by Bill Wright                                                                                               

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (September 15, 2016) – Billy Moyer scored his 815^th career late model victory Thursday night to open the 13^th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores at the Knoxville Raceway.  The Des Moines, Iowa native now living in Batesville, Arkansas cashed in $7,000 for his ninth career win at this historic oval.  He led all 25 laps in the non-stop event, setting a late model record for time at 8:19.6.

Moyer led Brandon Sheppard, Shane Clanton, Josh Richards and Jimmy Mars early in the 25-lap feature event.  The leaders approached lapped traffic at the halfway point on the fast track.  Richards and Clanton put on a spirited battle for third, with Richards winning out on the fifteenth round.

Richards would challenge Sheppard briefly late in the going for second.  As the two battled, Moyer pulled away for his popular win.  Sheppard held onto second, ahead of Richards, Clanton and Mars.  Bobby Pierce, Chris Simpson, Don O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport and Tim McCreadie completed the top ten.

Mike Marlar and Kyle Bronson set quick time for their respective groups.  Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Darrell Lanigan, Moyer, Greg Satterlee and Jason Rauen won heat races.  Spencer Diercks won the D main, Jake O’Neil claimed the C main and Mike Marlar took the B main.

Drivers will take the best point total of their two qualifying nights.  Richards led tonight’s charge with 489, followed by Chris Simpson (483), Moyer (482), Clanton (479) and Pierce (476).

“We tweaked on the car a little bit and made the right decisions for once,” said Moyer in Victory Lane.  “We’ve got to figure out that motor deal…it’s running a little warm.  We’ll keep plugging away here.  The car was pretty darn good.  I never really did try the bottom at all, but I messed around with the middle and top.  We’ve got something to work on the rest of the week.  I got up over the cushion, and thought I’d thrown the driveshaft out of the thing.  It kind of vibrated.  When I got down off of it, the next lap I felt o.k.”

Join us tomorrow night for night #2 of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals!  For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Group A Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (29), 17.596; 2. 25, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (1), 17.729; 3. 18B, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (3), 17.827; 4. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (34), 17.872; 5. 32P, Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL (32), 17.881; 6. 28, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (18), 17.936; 7. 1H, Jared Hawkins, Fairmont, WV (28), 17.987; 8. 39, Rob Toland, Davenport, IA (4), 17.993; 9. 51, Matt Furman, Columbus, OH (8), 18.024; 10. 21JR, Billy Moyer Jr., Batesville, AR (21), 18.092; 11. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (2), 18.097; 12. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfurt, IL (24), 18.182; 13. 33X, Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ (27), 18.197; 14. B5, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (11), 18.209; 15. 96T, RC Whitwell, Tucson, AZ (30), 18.212; 16. 15F, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY (7), 18.263; 17. 32C, Chad Holladay, Muscatine, IA (14), 18.268; 18. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (31), 18.288; 19. 29D, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (9), 18.330; 20. 15, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (23), 18.350; 21. 20X, Rodney Sanders, Happy, TX (35), 18.386; 22. B1, Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN (6), 18.422; 23. 12, Ray Guss Jr., East Moline, IL (26), 18.539; 24. 1M, Rob Moss, Iowa City, IA (20), 18.558; 25. 19R, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (19), 18.638; 26. 15X, Justin Duty, Happy Valley, OR (10), 18.653; 27. 14M, Morgan Bagley, Longview, TX (12), 18.683; 28. 40, Joel Callahan, Dubuque, IA (15), 18.725; 29. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (22), 18.876; 30. 25Z, Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, PA (17), 18.921; 31. 1V, Vic Hill, Greenville, TN (5), 19.025; 32. 74M, Mitch McGrath, Waukesha, WI (13), 19.089; 33. 42, Doug Sanders, McAdenville, NC (33), 19.310; 34. 07, Brian Ledbetter, Dallas, NC (25), 19.696; DQ (Scales) 24, Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL (16), 18.042.

Group B Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 40B, Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL (15), 17.644; 2. 32, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (31), 17.728; 3. 1R, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (5), 17.805; 4. 39M, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (9), 17.849; 5. J0, Jake O’Neil, Tucson, AZ (34), 17.859; 6. 1, Earl Pearson Jr., Trinity, NC (11), 17.866; 7. 25C, Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA (12), 17.902; 8. 33C, Chad Mahder, Eau Claire, WI (22), 17.944; 9. 17M, Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA (24), 17.946; 10. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (32), 18.061; 11. 91, Tyler Erb, Houston, TX (20), 18.094; 12. 7, Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB, Can. (28), 18.122; 13. 31, Jason Utter, Columbus Junction, IA (19), 18.158; 14. 15D, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (3), 18.191; 15. 51M, Joey Moriarty, Phoenix, AZ (26), 18.231; 16. 6, Jonathan Davenport, Mount Airy, NC (13), 18.233; 17. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (1), 18.290; 18. 2H, Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, NC (29), 18.334; 19. 99, Jesse Sobbing, Glenwood, IA (7), 18.346; 20. 22, Greg Satterlee, Indiana, PA (16), 18.358; 21. 98, Jason Rauen, Farley, IA (18), 18.363; 22. 48L, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (25), 18.374; 23. 21B, Rich Bell, Sheffield, IL (8), 18.442; 24. 25F, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (23), 18.553; 25. 58, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (30), 18.568; 26. 7R, Kent Robinson, Bloomington, IN (4), 18.641; 27. 54, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (33), 18.841; 28. 33, Nick Marolf, Moscow, IA (21), 18.895; 29. 6H, Al Humphrey, Giltner, NE (14), 19.128; 30. 0KB, Kerry King Jr., Delmar, DE (6), 19.223; 31. 75, Colton Flinner, Allison Park, PA (17), 19.318; 32. 5D, John Duty, Happy Valley, OR (2), 19.375; 33. 22C, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (27), NT.

Group A Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Jimmy Owens (2); 2. Rodney Sanders (1); 3. Don O’Neal (7) / 4. Mike Marlar (8); 5. RC Whitwell (3); 6. Frank Heckenast Jr. (4) / 7. Ryan Unzicker (5); 8. Morgan Bagley (10); 9. Mason Zeigler (11) / 10. Rob Moss (9); 11. Doug Sanders (12); 12. Jared Hawkins (6)

Group A Heat two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Steve Francis (3); 2. Brent Larson (1); 3. Bobby Pierce (7) / 4. Billy Moyer Jr. (5); 5. Chad Simpson (8); 6. Vic Hill (11) / 7. Rob Toland (6); 8. Ricky Thornton Jr. (4); 9. Joel Callahan (10) / 10. Spencer Diercks (2); 11. Brian Ledbetter (12); 12. Ryan Gustin (9)

Group A Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:46.7: 1. Darrell Lanigan (2); 2. Brandon Sheppard (4); 3. Jimmy Mars (5) / 4. Dennis Erb Jr. (7); 5. Shannon Babb (8); 6. Ray Guss Jr. (1) / 7. Chad Holladay (3); 8. Matt Furman (6); 9. Justin Duty (9) / 10. Jay Johnson (10); 11. Mitch McGrath (11)

Group B Heat  one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Billy Moyer (5); 2. Shane Clanton (6); 3. Jonathan Davenport (3) / 4. Tim McCreadie (7); 5. Kyle Bronson (8); 6. Tim Lance (1) / 7. Dave Eckrich (9); 8. Nick Marolf (10); 9. Jason Utter (4) / 10. Jesse Sobbing (2); 11. Colton Flinner (11)

Group B Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.3: 1. Greg Satterlee (2); 2. Chris Simpson (8); 3. Tyler Erb (5) / 4. Chase Junghans (3); 5. Rich Bell (1); 6. Kent Robinson (9) / 7. Jake O’Neil (7); 8. Chad Mahder (6); 9. John Duty (10) / 10. Donny Schatz (4); DNS – 11. Al Humphrey

Group B Heat three (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Jason Rauen (2); 2. Josh Richards (8); 3. Jason Feger (1) / 4. Earl Pearson Jr. (7); 5. Joey Moriarty (4); 6. Nick Hoffman (3) / 7. Ricky Weiss (5); 8. Mike Fryer (9); 9. Kerry King Jr. (10) / 10. Dale McDowell (6); 11. Charlie McKenna (11)

D main (started), 10 Laps, 3:19.5: 1. Spencer Diercks (1); 2. Colton Flinner (2); 3. Mitch McGrath (7); 4. Jay Johnson (5) / 5. Rob Moss (3); 6. Doug Sanders (8); 7. Brian Ledbetter (6); 8. Charlie McKenna (4) DNS – 9. Jared Hawkins 10. Dale McDowell 11. Donny Schatz 12. Jesse Sobbing 13. Ryan Gustin 14. Al Humphrey

C main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Jake O’Neil (2); 2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (5); 3. Ricky Weiss (6); 4. Morgan Bagley (11) / 5. Rob Toland (1); 6. Matt Furman (3); 7. Ryan Unzicker (17); 8. Nick Marolf (12); 9. Justin Duty (9); 10. Mike Fryer (10); 11. Jay Johnson (20); 12. Joel Callahan (13); 13. Kerry King Jr. (14); 14. Mason Zeigler (15); 15. Chad Holladay (7); 16. Mitch McGrath (21); 17. Colton Flinner (18); 18. Spencer Diercks (19); 19. John Duty (16); 20. Chad Mahder (4); 21. Dave Eckrich (8) DNS – 22. Jason Utter

B main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Mike Marlar (1); 2. Tim McCreadie (4); 3. Shannon Babb (5); 4. Earl Pearson Jr. (6); 5. Kyle Bronson (2); 6. Dennis Erb Jr. (7) / 7. Chase Junghans (10); 8. Ricky Weiss (21); 9. Chad Simpson (3); 10. Nick Hoffman (12); 11. Billy Moyer Jr. (9); 12. Frank Heckenast Jr. (11); 13. Kent Robinson (18); 14. Morgan Bagley (22); 15. Joey Moriarty (8); 16. Tim Lance (14); 17. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20); 18. Ray Guss Jr. (15); 19. Jake O’Neil (19); 20. Vic Hill (17); 21. RC Whitwell (13); 22. Rich Bell (16)

A main, 25 Laps, 8:19.6 (NTR): 1. Billy Moyer (2); 2. Brandon Sheppard (1); 3. Josh Richards (6); 4. Shane Clanton (4); 5. Jimmy Mars (3); 6. Bobby Pierce (5); 7. Chris Simpson (8); 8. Don O’Neal (7); 9. Jonathan Davenport (12); 10. Tim McCreadie (20); 11. Jimmy Owens (11); 12. Tyler Erb (10); 13. Darrell Lanigan (13); 14. Earl Pearson Jr. (22); 15. Steve Francis (9); 16. Greg Satterlee (14); 17. Dennis Erb Jr. (24); 18. Jason Rauen (16); 19. Shannon Babb (21); 20. Jason Feger (18); 21. Mike Marlar (19); 22. Rodney Sanders (15); 23. Brent Larson (17); 24. Kyle Bronson (23). Lap Leader: Moyer 1-25. Hard-charger: McCreadie.