Post by LMR on 06/11/11 at 3:57pm
The Dream
Eldora Speedway
June 11, 2011
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O’Neal Finally Earns First-Ever Crown-Jewel Victory In Saturday Night’s $100,000 Dirt Late Model ‘Dream’ At Eldora Speedway
by Kevin Kovac
ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 11) – Don O’Neal finally has a victory in a crown-jewel dirt Late Model event.
Ending a frustrating career-long pursuit of a signature triumph, O’Neal surged forward from the 12th starting spot to capture Saturday night’s DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned Dream XVII at Eldora Speedway.
O’Neal, 46, of Martinsville, Ind., passed Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., for the lead on lap 87 and held on the remainder of the 100-lap distance to earn the MasterSbilt house car team a whopping $100,000 – the largest first-place payoff offered anywhere in the country for a dirt Late Model event in 2011.
“What a long time coming,” said O’Neal, expressing relief over his coveted win in a major race. “This is pretty awesome. I drove the wheels off this thing for a hundred laps and finally we got ‘er done at the end.”
A former DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion known for his hard-charging style, O’Neal crossed the finish line 0.700 of a second in front of the legendary Moyer, who swept last year’s Dream and World 100 at Eldora and was bidding to become the first driver to win three of the track’s marquee events in a row. Moyer started second and led laps 1-86 in his Victory Circle car.
Polesitter Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., made several strong attempts to overtake Moyer for the lead during the race’s middle stages but was hampered late by an engine skip and settled for third place in a Rocket mount. Dream rookie Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., placed fourth after starting third in a Warrior and Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., registered a career-best Dream finish of fifth after starting one spot better in a Rocket.
Driving a Jay Dickens-powered car sponsored by Magnaflow Exhaust, O’Neal ran the race of his life to become the 11th different winner of the Dream and the second driver from the Hoosier State to capture the event.
“I talked to (mechanic) Ronnie Stuckey before the feature and he said, ‘Just remember, about lap 60 we need to be up there in striking condition,’” said O’Neal, whose best finish in eight previous Dream starts was third, in 2002. “That’s what we done.
“I started off and held my own, and for probably 20 or 30 laps I didn’t know if I had a car (to win) or not. Then when I started picking up the pace 40, 50 laps in, I kept thinking, Well, we might have a shot here. I just kept getting one car at a time every few laps. I finally got up there in the top five (on lap 31), and then third (passing Vaught on lap 64), and then second (overtaking Lanigan on lap 79). I thought, I’m gonna win this race.”
In a fast-paced race slowed by a single caution flag (on lap 45 for a turn-four spin by Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn.), O’Neal “kept digging” and found a way to sneak by Moyer for the lead rounding turns one and two on lap 87. Passing was difficult on a high-banked, half-mile oval that developed a dominant outside lane, but O’Neal was up to the challenge.
“The way (the track) was (fastest) around the top, there were some slide jobs that probably weren’t real great,” said O’Neal, describing the strategy necessary to advance forward. “But that was the only way you were gonna get the job done – and I wasn’t gonna give up on this one.”
Detailing his aggressive race-deciding pass of Moyer, O’Neal noted, “You know, we’re down in crunch time, and he’s won these things several times and I haven’t. He probably should understand a little. It was hard, close racing.”
Moyer, who has won the Dream twice and the World 100 a record six times, felt he was ultimately a victim of circumstance after controlling more than three-quarters of the event.
“Everything just worked out right for him at the right part of the racetrack that lap,” said Moyer. “If the lapped car (Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.) wouldn’t have been there (entering turn one), we would’ve gone in there and might’ve bumped, but I think I could’ve beat (O’Neal) back off the corner. Once (O’Neal) slid me, I just couldn’t romp on through that little hole there because (Shirley) kind of had me blocked.”
Moyer, 53, fell a half-straightaway behind O’Neal before rallying in the final circuits. He closed within a couple car lengths on the last lap.
“It’s definitely hard to lose like that – especially when you go to the pay window and there’s that much of a difference in the money (between first and second place),” said Moyer, who earned $20,000 for his second career runner-up finish in the Dream.
Lanigan, who turned 41 on June 3, was Moyer’s prime challenger for most of the distance. The 2003 Dream winner was outgunned for the lead at the initial green flag but never let Moyer out of his sight.
On more than a half-dozen occasions Lanigan dived to the inside of Moyer but was unable to gain enough traction to pull off a pass. He was beginning to step up his assault with less than 30 laps remaining when his car’s powerplant began to develop a skip, hampering his ability to smoothly negotiate the turns and causing him to lose second to O’Neal and steadily fall out of touch with the leaders over the final tours.
Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., started and finished sixth, running just outside the top five throughout the race. Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., moved forward from the 10th starting spot to finish seventh, while Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, placed eighth in the Ernie Davis-owned No. 25; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., finished ninth – the same spot he started the event – after sliding back to 13th at the initial green flag; and 17th-starter Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., was 10th.
Ninety-one cars entered the two-day event.
Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark., established a new dirt Late Model track record in Friday night’s time trials, which were slowed twice by rain. His blistering circuit of 14.922 seconds surpassed Rick Eckert’s former standard of 15.215 seconds set at the 2004 Dream.
Landers spun a ‘6’ on the inversion wheel, however, saddling him with the sixth starting spot in the first of Saturday night’s six 20-lap heat races. The driver of NASCAR star Clint Bowyer’s No. 777 opted to forego running the heat, instead dropping to the rear of the field for the green flag and using his fast-time provisional to start 19th in the Dream. He was never a factor in the A-Main, finishing one lap down in 17th.
Winners of Saturday’s heats were VanWormer, Hartman, Carrier, Vaught, Moyer and Lanigan. Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., won the 20-lap C-Main and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who changed engines after heat action, captured the 20-lap B-Main.
Dirt Late Model Dream XVII
A-Main
1 71 Don O’Neal 100 $100,000
2 21M Billy Moyer 100
3 29 Darrell Lanigan 100
4 1V Will Vaught 100
5 55 Jeep Vanwormer 100
6 44 Chris Madden 100
7 25 Bart Hartman 100
8 1 Josh Richards 100
9 6 Steve Shaver 100
10 18 Shannon Babb 100
11 0 Scott Bloomquist 100
12 7r Kent Robinson 100
13 7 Matt Miller 99
14 3s Brian Shirley 99
15 49 Jonathan Davenport 99
16 777 Jarred Landers 99
17 20 Jimmy Owens 85
18 17M Dale McDowell 80
19 44 Clint Smith 66
20 21 Chris Brown 61
21 57J Bub McCool 46
22 28 Eddie Carrier Jr 29
23 20H Jacob Hawkins 28
24 12 Doug Drown 24
25 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr 17
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B-Main
1 44 Clint Smith
2 57J Bub McCool
3 12 Doug Drown
4 3s Brian Shirley
5 17M Dale McDowell
6 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr
7 1* Chub Frank
8 s9 Dan Schleiper
9 28 Dennis Erb
10 41 Brad Neat
11 95J Jerry Bowersock
12 21b Chip Brindle
13 R5 BJ Robinson
14 9R Curtis Roberts
15 49 Greg Johnson
16 9T Tim Isenberg
17 15B Brian Birkhofer
18 23 Wayne Chamberlain
19 96 Terry English
20 23 John Blankenship
21 89 Mike Spatola
22 15 Steve Francis
23 28 Jimmy Mars
24 13 JR Hotovy
Top 6 transfer to A-Main
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C-Main
1 28 Dennis Erb Jr
2 89 Mike Spatola
3 28 Jimmy Mars
4 15 Steve Francis
5 49 Greg Johnson
6 95J Jerry Bowersock
7 99 Donnie Moran
8 54 David Breazeale
9 72 John Mason
10 58X Gary Christian
11 33X Eric Turner
12 33 Don Gordon
13 81 Scott James
14 1 John Lobb
15 96T Tanner English
16 16 Daniel Baggerly
Top 6 transfer to B-Main
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Heat #1
1 55 Jeep Van Wormer
2 7 Matt Miller
3 25 Dustin Neat
4 57J Bub McCool
5 44 Earl Pearson Jr
6 23 John Blankenship
7 15 Steve Francis
8 96T Tanner English
9 33X Eric Turner
10 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr
11 J12 Jeff Franklin
12 45 Russ Frohnapfel
13 18 Jack Sullivan
14 777 Jarred Landers
Heat #2
1 25 Bart Hartman
2 18 Shannon Babb
3 20H Jacob Hawkins
4 44 Clint Smith
5 20 Jimmy Owens
6 41 Brad Neat
7 96 Terry English
8 28 Dennis Erb
9 54 David Breazeale
10 16 Daniel Baggerly
11 22 Chris Ferguson
12 33 Don Gordon
Heat #3
1 28 Eddie Carrier Jr
2 1 Josh Richards
3 0 Scott Bloomquist
4 17M Dale McDowell
5 R5 BJ Robinson
6 13 JR Hotovy
7 89 Mike Spatola
8 25 Shane Clanton
9 32D Darren Miller
10 23B Ryan Vanderveen
11 B4U Brad Eitniear
12 88 Andrew Reaume
13 17 Shannon Thornsberry
14 12m Bobby Michaels
15 33 Brian Reese
Heat #4
1 1V Will Vaught
2 44 Chris Madden
3 7r Kent Robinson
4 12 Doug Drown
5 23 Wayne Chamberlain
6 21b Chip Brindle
7 81 Scott James
8 9 Johnny Pursley
9 11 John Henry
10 36 Tim Lance
11 17 Tim Allen
12 C9 Steve Casebolt
13 28 Chad Ruhlman
14 46 Tim Rivers
Heat #5
1 21M Billy Moyer
2 21 Chris Brown
3 6 Steve Shaver
4 3s Brian Shirley
5 1* Chub Frank
6 9T Tim Isenberg
7 28 Jimmy Mars
8 93J Jay Johnson
9 72 John Mason
10 1 John Lobb
11 28 Jeff Wolfenbarger
12 00 Randy Korte
13 F25 Jason Feger
14 34 Alan Vochaska
15 29 Sammy Epling
Heat #6
1 29 Darrell Lanigan
2 71 Don Oneal
3 49 Jonathan Davenport
4 15B Brian Birkhofer
5 s9 Dan Schleiper
6 9R Curtis Roberts
7 49 Greg Johnson
8 99 Donnie Moran
9 95J Jerry Bowersock
10 58X Gary Christian
11 1G Roger Best
12 10 Leon Henderson
13 b7 Ben Adkins
14 37 Jarred Hawkins
15 18R Chris Ross
Top 3 transfer to Dream 100
4-6 to B-Main
7-10 to C-Main
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Qualifing Results
June 10, 2011
1 777 Jarred Landers 14.922
2 20 Jimmy Owens 14.963
3 1 Josh Richards 15.012
4 6 Steve Shaver 15.072
5 44 Chris Madden 15.082
6 15 Steve Francis 15.145
7 44 Clint Smith 15.188
8 0 Scott Bloomquist 15.201
9 55 Jeep Vanwormer 15.221
10 18 Shannon Babb 15.227
11 71 Don Oneal 15.236
12 33 Brian Reese 15.238
13 7r Kent Robinson 15.286
14 22 Chris Ferguson 15.347
15 88 Andrew Reaume 15.356
16 37 Jarred Hawkins 15.370
17 1V Will Vaught 15.371
18 7 Matt Miller 15.382
19 25 Bart Hartman 15.407
20 28 Eddie Carrier Jr 15.438
21 12 Doug Drown 15.459
22 21 Chris Brown 15.461
23 20H Jacob Hawkins 15.486
24 21M Billy Moyer 15.516
25 3s Brian Shirley 15.519
26 41 Brad Neat 15.539
27 81 Scott James 15.545
28 17M Dale McDowell 15.560
29 C9 Steve Casebolt 15.576
30 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr 15.594
31 28 Dennis Erb 15.599
32 32D Darren Miller 15.604
33 28 Chad Ruhlman 15.621
34 25 Shane Clanton 15.648
35 23 John Blankenship 15.680
36 b7 Ben Adkins 15.705
37 96 Terry English 15.722
38 18 Jack Sullivan 15.723
39 13 JR Hotovy 15.738
40 36 Tim Lance 15.740
41 s9 Dan Schleiper 15.749
42 28 Jimmy Mars 15.754
43 25 Dustin Neat 15.769
44 53 Ray Cook 15.782
45 11 John Henry 15.786
46 9R Curtis Roberts 15.792
47 0 Randy Korte 15.796
48 44 Earl Pearson Jr 15.855
49 33X Eric Turner 15.887
50 1 Casey Noonan 15.896
51 49 Greg Johnson 15.916
52 15B Brian Birkhofer 15.919
53 B4U Brad Eitniear 16.027
54 21b Chip Brindle 16.038
55 93J Jay Johnson 16.040
56 1* Chub Frank 16.088
57 16 Daniel Baggerly 16.110
58 23B Ryan Vanderveen 16.130
59 46 Tim Rivers 16.135
60 1G Roger Best 16.140
61 34 Alan Vochaska 16.144
62 96T Tanner English 16.198
63 29 Darrell Lanigan 16.235
64 54 David Breazeale 16.263
65 9 Johnny Pursley 16.282
66 1 John Lobb 16.334
67 9T Tim Isenberg 16.414
68 18R Chris Ross 16.421
69 58X Gary Christian 16.439
70 R5 BJ Robinson 16.467
71 8 Tyler Carpenter 16.496
72 17 Tim Allen 16.544
73 99 Donnie Moran 16.598
74 28 Jeff Wolfenbarger 16.737
75 J12 Jeff Franklin 16.874
76 45 Russ Frohnapfel 16.956
77 10 Leon Henderson 17.381
78 33 Don Gordon 17.740
79 12m Bobby Michaels 17.823
- courtesy of Eldora Speedway