TAZEWELL, TN (May 31, 2013) – John Blankenship took home his first ever win at Tazewell Speedwayon Friday Night capturing the Toyota Knoxville 50. Blankenship picked up his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2013 after taking over the lead on lap nine, when race leader Scott Bloomquist went pitside. Blankenship then held off several challenges from Jimmy Owens as he pulled away at the end. Owens nursed a smoking car home in second followed by Earl Pearson Jr., Dennis Erb Jr. and Steve Francis.
“Yes that was a tough race, Francis got me on the restart and then we were finally able to make it stick. I saw Jimmy’s nose a couple of times, I got a little excited, but we kept at it and it feels good to win so close to our race shop in Knoxville,” said the winner. “I am glad that Bobby’s (Pierce) ok, I saw Scott (Bloomquist) slide in there, he must have gotten a lot of damage, because I saw him pull out of the race.”
Blankenship inherited the lead with Owens, following closely in second. Blankenship and Owens put on a terrific battle for the lead for several circuits with Owens actually being credited with leading lap 20. Blankenship regained the top spot a lap later and went on to lead the rest of the way. Owens started fading in the final ten laps as smoke was pouring out of his car.
“I have to thank all of my sponsors, Coal, Todd Case Trucking, Bear Cove Village, VP, Integra, Cornett Racing Engines and Rocket Chassis. My crew has been outstanding lately; we came into this season looking to win the championship and with a win tonight it sure helps! Two wins out of the last three, so we hope to keep the momentum going at Florence tomorrow night, that’s a track we need to improve our performance at.”
Owens, with his second place finish, maintained his points lead. “We were just hanging on there at the end. I don’t know if it was an oil leak or what, fortunately we were far enough ahead of those other guys, but we will go through the car and get ready for Florence. The track was racy tonight, there must have been a full-moon or something, and I want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight.”
Completing the top ten were Eddie Carrier Jr., Billy Ogle, Jr., Jared Landers, Brad Neat and Billy Moyer, Jr.
In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the overall time (Group A) amongst the 21 entrants, with a lap of 10.966 seconds. Jeff Wolfenbarger set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 11.109 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Chris Madden, and Steve Francis won their respective heat races.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will return to action tomorrow night, Saturday, June 1st, for the annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway in Florence, KY. The event will be packed with RED BUCK Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and the 50-Lap main event. The event will pay $800 to start the feature, and $10,000 to win. For more information, log onto www.florencespeedway.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
Friday Night, May 31st, 2013
Toyota Knoxville 50
Red Buck Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 10.966 seconds
Red Buck Fast Time Group B: Jeff Wolfenbarger / 11.109 seconds
Wiles Drive Shafts Heat Race #1 (10 Laps, Everyone Transfers): Scott Bloomquist, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Jeff Wolfenbarger, Brad Neat, Jerry Lierly, Billy Moyer Jr.
Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 (10 Laps, Everyone Transfers): Chris Madden, Earl Pearson Jr., Bryan Hendrix, Terry Wolfenbarger, Jared Landers, Dennis Erb Jr., Josh Henry
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 (10 Laps, Everyone Transfers): Steve Francis, John Blankenship, Billy Ogle Jr., Eddie Carrier Jr., Bobby Pierce, Tommy Bailey, Jay Brunson
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 6 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 2 | 7 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 3 | 5 | 44 | Earl Pearson Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 4 | 17 | 28e | Dennis Erb Jr. | Carpentersville, IL |
| 5 | 3 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 6 | 12 | 28 | Eddie Carrier Jr. | Salt Rock, WV |
| 7 | 9 | 201 | Billy Ogle Jr. | Knoxville, TN |
| 8 | 14 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 9 | 13 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY |
| 10 | 19 | 21JR | Billy Moyer Jr. | Batesville, AR |
| 11 | 18 | 11 | Tommy Bailey | Corbin, KY |
| 12 | 20 | 25 | Josh Henry | Newport, TN |
| 13 | 16 | 7L | Jerry Lierly | Camp Point, IL |
| 14 | 21 | 23B | Jay Brunson | Dubberly, LA |
| 15 | 2 | 44m | Chris Madden | Gaffney, SC |
| 16 | 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 17 | 4 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 18 | 15 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL |
| 19 | 10 | 28w | Jeff Wolfenbarger | Clinton, TN |
| 20 | 8 | 5h | Bryan Hendrix | Knoxville, TN |
| 21 | 11 | 14 | Terry Wolfenbarger | Powell, TN |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 40
Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 – 8); John Blankenship (Laps 9 – 18); Jimmy Owens (Lap 19); John Blankenship (Laps 20 – 50)
Caution Flags: Chris Madden (Lap 1); Josh Henry (Lap 3); Jared Landers, Eddie Carrier, Billy Ogle Jr., Jeff Wolfenbarger, Terry Wolfenbarger, Brad Neat, Jerry Lierly (Lap 3); Jared Landers, Terry Wolfenbarger, Jerry Lierly (Lap 4); Bobby Pierce (Lap 8); Jared Landers (Lap 34)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Dennis Erb Jr. (Started: 17th, Finished: 4th, Advanced: 13 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: John Blankenship
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jimmy Owens
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: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Tom Buckingham (John Blankenship)
HAWK Performance Fastest Lap of the Race: John Blankenship (Lap# 15; 11.851 seconds)
Time of Race: 46 minutes 54 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 2160 |
| 2 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 2030 |
| 3 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 1945 |
| 4 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 1940 |
| 5 | 44 | Earl Pearson Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 1900 |
| 5 | 28e | Dennis Erb Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | 1900 |
| 7 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 1850 |
| 8 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 1765 |
| 9 | 28 | Eddie Carrier Jr. | Salt Rock, WV | 1730 |
| 10 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | 1645 |
| 11 | 21JR | Billy Moyer Jr. | Batesville, AR | 1555 |
| 12 | 7L | Jerry Lierly | Camp Point, IL | 1410
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