Phillips/Bloomquist Front Row For Topless

mike44

mike44

Member
From Dirt On Dirt

$40,000 to win

68 cars

First heat
Taking advantage of Wendell Wallace's broken momentum because of a lapped car, polesitter Terry Phillips led the final two laps of the opening 20-lap heat for a victory that earned him the pole position for Saturday's Topless 100. Wallace, who led comfortably most of the way, settled for second with overall fast qualifier Jonathan Davenport third. Davenport briefly lost the third spot to Eric Jacobsen on the eighth lap, but quickly retook the position and held it the rest of the way. Eighth-starting Jeff Taylor made progress throughout the race to finish fourth, one spot better than Jacobsen.

Finish: Terry Phillips, Wendell Wallace, Jonathan Davenport, Jeff Taylor, Eric Jacobsen, Stacy Taylor, Brian Shriley, Chris Brown, Pat Doar, Brian Tirtchie, Michael Walker, Jack Sullivan.

Second heat
In a race where the two early leaders were knocked out, outside front-row starter Dale McDowell inherited the lead on the sixth lap and led the rest of the way. Polesitter Steve Casebolt led the first five laps before Billy Moyer went past, but on the next lap, Moyer slid into the turn-one wall and collected Casebolt after a slowing Rick Rickman apparently dropped moisture on the surface. Last year's Topless winner Tim McCreadie was second while the third spot was up for grabs late when sixth-starting Shannon Babb slowed with two laps remaining. No yellow appeared and eighth-starting Jared Landers was apparenlty able topast Brad Neat on the final lap to get the final transfer spot.

Finish: Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers, Brad Neat, Michael Murphree, Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer, Steve Casebolt, Rick Rickman, Eric Turner, Will Vaught.

Third heat
Jimmy Owens won a tight battle with fellow second-row starter Brian Birkhofer, taking the lead for good on the 13th lap and leading the rest of the way. But Birkhofer, who slipped by polesitter Jeremy Payne on the first lap and led until Owens overtook him, fell out of contention on the 16th lap as his left-rear tire blew on the 16th lap, littering the frontstretch. Payne was up to second on the lap-16 restart, but outside front-row starter Chris Wall went around him on the final lap, leaving Payne with the third and final transfer spot. Birkhofer replaced his tire and came back to finish seventh.

Finish: Jimmy Owens, Chris Wall, Jeremy, Payne, Bill Frye, David Breazeale, Jon Kirby, Brian Birkhofer, Jon Mitchell, Bub McCool, Gary Stolba, Bo Gordon.

Fourth heat
Third-starting Scott Bloomquist overtook polesitter Chad Simpson in the early laps and cruised to an easy victory. Simpson also cruised in second the rest of the way, far ahead of the third spot that eventually went to seventh-starting Neil Baggett, who made steady progress in overtaking Jason Cliburn for the final transfer position. Cliburn was fourth and eighth-staritng Brandon Smith was fifth in the caution-free event.

Finish: Scott Bloomquist, Chad Simpson, Neil Baggett, Jason Cliburn, Brandon Smith, Jimmy Cliburn, Freddy Smith, Klint Byars, Chris Simpson, Kyle Cummings. Scratched: Charlie Cole.

Fifth heat
Polesitter Earl Pearson Jr., who lost an early-race duel for the lead, took the point when O'Neal fell to the infield with mechanical problems on the 12th lap. That moved everyone else up a spot, lifting Dan Schlieper (in a Scott Bloomquist backup car) to second and giving Raymond Merrill (in Wendell Wallace's backup car) the third and final transfer spot. Billy Moyer Jr. was fourth but far behind Merrilll. O'Neal, who lost last week's North-South 100 to Jimmy Mars on the last lap, was pulling away from Pearson when he slowed and pulled in on the backstretch.

Finish: Earl Pearson Jr., Dan Schlieper, Raymond Merrill, Billy Moyer Jr., Andrew McKay, Kyle Beard, Peyton Taylor, Robbie Stuart, Josh Dancy, Don O'Neal. Scratched: Jeff Chanler.

Sixth heat
Polesitter John Blankenship turned in an impressive flag-to-flag performance, leading red-hot Jimmy Mars by a few lengths early before stretching his lead to nearly a straightaway by the checkered flag. The third-starting Mars was second with fourth-starting Chris Madden third in the caution-free affair.

Finish: John Blankenship, Jimmy Mars, Chris Madden, Ray Cook, Gary Christian, Brad Looney, Ray Moore, Wade Byars, Brian Rickman, Dewaine Hottinger, Justin Asplin.

Topless 100 lineup
Row 1: Phillips, Bloomquist
Row 2: McDowell, Pearson
Row 3: Owens, Blankenship
Row 4: Wallace, C. Simpson
Row 5: McCreadie, Schlieper
Row 6: Wall, Mars
Row 7: Davenport, Baggett
Row 8: Landers, Merrill
Row 9: Payne, Madden
Row 10: Consy transfers
Row 11: Consy transfers
Row 12: Provisionals
 
Topless 100 A Main Results

jimmy owens 40.000
scott bloomquist 20,000
jimmy mars 10,000
dan schlieper 6000
don o'neal 5000
chris madden 4500
earl person jr 4000
john davenport 3500
dale mcdowell 3000
chris wall 2800
brad neat 2600
john blakenship 2500
jared landers 2450
chad simpson 2400
wendall wallace 2350
terry phillips 2300
jeremy payne 2250
bill frye 2200
tim mccreadie 2175
eric jacobson 2150
ray merrill 2100
billy moyer jr 2075
ray cook 2050
neil bagget 2000
steve casebolt 2000
 
11:44 p.m.: Owens official winner
Jimmy Owens stretched his lead to nearly a straightaway at the finish over Scott Bloomquist. Jimmy Mars got past Dan
Schlieper late for third while Don O'Neal was fifth.
11:41 p.m.: 10 to go for Owens
Jimmy Owens, just clear after several lapped cars, has a three-lapped car cushion on second-running Scott Bloomquist
with 10 laps remaining.
11:38 p.m.: Wild Wisconsin battle
Wisconsin drivers Dan Schlieper and Jimmy Mars traded multiple slide jobs on laps 71-73, once makign hard contact on
the frontstretch in a battle for third. Schlieper got the spot but they're falling far behind runner-up Scott Bloomquist and
dominating leader Jimmy Owens, who has more than a half-straightaway lead on lap 77. Don O'Neal is up to fifth after
starting 23rd.
11:32 p.m.: Last year's winner slows
Fourth-running TIm McCreadie slowed to bring out a lap-68 caution; he pulled to the infield pits. Jimmy Owens leads
followed by Jimmy Mars, Scott Bloomquist, Dan Schlieper and now first-time Batesville visitor Jonathan Davenport in
fifth. Owens appears tough to beat as he's smoothly pulled away on multiple restarts.
11:30 p.m.: Mars back to second
Jimmy Mars went back to the low side and slipped under Scott Bloomquist for second shortly after the lap-56 restart. But
he can't keep up with Jimmy Owens, who leads by a half-straightaway now after 65 laps. The top three are on the same
straightaway with fourth on back struggling to keep up.
11:27 p.m.: Flat for Wall on lap 56
Chris Wall dropped to the tail and spun in turn four with a flat right rear tire. The top five remains the same with Jimmy
Owens out front.
11:23 p.m.: Jacobsen draws lap-53 yellow
Eric Jacobsen stopped on the backstretch for a lap-53 caution, erasing a half-straightaway lead for a strong Jimmy
Owens. Scott Bloomquist holds second while Jimmy Mars is back in third, but not looking as strong as he did early. Tim
McCreadie is fourth, trying to hold off a low-running Dan Schlieper. Behind them and rounding out the top 10 is Chris
Madden, Jonathan Davenport, Don O'Neal, Chris Wall and Dale McDowell.
11:19 p.m.: Lap-46 caution for Frye
Backmarker Bill Frye skidded high in turn four to a stop to draw a lap-46 caution. Jimmy Owens is out front with Scott
Bloomquist second and Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Mars and Dan Schlieper in the top five.
11:17 p.m.: Top five at lap 40
Jimmy Owens (by half-straight), Scott Bloomquist, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Mars (switched from low to high) and Dan
Schlieper.
11:14 p.m.: Lap-34 caution for Cook
Ray Cook, who started 22nd, stopped near the wall in turn two to draw a lap-34 caution, just a few laps after he broke
into the top 10. Jimmy Owens still leads comfortable with Scott Bloomquist, who moved low after the last restart, in
second after getting the spot back from Jimmy Mars. The top three are running ahead of the rest of the field during the
longer green-flag stretches.
11:11 p.m.: Lap-30 rundown
Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Mars, Tim McCreadie, Dan Schlieper, Chris Madden, Dale McDowell, John
Blankenship, Ray Cook and Chris Wall in 10th.
11:04 p.m.: Lap-21 caution for Wallace, Landers
Wendell Wallace slowed with a crinkled left-rear quarterpanel shortly after the lap-20 restart. He's in the infield for
repairs. The top five: Fifth-starting Jimmy Owens, 12th-starting Jimmy Mars, second-starting Scott Bloomquist, 10thstarting
Dan Schlieper and ninth-starting Tim McCreadie. Jared Landers was also slow on the track as the caution waved.
11 p.m.: Caution on lap 20 for Baggett
Neil Baggett slowed on the 20th lap, breaking up a tight battle for second between a low-running Jimmy Mars and higher
-running Scott Bloomquist. Jimmy Owens is still in the lead as the top three were edging away from the field. Up to
fourth after the lap-15 restart was Dan Schlieper, who's in a Bloomquist backup car. Tim McCreadie, last year's winner, is
fifth after 20 laps. Polesitter Terry Phillips has slipped to sixth. Mars just nosed Bloomquist for second before the yellow.
10:56 p.m.: Caution at lap 15
The first yellow is out on lap 15. Fifth-starting Jimmy Owens is out front after taking the lead from Scott Bloomquist, who
started outside the front row and led the first 10 laps. Jimmy Mars, who started 12th, is already up to third followed by
Dale McDowell and polesitter Terry Phillips. After that it's Dan Schlieper in sixth, Tim McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., John
Blankenship and Chris Wall. Pearson started fourth.
10:54 p.m.: Owens leads lap 12
Jimmy Owens, already lapping cars, overtook Scott Bloomquist on the 12th lap and leads with Jimmy Mars up to third
(corrects lap when lead exchanged hands)

10:49 p.m.: Four-wide parade lap
Driver intros are complete and the four-wide parade lap under fireworks is on the track. Terry Phillips and Scott
Bloomquist are set for the front row.
10:19 p.m.: The race according to Owens
Fifth-starting Jimmy Owens skipped the hot-lap session for the feature cars, figuring he's ready for the race. His
evaluation of the track? The surface will blow off and the high side will remain good throughout the race. But if the
bottom gets better during the race, Owens said, it could be trouble. "It's onen of those deals where I don't know you
want to be leading," he said, adding that lapped traffic could play a key factor in the scenario he envisions. Series
officials have just blown the 10-minute horn calling drivers to the track.
10:08 p.m.: Car Taylor wrecked a loss
Car owner Steve Rushin said the No. 99 that carried Peyton Taylor over the wall during the second consolation is a total
loss. He was watching from the infield when something broke on the right front of the car, sending it right into the turnone
concrete. "I saw the whole thing," Rushin said. "It just turned right and went right through the wall." The loss of the
car leaves Rushin's reguliar driver, Eric Turner, in a pinch. He's been struggling with a new GRT car and planned to climb
back into the older car (that Taylor drove at the Topless), but now he'll be forced to do his best with the newer chassis.
"My last bullet," Turner joked. The team has another car with front end damage that's being repair at GRT, but it's not
ready yet.
10:02 p.m.: Hot laps for feature cars
The 18 cars locked into the Topless 100 through heat races just completed hot laps; up next is the modified feature with
the Topless 100 to follow after that.
9:43 p.m.: Provisionals set
Don O'Neal and Steve Casebolt got the series provisionals while Eric Jacobsen took an emergency series provisional;
there are apparently no track provisionals and 25 cars are set for the 100-lap feature (lineup at right; updates with
Jacobsen).
9:41 p.m.: Official consolation finishes
First consolation: Brad Neat, Bill Frye, Eric Jacobsen, Michael Murphree, Jon Kirby, Jon Mitchell, Chris Brown, Michael
Walker, David Breazeale, Stacy Taylor, Pat Doar, Eric Turner, Jeff Taylor, Bo Gordon, Brian Shirley, Gary Stolba, Steve
Casebolt, Shannon Babb. Scratched: Billy Moyer, Brian Birkhofer, Rick Rickman, Bub McCool, Brian Ritchie, Will Vaught,
Jack Sullivan.
Second consolation: Billy Moyer Jr., Ray Cook, Jason Cliburn, Ray Moore, Kyle Beard, Robbie Stuart, Gary Christian,
Brad Looney, Jimmy Cliburn, Kyle Cummings, Wade Byars, Brandon Smith, Klint Byars, Chris Simpson, Josh Danzy,
Charlie Cole, Andrew McKay, Peyton Taylor, Dewaine Hottinger, Dewayne Lott, Don O'Neal, Freddy Smith. Scratched:
Brian Rickman.
9:24 p.m.: Moyer Jr. wins second consy
Billy Moyer Jr. completed his victory in the second consy with Ray Cook in second after overtaking Jason Cliburn on a lap
-14 restart. The finish: Billy Moyer Jr., Ray Cook, Jason Cliburn, Ray Moore, Kyle Beard, Robbie Stuart, Gary Christian,
Brad Looney, Jimmy Cliburn, Kyle Cummings and Wade Byars (those were the only cars running at the finish). Brandon
Smith, who ran up front early in BIll Frye's backup car, spun for a lap-14 caution and pulled to the infield complaining of
steering problems.
9:15 p.m.: Second consy resumes
Wreck cleanup is complete and the second consy is back under way with Billy Moyer Jr. and Jason Cliburn holding
transfer spots. Ray Cook is a close third at the halfway mark of the 20-lapper.
9:07 p.m.: Giveaways during break
While workers continue to repair the concrete barriers knocked askew by Peyton Taylor's turn-one accident, the track
announcer is doing several giveaways to keep the huge crowd entertained. The drivers in the second consy are parked
along the backstretch and into turn three, all with their helmets off awaiting the call to fire engines again. Two wreckers
and a tractor are tending to the wall. Two sections were knocked out of place, one at perhaps a 45-degree angle and the
other less so. While Taylor struck those sections of the wall, he ended up clearing the wall about 70 feet further down
toward turn two.
9:02 p.m.: Jacobsen upset over restart
After Eric Jacobsen crossed the scales as the third-place finisher in the first consolation — missing a transfer spot in his
first-ever trip to Batesville — he complained to series officials about an aborted lap-13 restart. On the first restart
following the wreck that knocked David Breazeale out, leader Brad Neat fired but second-running Bill Frye didn't.
Jacobsen quickly picked up two positions and moved into second, but it wasn't clear if the green flag actually waved. The
field was reformed for another restart and everyone fired the next time. Jacobsen protested that the first start should've
counted. Jacobsen's car builder Scott Bloomquist was in the infield also appealing on Jacobsen's behalf.
8:56 p.m.: Breazeale's demise
After starting sixth in the first consolation, David Breazeale quickly raced up to second and was in position to capture the
second and final transfer spot. That all went bad, though, on the 13th lap when the lapped cars of Michael Walker and Bo
Gordon got together, and Gordon ended up losing control of his car off of turn four just in front of Breazeale. "When he
looped it, I didn't have anywhere to go," Breazeale said, managing a smile as he climbed in his car to leave the infield.
"That's part of it." Just before Breazeale's accident, Jeff Taylor gave up the third spot with a puff of smoke and rolled to
the infield with a broken engine.
8:53 p.m.: Moyer Jr. leads second consy
With a red flag for the cleanup of Peyton Taylor's wreck on the third lap, Billy Moyer Jr. leads the second consolation over
polesitter Jason Cliburn, Brandon Smith is in third.
8:51 p.m.: Peyton Taylor clears wall
Peyton Taylor, driving Eric Turner's Steve Rushin-owned backup car, got into the turn-one concrete barriers and
launched over the concrete, landing just outside the track between turns one and two. He's not injured but it's going to
take several minutes to put the walls back in place and complete the cleanup. The car was heavily damaged. "I couldn't
do anything by hang on," Taylor told Speed channel announcer Randy LaJoie. "I wanted to get on TV, but not like this."
8:40 p.m.: Neat wins first consy
Brad Neat continued dominating the first consy the final seven laps. He crossed the line ahead of Bill Frye, the only other
transferring driver. Eric Jacobsen wasd third followed by Michael Murphy, Jon Kirby, Jon Mitchell and Chris Brown, the
only cars running at the finish.
8:33 p.m.: And Breazeale out
A lap-13 caution appeared when the lapped car of Bo Gordon spun off turn four, collecting second-running David
Breazeale as he entered the fronstretch. Breazeale pulled off the track. Gordon climbed from his car and appeared briefly
dazed, sitting for a moment on the track against the inside wall, but he climbed aboard for the No. 34 to be towed off.
The lap-13 restart in a race where the top two advance to the main event: Brad Neat, Bill Frye, Michael Murphree, Eric
Jacobsen, Jon Kirby, Jon Mitchell, Chris Brown and Michael Walker. More than 10 drivers have pulled out of the race.
8:30 p.m.: Taylor out
Polesitter Jeff Taylor pulled out of the first consy on the 12th lap after a plume of smoke from his No. 5
8:26 p.m.: Neat out to early lead
Outside front-row starter Brad Neat built more than a straightaway lead over the first half-dozen laps before a caution for
Brian Shirley in the first consolation race. Sixth-starting David Breazeale was the big mover early, sweeping up to second
after two laps and holding the second transfer spot over polesitter Jeff Taylor. The first lap was a little dicey on the
backstretch when Breazeale went under Bill Frye, making contact that caused some shuffling and nearly got Frye
sideways entering turn three. He saved it. Meanwhile, Steve Casebolt decided to hope that Ray Cook makes the show in
the second consolation, which would give Casebolt a provisional. Casebolt started on the tail of the first consy and pulled
out.
8:20 p.m.: Track finally ready
After about 15 minutes of semi hot-laps to get the track whipped into shape, the first consy field has formed two-by-two
and the green flag should come out shortly.
8:07 p.m.: First consy on the track
The first consolation race is on the track in front of a huge crowd at Batesville. Steamy temperatures of about 90 in the
mid-afternoon have dropped to a pleasant 81 at dusk. As the cars work in the greasy surface, it appears several drivers
have scratched, including Brian Birkhofer, Rick Rickman, Bub McCool, Brian Ritchie, Will Vaught and Jack Sullivan.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Back
Top