![\"\"](\"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Blakenship.jpg\" "\\"Blakenship\\"")
<\/a>BARBERVILLE, FL \u2013 Feb. 24, 2012 (night) \u2013 John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., registered the biggest win of his career on Friday night, capturing the 40-lap DIRTcar UMP Late Model finale of the 41st UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park.<\/p>\nThe 30-year-old driver was flawless in the A-Main, roaring off the pole position to lead the entire distance. He earned $10,000 for his first-ever victory at the half-mile oval, which hosted a day-night doubleheader on Friday due to a rainout of Wednesday evening\u2019s scheduled program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competition here is crazy, so to win here is kind of like winning at Eldora (Speedway),\u201d said Blankenship, comparing Volusia\u2019s talent-laden field with those that gather for the annual crown-jewel events at the famed \u2018Big E\u2019 in Rossburg, Ohio. \u201cWe\u2019ve always loved this racetrack. We\u2019ve been coming down here for awhile now and I\u2019ve always wanted to win one down here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was running out of time this week to get one in, so I\u2019m really happy to finally win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blankenship built a lead of as much as two seconds over outside-polesitter Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., during the race\u2019s early stages, but both Lanigan and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., drew close after the halfway point. Lanigan and Owens were about to challenge Blankenship when Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., slowed on lap 26 to bring out the lone caution flag of the feature \u2013 a caution that effectively propelled Blankenship to victory.<\/p>\n
With heavy lapped traffic no longer an issue for Blankenship and the caution period cooling his rivals\u2019 tires, he was able to drive his Rocket Chassis car away from the pack on the restart. He wasn\u2019t seriously challenged over the remaining circuits and beat Lanigan\u2019s Rocket machine to the finish line by 1.153 seconds.<\/p>\n
Owens settled for third place after starting 10th<\/sup> in a Team Zero by Bloomquist car. Third-starter Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., finished fourth in a Victory Circle mount and eighth-starter Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., placed fifth in a Capital Race Car.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that caution probably saved us,\u201d said Blankenship, whose equipment is owned by his father Don. \u201cWe had a heck of a car, but I was having trouble navigating around them (lapped cars). I kept having to check up and was losing my traction and my momentum. It was getting harder and harder to find ways around them.\u201d<\/p>\n A clear track left Blankenship unbeatable. Neither Lanigan nor Owens could muster the threatening speed that had flashed before the caution flag.<\/p>\n Lanigan, 41, had to be satisfied with his second runner-up finish of the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit. He also was a bridesmaid in Tuesday night\u2019s 30-lap DIRTcar UMP Late Model feature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went a little different than everybody else on tires,\u201d said Lanigan. \u201cWe tried something there, but I don\u2019t know if we would\u2019ve been any better with the other tires. We gave it everything we had.\u201d<\/p>\n Owens, who turned 40 on Feb. 3, appeared to be the driver on the move until his momentum was dulled by the caution flag.<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely liked the long greens,\u201d said Owens, who has never won a Late Model A-Main at Volusia. \u201cWe didn\u2019t need that caution at the end. I was kind of chomping at the bit when that caution came out because we were coming on.\u201d<\/p>\n Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., finished sixth after being replaced in the top five by Clanton on the lap-26 restart. Opening-night DIRTcar UMP winner Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., was seventh; Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., slipped backward from the third starting spot to finish eighth; sixth-starter Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., was never a factor en route to a ninth-place finish; and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., rounded out the top 10.<\/p>\n Sixty-eight cars were entered in the event, which featured a group qualifying format. The four fastest drivers in each group were inverted in the lineups for their respective heat races.<\/p>\n Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., recorded the fastest overall lap during the group qualifying sessions with a time of 15.965 seconds. Other group fast-timers were Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (16.474), Clanton (16.510), Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill. (16.364), Terry Casey of New London, Wis. (16.280) and Babb (16.129).<\/p>\n Heat winners were McCool, Blankenship, Richards, McDowell, Babb and Lanigan. The B-Mains were captured by McCreadie, Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., and Don O\u2019Neal of Martinsville, Ind.<\/p>\n The UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit conclude on Saturday night (Feb. 25) with a pair of 50-lap feature events \u2013 a $10,000-to-win A-Main for the WoO LMS and a $5,000-to-win affair for the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds. Race time is 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n