TAZEWELL, TN (June 3, 2011) – Jared Landers of Batesville, AR led all the way in winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned Toyota of Knoxville 75 on Friday Night at Tazewell Speedway. Landers earned $10,00 for his second career super late model victory in a hotly contested race. Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA finished a close second followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; and 23rd starting Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN.

“I don’t know what to say, except that the car was strong all night long, thanks to my crew they did a great job. Tommy Grecco is now my new crew chief, and to win here at Tazewell is just unbelievable,” said the 30-year-old Landers, who currently leads the Quarter Master Rookie of the Year chase for the series.

There was a massive pileup on the first lap included Davenport, Ray Cook, Scott Bloomquist, Owens and Steve Casebolt resulted in a red flag. When the race resumed Landers grabbed the lead with Davenport in tow.

Mike Marlar followed in the third, being chased by Francis and John Blankenship. The top five remained the same until a caution came out on lap 24. Owens, who had to restart on the tail because he went to the pits, was up to ninth in the running order.

Landers maintained his lead as Davenport, Marlar and Francis all closed on him. Francis dove to the inside of Marlar in the race for third as the top three ran door-to-door Francis got caught behind Billy Ogle Jr. who was exiting the track, causing Francis to loose several spots.

With 25 laps to go Landers was still out in front with Davenport and Marlar putting the heat on him. Owens had climbed inside the top five after getting around Tyler Reddick and was now hunting down the leaders.

Marlar, saw his night go up in smoke as his engine let go six laps from the finish. Marlar slowed on the front stretch, bringing out the final caution of the race. This set-up a shootout to the finish between Landers, Davenport, and Owens.

Landers managed to withstand several challenges from Davenport and Owens, but beat the duo to the line for his first series win of the year in the Lance Landers-owned Rocket Chassis Chevrolet powered by an ECR Racing Engine. Crawford Supply, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Mark Martin Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer Racing sponsor his car.

Bloomquist still holds the series points lead despite finishing three laps down with severe damage to his car. Owens is now just 15 points behind Bloomquist.

Rounding out the top ten were: Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA; John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA; Eric Wells of Hazard, KY; and Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY.

In preliminary events Jonathan Davenport was the Red Buck Cigar Fast Qualifier and also earned $300 from Martin Roofing. Heat race winners were Jared Landers, Steve Francis, Jimmy Owens, and Scott Bloomquist. The B-Mains were won by Tommy Kerr and Bub McCool.

The next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be on Saturday Night, June 4th at Florence Speedway in Union, KY for the 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial paying $10,000 to win. For more information visit www.florencespeedway.com.

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
Friday Night, June 3rd, 2011
Toyota Knoxville 75
Tazewell Speedway – Tazewell, TN

Red Buck Cigars Fast Time:
Jared Landers / 11.024 seconds (Group A)
Jonathan Davenport / 10.983 seconds (Group B and Overall)

Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jared Landers, John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Dale McDowell, Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks

Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Steve Francis, Eric Jacobsen, Vic Hill, Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Terry Wolfenbarger

Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Brad Neat, Tyler Reddick, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Victor Lee, Don O’Neal

HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Mike Marlar, Ray Cook, Steve Casebolt, Bub McCool, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs

JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks, Terry Wolfenbarger

Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Bub McCool, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Don O’Neal-DNS

“Toyota Knoxville 75” Feature Finish – 75 Laps

FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 1 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
2 6 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
3 2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
4 3 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
5 23 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
6 14 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
7 5 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
8 13 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
9 9 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
10 10 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
11 7 5 Eric Jacobsen Watsonville, CA
12 19 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA
13 4 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
14 8 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
15 18 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
16 11 1v Vic Hill Mosheim, TN
17 12 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
18 17 4T Tommy Kerr Maryville, TN
19 20 5h Bryan Hendrix Knoxville, TN
20 22 90J Jason Trammell Knoxville, TN
21 15 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
22 21 201 Billy Ogle Knoxville, TN
23 24 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL
24 16 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN

Race Statistics
Entrants: 30
Lap Leaders: Jared Landers (Laps 1 – 75)
Caution Flags: Scott Bloomquist, Bub McCool, Steve Casebolt, Ray Cook, Jonathan Davenport (Lap 1); Frank Heckenast Jr (Lap 3); Jason Trammell (Lap 24); Vic Hill (Lap 55); Mike Marlar (Lap 69)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Don O’Neal, Frank Heckanast Jr.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Don O’Neal (Started 23rd; Finished 5th; Advanced 18 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Tyler Reddick
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Jimmy Owens
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jared Landers
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: ECR Race Engines
Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Chris Wall
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Frank Heckenast Jr.
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tommy Greco (Jared Landers)
Time of Race: 47 minutes 58 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 2095
2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 2080
3 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 1900
4 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 1730
5 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 1700
6 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 1635
7 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN 1610
8 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 1600
9 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 1595
10 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 1575
11 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS 1530
12 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 1480
13 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 1465
14 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA 1440
15 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 1410
16 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL 1280
16 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 1280

NETWORK AIR DATE AIR TIME VENUE EVENT NAME LOCATION EVENT DATE
MavTV 6/2/11 9:00PM East Bay Raceway Park 35th Annual DART Winternationals Presented by Magnaflow (Fri) Tampa, FL 2/11/11
SPEED 6/12/11 12:00 PM Batesville Motor Speedway Bad Boy 98 Batesville, AR 5/21/11
CBS 6/19/11 5:00 PM Lucas Oil Speedway 19th Annual DART Show-Me 100 Wheatland, MO 5/28/11
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

ApplianceZone.com- “The Official Appliance Parts Retailer” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

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