HomeDirt Late Model NewsO'Neal Over Owens in 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway

O’Neal Over Owens in 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway

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Lucas Oil Late Model SeriesUNION, KY (June 4, 2011) – Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN outran Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN to win the 25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial on Saturday Night at Florence Speedway. O’Neal earned his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season as he held off Owens to take the $10,000 victory. Scott James of Lawrenceburg, IN finished third followed by Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY and Earl Pearson, Jr. of Jacksonville, FL.

“We’ve been close several times this year, but it sure feels good to get one here at Florence. This is one of my favorite tracks, the track was in great shape tonight, you could run anywhere on it. I knew Jimmy was going to give me a run for it, we raced each other clean, I know I shut the door on him a few times, but after last week when he passed me late in the race with traffic, I wasn’t going to let this one slip away,” said O’Neal.

Scott Bloomquist led the first four laps until O’Neal took over the point. O’Neal then battled with polesitter Scott James for several laps before putting some distance between the two. The red flag came out on lap 17 when both Greg Johnson and Steve Casebolt flipped in turn one. Johnson’s car was destroyed and Casebolt, who did a complete flip, was remarkably able to restart on the tail after pitting.

When the race resumed O’Neal still held the point followed by James, Bub McCool, Bloomquist and Owens, who was up to fifth after starting in 11th. Owens the overhauled Bloomquist for fourth on lap 21 and three laps later he had passed both McCool and James to take over second.

Owens began to track down O’Neal as the two went nose-to-tail with 20 laps remaining. Owens pulled even off of turn number two on several occasion, but each time O’Neal slammed the door. With 19 laps to go, a major accident took place after a restart when several cars piled up in turns one and two. The cars of Bloomquist and Dale McDowell, who were running fourth and fifth at the time, were among those eliminated in the melee.

On the restart O’Neal again maintained his lead over Owens and with five laps to go Owens was right on the left rear quarter panel of O’Neal. The final caution came out for a flat tire on Tyler Reddick’s car. That set up a four-lap dash with O’Neal beating Owens to the finish line to become the ninth different series winner of 2011.

O’Neal’s MasterSbilt Race Car entry is sponsored by Magnaflow Exhaust, Superior Cleaning, Jones Core, VP Racing Fuels, Second Chance Livestock Dispatch, and Brownstown Speedway. The car is powered by a Jay Dickens Racing Engines.

Completing the top ten were: Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; Jared Landers of Batesville, AR; Jerry Rice of Verona, KY; Jason Montgomery of Jackson, OH; and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, IN.

In preliminary action Scott James was the Red Buck Cigars Fast Qualifier among the 45 entrants. Heat race winners were Scott James, Don O’Neal, Scott Bloomquist and Darrell Lanigan. The B-Mains went to Jason Montgomery and Eddie Carrier Jr.

Up next for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be a trip to Cherokee Speedway and Wythe Raceway on June 17th and 18th. Both events will pay $10,000 to win.

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
Saturday Night, June 4th, 2011
25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial
Florence Speedway – Union, KY

Red Buck Cigars Fast Time:
Scott James / 17.039 seconds (Group A and Overall)
Ray Cook / 17.251 seconds (Group B)

Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott James, Dustin Neat, Jerry Rice, Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship, Greg Johnson, Josh Williams, Dan Schlieper, Robby Hensley, David Spille, Wayne Chinn, Jim Price-DNS

Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Don O’Neal, Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Jason Montgomery, Earl Pearson Jr., Jared landers, John Gill, Rick Combs, Jeff Alsip, James Rice

Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Ray Cook, Kent Robinson, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Jesse Lay, Corey McKenzie, Terry lanigan, Jason Jameson, Eric Wells, Bobby Pierce

HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Darrell Lanigan, Bub McCool, Chris Wall, Frank Heckenast Jr., Eddie Carrier Jr., Matt Miller, Mike Marlar, Joe Janowski, Tyler Reddick, Steve Landrum, Tim Prince

JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Jason Montgomery, Greg Johnson, Earl Pearson Jr., Josh Williams, Dan Schlieper, John Gill, Robby Hensley, Rick Combs, Jeff Alsip, James Rice, Jared landers, Wayne Chinn, David Spille, Jim Price-DNS

Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Eddie Carrier, Jr., Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Matt Miller, Jesse Lay, Eric Wells, Joe Janowski, Tyler Reddick, Tim Prince, Corey McKenzie, Terry Lanigan, Jason Jameson, Steve Landrum, Bobby Pierce-DNS

“25th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial” Feature Finish – 50 Laps

FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 3 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
2 11 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
3 1 81 Scott James Lawrenceburg, IN
4 4 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY
5 24 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
6 15 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
7 23 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
8 9 1b Jerry Rice Verona, KY
9 17 21 Jason Montgomery Jackson, OH
10 13 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
11 25 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
12 8 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
13 12 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA
14 26 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
15 2 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
16 7 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
17 20 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
18 18 28 Eddie Carrier, Jr. Salt Rock, WV
19 16 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL
20 21 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
21 27 21h Robby Hensley Walton, KY
22 6 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
23 5 25n Dustin Neat Dunnville, KY
24 10 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN
25 19 30 Greg Johnson Bedford, IN
26 14 41 Josh McGuire Grayson, KY
27 22 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN

Race Statistics
Entrants: 45
Lap Leaders: Scott James (Lap 1), Scott Bloomquist (Laps 2-4), Don O’Neal (Laps 5-50)
Caution Flags: Darrell Lanigan, Ray Cook, Chris Wall, Brad Neat (Lap 1), Jason Montgomery, John Blankenship (Lap 2), Dustin Neat (Lap 14), Steve Casebolt, Greg Johnson (Lap 17), Kent Robinson (Lap 22), Jerry Rice (Lap 36), Jared Landers (Lap 36 Restart), Chris Wall, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Bub McCool, Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship, Jerry Rice, Ray Cook (Lap 36 Restart), Debris (Lap 37), Tyler Reddick (Lap 46)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jared Landers, Earl Pearson, Jr.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: Eric Wells, Tyler Reddick
Florence Speedway Track Provisional: Robby Hensley
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson, Jr. (Started 24th; Finished 5th; Advanced 19 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Jimmy Owens
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Don O’Neal
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jared Landers
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens Racing Engines
Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Mike Marlar
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Tader Masters (Don O’Neal)
Time of Race: 60 minutes 7 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 2310
2 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 2250
3 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 2150
4 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 1930
5 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 1895
6 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 1805
7 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY 1780
8 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA 1745
9 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN 1735
10 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC 1710
11 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS 1700
12 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 1640
13 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA 1605
14 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 1595
15 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 1585
16 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 1460
17 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL 1415

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

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