Jimmy Owens Rules Diamond Nationals Opener

Jimmy Owens Rules Diamond Nationals Opener

WHEATLAND, Mo. (July 13, 2019) – Jimmy Owens continues his mastery of Lucas Oil Speedway by capturing the first night of the CMH Diamond Nationals – Presented by Super Clean on Saturday night.

In a race that saw three different leaders, Owens fought off several challenges from Earl Pearson Jr. to secure his second straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and his fourth-career Diamond Nationals. Saturday night’s $15,000-to-win event marked Owens’ 63rd LOLMDS win.

Scott Bloomquist; the defending CMH Diamond Nationals winner; started from the pole and led the first 10 laps until Owens charged to the lead after starting fifth. Pearson moved by Bloomquist on lap 20 using the top groove and within just a few laps caught the front-running Owens.

Owens and Pearson then dueled side-by-side for several laps as the two went back-and-forth for the top spot. Owens eventually pulled away from Pearson in heavy lapped traffic and he went on the record his ninth career win at Lucas Oil Speedway.

For the second night in a row, Pearson ran second to Owens. Mike Marlar edged out Bloomquist in the waning laps to secure the third spot. Bloomquist was fourth, with current LOLMDS point leader Jonathan Davenport coming home in fifth after starting in 13th.

“We are rolling right now,” Owens said. “This is a big win for us! My car owner Leon Ramirez is here. My crew has worked their tails off in the last week. I didn’t want to see any cautions. We are still struggling on restarts. It’ll be awesome to get to back here tomorrow night and race. The crew is pumped up. It’s a great feeling to get back to victory lane at Lucas Oil Speedway.”

“We couldn’t get off the corner,” commented Pearson. “Everybody knows that Jimmy is so good here. He has won countless times here before. We tried to run with him for 12 to 15 laps. He could move around a lot better than us. We finished second to Jimmy last night and again here tonight. We’ll come back tomorrow night and give it another shot.”

Marlar continued his streak of solid finishes with the LOLMDS by coming home in third. “We changed some stuff on the car before the feature. It was a fun track to race on tonight. We went with something out of the ordinary and it worked. Congrats to Jimmy on the win, he deserves this win. It was good to race against Scott [Bloomquist] again, and it’s good to see him back. He and I battled the whole race.”

The winner’s Leon Ramirez-owned, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and is sponsored by: Rhino Ag, Boomtest Well Service, Reece Monument Company, Tommy Pope Construction, FK Rod Ends, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra Shocks, Red Line Oil, and Midwest Sheet Metal.

Completing the top ten were Shanon Buckingham, Billy Moyer, Jesse Stovall, Rick Eckert, and Hudson O’Neal.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, July 13, 2019
CMH Diamond Nationals – Presented by Super Clean
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, Mo.

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 15.846 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Earl Pearson Jr. / 16.467 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport, Terry Phillips, Gavin Landers, Kaeden Cornell, Mitch McGrath, Al Humphrey, Reid Millard

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jake Neal, Billy Moyer, Mason Oberkramer, Logan Martin, Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer, Jr., Jon Binning, Josh Richards, Will Vaught, Devin Moran :registered:

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Kyle Bronson, Jesse Stovall, Hudson O'Neal, Shanon Buckingham, Tyler Erb :registered:, Joseph Gorby, Raymond Merrill, Joey Moriarty, Michael Norris

Lucas Oil Products Penetrating Oil Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Tony Jackson, Jr., Rick Eckert, Stormy Scott, Payton Looney, Austin Rettig, Tim McCreadie, Austin Siebert, RC Whitwell, Jason Sivils-DNS

Lucas Oil Products Red “N” Tacky Spray Grease B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips, Gavin Landers, Billy Moyer, Jr., Kaeden Cornell, Josh Richards, Will Vaught, Mitch McGrath, Al Humphrey, Devin Moran :registered:, Jon Binning, Reid Millard

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shanon Buckingham, Tim McCreadie, Tyler Erb :registered:, Austin Rettig, Raymond Merrill, Austin Siebert, Michael Norris, Joey Moriarty, RC Whitwell, Joseph Gorby, Jason Sivils

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (60 Laps):

FINISH / START / CAR # / DRIVER NAME / HOMETOWN / EARNINGS
1 5 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN $15,000
2 2 1 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL $6,500
3 9 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN $3,500
4 1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN $3,000
5 13 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA $2,600
6 18 50 Shanon Buckingham Morristown, TN $1,900
7 7 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR $1,700
8 10 00 Jesse Stovall Billings, MO $1,600
9 8 2e Rick Eckert York, PA $1,550
10 14 71 Hudson O'Neal Martinsville, IN $1,500
11 4 56 Tony Jackson, Jr. Lebanon, MO $1,450
12 20 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY $1,400
13 6 40B Kyle Bronson Brandon, FL $1,350
14 17 18 Shannon Babb Mowequa, IL $1,300
15 23 14 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV $1,200
16 22 1T Tyler Erb :registered: New Waverly, TX $1,200
17 25 21JR Billy Moyer, Jr. Batesville, AR $200
18 24 1M Devin Moran :registered: Dresden, OH $1,000
19 12 2s Stormy Scott Las Cruses, NM $1,100
20 11 93 Mason Oberkramer Broseley, MO $1,000
21 21 77 Gavin Landers Batesville, AR $1,000
22 28 74m Mitch McGrath Waukesha, WI $1,000
23 3 14J Jake Neal Omaha, NE $1,000
24 15 36 Logan Martin West Plains, MO $1,000
25 16 15P Payton Looney Republic, MO $1,000
26 19 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO $1,000
27 27 1V Will Vaught Crane, MO $1,000
28 26 5 Michael Norris Sarver, PA $1,000

Race Statistics

Entrants: 39

Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 – 10); Jimmy Owens (Laps 11 – 23); Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 24 – 25); Jimmy Owens (Laps 26 – 60)

Wrisco Feature Winner: Jimmy Owens

Margin of Victory: 4.206 seconds

Cautions: Stormy Scott (Lap 1); Logan Martin (Lap 20)

Series Provisionals: Josh Richards; Devin Moran

Series Emergency Provisionals: Billy Moyer Jr; Michael Norris

Florence Speedway Track Provisionals: Will Vaught; Mitch McGrath

Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Shanon Buckingham (Advanced 12 Positions)

Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport

Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Mike Marlar

Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jimmy Owens

Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Tyler Erb

COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines

Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis

Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jeff Strope (Jimmy Owens)

Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Bloomquist (Lap #2 – 16.349 seconds)

Hot Rod Processing Tough Break of the Race: Stormy Scott

STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Jimmy Owens (48 Laps)

PFC Brakes Pole Award: Scott Bloomquist

Time of Race: 25 minutes 12 seconds

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