RURAL RETREAT, VA (June 22, 2013) – Four-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Earl Pearson Jr. passed race leader John Blankenship on the white flag lap, to win the Blue Ridge 50 on Saturday night at Wythe Raceway. Pearson pulled away on the final circuit for his second LOLMDS win of the year and the 26th of his career.

Blankenship, the winner a year ago at Wythe came home second followed by Steve Shaver, Jared Landers, and Steve Francis.

“I have to thank all the fans for coming out here tonight at Wythe, this place is packed! I had a second-place car, I didn’t think I could pass John (Blankenship), I just took a different line after the caution and found enough moisture, and I just went for it,” said the driver of the Bobby Labonte Racing, Longhorn Chevrolet.

The frantic last 8 laps of the race was set-up when sixth-place running Don O’Neal slowed with a flat tire. On the restart Blankenship was able to pull away from Pearson. It took Pearson just a few laps to rebound his momentum as he drove his car harder into the turns.

“I don’t know what happened to Davenport there. He was leading and then he slowed, he was probably the car to beat tonight, we are glad that Terry Labonte was here tonight to see, we finished first and third in these Longhorns, so all the work that Kevin Rumley has done on these cars is really paying off.”

Davenport held the lead for the first 19 laps of the race when he suddenly slowed coming off of turn two. His car came to a stop in turn four and had to be pushed back to the pit area.

“My crew has worked their butts off, we thought we were going to get one Thursday night at Swainsboro. It’s been an up-and-down roller-coaster ride this year, but we may finally be on the right track. I have to thank Lucas Oil, MAVTV, Sunoco Race Fuels, CV Products, PRC and Allstar Performance, and of course Kevin and Leroy Rumley for the Chevrolet Horsepower.”

Blankenship, who had a sterling run a year ago in winning at Wythe, looked like he was going to take the victory two years in a row. “I didn’t even know he (Pearson) was there, he came out of no where, the car took off really well after that last caution and I just tried to hit my marks lap-after-lap, but obviously it wasn’t good enough. Congrats to him on the win, we gained some more points tonight on Jimmy (Owens),” said the driver of the Coal World’s Energy Rocket Chevrolet.

Completing the top ten were Eddie Carrier Jr., Chris Ferguson, Jimmy Owens, Dennis Erb Jr., and Ty Dillon.

In preliminary action, Jonathan Davenport set the overall time (Group A) amongst the 21 entrants, with a lap of 16.207 seconds. Dale McDowell set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 16.303 seconds. Jonathan Davenport, Dale McDowell, and Earl Pearson Jr. won their respective heat races.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series celebrate the Fourth of July in traditional action at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, OH on Wednesday, July 3rd, and Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH on Thursday, July 4th. Both events will feature RED BUCK Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and 50-Lap, $10,000-to-win main events. For more information on these two events, check out: www.themuskingumcountyspeedway.com and www.portsraceway.com.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and follow the series on www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, June 22nd, 2013
“Blue Ridge 50”
Wythe Raceway – Rural Retreat, VA

RED BUCK Fast Time Group A: Jonathan Davenport / 16.207 seconds
RED BUCK Fast Time Group B:
Dale McDowell / 16.303 seconds

Wiles Drive Shafts Heat Race #1 (10 Laps, All Transfer): Jonathan Davenport, John Blankenship, Chris Ferguson, Dennis Erb Jr., Eddie Carrier Jr., Justin Labonte, Craig Vosbergen

Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 (10 Laps, All Transfer): Dale McDowell, Steve Francis, Jared Landers, Ricky Weeks, Daniel Baggerly, Jerry Lierly, Kennie Compton

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 (10 Laps, All Transfer): Earl Pearson Jr., Casey Roberts, Steve Shaver, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Ty Dillon, Billy Moyer Jr.

Feature Finish (50 Laps):
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 3 44 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL
2 4 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
3 9 6s Steve Shaver Vienna, WV
4 8 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
5 5 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
6 13 28 Eddie Carrier Jr. Salt Rock, WV
7 7 21 Chris Ferguson Mount Holly, NC
8 15 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
9 10 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL
10 18 41 Ty Dillon Lexington, NC
11 14 1w Ricky Weeks Rutherfordton, NC
12 20 7L Jerry Lierly Camp Point, IL
13 12 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
14 21 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. Batesville, AR
15 19 8 Craig Vosbergen Western Australia
16 6 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
17 17 10c Kennie Compton Rocky Gap, VA
18 1 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
19 2 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
20 11 16b Daniel Baggerly Rural Retreat, VA
21 16 44L Justin Labonte Trinity, NC

Race Statistics

Entrants: 21
Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1 – 19); John Blankenship (Laps 20 – 48); Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 49 – 50)
Caution Flags: Daniel Baggerly (Lap 15); Dale McDowell (Lap 16); Jonathan Davenport (Lap 20); Don O’Neal (Lap 41)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
RED BUCK Fast Time Provisionals: none
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jerry Lierly (Started: 20th, Finished: 12th, Advanced: 8 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
JRi Shocks/Dunn Benson Ford Rookie of the Race: Billy Moyer Jr.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Matt Langston (Earl Pearson Jr.)
HAWK Performance Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap# 3; 17.130 seconds)
Time of Race: 31 minutes 43 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 2935
2 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 2850
3 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 2775
4 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 2765
5 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL 2730
6 44 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL 2710
7 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 2600
8 28 Eddie Carrier Jr. Salt Rock, WV 2470
9 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. Batesville, AR 2215
10 7L Jerry Lierly Camp Point, IL 2020

*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*

Related Links

2013 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tour Schedule

2013 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series TV Schedule

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Lucas Oil Products

MAVTV

ProtectTheHarvest.com

2013 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sponsors

ASI Racewear – “The Official Merchandise Vendor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

E3 Spark Plugs – “The Official Spark Plug” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

GEICO – “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

iON Cameras -The lightest, fastest, fully-waterproof HD action camera on the market
Lucas Oil Products – “The Official Oil” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
MAVTV “American Real”- “The Official TV Network” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Optima Batteries – “The Official Battery” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
ProtectTheHarvest.com- “The Official Protect the Harvest Campaign of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Serie
RED BUCK- “The Official Fast Time Sponor” of the Lucas Oil late Model Dirt Series
Sunoco Race Fuels – “The Official Fuel” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
2013 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Supporters Include:
Allstar Performance, AR Bodies, Banshee Graphics, Barry Wright Race Cars, Bloomquist Race Cars, Borrowed Blue, COMP Cams, Cornett Racing Engines, C&R Racing, Crawford Supply, CV Products, Dart Machinery, DirtonDirt.com, Dunn-Benson Ford, Dyers Top Rods, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Fuel Safe Fuel Cells, FK Rod Ends, Gaerte Engines, Georgia Boot, Hawk Performance, Jay Dickens Racing Engines, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, Kuntz Race Engines, Longhorn Chassis, Mann Merchant Processing, MasterSbilt Chassis, Öhlins, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Pierce Racecars, Performance Rod and Custom, Pro Power Racing, Race Engine Design, Rayburn Race Cars, RED BUCK, Rick Schwallie Photography, Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Parts, Simpson Performance Products, Sweet Mfg, Traeger Grills, Weld Racing Wheels, Wiles Drive Shafts, Wrisco, 5150 Race Trailers.