Post by LMR on 05/11/13 at 10:05pm
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
La Salle Speedway
May 11, 2013
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Brady Smith Brilliant in Spring Shootout at LaSalle Speedway
by James Essex
LA SALLE, IL (May 11) - Brady Smith edged out fellow Wisconsin driver, Jimmy Mars by just a few inches at LaSalle Speedway on Saturday Night in winning the Jeff's Enginemasters Spring Shootout. It was Smith's first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win since 2008. Trailing Smith and Mars to the finish line in the $10,000 to win race was John Blankenship, Chris Simpson, and Don O'Neal.
"I have to thank Jimmy (Mars) for racing me clean that was quite a race, we are happy to be here in Lucas Oil victory lane. We haven't been racing much this year, I had knee surgery back in March, and it took a while to recover from that," said Smith. With the win Smith became the seventh different winner in eleven LOLMDS events in 2013.
Mars was seeking his first LOLMDS victory since the '09 North/South 100 at Florence (KY) Speedway, but fell just short of the win. "Congratulations to Brady, I hope the fans enjoyed that race, to run 50-laps here without a yellow says something about the track and the drivers in this race. We got boxed in there behind another car and Brady was able to get around me. I thought that on the final lap, I was going to get him. I saw him slide up the track and he left and opening, but we came up just short."
Blankenship was looking for his first win of the season, and watched the action in front of him in the closing laps. "I was hoping maybe they would get together and we could sneak by for the win, we gained some points tonight, those two had a great race for the lead, I had a good battle with (Chris) Simpson for the entire race it seemed like."
Completing the top ten were Jimmy Owens, Eddie Carrier Jr., Brian Birkhofer, Steve Francis, and Randy Korte.
In preliminary action, Eddie Carrier Jr. set the overall Time (Group A) amongst the 38 entrants, with a lap of 13.679 seconds. Randy Korte set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 13.993 seconds. Brady Smith, John Blankenship, Don O'Neal, and Chris Simpson won their respective heat races. Kent Robinson and Brandon Sheppard won their respective B-Mains.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, May 11th, 2013
Spring Shootout - LaSalle Speedway - La Salle, IL
A-Main
1 1 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
2 2 28m Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
3 3 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
4 4 32x Chris Simpson Oxford, IA
5 8 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
6 10 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
7 5 28 Eddie Carrier Jr. Salt Rock, WV
8 7 15b Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA
9 9 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
10 6 81K Randy Korte Highland, IL
11 12 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
12 15 44 Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL
13 22 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL
14 14 18 Shannon Babb Mowequa, IL
15 11 58 AJ Diemel Elk Mound, WI
16 20 75 Billy Drake Bloomington, IL
17 16 58x Ray Guss, Jr. Milan, IL
18 21 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
19 23 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
20 18 B5 Brandon Sheppard Berlin, IL
21 13 7L Jerry Lierly Camp Point, IL
22 24 11h Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
23 19 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. Batesville, AR
24 25 77M Jason McBride Carbondale, IL
25 17 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN
Entrants: 38
Lap Leaders: Jimmy Mars (Laps 1 - 37); Brady Smith (Laps 38 - 50)
Caution Flags: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Bobby Pierce, Austin Hubbard
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: Jason McBride
Heat Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Brady Smith, Eddie Carrier Jr., Steve Francis, Jerry Lierly, Billy Moyer Jr., Brian Shirley, Mike Provenzano, Chad Simpson, Jason McBride, Austin Hubbard
Heat Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): John Blankenship, Brian Birkhofer, AJ Diemel, Earl Pearson Jr., Kent Robinson, Bobby Pierce, Jared Landers, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Jason Riggs
Heat Race #3 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O'Neal, Chris Simpson, Scott Bloomquist, Ray Guss, Jr., Scott Schmitt, Billy Drake, Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, Michael Glynn
Heat Race #4 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Simpson, Don O'Neal, Scott Bloomquist, Ray Guss, Jr., Billy Drake, Scott Schmitt, Ryan Unzicker, Jason Feger, Michael Glynn
B-Main #1 (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Kent Robinson, Billy Moyer Jr., Jared Landers, Bobby Pierce, Chad Simpson, Brian Shirley, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Mike Provenzano, Jason McBride, Austin Hubbard, Jason Riggs
B-Main #2 (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Billy Drake, Dennis Erb Jr., Scott Schmitt, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Unzicker, Jason Jaggers, Jason Feger, Rich Bell, Dale Markham, Michael Glynn
Fast Time Group A: Eddie Carrier Jr. / 13.679 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Randy Korte / 13.993 seconds
Event Photos courtesy of Jim DenHamer
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will make its next stop at Batesville Motor Speedway in Batesville, AR for the 2nd Annual "Bad Boy 98" next week, from Thursday, May 16th with an Open Practice night and continue on Friday, May 17th, with RED BUCK Time Trials and Heat Races. Capping off the weekend on Saturday, May 18th, there will be B-Mains, and the 98-Lap, $20,000-to-win "Bad Boy 98" main event. For more information on BMS, log onto www.batesvillemotorspeedway.net.
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and follow the series on www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.
