MINERAL WELLS, WV (April 21, 2013) – Eddie Carrier Jr. finally claims his first ever win at West Virginia Motor Speedway, by winning tonight’s event. Carrier took the lead from Brian Birkhofer on lap 33 and held off Josh Richards for his fourth career LOLMDS win. Richards, who brought out the first caution of the race with one lap scored, charged through the field to finish second. Don O’Neal came home third followed by Birkhofer and 13th starting, Jimmy Owens.
“It feels pretty good to finally win here, so close to Rocket Chassis. West Virginia has been my home-state since I moved from Kentucky back in ’02,” said Carrier in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. “To win on this stage, with the caliber of drivers here, they are the best of the best no doubt about it, that’s why this is so special, the car was excellent today from the time we unloaded it out of the trailer.”
Birkhofer took the lead at the start of the 50-lap main event and was in control for most of the first-half of the race until Carrier started to apply pressure. Carrier’s car was better in the long runs as he eventually tracked down Birkhofer. On lap 33, Carrier was able to make the pass on Birkhofer coming off of turn number four.
“I have to thank Carl Grover, he gave me an opportunity to drive his car several years ago, and we have had a great relationship through the years. I want to run this Lucas Oil Series to become a better driver,” said the 42-year-old pilot of the Engines Inc, Integra, VP Fuels, and Grover Racing Engines Ford-powered, Rocket Chassis.
Richards commented in Lucas Oil Victory Lane: “Hats off to Eddie, he drove a great race. We were catching him at the end, but just ran out of laps. I am glad to see a Rocket win here in West Virginia. The track was really good, but on the first lap I just slid there into the guardrail. I thought our night was over, but the crew checked the car out and we came back with a strong finish.”
O’Neal posted a solid third place finish to put himself in a tie with Jimmy Owens for the points lead. “Tonight went way better for us than last night did,” joked O’Neal in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. “The track was really smooth, I was surprised after they reworked it. It was still fast, but our car had the right set-up for a strong run. Congratulations to Eddie on his win!”
Completing the top ten were John Blankenship, Scott Bloomquist, Jared Landers, Jared Hawkins, and Jonathan Davenport.
In preliminary action, John Blankenship set the overall Time (Group A) amongst the 32 entrants, with a lap of 17.021 seconds. Vic Coffey set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 17.361 seconds. John Blankenship, Steve Shaver, Brian Birkhofer, and Eddie Carrier Jr. won their respective heat races. Scott Bloomquist and Bobby Pierce won their respective B-Mains.
After taking the next weekend off, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will kick-off a busy month of May with events at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL on Friday, May 3rd and Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY on Saturday, May 4th. Both events will pay $10,000-to-win, and will include RED BUCK Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and 50-Lap main events. For more information, log onto www.tricityspeedway.net and www.paducahracing.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
Sunday Night, April 21st, 2013
West Virginia Motor Speedway – Mineral Wells, WV
Red Buck Fast Time Group A: John Blankenship / 17.021 seconds
Red Buck Fast Time Group B: Vic Coffey / 17.361 seconds
Wiles Drive Shafts Heat Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): John Blankenship, Steve Francis, Gregg Satterlee, Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist, Bob Adams, Wayne Hughes, Chris Garnes
Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Steve Shaver, Don O’Neal, Jared Hawkins, Jonathan Davenport, Dennis Erb Jr., Chuck Harper, Zack Dohm-DNS, David Gibson, Jr.-DNS
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Brian Birkhofer, Vic Coffey, Tim McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., Jason McBride, DJ Myers, Ross Nicastri, Jacob Hawkins
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #4 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Eddie Carrier Jr., Josh Richards, Jared Landers, Donnie Moran, Bobby Pierce, Jerry Lierly, Billy Moyer Jr., Austin Hubbard
CV Products B-Main #1 (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Dennis Erb Jr., Wayne Hughes, Bob Adams, Chuck Harper-DNS, Chris Garnes-DNS, Zack Dohm-DNS, David Gibson, Jr.-DNS
Wrisco Aluminum B-Main #2 (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Bobby Pierce, Jason McBride, DJ Myers, Austin Hubbard, Billy Moyer Jr., Ross Nicastri, Jerry Lierly, Bob Adams, Jacob Hawkins-NR
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 4 | 28 | Eddie Carrier Jr. | Salt Rock, WV |
| 2 | 8 | 1 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV |
| 3 | 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 4 | 2 | 15b | Brian Birkhofer | Muscatine, IA |
| 5 | 13 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 6 | 1 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 7 | 17 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 8 | 12 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 9 | 11 | 37 | Jared Hawkins | Fairmont, WV |
| 10 | 15 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA |
| 11 | 14 | 44 | Earl Pearson Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 12 | 25 | 11h | Austin Hubbard | Seaford, DE |
| 13 | 18 | 11HX | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL |
| 14 | 19 | 28e | Dennis Erb Jr. | Carpentersville, IL |
| 15 | 9 | 22s | Gregg Satterlee | Rochester Mills, PA |
| 16 | 16 | 99 | Donnie Moran | Dresden, OH |
| 17 | 24 | 7L | Jerry Lierly | Camp Point, IL |
| 18 | 23 | 21JR | Billy Moyer Jr. | Batesville, AR |
| 19 | 20 | 77 | Jason McBride | Carbondale, IL |
| 20 | 21 | 1h | Wayne Hughes | Ghent, WV |
| 21 | 5 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 22 | 7 | 6s | Steve Shaver | Vienna, WV |
| 23 | 6 | 32c | Vic Coffey | Caledonia, NY |
| 24 | 22 | 70J | DJ Myers | Greencastle, PA |
| 25 | 10 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 32
Lap Leaders: Brian Birkhofer (Laps 1 – 32); Eddie Carrier Jr. (Laps 33 – 50)
Caution Flags: Josh Richards (Lap 1); Tim McCreadie (Lap 2); Dennis Erb Jr. (Lap 24); Wayne Hughes (Lap 33); Jonathan Davenport (Lap 33)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Billy Moyer Jr., Jerry Lierly
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: Austin Hubbard
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Austin Hubbard (Started: 25th, Finished: 12th, Advanced:13 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Josh Richards
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Josh Richards
JRi Shocks/Dunn Benson Ford Rookie of the Race: Bobby Pierce
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Grover Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Eddie Carrier Sr. (Eddie Carrier Jr.)
HAWK Performance Fastest Lap of the Race: Brian Birkhofer (Lap# 2; 18.448 seconds)
Time of Race: 33 minutes 40 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 1275 |
| 1 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 1275 |
| 3 | 44 | Earl Pearson Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 1160 |
| 4 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 1155 |
| 5 | 28e | Dennis Erb Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | 1150 |
| 6 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 1135 |
| 7 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 1120 |
| 8 | 5 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 1110 |
| 8 | 11HX | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | 1110 |
| 10 | 28 | Eddie Carrier Jr. | Salt Rock, WV | 1055 |
| 11 | 21JR | Billy Moyer Jr. | Batesville, AR | 950 |
| 12 | 7L | Jerry Lierly | Camp Point, IL | 865 |
| 13 | 11h | Austin Hubbard | Seaford, DE | 840 |
| 14 | 77 | Jason McBride | Carbondale, IL | 775 |
| 15 | 32c | Vic Coffey | Caledonia, NY | 705 |
*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*