA 10/8/11
VERSUS TBA TBA Dixie Speedway Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout Woodstock, GA 10/8/11

2011 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sponsors

ASI Racewear – “The Official Merchandise Vendor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Canidae Pet Foods – “The Official Pet Foods” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

DART Machinery – “The Official Engine Components” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

E3 Spark Plugs – “The Official Spark Plug” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Geico Power Sports – “The Official Insurance” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

General Tire – “The Official Tire” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Hoosier Tire – “The Official Race Tire” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

K&N Filters – “The Official Filter” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Lucas Oil Products – “The Official Oil” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Magnaflow Exhaust – “The Official Exhaust” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

MavTV – “The Official Men’s Network” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

R&L Carrier – “The Official Carrier” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Rockstar Energy Drink – “The Official Drink” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Speedco – “The Official Truck Lube and Tire Center” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Sunoco Race Fuels – “The Official Fuel” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

2011 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Supporters Include:

Allstar Performance, American Racer, Banshee Graphics, Bloomquist Race Cars, COMP Cams, Cornett Racing Engines, Cruise with the Champions, CV Products, DirtonDirt.com, Dominator Race Products, Dyers Top Rods, ECR Race Engines, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Gaerte Engines, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Hypercoil, Janowski Insurance, Jay Dickens Racing Engines, JE Pistons, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, Longhorn Chassis, MasterSbilt Chassis, Öhlins, Outerwears, PBM/Erson Cams, Performance Bodies, Pierce Racecars, Pro Power Racing, Quarter Master, Race Engine Design, Red Buck Cigars, Rhyne Race Engines, Rick Schwallie Photography, Ringers Gloves, Rocket Chassis, Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Performance, Safety Solutions, Sweet Manufactuing, Vic Hill Race Engines, Warrior Race Cars, Weld Racing Wheels, Wiles Drive Shafts, Wrisco, 5150 Race Trailers.

James Essex, Public Relations Coordinator, jessex@lucasdirt.com