ROME, GA (October 2, 2016) Scott Bloomquist raced to his 15th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the 2016 season on Sunday night at Rome International Speedway. Bloomquist led every lap, but had to fight off a late-race challenge from Don O’Neal to pick up the win in the Lucas Oil Rome Showdown – piloting his Crop Production Services/Mark Martin Automotive/Reece Monument Company/Sweet-Bloomquist Chassis.
Trailing Bloomquist and O’Neal to the checkers were Brandon Overton, Chris Madden, and Jonathan Davenport.
“The car was awesome tonight! It [the car] was as smooth as could be and our Andy Durham engine ran great. When we got into traffic we had a few issues. The car wouldn’t get off the corners like I wanted it to. I never saw O’Neal at the end. I just tried to stay focused the best I could,” said Bloomquist.
Bloomquist was challenged early on by Ray Cook and then by Chris Madden. Madden was closing on Bloomquist in heavy lapped traffic. After a caution on lap 27, O’Neal snuck under Madden to take the second position away from him. O’Neal started to close the gap on Bloomquist until lap 38 when the third and final caution of the race came out.
Following the restart, O’Neal stayed with Bloomquist. With ten laps to go, he finally took a shot at the leader coming out of turn two. He pulled even, but Bloomquist seized the opportunity to thwart any thoughts that O’Neal had of taking over the lead. Bloomquist charged hard into turn three and recaptured the top spot.
“We had a good car tonight. The crew had this car up front all night. I wanted to win so bad for them and Clint Bowyer Racing. We gave it our best shot, but came up a little short. I thought I could take him once coming off of turn two, but I couldn’t quite clear him,” said O’Neal.
Overton made a late race charge to finish in third. “My car really started to go late in the race. I want to thank Billy Moyer and everybody associated with him in building this car. To run third with these guys says a lot about how far our program has come the last few years.”
Completing the top ten were Ray Cook, Tim McCreadie, Derek Ellis, Darrell Lanigan, and Jimmy Owens.
In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 35 entrants, with a lap of 13.547 seconds. Ray Cook set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 13.615 seconds. Ray Cook, Chris Madden, Scott Bloomquist, and Brandon Overton won their respective heat races. Dale McDowell and David Payne won their respective B-Mains.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016
Lucas Oil Rome Showdown
Rome International Speedway – Rome, GA
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Ray Cook / 13.615 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Scott Bloomquist / 13.547 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Ray Cook, Don O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Donald McIntosh, Dale McDowell, Jason Hiett, Austin Smith, Brandon Sheppard, Ryan King
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Madden, Jimmy Owens, Austin Kirkpatrick, Luther Jenkins, Jason Croft, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar, Will Roland, Earl Pearson, Jr.
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Derek Ellis, Clint Smith, Darrell Lanigan, David Payne, Austin Horton, Jake Knowles, Frank Ingram, Colton Flinner
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Brandon Overton, Casey Roberts, Dennis Erb, Jr., Steve Francis, Aaron Ridley, Hunter Peacock, Jared Hawkins, Austin Tyler Smith
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Dale McDowell, Jason Croft, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar, Austin Smith, Will Roland, Ryan King, Jason Hiett, Earl Pearson, Jr.
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): David Payne, Austin Horton, Aaron Ridley, Frank Ingram, Austin Tyler Smith, Hunter Peacock, Jake Knowles, Jared Hawkins, Colton Flinner
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $11,000 |
| 2 | 5 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $6,300 |
| 3 | 4 | 76 | Brandon Overton | Evans, GA | $3,500 |
| 4 | 3 | 44 | Chris Madden | Gaffney, SC | $2,750 |
| 5 | 9 | 116 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | $3,250 |
| 6 | 1 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC | $1,800 |
| 7 | 21 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,200 |
| 8 | 6 | 99 | Derek Ellis | Chatsworth, GA | $1,300 |
| 9 | 14 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,900 |
| 10 | 7 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,900 |
| 11 | 12 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,775 |
| 12 | 17 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | $1,050 |
| 13 | 19 | 9J | Jason Croft | Woodstock, GA | $1,025 |
| 14 | 11 | 11K | Austin Kirkpatrick | Ocala, FL | $1,000 |
| 15 | 13 | 7 | Donald McIntosh | Dawsonville, GA | $950 |
| 16 | 23 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $1,625 |
| 17 | 24 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,700 |
| 18 | 18 | 8 | David Payne | Murphy, NC | $875 |
| 19 | 16 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,550 |
| 20 | 10 | 44C | Clint Smith | Senoia, GA | $825 |
| 21 | 20 | 16 | Austin Horton | Whitesburg, GA | $800 |
| 22 | 8 | 101 | Casey Roberts | Toccoa, GA | $800 |
| 23 | 15 | 3 | Luther Jenkins | Waleska, GA | $800 |
| 24 | 22 | 81 | Aaron Ridley | Chatsworth, GA | $800 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 35
Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 – 50)
Cautions: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 3); Dale McDowell (Lap 27); Casey Roberts (Lap 38)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Brandon Sheppard, Earl Pearson Jr.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Scott Bloomquist
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Started: 21st; Finished: 7th; Advanced 14 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Scott Bloomquist
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Jason Crawford
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Don O’Neal
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Colton Flinner
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Andy Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jeremy Justice (Don O’Neal)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Bloomquist (Lap #5 – 15.0584 seconds)
Most Laps Led: Scott Bloomquist (50 Laps)
PFC Brakes Tough Brake Award: Brandon Sheppard
Time of Race: 22 minutes 05 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 8000 | $382,400 |
| 2 | 116 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | 7200 | $258,200 |
| 3 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | 6945 | $122,805 |
| 4 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | 6880 | $113,755 |
| 5 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | 6860 | $134,305 |
| 6 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 6810 | $120,390 |
| 7 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | 6580 | $109,860 |
| 8 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 6320 | $145,905 |
| 9 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 6305 | $106,390 |
| 10 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 6045 | $114,275 |
| 11 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | 5815 | $70,835 |
| 12 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | 4730 | $35,475 |
*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*