Press release and photo from Lucas Oil Series
Pearson was looking for his first LOLMDS win of the season, and appeared to be heading to victory lane, but a lapped car slowed his momentum and allowed Bloomquist to make the late-race pass. Don O’Neal finished in third, followed by 14th-starting Brandon Sheppard, and Dennis Erb Jr.
Click read more for more
Bloomquist and fellow Hall-of-Famer, Billy Moyer staged a terrific race for second during the first half of the race. After the half-way mark, Bloomquist began to close-in on Pearson and with five laps to go was within striking distance of the leader. Pearson got trapped behind a lapped car and could not get around him when Bloomquist snuck under both of them to snag the lead.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 71st time in his career, the 52-year-old Bloomquist breathed a sigh of relief in taking the win. “Earl was pretty good tonight. He would hit a hole or two in the track like all the rest of us. We just kept digging and moving around a lot. We had to get it going late. The laps were winding down and it was time to go. That lapped car definitely gave us an advantage. We were catching him [Pearson] anyway.”
“With all the rain they had this week, they did the best they could with the track. The track crew worked hard tonight on it, but it was definitely choppy in the corners. I never lost the wheel during the race. It was hard on me because I have a torn rotator cuff and both shoulders are actually really bad. The Andy Durham engine ran great. Thank you to all of my sponsors: Crop Production Services, Reece Monument Company, Dyna-Gro Seed, Base Fuels, Lucas Oil, Sweet Mfg., Horton Coal, Hoosier Tires, Sorbera Chiropractic and Petroff Towing.”
Pearson was happy with his runner-up finish. It was his best of the year, but he knows that he let one slip away at the end. “I couldn’t get off the bottom. He [lapped car] was running right around the bottom as well. It was good finish for the Lucas Oil Racing TV car. I hope everyone back home and here at the track enjoyed the show.”
“I just couldn’t do anything with that lapped car. I married myself to the bottom and when I tried to move up I lost grip and Scott went by us. It was a tough way to lose one like that. To run second to Scott feels good, especially with the way he has been running lately. We were consistent all night from start to finish, so hopefully it’s something to build on for the rest of the season.”
O’Neal, like Pearson was seeking his first LOLMDS win of the year, and also came up short in the Clint Bowyer Racing, Peak Antifreeze Motor Oil, Club 29 Race Car. “We had a new race car tonight; it was really fun to drive. I tried to stay up top, away from the holes. I thought maybe a few times there we had a shot at those top-two guys. I almost lost third to Brandon [Sheppard], but got back around him. Thank you to my crew for giving me a good hot-rod tonight.”
Completing the top ten were Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers, Billy Moyer, and Billy Drake.
In preliminary action, Billy Moyer set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group B) amongst the 32 entrants, with a lap of 14.557 seconds. Dennis Erb Jr. set the fastest time in Group A with a time of 14.636 seconds. Earl Pearson Jr., Tim Manville, Billy Moyer, and Scott Bloomquist won their respective heat races. Jeff Herzog and Michael Kloos won their respective B-Mains.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, July 15th, 2016
NAPA Know How 50
Tri-City Speedway – Granite City, IL
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Dennis Erb Jr. / 14.636 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Billy Moyer / 14.557 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Dennis Erb, Jr., Billy Drake, Jake O'Neil, Jeff Herzog, Jason Perry, Colton Flinner, Austin Rettig
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Tim Manville, Tim McCreadie, Kolby Vandenbergh, Jimmy Owens, Billy Laycock, Shannon Babb, Jim Shereck, Chris Fetter
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Billy Moyer, Don O'Neal, Chris Simpson, Brandon Sheppard, Michael Kloos, Dewayne Kiefer, Scott Geaschel, Mark Voigt
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Jonathan Davenport, Darrell Lanigan, Steve Francis, RC Whitwell, Tanner English, Credence Mott, Jared Landers
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jeff Herzog, Billy Laycock, Jim Shereck, Chris Fetter, Jason Perry, Shannon Babb-DNS, Colton Flinner-DNS, Austin Rettig-DNS
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Michael Kloos, RC Whitwell, Dewayne Kiefer, Tanner English, Scott Geaschel, Credence Mott, Mark Voigt, Jared Landers-DNS
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 4 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $10,900 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $5,500 |
| 3 | 6 | 5 | Don O'Neal | Martinsville, IN | $4,300 |
| 4 | 14 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $3,450 |
| 5 | 5 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $2,950 |
| 6 | 8 | 6 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | $2,800 |
| 7 | 7 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,200 |
| 8 | 23 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | $2,000 |
| 9 | 2 | 21 | Billy Moyer | Batesville, AR | $1,200 |
| 10 | 9 | 75B | Billy Drake | Bloomington, IL | $1,100 |
| 11 | 21 | 17s | Jim Shereck | St. Charles, MO | $1,075 |
| 12 | 22 | 0K | Dewayne Kiefer | Bloomsdale MO | $1,050 |
| 13 | 3 | 33T | Tim Manville | St. Jacob, IL | $1,025 |
| 14 | 13 | J0 | Jake O'Neil | Tucson, AZ | $1,000 |
| 15 | 19 | 82 | Billy Laycock | Marine, IL | $950 |
| 16 | 12 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,625 |
| 17 | 16 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,600 |
| 18 | 11 | 15V | Kolby Vandenbergh | Ashland, IL | $875 |
| 19 | 10 | 32X | Chris Simpson | Oxford, IA | $850 |
| 20 | 15 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,625 |
| 21 | 17 | 11H | Jeff Herzog | Herculaneum, MO | $800 |
| 22 | 20 | 96T | RC Whitwell | Tucson, AZ | $800 |
| 23 | 25 | 96 | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $800 |
| 24 | 18 | 6K | Michael Kloos | Trenton, IL | $800 |
| 25 | 24 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | $900 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 32
Lap Leaders: Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 1 – 46); Scott Bloomquist (Laps 47 – 50)
Cautions: Jimmy Owens (Lap 22); Chris Simpson (Lap 22); Steve Francis (Lap 27); Darrell Lanigan (Lap 30)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Jared Landers, Colton Flinner
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Scott Bloomquist
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jared Landers (Started: 23rd; Finished: 8th; Advanced 15 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Scott Bloomquist
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Scott Bloomquist
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Colton Flinner
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Andy Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: John Peiffer (Earl Pearson Jr.)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Bloomquist (Lap # 2 – 15.203 seconds)
Most Laps Led: Earl Pearson Jr. (46 Laps)
PFC Brakes Tough Break Award: Colton Flinner
Time of Race: 32 minutes 48 seconds
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 4900 | $219,925 |
| 2 | 6 | Jonathan Davenport | Mount Airy, NC | 4605 | $151,300 |
| 3 | 777 | Jared Landers | Batesville, AR | 4375 | $89,225 |
| 4 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | 4360 | $80,925 |
| 5 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | 4225 | $67,525 |
| 6 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | 4120 | $60,925 |
| 7 | 15L | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | 4110 | $67,350 |
| 8 | 5 | Don O'Neal | Martinsville, IN | 4060 | $69,775 |
| 9 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 3930 | $96,375 |
| 10 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 3865 | $62,575 |
| 11 | 15F | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | 3805 | $46,175 |
| 12 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | 2770 | $18,475 |
