Chris Madden Takes First Career Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout Victory

WOODSTOCK, GA (October 5, 2013) – After coming close a year ago to winning his first Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout, Chris Madden sealed the deal tonight to take home the $10,000 pay day in the Southeast’s most prestigious event. Madden led all 50 laps for his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of 2013.

Billy Ogle, Jr. charged from the 11th starting position to take second. RED BUCK Fast Qualifier and pole sitter Randy Weaver came home in third. Six-time Shootout winner, Scott Bloomquist was fourth. Defending race winner, Jimmy Owens finished fifth.

“After what happened to us last year, leading until the last lap and not winning, this feels great,” said the 38-year-old veteran driver. “The car was so good all night. I told Scott (Bloomquist) I didn’t know what to do to the car for the feature. It was very easy to drive, and that’s a scary feeling going into the feature, because you want to change something. But you don’t want to mess up anything.”

Madden’s Bloomquist Race Cars, Clements-powered entry was solid from start to finish. Ogle made a late-race charge and closed to within a car-length with five laps to go. Madden pulled away in the final two circuits as he headed to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fifth time in his career.

“I tried to be smooth and not wear out the tires. Lap-traffic wasn’t too bad tonight, and everybody gave each other plenty of room. I have to thank Century Plastics, Henderson Amusement, KC Transport, Cushman Paint and Body, Hamrick’s of Gaffney, East Coast Entertainment, and everyone else; we couldn’t do it without them. To win this race in front of this crowd is just tremendous. It’s the biggest crowd I have seen here since I have been coming to race at Dixie.”

Ogle’s charge to the front began when he broke into the top five by lap eight. Ogle moved up to fourth, passing Bloomquist on lap 18. Two laps later Ogle made a great move, passing both Dale McDowell and Weaver to advance to second. Ogle’s car was working so well on the bottom that it looked like he might catch Madden at the end.

“This track and Rome are probably my two favorite tracks to run on. We really were hooked up on the bottom, and we got a great run into the corners and out of them. With about five to go I thought maybe I had a chance to catch him (Madden), but I had some difficulty with lapped traffic, and it sort of hurt my momentum. We got real close there one lap, and I was hoping he might slip up, but he didn’t. We will take this finish and head to Rome tomorrow night,” said the race runner-up. “I have to thank Massey Electric, Cherokee Millwrights, Blount Excavating, David Bryant, and Rocket Chassis for giving me such a good car to drive.”

Weaver, who was looking for a clean sweep of the racing activities, ran in second for several laps, until finally yielding that position to Ogle on lap 20. “He (Ogle) was really fast on the bottom; I couldn’t hold him off, with only one caution. I really didn’t have time to get settled down. We are thrilled to get a podium finish here, and we will keep coming back until we can win the Shootout,” said Weaver.

“The track crew did a great job tonight; it was fast all night long. Madden was just in another zone, this was great experience for us running against the Lucas Oil drivers. We plan on starting out next year running with them,” said the driver of the Outlaw Racing Southeast. Cornett-powered, GRT Ford.

Completing the top ten were Ray Cook, Casey Roberts, Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship and Dale McDowell.

In preliminary action, Randy Weaver set the overall RED BUCK fast time (Group A) amongst the 47 entrants, with a lap of 14.464 seconds. Chris Madden set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 14.747 seconds. Randy Weaver, Ray Cook, Chris Madden, and Dale McDowell won their respective heat races. Steve Francis and Eric Wells won their respective B-Mains.

Up next for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be the Rome Showdown, tomorrow night, Sunday, October 6th, at Rome International Speedway in Rome, GA. The event will feature RED BUCK Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Main, and the 50-Lap, $10,000-to-win main event. For more information, log on towww.raceromespeedway.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

Saturday Night, October 5, 2013
Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout
Dixie Speedway – Woodstock, GA

RED BUCK Fast Time Group A: Randy Weaver / 14.464 seconds

RED BUCK Fast Time Group B: Chris Madden / 14.747 seconds

Wiles Drive Shafts Heat Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Randy Weaver, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Billy Moyer Jr., Steve Francis, Doug Stevens, Earl Pearson Jr., Michael Asberry, Dennis Erb Jr., Kenny Collins, Dusty Carver, Austin Smith

Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Ray Cook, Shane Clanton, Billy Ogle Jr., Don O’Neal, Jared Landers, Eric Cooley, Tony Knowles, Jason Croft, Scottie Pritchett, Kevin Wilson

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):

Wrisco Aluminum B-Main #2 (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Eric Wells, Mike Marlar, Frank Ingram, Donald McIntosh, Tyler Millwood, Eddie Carrier Jr., Shawn Chastain, David Payne, Gary McPherson, Jordy Nipper, Scott Hall, Mike McConnell, Travis Pennington, Justin Rattliff

Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race Statistics

Entrants: 47

Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1 – 50)

Caution Flags: Frank Ingram (Lap 3)

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Dennis Erb Jr.; Eddie Carrier Jr.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
RED BUCK Fast Time Provisionals: none
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Billy Ogle Jr. (Started: 11th, Finished: 2nd, Advanced: 9 positions)

Keyser Mfg Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jimmy Owens
Allstar Performer of the Race: Billy Ogle Jr.

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: Bloomquist Race Cars

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Tommy Hicks (Scott Bloomquist)
HAWK Performance Fastest Lap of the Race: Dale McDowell (Lap # 6; 16.046 seconds)

Time of Race: 27 minutes 26 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings: