ALMA, OH (October 15, 2011) – Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN led flag-to-flag in capturing the 31st Annual Dirt Track World Championship Presented by Sunoco on Saturday Night at Atomic Speedway. O’Neal started on the pole and paced the field the entire distance to earn $50,000 for his first career win in the event. Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN finished second, enabling him to clinch the 2011 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship. Josh Richards of Shinnston, WV came home third followed by Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN and Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC.
O’Neal waited through several caution flags during the event, none of which were major incidents as he brought the MasterSbilt House Car home for the third crown jewel win of the season and his fifth series victory of the year. “Tonight was all about tire management, we were a little softer than the second and third place cars, we just bided our time out there, I drove it as straight as I could, it’s pretty easy when you’ve got a good race car,” said the 47-year-old driver, who finished third in the championship points.
O’Neal had some timely cautions as he was about to catch up to the tail end of the field. “I didn’t want to see that lapped traffic, the race was one-lane all night, there wasn’t much they could do about it, after starting late afternoon while the sun is still up and the rain last night. I have to thank MasterSbilt Race Cars, Randy, Tader and Cody and all those guys back at the shop, they make it possible for me to run as well as we do, Jay Dickens Racing Engines, they been solid all year long, I have to thank Magnaflow Exhaust for coming on board this year, VP Fuels, Superior Cleaning, Independence Lumber, Janowski Insurance and Second Chance Livestock Dispatch and all of our product sponsors we couldn’t do it with them.”
Owens trailed O’Neal the entire distance to finish second. In doing so, he clinched his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Title after finishing runner-up the last two years to Scott Bloomquist. “We came here to win the race of course, but once we got into second we took a few shots at the lead, but we’ve had a great year,” said the driver of the Mike Reece owned, Bloomquist Race Cars Ford.
“You’ve got to be consistent to win this thing, top five finishes are so important, you’ve got to able to capitalize when someone else has misfortune, that’s part of it,” said the 39-year-old Owens who captured eight series wins this year on his way to the championship.
“To say we beat Scott Bloomquist, means a lot, he builds a great race car, I know we went back-and-forth all year in the points battle, my crew worked their tails off all year, we are glad to be celebrating after this race, we were conservative on tires, Don was setting a great pace there tonight, we were glad we didn’t hit a lot of traffic. I have to thank everyone from the fans, our souvenir people, and all of our sponsors for their support.”
Richards was able to get around Bloomquist to finish 3rd in the Kentucky Fuel, Roush-Yates, Rocket Ford as Bloomquist wound up 4th, ending the year second in points in the Miller Brothers Construction, Roush-Yates, Bloomquist Race Cars Ford. Cook finished the season off with a top five finish in the D&R Racing, Rockstar Energy Drink, MasterSbilt Chevrolet.
Completing the top ten were John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL; and R.J. Conley of Wheelersburg, OH.
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com or call the series’ office at (951) 532-2503.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, October 15th, 2011
31st Annual U. S. Steel Dirt Track World Championship
Presented by Sunoco
Atomic Speedway (K-C Raceway) Chillicothe, OH
Red Buck Cigars/DirtOnDirt.com Fast Time:
Mike Marlar / 15.574 seconds (Group A)
Jimmy Owens / 15.408 seconds (Group B and Overall)
Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Don O’Neal, Mike Marlar, Jackie Boggs, Eric Wells, Bub McCool, Rod Conley, Justin Rattliff, Shannon Babb, Bryan Casey, Mick Sansom, Josh Bivens, Corey Conley, K.C. Burdette, Kelly Cook, Doug Drown
Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Josh Richards, Steve Shaver, Scott James, Jared Hawkins, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Dustin Linville, Jarrod Breeding, Steve Prince, Audie Swartz, Wayne Maffett, Jr., Sonny Conley, Brandon Conkel, Jamie Ferguson, Paul Davis, Paul Moore
Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Ray Cook, RJ Conley, Brian Birkhofer, Tyler Reddick, Jimmy Mars, Jason Feger, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Stephen Breeding, Ryan Unzicker, Chad Smith, Russ Frohnapfel, James Watson, Anthony Adams, Timothy Slone, Nick Latham
HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Steve Casebolt , Greg Johnson, Shane Clanton ,Chris Brown, Michael Chilton, Chub Frank, Josh McGuire, Chip Brindle, Donnie Moran, Dillon Huron, Andy Bond, Brandon Fouts, Roy Roush, Brandon Sheppard
Wiles Driveshafts Fifth Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Earl Pearson, Jr., Ben Adkins, Jared Miley, Jared Landers, Tim Dohm , Jonathan Hodgkiss, John Mason, Jason Montgomery , Freddie Carpenter, Billy Gullion, Chris Meadows, Brad Neat, Mike Wilson, Ralph Withem
Sweet Manufacturing Sixth Heat (20 Laps- Top 3 Advance): John Blankenship, Steve Francis, Dale McDowell, Clint Smith, Kent Robinson, Shane McLoughlin, Darrell Lanigan, Tim Lance, Tyler Carpenter, Brian Shirley, Delmas Conley, Richie Edwards, Tony Roush, Kenneth Howell, Mike Johnson, Tim Dohm
JRi Shocks First B-Main (20 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Eric Wells, Jared Hawkins, Bub McCool, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Rod Conley, Dustin Linville, Justin Rattliff, Shannon Babb, Steve Prince, Corey Conley, Wayne Maffett, Jr., Audie Swartz, Jarrod Breeding, Jamie Ferguson, K.C. Burdette, Sonny Conley, Bryan Casey, Mick Sansom, Josh Bivens, Kelly Cook, Brandon Conkel
Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (20 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Shane Clanton, Jimmy Mars, Chris Brown, Tyler Reddick, Jason Feger, Chub Frank, Michael Chilton, Josh McGuire, Stephen Breeding, Donnie Moran, Chip Brindle, Andy Bond, Dillon Huron, Ryan Unzicker, Roy Roush, Nick Latham, Anthony Adams, James Watson, Brandon Fouts, Timothy Slone, Russ Frohnapfel, Chad Smith, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Brandon Sheppard
JRi Shocks Third B-Main (20 Laps- Top 2 Advance): Jared Miley, Clint Smith, Tim Dohm , Shane McLoughlin, Kent Robinson, Brian Shirley, John Mason, Tyler Carpenter, Tim Lance, Kenneth Howell, Freddie Carpenter, Mike Wilson, Billy Gullion, Jason Montgomery , Richie Edwards, Tony Roush, Jonathan Hodgkiss, Brad Neat, Jared Landers, Darrell Lanigan, Delmas Conley, Chris Meadows, Ralph Withem, Mike Johnson
Jim Dunn Memorial (Non Qualifiers Race): Tim Dohm, Chris Brown, Rod Conley, Eddie Carrier Jr., Michael Chilton, Jason Feger, Donnie Moran, Stephen Breeding, John Mason, Jamie Ferguson, Freddie Carpenter, Steve Prince, K.C. Burdette, Roy Roush, Tyler Carpenter, Brian Shirley, Kent Robinson, Chub Frank, Shane McLoughlin, Josh McGuire, Bub McCool
Feature Finish – 100 Laps:
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN |
| 1 | 1 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN |
| 2 | 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN |
| 5 | 5 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC |
| 6 | 6 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV |
| 7 | 12 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY |
| 8 | 7 | 5b | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN |
| 9 | 10 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| 10 | 11 | 71c | RJ Conley | Wheelersburg, OH |
| 11 | 24 | 44c | Clint Smith | Senoia, GA |
| 12 | 18 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA |
| 13 | 26 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY |
| 14 | 25 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR |
| 15 | 28 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA |
| 16 | 22 | 37 | Jared Hawkins | Fairmont, WV |
| 17 | 27 | D88 | Dustin Linville | Bryantsville, KY |
| 18 | 19 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY |
| 19 | 14 | 24H | Greg Johnson | Bedford, IN |
| 20 | 15 | 81 | Scott James | Lawrenceburg, IN |
| 21 | 13 | 4b | Jackie Boggs | Grayson, KY |
| 22 | 8 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN |
| 23 | 23 | 28m | Jimmy Mars | Menomonie, WI |
| 24 | 21 | H1 | Jared Miley | South Park, PA |
| 25 | 16 | b7 | Ben Adkins | West Portsmouth, OH |
| 26 | 17 | 15b | Brian Birkhofer | Muscatine, IA |
| 27 | 20 | 25c | Shane Clanton | Fayetteville, GA |
| 28 | 9 | 6 | Steve Shaver | Vienna, WV |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 90
Lap Leaders: Don O’Neal (Laps 1 – 100)
Caution Flags: Steve Shaver (Lap 6); Eric Wells (Lap 27); Steve Casebolt (Lap 31); Jackie Boggs (Lap 40); Jared Hawkins (Lap 49); Scott James (Lap 53); Greg Johnson (Lap 56); Dale McDowell (Lap 60); Dustin Linville (Lap 84); Brad Neat (Lap 92); Tyler Reddick (Lap 95)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jared Landers, Brad Neat
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: Tyler Reddick
Volunteer Racing Series Provisional: Dustin Linville
PBM/Erson Cams Hard Charger of the Race: Clint Smith (Started 24th; Finished 11th; Advanced 13 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Ray Cook
K&N Filters Clean Pass of the Race: Josh Richards
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Jared Landers
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Jay Dickens Race Engines
Janowski Insurance Feature Winner: Don O’Neal
Outerwears Challenger of the Race: Clint Smith
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award: Brian Birkhofer
DirtonDirt.com Crew Chief of the Race: Chris Fox (Jimmy Owens)
Time of Race: 53 minutes 40 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS |
| 1 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 7215 |
| 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 7135 |
| 3 | 71 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 6540 |
| 4 | 15 | Steve Francis | Ashland, KY | 6160 |
| 5 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 5710 |
| 6 | 44 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 5625 |
| 7 | 23 | John Blankenship | Williamson, WV | 5570 |
| 8 | 41n | Brad Neat | Dunnville, KY | 5535 |
| 9 | 53 | Ray Cook | Brasstown, NC | 5455 |
| 10 | 11t | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | 5440 |
| 11 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | 5240 |
| 12 | 18e | Eric Wells | Hazard, KY | 4775 |
| 13 | 57J | Bub McCool | Vicksburg, MS | 4295 |
| 14 | c9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | 4000 |
| 15 | 5b | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | 3915 |