Press release and photo from Lucas Oil Media
O’Neal won the famed crown jewel event in 2012 and 2013; and Bloomquist won the event in 1988 and 2000. The duo bested 63 other competitors, by earning enough passing points through two rounds of heat races.
There were 12 heat races contested in preliminary action on Friday night. O’Neal was the only driver to win both of his heat races during the two rounds; piloting his Clint Bowyer Racing/Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil/Club 29 Race Car.
The first heat race in round one went to Devin Moran. Moran started fourth and charged to the lead early on, then cruised to the victory. Tommy Bailey started fifth and finished second, followed by eighth-place starting Chris Brown.
Chris Combs started on the pole of heat number two and led every lap in taking the win. First-time Florence visitor Jake O’Neil finished second after starting fourth. Another first-time visitor, Ricky Weiss, finished third.
Don O’Neal quickly moved from his eighth starting spot to win heat three in round one. O’Neal made some daring moves to grab the lead from Michael Chilton who crossed the line in second. Jason Jameson came from ninth to take third.
Jared Landers decimated the field in heat four for the win. Mike Marlar started alongside Landers, and came home in second, followed by seventh-place starting Darrell Lanigan.
Doug Drown roared from his sixth starting position to win heat race number five. Drown used the high-side to take the lead. Brandon Sheppard put on a late-race charge to finish second after starting tenth. Polesitter Gregg Satterlee was third.
Jimmy Owens debuted a new Rocket Chassis and took the lead at the start of the sixth heat, and then held off eight-starting Scott Bloomquist for the win. Billy Moyer claimed the third spot at the finish line.
Defending Sunoco North/South 100 winner Jonathan Davenport led the way and won heat one in round number two. R.J. Conley crossed the line in second, followed by Kyle Bronson.
Bloomquist came from the third starting spot to register the win in heat two. Sheppard closed the distance between himself and Bloomquist towards the end of the race to finish a close second. Earl Pearson Jr. was third.
Steve Francis stormed to the lead in heat three leading all the way for the win. Dale McDowell made a late-race charge to close the gap on Francis at the finish, closing to within a car-length at the checkers. Owens came from tenth to finish third.
Bobby Pierce raced to the early lead in heat four and was holding a commanding lead until a late-race caution allowed Nick Latham to make a late-race charge on the Illinois teenager. Pierce was able to hold off Latham for the victory. Ray Cook came home in third after starting sixth.
Jameson came back strong in round two to take the win in heat five. The former Florence Speedway Late Model Track Champion came from third to take the lead from LOLMDS Rookie of the Year contender Colton Flinner. Matt Miller came from fourth to take second with Flinner grabbing third.
The sixth and final heat of round two went to O’Neal, who started from fourth and survived a 4-wide battle to take over the top spot. With the win, O’Neal earned enough points in both rounds to claim the pole-starting spot for Saturday’s finale. Moyer started seventh and charged to a second-place finish with Dennis Erb Jr. finishing third.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, August 12th, 2016
34th Annual Sunoco North/South 100 - presented by Lucas Oil
Florence Speedway – Union, KY
Eibach Springs FIRST ROUND Heat Race #1 Finish: Devin Moran, Tommy Bailey, Chris Brown, Dale McDowell, Jason Feger, Joe Godsey, Kolby Vandenbergh, Joe Brewer, Kyle Bronson, Colton Flinner, John Whitney
FK Rod Ends FIRST ROUND Heat Race #2 Finish: Chris Combs, Jake O'Neil, Ricky Weiss, Dennis Erb, Jr., Chad Stapleton, Kent Robinson, Bobby Pierce, Chris Madden, D.J. Wells, Steve Landrum, Jerry Gibson, Jr.
Simpson Performance Products FIRST ROUND Heat Race #3 Finish: Don O'Neal, Michael Chilton, Jason Jameson, Jesse Lay, John Gill, Adam Bowman, Timothy Culp, Nick Latham, Zak Blackwood, Nathan Vawter, Scott James
QA1 FIRST ROUND Heat Race #4 Finish: Jared Landers, Mike Marlar, Darrell Lanigan, Tim Dohm , Steve Francis, Matt Miller, Earl Pearson, Jr., Justin Rattliff, Dustin Nobbe, Austyn Mills, Mason Zeigler
Eibach Springs FIRST ROUND Heat Race #5 Finish: Doug Drown, Brandon Sheppard, Gregg Satterlee, Jonathan Davenport, Ray Cook, Robby Hensley, Ethan Burgess, Trevor Landrum, Jeff Alsip, Jackie Boggs
FK Rod Ends FIRST ROUND Heat Race #6 Finish: Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Tim McCreadie, Josh Rice, Nick Hoffman, Cody Mahoney, RJ Conley, Mike Benedum, Kenny Cobble
Eibach Springs SECOND ROUND Heat Race #1 Finish: Jonathan Davenport, RJ Conley, Kyle Bronson, Tim McCreadie, Kent Robinson, Ricky Weiss, Justin Rattliff, Jesse Lay, Adam Bowman, Kolby Vandenbergh, Jackie Boggs-DNS
FK Rod Ends SECOND ROUND Heat Race #2 Finish: Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Earl Pearson, Jr., Josh Rice, Jason Feger, Timothy Culp, Dustin Nobbe, Chris Combs, Jeff Alsip, John Whitney-DNS, Chris Madden-DNS
Simpson Performance Products SECOND ROUND Heat Race #3 Finish: Steve Francis, Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, Nick Hoffman, Robby Hensley, Zak Blackwood, Trevor Landrum, Joe Godsey, Nathan Vawter, Jerry Gibson, Jr., Mason Zeigler-DNS
QA1 SECOND ROUND Heat Race #4 Finish: Bobby Pierce, Nick Latham, Ray Cook, Michael Chilton, Chad Stapleton, Tim Dohm , Joe Brewer, Austyn Mills, Kenny Cobble, Devin Gilpin-DNS
Eibach Springs SECOND ROUND Heat Race #5 Finish: Jason Jameson, Matt Miller, Colton Flinner, Mike Marlar, Cody Mahoney, Ethan Burgess, Tommy Bailey, Jake O'Neil, D.J. Wells, Gregg Satterlee, Scott James
FK Rod Ends SECOND ROUND Heat Race #6 Finish: Don O'Neal, Billy Moyer, Dennis Erb, Jr., Chris Brown, Jared Landers, Devin Moran, Doug Drown, Darrell Lanigan, John Gill, Steve Landrum, Mike Benedum
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Line Up (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer):
| DRIVER | INSIDE | OUTSIDE | DRIVER |
| Tim McCreadie | 39 | 11c | Ray Cook |
| Josh Rice | 11R | 25F | Jason Feger |
| Chad Stapleton | 32S | 71C | RJ Conley |
| Kent Robinson | 7R | 40B | Kyle Bronson |
| Timothy Culp | C8 | 75G | John Gill |
| Adam Bowman | 77 | 5N | Dustin Nobbe |
| Jeff Alsip | 78 | 17V | Nathan Vawter |
| Steve Landrum | 18 | 47G | Jerry Gibson, Jr. |
| Scott James | 15J |
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Line Up (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer):
| DRIVER | INSIDE | OUTSIDE | DRIVER |
| Matt Miller | 3 | 7w | Ricky Weiss |
| Earl Pearson, Jr. | 1 | 6T | Tim Dohm |
| Nick Latham | 31 | 2H | Nick Hoffman |
| Jesse Lay | 33 | 75 | Colton Flinner |
| Ethan Burgess | 18EX | 93 | Zak Blackwood |
| Joe Brewer | 316 | 15V | Kolby Vandenbergh |
| Austyn Mills | 1AM | 31c | Kenny Cobble |
| John Whitney | oh1o | 1g | Devin Gilpin |
Sunoco Race Fuels B-Main #3 Line Up (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer):
| DRIVER | INSIDE | OUTSIDE | DRIVER |
| Doug Drown | 240 | 11B | Tommy Bailey |
| Chris Combs | 47 | J0 | Jake O'Neil |
| Darrell Lanigan | 15L | 21X | Robby Hensley |
| Cody Mahoney | 4 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee |
| Joe Godsey | 14V | 18L | Trevor Landrum |
| Justin Rattliff | 16 | 11w | DJ Wells |
| Chris Madden | 44 | 1m | Mike Benedum |
| Jackie Boggs | 4b | 43A | Mason Zeigler |
Feature Line Up (100 Laps):
| DRIVER | INSIDE | OUTSIDE | DRIVER |
| Don O'Neal | 5 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist |
| Jason Jameson | 12J | B5 | Brandon Sheppard |
| Jimmy Owens | 20 | 21 | Billy Moyer |
| Jonathan Davenport | 6 | 17m | Dale McDowell |
| Jared Landers | 777 | 97 | Michael Chilton |
| Mike Marlar | 157 | 15F | Steve Francis |
| Chris Brown | 21B | 99m | Devin Moran |
| Dennis Erb, Jr. | 28e | 32 | Bobby Pierce |
| B-Main #1 Transfer | 1st | 1st | B-Main #2 Transfer |
| B-Main #3 Transfer | 1st | 2nd | B-Main #1 Transfer |
| B-Main #2 Transfer | 2nd | 2nd | B-Main #3 Transfer |
| LOLMDS Provisional | LOLMDS Provisional | ||
| Florence Speedway Provisional |
