By Dustin Jarrett
UNION, KY -- The nation's winningest dirt late model driver over the last six years, Don O'Neal, completed a weekend sweep in O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series action Saturday night at Florence Speedway. O'Neal becomes the first driver to win back-to-back O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series races in two years.
Defending Spring 50 Champion Dan Schlieper started on the pole with local hotshoe Roger Williams on the outside. Williams won the drag race into turns one and two with Schlieper glued to his back bumper and defending Series Co-Champion Mike Jewell looking on in 3rd. The first several laps saw Schlieper looking for a pass in every corner and continuously hounding Williams for the top spot. 6th-starting Don O'Neal, the fast qualifier in Racing Optics Time Trials and the winner of Mason Racin' Heat #1, flexed his muscles early on as he worked by Mike Marlar on lap 5 and slipped past Jewell one circuit later to crack the top three.
O'Neal wasted little time tracking down the lead duo and, by lap 11, the Martinsville, IN veteran made it a three dog fight for the point. O'Neal feverishly challenged Schlieper for 2nd, giving race-leader Williams a new threat to worry about. While all of this was happening, Jewell and Marlar staged their own door-to-door war in a battle for 4th. Behind of them, side-by-side and three-wide racing saw positions six through ten swap practically every lap with Brad Neat, Jesse Lay, Bryan Barber, and Wayne Chinn racing hard.
As the lead trio began working through lapped traffic, O'Neal dazzled fans with a slicing pass into 2nd and immediately looked for the lead. O'Neal's bid for the top spot was slowed by a lap 18 caution as mechanical woes forced Tyrel Todd to become the first retiree of the race. When racing resumed, Schlieper used the Delaware double-file restart to his advantage and reassumed control of the bridesmaid honors. The three way dance for the lead brought the crowd to its feet at the halfway point as O'Neal rolled by both Schlieper and Williams in one lap to grab command of the race. Before O'Neal could pull away, a pair of cautions kept Williams and Schlieper within striking distance.
On the lap 29 restart, Schlieper motored into second and 13th-starting Jesse Lay grabbed 4th from Marlar. With Schlieper glued to the rear decklid of race-leader O'Neal, Williams began to fade ever so slightly. Behind them, the racing from 4th on back continued to "wow" the crowd with Lay, Marlar, Neat, Jewell, Freddy Smith, and 15th-starting Steve Casebolt all racing doorhandle-to-doorhandle.
With just ten laps to go, O'Neal and Schlieper started weaving their way through lapped traffic. Several intense moments saw Schlieper try to use the back of the field to his advantage, but to no avail. Schlieper's last chance came with just a few circuits remaining, but O'Neal's ability to work by a pair of backmarkers allowed the two-time Spring 50 winner to separate himself from the defending race champ just enough to claim the victory for the second night in a row.
"The car was great tonight and I can't thank my crew enough. Just like last night, I knew we had a good enough car to get up there and win but it was just a matter of doing it," O'Neal said in winner's circle. Saturday marked the second straight win for the driver of the Independence Lumber/Foxfire Realty/Grayson Farm & Leasing/Eller Motorsports sponsored Jay Dickens/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo.
Second place honors went to 2005 Spring 50 winner, Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, WI in his Pro Power/Rayburn Monte Carlo. Walton, KY's Roger Williams took home third in his Dargie powered Rocket Monte Carlo. Fourth place was Dunnville, KY native Brad Neat driving a Cornett/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo. Rounding out the top five in his Pro Power/Rayburn Monte Carlo was Winfield, TN's Mike Marlar.
This weekend, the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts travels to Junction City, KY on Friday, April 21st for the rescheduled 3rd Annual Spring 40 at the Ponderosa Speedway. Saturday night, April 22nd, the nation's most competitive regional racing series visits the historic Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, IN for the 23rd Annual Hoosier Dirt Classic.
For more information on the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts, visit us on the web at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call the Series office at (859) 433-5707.
Race Summary
Florence Speedway (Union, KY)
April 15, 2006
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts
Racing Optics Fast Qualifier: Don O'Neal/16.108
Mason Racin' Heat #1: Don O'Neal, Greg Lucas, Jesse Lay, Bobby Wolter Jr., Robby Hensley, Tyrel Todd, Anthony Ferguson, Larry Pickleheimer Jr., Joey Tackett
Mason Racin' Heat #2: Dan Schlieper, Kenny Christy, Tim Tungate, Steve Landrum, Timmy Yeager, Mike Wooldridge, BoB Lanter, Eric Myers, Adrian Nichols
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #3: Roger Williams, Brad Neat, Steve Casebolt, Josh Williams, Michael Chilton, Bill Blair Jr., Doug Dodd, Mike Amell, Rod Conley
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #4: Mike Jewell, Freddy Smith, Scott James, Brian Birkhofer, Justin Rattliff, Shannon Thornsberry, Dan Hoard, Blake Chinn, Delmas Conley
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #5: Wayne Chinn, Bryan Barber, Ted Nobbe, Mike McWilliams, Michael England, Chris Combs, Jeff Alsip, Bill Williams, Dan Deaton
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #6: Mike Marlar, Audie McWilliams, Rick Corbin, Ryan Markham, RJ Conley, Chad Smith, Mike Watson, Sterling Cottongim, Jeff Raisor
Design 500 B-Main #1: Steve Landrum, Bobby Wolter Jr., Timmy Yeager, Robby Hensley, Josh Williams, Tyrel Todd, Michael Chilton, Bill Blair Jr., Bob Lanter, Eric Myers, Mike Wooldridge, Rod Conley, Anthony Ferguson, Doug Dodd, Larry Pickleheimer Jr., Joey Tackett, Adrian Nichols
Design 500 B-Main #2: Brian Birkhofer, Ryan Markham, Michael England, RJ Conley, Mike McWilliams, Chris Combs, Justin Rattliff, Dan Hoard, Shannon Thornsberry, Jeff Alsip, Blake Chinn, Chad Smith, Delmas Conley, Bill Williams, Mike Watson, Sterling Cottongim
O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring 50: Don O'Neal, Dan Schlieper, Roger Williams, Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Jesse Lay, Freddy Smith, Steve Casebolt, Brian Birkhofer, Mike Jewell, Bryan Barber, Wayne Chinn, Steve Landrum, Scott James, Chris Combs, Tim Tungate, Kenny Christy, Audie McWilliams, Greg Lucas, Rick Corbin, Ted Nobbe, Bobby Wolter Jr., Ryan Markham, Josh Williams, Tyrel Todd
Race Statistics
Entries: 56
Cautions: 3
Lap Leaders: Roger Williams 1-24, Don O'Neal 25-50
PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the Race: Brian Birkhofer
Series Provisionals: Chris Combs and Tyrel Todd
Track Provisional: Josh Williams
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series Points after April 15
1. 500 Don O'Neal
2. 450 Dan Schlieper
3. 415 Brian Birkhofer
4. 390 Brad Neat
5. 380 Steve Casebolt
6. 365 Scott James
7. 350 Jesse Lay
8. 345 Roger Williams
9. 340 Mike Marlar
9. 340 Wayne Chinn
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Upcoming Schedule
April 21 - Ponderosa Speedway, Junction City, KY - $3,000 to Win (3rd Annual Spring 40)
April 22 - Brownstown Speedway, Brownstown, IN - $3,000 to Win (23rd Annual Hoosier Dirt Classic)
April 28 - Richmond Raceway, Richmond, KY - $3,000 to Win (Spring Shootout)
April 29 - Bluegrass Speedway, Bardstown, KY - $3,000 to Win (9th Annual Spring Sizzler)
May 6 - 201 Speedway, Sitka, KY - $3000 to Win
May 20 - Lake Cumberland Speedway, Burnside, KY - $3000 to win (Coco-Cola 40)
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series Sponsors
O’Reilly Auto Part – Title Sponsor and “Official Auto Part Retailer of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
Arizona Sport Shirts – Presenting Sponsor and “Official Souvenir Manufacturer & Vendor of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
Sunoco Race Fuels – “Official Race Fuel of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Supporters Include: O’Reilly Auto Parts, Arizona Sport Shirts, Sunoco Race Fuels, DART Machinery, Lucas Oil Products, Hoosier Race Tires, American Race Tires, PPM Performance Products, Bazell Fuels, Cruise With the Champions, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply, Racing Optics, Mason Racing, Trailer Parts & Sales, Honda of Prestonsburg, Bullock Race Engines, CJ Rayburn Race Cars, Bert Transmissions, Rick Schwallie Photography and Real Wheels
UNION, KY -- The nation's winningest dirt late model driver over the last six years, Don O'Neal, completed a weekend sweep in O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series action Saturday night at Florence Speedway. O'Neal becomes the first driver to win back-to-back O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series races in two years.
Defending Spring 50 Champion Dan Schlieper started on the pole with local hotshoe Roger Williams on the outside. Williams won the drag race into turns one and two with Schlieper glued to his back bumper and defending Series Co-Champion Mike Jewell looking on in 3rd. The first several laps saw Schlieper looking for a pass in every corner and continuously hounding Williams for the top spot. 6th-starting Don O'Neal, the fast qualifier in Racing Optics Time Trials and the winner of Mason Racin' Heat #1, flexed his muscles early on as he worked by Mike Marlar on lap 5 and slipped past Jewell one circuit later to crack the top three.
O'Neal wasted little time tracking down the lead duo and, by lap 11, the Martinsville, IN veteran made it a three dog fight for the point. O'Neal feverishly challenged Schlieper for 2nd, giving race-leader Williams a new threat to worry about. While all of this was happening, Jewell and Marlar staged their own door-to-door war in a battle for 4th. Behind of them, side-by-side and three-wide racing saw positions six through ten swap practically every lap with Brad Neat, Jesse Lay, Bryan Barber, and Wayne Chinn racing hard.
As the lead trio began working through lapped traffic, O'Neal dazzled fans with a slicing pass into 2nd and immediately looked for the lead. O'Neal's bid for the top spot was slowed by a lap 18 caution as mechanical woes forced Tyrel Todd to become the first retiree of the race. When racing resumed, Schlieper used the Delaware double-file restart to his advantage and reassumed control of the bridesmaid honors. The three way dance for the lead brought the crowd to its feet at the halfway point as O'Neal rolled by both Schlieper and Williams in one lap to grab command of the race. Before O'Neal could pull away, a pair of cautions kept Williams and Schlieper within striking distance.
On the lap 29 restart, Schlieper motored into second and 13th-starting Jesse Lay grabbed 4th from Marlar. With Schlieper glued to the rear decklid of race-leader O'Neal, Williams began to fade ever so slightly. Behind them, the racing from 4th on back continued to "wow" the crowd with Lay, Marlar, Neat, Jewell, Freddy Smith, and 15th-starting Steve Casebolt all racing doorhandle-to-doorhandle.
With just ten laps to go, O'Neal and Schlieper started weaving their way through lapped traffic. Several intense moments saw Schlieper try to use the back of the field to his advantage, but to no avail. Schlieper's last chance came with just a few circuits remaining, but O'Neal's ability to work by a pair of backmarkers allowed the two-time Spring 50 winner to separate himself from the defending race champ just enough to claim the victory for the second night in a row.
"The car was great tonight and I can't thank my crew enough. Just like last night, I knew we had a good enough car to get up there and win but it was just a matter of doing it," O'Neal said in winner's circle. Saturday marked the second straight win for the driver of the Independence Lumber/Foxfire Realty/Grayson Farm & Leasing/Eller Motorsports sponsored Jay Dickens/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo.
Second place honors went to 2005 Spring 50 winner, Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, WI in his Pro Power/Rayburn Monte Carlo. Walton, KY's Roger Williams took home third in his Dargie powered Rocket Monte Carlo. Fourth place was Dunnville, KY native Brad Neat driving a Cornett/MasterSbilt Monte Carlo. Rounding out the top five in his Pro Power/Rayburn Monte Carlo was Winfield, TN's Mike Marlar.
This weekend, the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts travels to Junction City, KY on Friday, April 21st for the rescheduled 3rd Annual Spring 40 at the Ponderosa Speedway. Saturday night, April 22nd, the nation's most competitive regional racing series visits the historic Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, IN for the 23rd Annual Hoosier Dirt Classic.
For more information on the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts, visit us on the web at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call the Series office at (859) 433-5707.
Race Summary
Florence Speedway (Union, KY)
April 15, 2006
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts
Racing Optics Fast Qualifier: Don O'Neal/16.108
Mason Racin' Heat #1: Don O'Neal, Greg Lucas, Jesse Lay, Bobby Wolter Jr., Robby Hensley, Tyrel Todd, Anthony Ferguson, Larry Pickleheimer Jr., Joey Tackett
Mason Racin' Heat #2: Dan Schlieper, Kenny Christy, Tim Tungate, Steve Landrum, Timmy Yeager, Mike Wooldridge, BoB Lanter, Eric Myers, Adrian Nichols
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #3: Roger Williams, Brad Neat, Steve Casebolt, Josh Williams, Michael Chilton, Bill Blair Jr., Doug Dodd, Mike Amell, Rod Conley
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #4: Mike Jewell, Freddy Smith, Scott James, Brian Birkhofer, Justin Rattliff, Shannon Thornsberry, Dan Hoard, Blake Chinn, Delmas Conley
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #5: Wayne Chinn, Bryan Barber, Ted Nobbe, Mike McWilliams, Michael England, Chris Combs, Jeff Alsip, Bill Williams, Dan Deaton
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #6: Mike Marlar, Audie McWilliams, Rick Corbin, Ryan Markham, RJ Conley, Chad Smith, Mike Watson, Sterling Cottongim, Jeff Raisor
Design 500 B-Main #1: Steve Landrum, Bobby Wolter Jr., Timmy Yeager, Robby Hensley, Josh Williams, Tyrel Todd, Michael Chilton, Bill Blair Jr., Bob Lanter, Eric Myers, Mike Wooldridge, Rod Conley, Anthony Ferguson, Doug Dodd, Larry Pickleheimer Jr., Joey Tackett, Adrian Nichols
Design 500 B-Main #2: Brian Birkhofer, Ryan Markham, Michael England, RJ Conley, Mike McWilliams, Chris Combs, Justin Rattliff, Dan Hoard, Shannon Thornsberry, Jeff Alsip, Blake Chinn, Chad Smith, Delmas Conley, Bill Williams, Mike Watson, Sterling Cottongim
O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring 50: Don O'Neal, Dan Schlieper, Roger Williams, Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Jesse Lay, Freddy Smith, Steve Casebolt, Brian Birkhofer, Mike Jewell, Bryan Barber, Wayne Chinn, Steve Landrum, Scott James, Chris Combs, Tim Tungate, Kenny Christy, Audie McWilliams, Greg Lucas, Rick Corbin, Ted Nobbe, Bobby Wolter Jr., Ryan Markham, Josh Williams, Tyrel Todd
Race Statistics
Entries: 56
Cautions: 3
Lap Leaders: Roger Williams 1-24, Don O'Neal 25-50
PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the Race: Brian Birkhofer
Series Provisionals: Chris Combs and Tyrel Todd
Track Provisional: Josh Williams
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series Points after April 15
1. 500 Don O'Neal
2. 450 Dan Schlieper
3. 415 Brian Birkhofer
4. 390 Brad Neat
5. 380 Steve Casebolt
6. 365 Scott James
7. 350 Jesse Lay
8. 345 Roger Williams
9. 340 Mike Marlar
9. 340 Wayne Chinn
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Upcoming Schedule
April 21 - Ponderosa Speedway, Junction City, KY - $3,000 to Win (3rd Annual Spring 40)
April 22 - Brownstown Speedway, Brownstown, IN - $3,000 to Win (23rd Annual Hoosier Dirt Classic)
April 28 - Richmond Raceway, Richmond, KY - $3,000 to Win (Spring Shootout)
April 29 - Bluegrass Speedway, Bardstown, KY - $3,000 to Win (9th Annual Spring Sizzler)
May 6 - 201 Speedway, Sitka, KY - $3000 to Win
May 20 - Lake Cumberland Speedway, Burnside, KY - $3000 to win (Coco-Cola 40)
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series Sponsors
O’Reilly Auto Part – Title Sponsor and “Official Auto Part Retailer of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
Arizona Sport Shirts – Presenting Sponsor and “Official Souvenir Manufacturer & Vendor of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
Sunoco Race Fuels – “Official Race Fuel of the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Dirt Car Series”
2006 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Supporters Include: O’Reilly Auto Parts, Arizona Sport Shirts, Sunoco Race Fuels, DART Machinery, Lucas Oil Products, Hoosier Race Tires, American Race Tires, PPM Performance Products, Bazell Fuels, Cruise With the Champions, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply, Racing Optics, Mason Racing, Trailer Parts & Sales, Honda of Prestonsburg, Bullock Race Engines, CJ Rayburn Race Cars, Bert Transmissions, Rick Schwallie Photography and Real Wheels
