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Bloomquist pockets $20,000 for Volunteer ‘Topless Fall Brawl’ victory
By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Oct. 12) – Steve Russell had visions dancing through his head of capturing the biggest victory of his racing career Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway in the $20,000-to-win Topless Fall Brawl 100. But Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., woke Russell up from his dream when he moved into the lead on lap 56 of the 100-lap event en route to capturing his second special event victory this season at “The Gap.”
In Friday’s preliminaries, Vic “The Thrill” Hill paced the stellar 72-car field in Super Late Model qualifying by touring the high-banked oval at 12:470-seconds (115.480 mph) to earn the right to start the first of six heat races from the pole position. Hill held off a hard-charging Dennis “Rambo” Franklin, Steve Smith, Mark Douglas and Kerry Jones for the victory.
Steve Russell, who was second-quickest in qualifying, rolled to victory in the second heat over Bryan Hendrix, Mike Weeks, Roy Ledbetter and Brad Coffey.
Duayne Hommel captured the win in the third heat over Jeff Taylor, Joe Armistead Jr., Rick Norris and Dale Ball.
Bloomquist grabbed the checkers over Terry Wolfenbarger, Stacy Boles, Bobby Giffin and Rick Rogers in the fourth heat.
Doug Sanders appeared headed to victory in the fifth heat, but while leading with only one lap remaining, he slammed hard into the outside turn one guardrail when the rear suspension on his mount broke. Also collected in the violent accident were the second- through fourth-running entries of Booper Bare, Gusty Christenberry and Dave Burks. With those cars eliminated, Jackie Boggs inherited the lead and won the race over Tony Moody, David Killian, Clayton Christenberry and Randy Davidson.
Shannon Thornsberry captured the victory in the sixth heat over James Cline, Greg Burchett, Jeff Maupin and Roger Best.
With the top-two finishers from each of Friday’s six heats locked into the Topless Fall Brawl 100 lineup, starting positions 13-24 were determined Saturday night in four consolations which would advance the top-three finishers into the main event.
Smith, Schlieper and Norris transferred from the first consolation; while Burchett, Maupin and Weeks worked their way into the lineup from the second; with Douglas, Dennis Erb Jr. and Tim Dohm making it through the third last chance qualifier; and Ledbetter, Best and H.E. Vineyard advancing from the fourth to complete the 24-car starting field for the 100-lap Topless Fall Brawl.
At the drop of the green flag Russell launched into the lead over Hill, Bloomquist, Hommel and Boggs. Bloomquist drove under Hill in turn two on the second lap to move into second place. The event’s first caution waved while working lap 3 when Weeks, Thornsberry and Cline tangled in the second corner to send Thornsberry and Cline parking in the pits early.
Veteran Middle Tennessee racer Moody, making his first-ever visit to Volunteer Speedway, was mounting a charge early on, passing Boggs on lap 4 to move into the fifth spot. While the “Pontotoc Pirate” Russell was settin’ sail out front over Bloomquist, Hill was feeling the pressure from Hommel for third.
Smoke began to trail from the rear of Hill’s Monte Carlo on lap 11, and with oil glazing the racing surface on lap 13 the yellow waved. Hill headed into the pits, and after quick attention from his crew to tighten a loose oil line he tagged on at the tail of the field for the restart.
The top five going back green were Russell, Bloomquist, Hommel, Hendrix and Smith. Behind the leaders the action was fast and furious, with two- and three-wide racing electrifying the huge crowd. After battling door-to-door for five circuits with Boggs for the sixth spot, on lap 19 Taylor finally dropped Boggs back to seventh in the running order. The third caution appeared on lap 24 after contact from Hill sent Norris slamming into the backstretch concrete wall exiting turn two to end Norris’ night.
While Russell was still in command out front over Bloomquist and Hommel, the battle for positions seven through eleven between Boggs, Erb, Schlieper, Douglas and Hill was worth the price of admission alone. Hill drove around the outside of Douglas on lap 32 to move into tenth, while on the same lap in turn four Erb dropped Boggs back to eighth.
Bloomquist began to turn the heat up on the race leader Russell on lap 40, and for the next several circuits he would peek the nose of his Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Custom Race Engines/Warrior Race Cars/AllStar Performance-Lane Automotive/No. 0 Ford Taurus under Russell trying to grab the lead.
Between laps 48 to 53 Russell and Bloomquist raced side-by-side to bring the crowd to its feet, while Hommel was riding in their shadow closely in third. “Rambo” Franklin looped his mount on the front straightaway on lap 53 to bring out the caution.
Going back green the lead trio of Russell, Bloomquist and Hommel were nose-to-tail. Bloomquist dove to the inside of Russell in turn one on lap 56, and back on the other end of the track between turns three and four he would make what would turn out to be the race-winning pass.
Russell slid high in the fourth turn on lap 57 to open the door for Hommel to move into the runner-up position, while one lap later Hendrix would drop Russell back to the fourth spot. Russell lost another spot when Smith worked the low side between turns one and two on lap 61 to move into fourth.
Smith, Russell and Schlieper raced into the first turn three-wide on lap 63, and getting a good run off (turn) two on the bottom, Schlieper powered into fourth place. An outstanding run for Russell ended on lap 75 when he slowed with a broken torque arm on his mount.
“You know, I guess I maybe ought to be upset – but really I’m not,” said Russell with a smile on his face after the race. “This is only my second time ever here to Volunteer Speedway, and to run as strong as we did I’m really quite pleased. This track is nothing like what I’m used to racing on around Mississippi and Alabama, but when we dropped in here on Labor Day night I have to admit I fell in love with this place. I like to go fast, and this for sure is one fast track. In qualifying last night you could almost run wide open around here.”
Hommel got to close upon Bloomquist’s rear bumper for a final eight-lap dash to the checkers when Hill slowed in turn three on lap 92. But close was all Hommel would get, as Bloomquist would not be denied the $20,000 payday for winning the Topless Fall Brawl 100. Finishing a strong third was Hendrix, followed closely by Schlieper and Smith.
Completing the top 10 finishers were Boggs, Erb, Taylor, Douglas and Hill.
“First of all I’d like to really commend track owner Joe Loven for giving us a very good track to race on for two nights, because in all my years coming here – I do believe this was probably the best shape this place has ever been in,” Bloomquist said after climbing from his car in Victory Lane. “The track was exceptional. We picked up a new engine from Larry Clark (Custom Race Engines) late Thursday and dropped it in for this race. We had an excellent car from the time we unloaded, but we kind of left a little on the table when we qualified. I told Danny (Myers, crew chief) after our qualifying lap that something just wasn’t right with the carburetor, so we made some changes prior to our heat race and that fixed the problem.
“I have to give credit to Steve (Russell) for the good run he had tonight, and really all weekend. He was strong, and to be quite honest the pace he was setting was kind of quicker than what we wanted to run. I believe his tires started to go away a somewhat just before halfway, and that’s when I started pressuring him a little harder for the lead. I’d like to thank Bob and Barb Miller for their support of my racing, and also I’d like to thank the fans who turned out this weekend. Even though I don’t get to race here all that often, I do consider Volunteer Speedway to be my home track. This place has been good to me over the years.”
Bloomquist pockets $20,000 for Volunteer ‘Topless Fall Brawl’ victory
By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Oct. 12) – Steve Russell had visions dancing through his head of capturing the biggest victory of his racing career Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway in the $20,000-to-win Topless Fall Brawl 100. But Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., woke Russell up from his dream when he moved into the lead on lap 56 of the 100-lap event en route to capturing his second special event victory this season at “The Gap.”
In Friday’s preliminaries, Vic “The Thrill” Hill paced the stellar 72-car field in Super Late Model qualifying by touring the high-banked oval at 12:470-seconds (115.480 mph) to earn the right to start the first of six heat races from the pole position. Hill held off a hard-charging Dennis “Rambo” Franklin, Steve Smith, Mark Douglas and Kerry Jones for the victory.
Steve Russell, who was second-quickest in qualifying, rolled to victory in the second heat over Bryan Hendrix, Mike Weeks, Roy Ledbetter and Brad Coffey.
Duayne Hommel captured the win in the third heat over Jeff Taylor, Joe Armistead Jr., Rick Norris and Dale Ball.
Bloomquist grabbed the checkers over Terry Wolfenbarger, Stacy Boles, Bobby Giffin and Rick Rogers in the fourth heat.
Doug Sanders appeared headed to victory in the fifth heat, but while leading with only one lap remaining, he slammed hard into the outside turn one guardrail when the rear suspension on his mount broke. Also collected in the violent accident were the second- through fourth-running entries of Booper Bare, Gusty Christenberry and Dave Burks. With those cars eliminated, Jackie Boggs inherited the lead and won the race over Tony Moody, David Killian, Clayton Christenberry and Randy Davidson.
Shannon Thornsberry captured the victory in the sixth heat over James Cline, Greg Burchett, Jeff Maupin and Roger Best.
With the top-two finishers from each of Friday’s six heats locked into the Topless Fall Brawl 100 lineup, starting positions 13-24 were determined Saturday night in four consolations which would advance the top-three finishers into the main event.
Smith, Schlieper and Norris transferred from the first consolation; while Burchett, Maupin and Weeks worked their way into the lineup from the second; with Douglas, Dennis Erb Jr. and Tim Dohm making it through the third last chance qualifier; and Ledbetter, Best and H.E. Vineyard advancing from the fourth to complete the 24-car starting field for the 100-lap Topless Fall Brawl.
At the drop of the green flag Russell launched into the lead over Hill, Bloomquist, Hommel and Boggs. Bloomquist drove under Hill in turn two on the second lap to move into second place. The event’s first caution waved while working lap 3 when Weeks, Thornsberry and Cline tangled in the second corner to send Thornsberry and Cline parking in the pits early.
Veteran Middle Tennessee racer Moody, making his first-ever visit to Volunteer Speedway, was mounting a charge early on, passing Boggs on lap 4 to move into the fifth spot. While the “Pontotoc Pirate” Russell was settin’ sail out front over Bloomquist, Hill was feeling the pressure from Hommel for third.
Smoke began to trail from the rear of Hill’s Monte Carlo on lap 11, and with oil glazing the racing surface on lap 13 the yellow waved. Hill headed into the pits, and after quick attention from his crew to tighten a loose oil line he tagged on at the tail of the field for the restart.
The top five going back green were Russell, Bloomquist, Hommel, Hendrix and Smith. Behind the leaders the action was fast and furious, with two- and three-wide racing electrifying the huge crowd. After battling door-to-door for five circuits with Boggs for the sixth spot, on lap 19 Taylor finally dropped Boggs back to seventh in the running order. The third caution appeared on lap 24 after contact from Hill sent Norris slamming into the backstretch concrete wall exiting turn two to end Norris’ night.
While Russell was still in command out front over Bloomquist and Hommel, the battle for positions seven through eleven between Boggs, Erb, Schlieper, Douglas and Hill was worth the price of admission alone. Hill drove around the outside of Douglas on lap 32 to move into tenth, while on the same lap in turn four Erb dropped Boggs back to eighth.
Bloomquist began to turn the heat up on the race leader Russell on lap 40, and for the next several circuits he would peek the nose of his Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Custom Race Engines/Warrior Race Cars/AllStar Performance-Lane Automotive/No. 0 Ford Taurus under Russell trying to grab the lead.
Between laps 48 to 53 Russell and Bloomquist raced side-by-side to bring the crowd to its feet, while Hommel was riding in their shadow closely in third. “Rambo” Franklin looped his mount on the front straightaway on lap 53 to bring out the caution.
Going back green the lead trio of Russell, Bloomquist and Hommel were nose-to-tail. Bloomquist dove to the inside of Russell in turn one on lap 56, and back on the other end of the track between turns three and four he would make what would turn out to be the race-winning pass.
Russell slid high in the fourth turn on lap 57 to open the door for Hommel to move into the runner-up position, while one lap later Hendrix would drop Russell back to the fourth spot. Russell lost another spot when Smith worked the low side between turns one and two on lap 61 to move into fourth.
Smith, Russell and Schlieper raced into the first turn three-wide on lap 63, and getting a good run off (turn) two on the bottom, Schlieper powered into fourth place. An outstanding run for Russell ended on lap 75 when he slowed with a broken torque arm on his mount.
“You know, I guess I maybe ought to be upset – but really I’m not,” said Russell with a smile on his face after the race. “This is only my second time ever here to Volunteer Speedway, and to run as strong as we did I’m really quite pleased. This track is nothing like what I’m used to racing on around Mississippi and Alabama, but when we dropped in here on Labor Day night I have to admit I fell in love with this place. I like to go fast, and this for sure is one fast track. In qualifying last night you could almost run wide open around here.”
Hommel got to close upon Bloomquist’s rear bumper for a final eight-lap dash to the checkers when Hill slowed in turn three on lap 92. But close was all Hommel would get, as Bloomquist would not be denied the $20,000 payday for winning the Topless Fall Brawl 100. Finishing a strong third was Hendrix, followed closely by Schlieper and Smith.
Completing the top 10 finishers were Boggs, Erb, Taylor, Douglas and Hill.
“First of all I’d like to really commend track owner Joe Loven for giving us a very good track to race on for two nights, because in all my years coming here – I do believe this was probably the best shape this place has ever been in,” Bloomquist said after climbing from his car in Victory Lane. “The track was exceptional. We picked up a new engine from Larry Clark (Custom Race Engines) late Thursday and dropped it in for this race. We had an excellent car from the time we unloaded, but we kind of left a little on the table when we qualified. I told Danny (Myers, crew chief) after our qualifying lap that something just wasn’t right with the carburetor, so we made some changes prior to our heat race and that fixed the problem.
“I have to give credit to Steve (Russell) for the good run he had tonight, and really all weekend. He was strong, and to be quite honest the pace he was setting was kind of quicker than what we wanted to run. I believe his tires started to go away a somewhat just before halfway, and that’s when I started pressuring him a little harder for the lead. I’d like to thank Bob and Barb Miller for their support of my racing, and also I’d like to thank the fans who turned out this weekend. Even though I don’t get to race here all that often, I do consider Volunteer Speedway to be my home track. This place has been good to me over the years.”
You must be hangin around O-durt and 2dirty to much.