By Brian Dunlap WoO Late Model PR Tunica, MS (October 30, 2004) Scott Bloomquist drove his #0 Miller Brothers Coal / Hawkeye Trucking / Custom Race Engines / Allstar Performance / Hoosier Tire / Sweet Manufacturing Ford Taurus into the Delta Bowl Speedway victory lane and the history books, winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series final race of the 2004 season and clinching the series championship.
Starting from the pole position with Rick Eckert’s #24 Raye Vest Excavating / Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus on his outside Bloomquist took the lead with the drop of the green flag and never looked back.
Early on Eckert looked as if he had something for Bloomquist as they ran nose to tail with Eckert trying Bloomquist on the low side in every corner. As they completed lap five the top five running order was scored as Bloomquist, Eckert, Dale McDowell, Dan Schlieper, and Mike Balzano.
Balzano’s run up front with the #E1 Smoker Friendly / Biscotti’s Restaurant / Eddie’s Auto Parts / Hoosier Tire / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo would soon be ended as he brought out the first caution of the night on lap seven as he slowed with a flat tire. The caution bunched the field back up just as both Bloomquist and Eckert had caught lap traffic.
As the field took the green flag and resumed racing Eckert applied pressure to Bloomquist but couldn’t complete the pass. Top qualifier of the evening Billy Moyer in the #21 J&J Steel / McCarthy One Hour Heating and Air / Banner Valley Hauling Chevrolet Monte Carlo soon found himself sitting in fifth position and began to challenge the #17M Larry Shaw Race Cars / S&H Motorsports / Dover Cylinder Head / Racetek / Petroff Towing / J&J Steel / New Vision Graphics / Rocket Chassis Pontiac Grand Prix for fourth.
The caution flag came out again on lap 12 for the #44 JP Drilling / CSR Aluminum Fabrication / Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Clint Smith that had spun on the back stretch. As the field tightened back up for the restart Steve Francis found himself and his #15 Valvoline / Mopar / Freeport Recycle Center / Action Auto Mart / Rocket Chassis Dodge Intrepid sitting in fifth behind Moyer after moving up from his 14th starting position.
With the drop of the green flag Francis moved around Moyer and began to apply pressure to McDowell, trying him for third. It didn’t take long as Francis dove under McDowell in turns one and two and took position on lap 14. Francis continued his quest and began to chase down front runners Eckert and Bloomquist, whom by lap 17 had entered lap traffic.
As the field crossed the halfway mark the top three runners were spread out and Bloomquist was coming up on lap traffic. Bloomquist was on the lap traffic by lap 26 allowing both Eckert and Francis to catch back up. The three drivers sorted through the lap traffic running nose to tail.
Francis was able to make the move and slide in to second as he went low in turns one and two driving underneath Eckert on lap 33. As Francis began to move forward the caution flew for Dwight Falcon’s #D65 machine that had spun in turn one.
Francis looked as if he might have had something for Bloomquist as there were 16 laps remaining in the 50 lap feature event. With the drop of the green flag Bloomquist Francis and Eckert pulled away and it was anyone’s race. The top three soon spread out, and by lap 43 Bloomquist was working his way through lap traffic.
Bloomquist finished out the race in stile collecting the $15,000 pay check and writing his name in the history books as the first ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion.
Third place runner Rick Eckert was lucky to finish where he did after he broke and A-frame early on in the race. “We had a good car all night, but we bent the A-frame and it hurt us,” said Eckert. “It definitely was a better night then it could have been.”
Second place runner Steve Francis had had his work cut out for him all night after suffering from a crash during hot laps that damaged the right side of his car. “The guys really worked hard tonight, they worked their butts off all night long to get the car fixed,” said Francis. “We were a little hard on the tires tonight, we were really good on the longer runs but the cautions hurt us.” Steve Francis wrapped up the season finishing second in overall series points. “This was a whole new team this season and the guys worked really hard to keep us running up front” commented Francis.
Scott Bloomquist emerged as the winner both nights and added one more championship title to his distinguished list. “I went a little hard on tires and it concerned me, but once we ran a little we were ok” Said Bloomquist. “With the championship coming down this close and everything riding on this last weekend it really put a lot of pressure on us, but the car was good and things couldn’t have worked out better.” Bloomquist went on to thank his sponsors Miller Brothers Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Custom Race Engines, Allstar Performance, Hoosier Tire, and Sweet Manufacturing for there help throughout the year.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series first season will come to an end on Sunday October 31st as they have there first annual banquet at Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, MS.
TIME TRIALS:
1 21 - Billy Moyer 14.180
2 15 - Steve Francis 14.210
3 44 - Clint Smith 14.214
4 1 - Josh Richards 14.237
5 E1 - Mike Balzano 14.263
6 24 - Rick Eckert 14.317
7 17M - Dale McDowell 14.345
8 O - Scott Bloomquist 14.357
9 29 - Darrell Lanigan 14.440
10 75 - Bart Hartman 14.473
11 1* - Chub Frank 14.495
12 47 - Brad Hall 14.542
13 25TH - Bill Frye 14.562
14 9 - Dan Schlieper 14.592
15 20 - Jimmy Owens 14.652
16 GRT1 - Freddy Smith 14.666
17 5M - John Vandenberg 14.706
18 83 - Scott James 14.726
19 53 - Ray Cook 14.732
20 39 - Tim McCreadie 14.735
21 18 - Shannon Babb 14.815
22 28 - Dennis Erb Jr 14.865
23 23X - Patrick Sheltra 14.890
24 12 - Rick Aukland 14.914
25 U2 - Terry Henson 15.027
26 65 - Dewaine Hottinger 15.075
27 12E - Jamie Elam 15.163
28 114 - Randle Chupp 15.202
29 15X - Jamie Dacus 15.217
30 D65 - Dwight Falcon 15.240
31 D7 - Jerry Inmon 15.303
32 21X - Sandy Goddard 15.330
33 51 - Dean Carpenter 15.372
34 D8 - Doug Showah 15.409
35 6P - Johnny Pafford 15.425
36 B23 - Kelley Hanvey 15.434
37 121 - Billy Peden 15.520
38 32 - Mark Dodson 15.759
39 23 - John Blankenship 15.835
40 25 - Shane Clanton No Time
HEAT 1: Mike Balzano
HEAT 2: Rick Eckert
HEAT 3: Dale McDowell
HEAT 4: Scott Bloomquist
A-Feature: 1) Scott Bloomquist, 2) Steve Francis, 3) Rick Eckert, 4) Chub Frank, 5) Dale McDowell, 6) Shannon Babb, 7) Josh Richards, 8) Billy Moyer, 9) Bart Hartman, 10) Scott James, 11) Dan Schlieper, 12) Ray Cook, 13) Tim McCreadie, 14) Freddy Smith, 15) John Blankenship, 16) John Vandenberg, 17) Terry Henson, 18) Jamie Dacus, 19) Clint Smith, 20) Dwight Facon, 21) Mike Balzano, 22) Rick Aukland, 23) Jimmy Owens, 24) Brad Hall, 25) Bill Frye, 26) Darrell Lanigan.
Starting from the pole position with Rick Eckert’s #24 Raye Vest Excavating / Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus on his outside Bloomquist took the lead with the drop of the green flag and never looked back.
Early on Eckert looked as if he had something for Bloomquist as they ran nose to tail with Eckert trying Bloomquist on the low side in every corner. As they completed lap five the top five running order was scored as Bloomquist, Eckert, Dale McDowell, Dan Schlieper, and Mike Balzano.
Balzano’s run up front with the #E1 Smoker Friendly / Biscotti’s Restaurant / Eddie’s Auto Parts / Hoosier Tire / West Virginia Motor Speedway / Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo would soon be ended as he brought out the first caution of the night on lap seven as he slowed with a flat tire. The caution bunched the field back up just as both Bloomquist and Eckert had caught lap traffic.
As the field took the green flag and resumed racing Eckert applied pressure to Bloomquist but couldn’t complete the pass. Top qualifier of the evening Billy Moyer in the #21 J&J Steel / McCarthy One Hour Heating and Air / Banner Valley Hauling Chevrolet Monte Carlo soon found himself sitting in fifth position and began to challenge the #17M Larry Shaw Race Cars / S&H Motorsports / Dover Cylinder Head / Racetek / Petroff Towing / J&J Steel / New Vision Graphics / Rocket Chassis Pontiac Grand Prix for fourth.
The caution flag came out again on lap 12 for the #44 JP Drilling / CSR Aluminum Fabrication / Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Clint Smith that had spun on the back stretch. As the field tightened back up for the restart Steve Francis found himself and his #15 Valvoline / Mopar / Freeport Recycle Center / Action Auto Mart / Rocket Chassis Dodge Intrepid sitting in fifth behind Moyer after moving up from his 14th starting position.
With the drop of the green flag Francis moved around Moyer and began to apply pressure to McDowell, trying him for third. It didn’t take long as Francis dove under McDowell in turns one and two and took position on lap 14. Francis continued his quest and began to chase down front runners Eckert and Bloomquist, whom by lap 17 had entered lap traffic.
As the field crossed the halfway mark the top three runners were spread out and Bloomquist was coming up on lap traffic. Bloomquist was on the lap traffic by lap 26 allowing both Eckert and Francis to catch back up. The three drivers sorted through the lap traffic running nose to tail.
Francis was able to make the move and slide in to second as he went low in turns one and two driving underneath Eckert on lap 33. As Francis began to move forward the caution flew for Dwight Falcon’s #D65 machine that had spun in turn one.
Francis looked as if he might have had something for Bloomquist as there were 16 laps remaining in the 50 lap feature event. With the drop of the green flag Bloomquist Francis and Eckert pulled away and it was anyone’s race. The top three soon spread out, and by lap 43 Bloomquist was working his way through lap traffic.
Bloomquist finished out the race in stile collecting the $15,000 pay check and writing his name in the history books as the first ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion.
Third place runner Rick Eckert was lucky to finish where he did after he broke and A-frame early on in the race. “We had a good car all night, but we bent the A-frame and it hurt us,” said Eckert. “It definitely was a better night then it could have been.”
Second place runner Steve Francis had had his work cut out for him all night after suffering from a crash during hot laps that damaged the right side of his car. “The guys really worked hard tonight, they worked their butts off all night long to get the car fixed,” said Francis. “We were a little hard on the tires tonight, we were really good on the longer runs but the cautions hurt us.” Steve Francis wrapped up the season finishing second in overall series points. “This was a whole new team this season and the guys worked really hard to keep us running up front” commented Francis.
Scott Bloomquist emerged as the winner both nights and added one more championship title to his distinguished list. “I went a little hard on tires and it concerned me, but once we ran a little we were ok” Said Bloomquist. “With the championship coming down this close and everything riding on this last weekend it really put a lot of pressure on us, but the car was good and things couldn’t have worked out better.” Bloomquist went on to thank his sponsors Miller Brothers Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Custom Race Engines, Allstar Performance, Hoosier Tire, and Sweet Manufacturing for there help throughout the year.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series first season will come to an end on Sunday October 31st as they have there first annual banquet at Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, MS.
TIME TRIALS:
1 21 - Billy Moyer 14.180
2 15 - Steve Francis 14.210
3 44 - Clint Smith 14.214
4 1 - Josh Richards 14.237
5 E1 - Mike Balzano 14.263
6 24 - Rick Eckert 14.317
7 17M - Dale McDowell 14.345
8 O - Scott Bloomquist 14.357
9 29 - Darrell Lanigan 14.440
10 75 - Bart Hartman 14.473
11 1* - Chub Frank 14.495
12 47 - Brad Hall 14.542
13 25TH - Bill Frye 14.562
14 9 - Dan Schlieper 14.592
15 20 - Jimmy Owens 14.652
16 GRT1 - Freddy Smith 14.666
17 5M - John Vandenberg 14.706
18 83 - Scott James 14.726
19 53 - Ray Cook 14.732
20 39 - Tim McCreadie 14.735
21 18 - Shannon Babb 14.815
22 28 - Dennis Erb Jr 14.865
23 23X - Patrick Sheltra 14.890
24 12 - Rick Aukland 14.914
25 U2 - Terry Henson 15.027
26 65 - Dewaine Hottinger 15.075
27 12E - Jamie Elam 15.163
28 114 - Randle Chupp 15.202
29 15X - Jamie Dacus 15.217
30 D65 - Dwight Falcon 15.240
31 D7 - Jerry Inmon 15.303
32 21X - Sandy Goddard 15.330
33 51 - Dean Carpenter 15.372
34 D8 - Doug Showah 15.409
35 6P - Johnny Pafford 15.425
36 B23 - Kelley Hanvey 15.434
37 121 - Billy Peden 15.520
38 32 - Mark Dodson 15.759
39 23 - John Blankenship 15.835
40 25 - Shane Clanton No Time
HEAT 1: Mike Balzano
HEAT 2: Rick Eckert
HEAT 3: Dale McDowell
HEAT 4: Scott Bloomquist
A-Feature: 1) Scott Bloomquist, 2) Steve Francis, 3) Rick Eckert, 4) Chub Frank, 5) Dale McDowell, 6) Shannon Babb, 7) Josh Richards, 8) Billy Moyer, 9) Bart Hartman, 10) Scott James, 11) Dan Schlieper, 12) Ray Cook, 13) Tim McCreadie, 14) Freddy Smith, 15) John Blankenship, 16) John Vandenberg, 17) Terry Henson, 18) Jamie Dacus, 19) Clint Smith, 20) Dwight Facon, 21) Mike Balzano, 22) Rick Aukland, 23) Jimmy Owens, 24) Brad Hall, 25) Bill Frye, 26) Darrell Lanigan.
