PORTSMOUTH, OH (October 20, 2012) – Jimmy Owens put an exclamation point on the final race of the season for the series by winning the $50,000 to win 32nd Red Buck Dirt Track World Championship presented by Borrowed Blue on Saturday Night at Portsmouth (OH) Raceway Park. Owens came into the crown jewel event already having clinched the 2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title.
Owens took the lead on lap two from defending DTWC winner, Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN and led the rest of the way to become the 23rd different driver to capture one of the sport’s most prestigious events. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN came home second, followed by O’Neal, Josh Richards of Shinnston, WV, and local driver Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, OH.
“I don’t know what to say, putting my name on that trophy with all the great drivers that have won this race, means a lot to me and my crew. I have to thank my car owner, Mike Reece, we got together in 2007 and it’s been a tremendous relationship since,” said the 40-year-old. “I have to thank my crew we went with the right tire choice, the Cornett Engine ran strong and our goal was to win this race one day and we got it done.”
O’Neal, who was looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the race, charged to the lead at the start. O’Neal’s stay at the top was short-lived as Owens, got by O’Neal him on lap 2. O’Neal continued in the second position behind Owens until lap 13 when Bloomquist wrestled the position away from him.
Owens’ seventh Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the year came aboard the Reece Monument Company, Gantte Appraisals, Red Line Oil, Midwest Sheet Metal, Sunoco Race Fuels, C&C Trucking, Hoosier Tires, Keyser, and Ohlins sponsored Bloomquist Race Cars Ford.
Owens led the field through heavy traffic on several occasions, but timely cautions allowed a clear track in front of him on the restarts. Bloomquist tried to track down Owens in the final laps, but could never get closer than two car lengths.
“Jimmy ran a good race, congrats to him. Don has had a great year as well, it just tells you the strength of this series,” said Bloomquist a 2-time series champion. “We went with a harder left rear tire than anybody, but we just couldn’t get up to challenge Jimmy.”
O’Neal caught Owens and Bloomquist in the late stages of the race, but settled for third. “Jimmy did a great job, I thought maybe I could get by Scott, but neither one of them slipped out of the groove, our car was just too loose, but we finished the season strong.”
Completing the ten were Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL; 24th starting, Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; R.J. Conley of Wheelersburg, OH; Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, WV; and Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN.
In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the RedBuck Fast Time amongst the 94 entrants, with a lap of 14.735 seconds. Jimmy Owens set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 15.342 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Don O’Neal, Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, RJ Conley, and Chub Frank won their respective Heat Races. Mike Marlar, Jackie Boggs, and Delmas Conley won their respective B-Mains.
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, October 20th, 2012
32nd Annual Red Buck Dirt Track World Championship presented by Borrowed Blue
Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH
RedBuck Fast Time Group A: Jimmy Owens / 13.617 seconds
RedBuck Fast Time Group B: Chris Madden / 13.392 seconds
Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport, Mike Marlar, Brandon Sheppard, Dennis Erb, Jr., Dustin Linville, Jon Hodgkiss, Doug Drown, Joe Ramey, Mike Unger, Brett Kennard, Tommy Carlton, Steve Casebolt , Dan Schlieper, Michael Chilton-DNS
U. S. Steel Second Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Ben Adkins, Earl Pearson, Jr., Brian Birkhofer, Tyler Reddick, Jared Landers, Jason Riggs, Kevin Wagner, Jared Hawkins, JT Conley, Mark Morrison, Jarrod Breeding, D.J. Wells, Danial Kattine, Shannon Thornsberry, Roy Roush
Simpson Performance Products Third Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): Dale McDowell, Steve Shaver, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Jackie Boggs, Eric Wells, Wayne Chinn, Mike Johnson, Stephen Breeding, Kenneth Howell, Paul Davis, Brandon Fouts, Raymond Nichols, Bob Adams, Josh Bivens, John Blankenship
HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Zack Dohm, Jared Miley, Derek Fisher, Chris Combs, Greg Johnson, Chris Garnes, Bobby Pierce, Steve Lucas, Jamie Ferguson, Nick Bocook, Brian Daniels, Roger Stacy, Jason Montgomery , Darran Kattine, Matt Ginn
Wiles Driveshafts Fifth Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): RJ Conley, Shane Clanton, Josh McGuire, Ray Cook, Billy Ogle Jr., Tim Dohm , Ty Dillon, Russ Frohnapfel, Mason Zeigler, Brad Malcuit, Mick Sansom, Wayne Maffett, Jr., George Lee, Rick Christian, Mike Meyers, Chris Carpenter-DNS
U. S. Steel Sixth Heat (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer): Chub Frank, Jimmy Mars, Brady Smith, Delmas Conley, Rod Conley, Steve Francis, Chris Wilson, Jerry Lierly, Butch Dowdy, Jeff Arnold, Josh Bocook, Chris Meadows, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Michael Howard-DNS, Kirk Phillips-DNS
JRi Shocks First B-Main (20 Laps – Top 2 Transfer): Mike Marlar, Jared Landers, Dennis Erb, Jr., Doug Drown, Tyler Reddick, Jared Hawkins, Jason Riggs, D.J. Wells, Joe Ramey, Shannon Thornsberry, Kevin Wagner, Dustin Linville, JT Conley, Jarrod Breeding, Tommy Carlton, Mark Morrison, Brandon Sheppard, Brian Birkhofer, Danial Kattine, Brett Kennard, Jon Hodgkiss, Mike Unger, Dan Schlieper, Roy Roush, Steve Casebolt-DNS, Michael Chilton-DNS
PAC Racing Springs Second B-Main (20 Laps – Top 2 Transfer): Jackie Boggs, Eric Wells, Derek Fisher, Wayne Chinn, Chris Combs, Jason Montgomery , Greg Johnson, Chris Garnes, Nick Bocook, Bobby Pierce, Stephen Breeding, Mike Johnson, Steve Lucas, Paul Davis, Jamie Ferguson, Kenneth Howell, Brian Daniels, Josh Bivens, Roger Stacy, Bob Adams, Darran Kattine, Brandon Fouts-DNS, Raymond Nichols-DNS, Matt Ginn-DNS
JRi Shocks Third B-Main (20 Laps – Top 2 Transfer): Delmas Conley, Steve Francis, Ray Cook, Tim Dohm, Mason Zeigler, Rod Conley, Ty Dillon, Russ Frohnapfel, George Lee, Wayne Maffett, Jr., Jeff Arnold, Mick Sansom, Josh Bocook, Rick Christian, Brad Malcuit, Jerry Lierly, Chris Wilson, Billy Ogle Jr., Butch Dowdy, Mike Meyers, Chris Meadows-DNS, Frank Heckenast, Jr.-DNS, Chris Carpenter-DNS, Michael Howard-DNS, Kirk Phillips-DNS
Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Race: Ray Cook, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jason Montgomery , Derek Fisher, Tim Dohm , Jared Hawkins, Chris Combs, Mason Zeigler, Rod Conley, Greg Johnson, Chris Garnes, Ty Dillon, D.J. Wells, Nick Bocook, George Lee, Russ Frohnapfel, Josh Bocook, Rick Christian, Jerry Lierly, Wayne Chinn, Jamie Ferguson, Doug Drown, Jason Riggs, Joe Ramey, Shannon Thornsberry, Steve Lucas-DNS
Feature Finish – 100 Laps
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 3 | 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 4 | 7 | 1 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV |
| 5 | 9 | 57 | Ben Adkins | West Portsmouth, OH |
| 6 | 15 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 7 | 24 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 8 | 4 | 71c | RJ Conley | Wheelersburg, OH |
| 9 | 17 | 28 | Eddie Carrier, Jr. | Salt Rock, WV |
| 10 | 19 | 5b | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN |
| 11 | 27 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC |
| 12 | 11 | 6s | Steve Shaver | Vienna, WV |
| 13 | 23 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY |
| 14 | 6 | 1* | Chub Frank | Bear Lake, PA |
| 15 | 12 | 28m | Jimmy Mars | Menomonie, WI |
| 16 | 22 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 17 | 18 | 2 | Brady Smith | Solon Springs, WI |
| 18 | 14 | H1 | Jared Miley | South Park, PA |
| 19 | 25 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 20 | 20 | 4b | Jackie Boggs | Grayson, KY |
| 21 | 13 | 15d | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA |
| 22 | 5 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA |
| 23 | 8 | 17d | Zack Dohm | Charleston, WV |
| 24 | 16 | 41 | Josh McGuire | Grayson, KY |
| 25 | 26 | 11T | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA |
| 26 | 21 | 71d | Delmas Conley | Wheelersburg, OH |
| 27 | 10 | 25c | Shane Clanton | Fayetteville, GA |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 94
Lap Leaders: Don O’Neal (Lap 1); Jimmy Owens (Laps 2 – 100)
Caution Flags: Jared Landers (Lap 12); Jonathan Davenport (Lap 15); Tyler Reddick (Lap 16); Zack Dohm (Lap 36); Dale McDowell (Lap 37); Jackie Boggs (Lap 49)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: John Blankenship, Tyler Reddick
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Jim Dunn Memorial Winner Provisional: Ray Cook
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Steve Francis (Started 24th; Finished 7th; Advanced 17 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Steve Francis
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jimmy Owens
ASi Racewear Challenge Finisher: Jimmy Owens
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jonathan Davenport
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Bloomquist Race Cars
Sweet Mfg Crew Chief of the Race: Lance Wright (Steve Francis)
Time of Race: 44 minutes 21 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 8110 |
| 2 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 7640 |
| 3 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 7630 |
| 4 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 7430 |
| 5 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 7015 |
| 6 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 6855 |
| 7 | 15d | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | 6610 |
| 8 | 11T | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | 6430 |
| 9 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 6320 |
| 10 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY | 6290 |
*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*