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Bloomquist banks $10,000 in Volunteer Speedway Lucas Oil Late Model victory
By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (July 7) — The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series made their first-ever visit at Volunteer Speedway on Saturday night for the running of the $10,000-to-win “Pizza Plus/Rusty Wallace Automotive Group 60.” While the series was making its first appearance at the track, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., is no stranger to victory lane at “The Gap” as over the years he’s won many special events at what he considers his home-track.
Bloomquist, who started from the fifth spot after finishing second in the first heat race, passed Jimmy Owens for the lead on lap 34 and once out front never looked back en route to the $10,000 payday.
“We had a really good car tonight,” said a smiling Bloomquist after climbing from his car in victory lane to the cheers of the crowd. “During the feature we could really run anywhere we needed to – up high or down on the bottom. It never gets old winning here at Volunteer Speedway. It just doesn’t get any better than having the opportunity to race before these local fans who have watched me race here in East Tennessee for so long.
“This track really has been good to me over the years, because we’ve been fortunate enough to win several good-paying special events here. Hopefully the fans really enjoyed this show tonight, and I want to give thanks to track owner Joe Loven for giving us a good facility to race at.”
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., driving for car owner Bobby Labonte who is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion and currently drives the No. 43 Dodge for Petty Enterprises, set fast-time at 12.768-seconds over the 41 cars that timed-in during LifeLong Locks Pole Qualifying.
Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., won the first heat race while Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., captured the victory in the second heat. Brad Neat of Dunnville, Ky., and Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., respectively won the third and fourth heats.
Madden and Owens led the stellar 24-car field to the green flag, and as the duo raced into the first turn door-to-door, Owens carried the momentum through the corners up high in the banking to power into the lead racing off turn two down the backstretch. Completing the opening lap Owens was followed across the stripe by Madden, Neat, Bloomquist and Billy Ogle Jr.
Bloomquist was on the move early as he passed Neat on the outside racing off the second turn to take over the third spot. Neat dropped back to fifth in the running order one circuit later as Ogle got a strong run on the bottom racing off the fourth turn to move into fourth. The event’s first caution waved on lap 5, when Rick Eckert slowed with rear-end problems and pulled into the pits.
With the Delaware double-file restart, Owens started out front by himself while Madden chose the outside of the first row putting Bloomquist on the inside, with Neat and Ogle side-by-side in the second row. While Owens was setting a blistering pace in the early stages of the race, Bloomquist was pressuring Madden for the runner-up spot.
Racing down the backstretch into the third turn on the eighth lap, Bloomquist dove to the inside of Madden to challenge for the position. As they raced side-by-side off the fourth turn, Bloomquist grabbed the spot and set his sights on the race leader Owens. The caution waved on lap 11, when Todd Morrow slowed with a flat right-front tire.
Owens was still in command on the point, with Bloomquist choosing the outside of the first row directly behind the leader, thus putting Madden to the inside. Owens and Bloomquist quickly put 10 car lengths between themselves, Madden and Ogle.
Making a strong charge forward after starting in 18th-place, Brady Smith moved into the fifth spot on lap 15 when he passed Neat racing off the second turn. While up front Bloomquist was chasing Owens, Madden was feeling pressure from a hard-charging Ogle for third-place.
After sneaking a peek inside of Madden for several laps racing off the corners, finally on lap 25 (racing) off the fourth turn Ogle completed the pass to move into third. Madden lost fourth to Smith just two laps later as they raced off turn two. The third caution waved on lap 28, when ninth-running Vic Hill slowed with a flat left-rear.
The race would restart and only run two circuits before the yellow waved once again, this time when Scott James got high between turns one and two and got into the outside guardrail.
With Owens starting alone out front, lined-up behind him side-by-side were Bloomquist and Ogle, with Smith and Brandon Kinzer in the next row. Following Bloomquist riding up high in the banking, Smith rode around the outside of Ogle to move into third in the running order on lap 32.
But all eyes were focused on the battle for the lead, as Bloomquist was turning up the heat on Owens for the point. Racing hard into the first turn on lap 34, Owens slipped high up the track to open the door for Bloomquist. With the door open, Bloomquist seized the opportunity and powered underneath Owens as they raced off the second turn down the backstretch. As they entered the third turn Bloomquist had moved to the point, and quickly he began to distance himself from Owens.
With Owens’ tires beginning to fade, in the span of two laps he dropped back to fourth in the running order when Smith and Kinzer pulled the trigger to make the pass to move into second and third, respectively. With Ogle holding down the fifth spot, a half-straightaway back Madden, Donnie Moran, Cook, Neat, Steve Casebolt, Dan Schlieper and Justin Ratliff were battling for positions.
Moran motored around Madden to move into sixth on lap 44, and in the span of three circuits he had closed to the rear bumper of Ogle. Meanwhile, Madden’s tires began to give up and he started to backslide, losing positions to Cook and Casebolt.
With Bloomquist in control and the laps winding down, a final caution waved on lap 57 when Hill slowed after a right-rear shock came loose. Poised for a three-lap dash to the checkers, Bloomquist was riding out front on the point, with Smith and Kinzer alongside one another in the first double-file row.
But Bloomquist, driving the Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Allstar Performance/Sweet Mfg. Inc./Ohlins/VP Racing Fuel/Hoosier by Pup/Hypercoils/Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars/No. 0 Monte Carlo, was not going to be denied a trip to victory lane, as he easily outdistanced Smith, Kinzer, Ogle and Moran. Completing the top-10 finishers were Owens, Cook, Casebolt, Ratliff and Madden.
“After not winning our heat race we made a couple of minor changes on the car before the main event, and what we did really made the car good for the feature,” said Bloomquist. “I knew both Chris (Madden) and Jimmy (Owens) would be tough, and they were. I know they faded there somewhat towards the end, but it was good seeing them have strong runs in Bloomquist Race Cars. And my congratulations go out to Brady (Smith) on his fine second-place run, that’s by far the best he’s ever run here.
Jesse Helton of Bulls Gap led flag-to-flag for his fifth “Rusty Wallace Toyota” Hobby Stock feature win of the season. Chasing Helton to the checkers were Dustin Shaver, Dale Reed, John McElrath and Rick Fillers.
LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – “PIZZA PLUS/RUSTY WALLACE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 60”
Showing Finishing Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car Number, Hometown, Money Won
1. (5) Scott Bloomquist #0-Mooresburg, TN $10,000
2. (18) Brady Smith #2-Solon Springs, WI $5,000
3. (8) Brandon Kinzer #18-Allen, KY $3,000
4. (6) Billy Ogle Jr. #201-Knoxville, TN $2,500
5. (7) Donnie Moran #99-Dresden, OH $2,000
6. (2) Jimmy Owens #20-Newport, TN $1,500
7. (4) Ray Cook #53-Brasstown, NC $1,400
8. (24) Steve Casebolt #19-Richmond, IN $1,300
9. (20) Justin Ratliff #16j-Campbellsville, KY $1,200
10. (1) Chris Madden #44-Gray Court, SC $1,100
11. (3) Brad Neat #41n-Dunnville, KY $1,000
12. (16) Ricky Arms #4-Moss, TN $950
13. (21) Rick Rogers #44r-Knoxville, TN $900
14. (13) Earl Pearson Jr. #44p-Jacksonville, FL $875
15. (23) Scott James #83-Lawrencburg, IN $850
16. (11) Terry English #96-Benton, KY $825
17. (9) Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN $800
18. (17) Dan Schlieper #s9-Sullivan, WI $775
19. (19) Billy Drake #9-Bloomington, IL $750
20. (10) Todd Morrow #T1-Old Fort, TN $725
21. (12) Bobby Giffin #97-Maryville, TN $700
22. (15) Skip Arp #31-Georgetown, TN $700
23. (14) John Blankenship #23-Williamson, WV $700
24. (22) Rick Eckert #24-York, PA $700
Hawk Brake First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Ray Cook #53, 2) Scott Bloomquist #0, 3) Vic Hill #1, 4) Earl Pearson Jr. #44p, 5) Dan Schlieper #s9, 6) Rick Rogers #44r, 7) Randy Weaver #116, 8) Scott James #83, 9) Eric Wells #18w, 10) Austin Dillon #3, 11) Michael Smith #4, 12) Barry Arnold #15
Quarter Master Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Jimmy Owens #20, 2) Billy Ogle Jr. #201, 3) Todd Morrow #T1, 4) John Blankenship #23, 5) Billy Drake #9, 6) Rodney Kiker #25, 7) Kerry Jones #6, 8) Shane Roberts #32w, 9) Jeff Maupin #0m 10) Anthony White #2x, 11) Randy Davidson #28, 12) Damon Eller #I4
Hawk Brake Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Brad Neat #41n, 2) Donnie Moran #99, 3) Terry English #99, 4) Skip Arp #31, 5) Justin Ratliff #16j, 6) Brady Smith #2, 7) Freddy Smith #00, 8) Rick Eckert #24, 9) Herman Goddard #22, 10) Jeremy Clements #97, 11) David Payne #8, 12) Jamie Oliver #38
Quarter Master Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Chris Madden #44, 2) Brandon Kinzer #18, 3) Bobby Giffin #97, 4) Ricky Arms #4, 5) Shanon Buckingham #44b, 6) Chris Combs #47, 7) John Mason #72, 8) Dale Groves Jr. #63, 9) Mark Douglas #52D, 10) Scott Sexton #Q, 11) Steve Casebolt #19
Mason Racin’ Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance): 1) Dan Schlieper #s9, 2) Billy Drake #9, 3) Rick Rogers #44r, 4) Randy Weaver #116, 5) Kerry Jones #6, 6) Shane Roberts #32w, 7) Rodney Kiker #25, 8) Jeff Maupin #0m, 9) Austin Dillon #3, 10) Anthony White #2x, 11) Randy Davidson #28, 12) Damon Eller #I4, 13) Eric Wells #18w, 14) Michael Smith #4, 15) Scott James #83
Penske Shocks Second B-Main (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance): 1) Brady Smith #2, 2) Justin Ratliff #16j, 3) Rick Eckert #24, 4) Shanon Buckingham #44b, 5) Freddy Smith #00, 6) Chris Combs #47, 7) Jeremy Clements #97, 8) Mark Douglas #52D, 9) John Mason #72, 10) Jamie Oliver #38, 11) Herman Goddard #22, 12) David Payne #8, 13) Dale Groves Jr. #63, 14) Steve Casebolt #19
“RUSTY WALLACE TOYOTA” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Jesse Helton #28, 2) Dustin Shaver #7, 3) Dale Reed #52, 4) John McElrath #63, 5) Rick Fillers #21, 6) Jamie Whitt #1, 7) Chuck Johnson #17, 8) Jason Long #15, 9) Bobby Reed #54, 10) Jesse Wilder #79, 11) Shorty Ledford #41, 12) David Shelton #7, 13) R.J. Mayes #6m, 14) Phillip Nichols #33, 15) Mike Mays #30, 16) Roger Hunter #7-11, 17) Ray Jarnigan #31, 18) Tyler Smith #32, 19) Steve Harmon #12, 20) Tim Stephens #17, 21) Chris Gregg #9
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Track Office (Weekdays Only): (423) 378-5942
Robert Walden-Public Relations Director: (423) 928-9644 [email protected]
By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (July 7) — The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series made their first-ever visit at Volunteer Speedway on Saturday night for the running of the $10,000-to-win “Pizza Plus/Rusty Wallace Automotive Group 60.” While the series was making its first appearance at the track, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., is no stranger to victory lane at “The Gap” as over the years he’s won many special events at what he considers his home-track.
Bloomquist, who started from the fifth spot after finishing second in the first heat race, passed Jimmy Owens for the lead on lap 34 and once out front never looked back en route to the $10,000 payday.
“We had a really good car tonight,” said a smiling Bloomquist after climbing from his car in victory lane to the cheers of the crowd. “During the feature we could really run anywhere we needed to – up high or down on the bottom. It never gets old winning here at Volunteer Speedway. It just doesn’t get any better than having the opportunity to race before these local fans who have watched me race here in East Tennessee for so long.
“This track really has been good to me over the years, because we’ve been fortunate enough to win several good-paying special events here. Hopefully the fans really enjoyed this show tonight, and I want to give thanks to track owner Joe Loven for giving us a good facility to race at.”
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., driving for car owner Bobby Labonte who is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion and currently drives the No. 43 Dodge for Petty Enterprises, set fast-time at 12.768-seconds over the 41 cars that timed-in during LifeLong Locks Pole Qualifying.
Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., won the first heat race while Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., captured the victory in the second heat. Brad Neat of Dunnville, Ky., and Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., respectively won the third and fourth heats.
Madden and Owens led the stellar 24-car field to the green flag, and as the duo raced into the first turn door-to-door, Owens carried the momentum through the corners up high in the banking to power into the lead racing off turn two down the backstretch. Completing the opening lap Owens was followed across the stripe by Madden, Neat, Bloomquist and Billy Ogle Jr.
Bloomquist was on the move early as he passed Neat on the outside racing off the second turn to take over the third spot. Neat dropped back to fifth in the running order one circuit later as Ogle got a strong run on the bottom racing off the fourth turn to move into fourth. The event’s first caution waved on lap 5, when Rick Eckert slowed with rear-end problems and pulled into the pits.
With the Delaware double-file restart, Owens started out front by himself while Madden chose the outside of the first row putting Bloomquist on the inside, with Neat and Ogle side-by-side in the second row. While Owens was setting a blistering pace in the early stages of the race, Bloomquist was pressuring Madden for the runner-up spot.
Racing down the backstretch into the third turn on the eighth lap, Bloomquist dove to the inside of Madden to challenge for the position. As they raced side-by-side off the fourth turn, Bloomquist grabbed the spot and set his sights on the race leader Owens. The caution waved on lap 11, when Todd Morrow slowed with a flat right-front tire.
Owens was still in command on the point, with Bloomquist choosing the outside of the first row directly behind the leader, thus putting Madden to the inside. Owens and Bloomquist quickly put 10 car lengths between themselves, Madden and Ogle.
Making a strong charge forward after starting in 18th-place, Brady Smith moved into the fifth spot on lap 15 when he passed Neat racing off the second turn. While up front Bloomquist was chasing Owens, Madden was feeling pressure from a hard-charging Ogle for third-place.
After sneaking a peek inside of Madden for several laps racing off the corners, finally on lap 25 (racing) off the fourth turn Ogle completed the pass to move into third. Madden lost fourth to Smith just two laps later as they raced off turn two. The third caution waved on lap 28, when ninth-running Vic Hill slowed with a flat left-rear.
The race would restart and only run two circuits before the yellow waved once again, this time when Scott James got high between turns one and two and got into the outside guardrail.
With Owens starting alone out front, lined-up behind him side-by-side were Bloomquist and Ogle, with Smith and Brandon Kinzer in the next row. Following Bloomquist riding up high in the banking, Smith rode around the outside of Ogle to move into third in the running order on lap 32.
But all eyes were focused on the battle for the lead, as Bloomquist was turning up the heat on Owens for the point. Racing hard into the first turn on lap 34, Owens slipped high up the track to open the door for Bloomquist. With the door open, Bloomquist seized the opportunity and powered underneath Owens as they raced off the second turn down the backstretch. As they entered the third turn Bloomquist had moved to the point, and quickly he began to distance himself from Owens.
With Owens’ tires beginning to fade, in the span of two laps he dropped back to fourth in the running order when Smith and Kinzer pulled the trigger to make the pass to move into second and third, respectively. With Ogle holding down the fifth spot, a half-straightaway back Madden, Donnie Moran, Cook, Neat, Steve Casebolt, Dan Schlieper and Justin Ratliff were battling for positions.
Moran motored around Madden to move into sixth on lap 44, and in the span of three circuits he had closed to the rear bumper of Ogle. Meanwhile, Madden’s tires began to give up and he started to backslide, losing positions to Cook and Casebolt.
With Bloomquist in control and the laps winding down, a final caution waved on lap 57 when Hill slowed after a right-rear shock came loose. Poised for a three-lap dash to the checkers, Bloomquist was riding out front on the point, with Smith and Kinzer alongside one another in the first double-file row.
But Bloomquist, driving the Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Allstar Performance/Sweet Mfg. Inc./Ohlins/VP Racing Fuel/Hoosier by Pup/Hypercoils/Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars/No. 0 Monte Carlo, was not going to be denied a trip to victory lane, as he easily outdistanced Smith, Kinzer, Ogle and Moran. Completing the top-10 finishers were Owens, Cook, Casebolt, Ratliff and Madden.
“After not winning our heat race we made a couple of minor changes on the car before the main event, and what we did really made the car good for the feature,” said Bloomquist. “I knew both Chris (Madden) and Jimmy (Owens) would be tough, and they were. I know they faded there somewhat towards the end, but it was good seeing them have strong runs in Bloomquist Race Cars. And my congratulations go out to Brady (Smith) on his fine second-place run, that’s by far the best he’s ever run here.
Jesse Helton of Bulls Gap led flag-to-flag for his fifth “Rusty Wallace Toyota” Hobby Stock feature win of the season. Chasing Helton to the checkers were Dustin Shaver, Dale Reed, John McElrath and Rick Fillers.
LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – “PIZZA PLUS/RUSTY WALLACE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 60”
Showing Finishing Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car Number, Hometown, Money Won
1. (5) Scott Bloomquist #0-Mooresburg, TN $10,000
2. (18) Brady Smith #2-Solon Springs, WI $5,000
3. (8) Brandon Kinzer #18-Allen, KY $3,000
4. (6) Billy Ogle Jr. #201-Knoxville, TN $2,500
5. (7) Donnie Moran #99-Dresden, OH $2,000
6. (2) Jimmy Owens #20-Newport, TN $1,500
7. (4) Ray Cook #53-Brasstown, NC $1,400
8. (24) Steve Casebolt #19-Richmond, IN $1,300
9. (20) Justin Ratliff #16j-Campbellsville, KY $1,200
10. (1) Chris Madden #44-Gray Court, SC $1,100
11. (3) Brad Neat #41n-Dunnville, KY $1,000
12. (16) Ricky Arms #4-Moss, TN $950
13. (21) Rick Rogers #44r-Knoxville, TN $900
14. (13) Earl Pearson Jr. #44p-Jacksonville, FL $875
15. (23) Scott James #83-Lawrencburg, IN $850
16. (11) Terry English #96-Benton, KY $825
17. (9) Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN $800
18. (17) Dan Schlieper #s9-Sullivan, WI $775
19. (19) Billy Drake #9-Bloomington, IL $750
20. (10) Todd Morrow #T1-Old Fort, TN $725
21. (12) Bobby Giffin #97-Maryville, TN $700
22. (15) Skip Arp #31-Georgetown, TN $700
23. (14) John Blankenship #23-Williamson, WV $700
24. (22) Rick Eckert #24-York, PA $700
Hawk Brake First Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Ray Cook #53, 2) Scott Bloomquist #0, 3) Vic Hill #1, 4) Earl Pearson Jr. #44p, 5) Dan Schlieper #s9, 6) Rick Rogers #44r, 7) Randy Weaver #116, 8) Scott James #83, 9) Eric Wells #18w, 10) Austin Dillon #3, 11) Michael Smith #4, 12) Barry Arnold #15
Quarter Master Second Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Jimmy Owens #20, 2) Billy Ogle Jr. #201, 3) Todd Morrow #T1, 4) John Blankenship #23, 5) Billy Drake #9, 6) Rodney Kiker #25, 7) Kerry Jones #6, 8) Shane Roberts #32w, 9) Jeff Maupin #0m 10) Anthony White #2x, 11) Randy Davidson #28, 12) Damon Eller #I4
Hawk Brake Third Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Brad Neat #41n, 2) Donnie Moran #99, 3) Terry English #99, 4) Skip Arp #31, 5) Justin Ratliff #16j, 6) Brady Smith #2, 7) Freddy Smith #00, 8) Rick Eckert #24, 9) Herman Goddard #22, 10) Jeremy Clements #97, 11) David Payne #8, 12) Jamie Oliver #38
Quarter Master Fourth Heat (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance): 1) Chris Madden #44, 2) Brandon Kinzer #18, 3) Bobby Giffin #97, 4) Ricky Arms #4, 5) Shanon Buckingham #44b, 6) Chris Combs #47, 7) John Mason #72, 8) Dale Groves Jr. #63, 9) Mark Douglas #52D, 10) Scott Sexton #Q, 11) Steve Casebolt #19
Mason Racin’ Rebel Shock Dyno First B-Main (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance): 1) Dan Schlieper #s9, 2) Billy Drake #9, 3) Rick Rogers #44r, 4) Randy Weaver #116, 5) Kerry Jones #6, 6) Shane Roberts #32w, 7) Rodney Kiker #25, 8) Jeff Maupin #0m, 9) Austin Dillon #3, 10) Anthony White #2x, 11) Randy Davidson #28, 12) Damon Eller #I4, 13) Eric Wells #18w, 14) Michael Smith #4, 15) Scott James #83
Penske Shocks Second B-Main (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance): 1) Brady Smith #2, 2) Justin Ratliff #16j, 3) Rick Eckert #24, 4) Shanon Buckingham #44b, 5) Freddy Smith #00, 6) Chris Combs #47, 7) Jeremy Clements #97, 8) Mark Douglas #52D, 9) John Mason #72, 10) Jamie Oliver #38, 11) Herman Goddard #22, 12) David Payne #8, 13) Dale Groves Jr. #63, 14) Steve Casebolt #19
“RUSTY WALLACE TOYOTA” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Jesse Helton #28, 2) Dustin Shaver #7, 3) Dale Reed #52, 4) John McElrath #63, 5) Rick Fillers #21, 6) Jamie Whitt #1, 7) Chuck Johnson #17, 8) Jason Long #15, 9) Bobby Reed #54, 10) Jesse Wilder #79, 11) Shorty Ledford #41, 12) David Shelton #7, 13) R.J. Mayes #6m, 14) Phillip Nichols #33, 15) Mike Mays #30, 16) Roger Hunter #7-11, 17) Ray Jarnigan #31, 18) Tyler Smith #32, 19) Steve Harmon #12, 20) Tim Stephens #17, 21) Chris Gregg #9
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Track Office (Weekdays Only): (423) 378-5942
Robert Walden-Public Relations Director: (423) 928-9644 [email protected]
