Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Volunteer Speedway
August 23, 2012
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Billy Ogle Jr. Stuns Lucas Oil Series Scorcher Field at Volunteer Speedway



by James Essex
BULLS GAP, TN (August 23) - Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, TN pulled off a stunning win on Thursday Night at Volunteer Speedway in the 9th Annual Reece Monument Scorcher 50. Ogle passed race leader, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN on lap 46 and went on to capture his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win, worth $10,000.
 
The 50-lap race went caution-free as Ogle and Bloomquist put on a dazzling display of driving talent. Bloomquist led the first 21 circuits of the race until Ogle made the pass on the bottom on the next lap. Ogle, Bloomquist, and Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN raced down to the wire in a tightly contested race.
 
Even after Bloomquist got by him, Ogle never gave up. He chased the leader back down and eventually overtook the Hall-of-Famer with four laps to go on his way to the biggest win of his 25-year career.
 
Up until Thursday Night, Ogle's biggest win was a Hav-A-Tampa Series win in 1998 at Tazewell (TN) Speedway. "It feels great to win this, especially to be beat Scott (Bloomquist), he's one of the all-time best. He got out in front, but I just bided my time and wanted to stay close to him and when he got behind the 41 car (TY Dillon) I saw my chance and went for it," said the 48-year-old veteran who became the 12th different winner on the LOLMDS tour in 2012.
 
"Once I fell to second, I just wanted to stay right there with him (Bloomquist), and left the door open there and that was just enough for me, I still can't believe I won this," said Ogle, who pulled away from Bloomquist and O'Neal in the waning laps to score the win.


 
"I can't thank my car owner Larry Garner enough for giving me the opportunity to drive his car. We have won three-in-a-row now and to beat the best in the business tonight, wow, I don't know what to say. I want to thank my crew chief, David Bryant and all the crew, they did a great job with the car and I just drove it, the track was pretty good tonight and how about this crowd, this is so much fun."
 
"I have to thank all of my sponsors, Massey Electric Company, Stowers Cat, Cherokee Millwright and Mechanical, GEO Services, Blount Excavating, and Grady and King Construction." Ogle's Rocket Chassis car is powered by a Custom Race Engine.
 
Trailing the top three of Ogle, Bloomquist and O'Neal to the line was Chris Madden of Gaffney, SC and 5-time Volunteer Speedway track champion, Vic Hill of Mosheim, TN.
 
Completing the top ten was Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA; Eric Wells of Hazard, KY; John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; and Steve Francis of Ashland, KY.
 
In his first ever super late model race, NASCAR's Trevor Bayne looked poised to transfer into the feature, but his night ended early as he spun in Turn 2 with another car taking out his right front.
 

 
In preliminary action Scott Bloomquist set the Red Buck Cigars Fast Time amongst the 35 entrants, with a lap of 12.182 seconds. Billy Ogle Jr. set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 12.225 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Chris Madden, Bill Ogle Jr., and Earl Pearson Jr. won their respective Heat Races. Chad Ogle and Steve Francis won their respective B-Mains.
 
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday Night, August 23rd, 2012
Reece Monument "Scorcher 50"
Volunteer Speedway - Bulls Gap, TN
 
A-Main
1 2 201 Billy Ogle Jr. Knoxville, TN
2 1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
3 8 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
4 3 44m Chris Madden Gaffney, SC
5 7 1v Vic Hill Mosheim, TN
6 5 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
7 13 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
8 10 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
9 12 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
10 18 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
11 23 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
12 6 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
13 14 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
14 4 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
15 15 41 Ty Dillon Lexington, NC
16 16 4T Tommy Kerr Maryville, TN
17 24 47 Brett Miller Greenville, TN
18 17 10 Chad Ogle Sevierville, TN
19 20 15d Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
20 11 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
21 9 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
22 22 4v Mark Vineyard Powell, TN
23 19 52d Mark Douglas Knoxville, TN
24 21 0m Jeff Maupin Greeneville, TN

Race Statistics
Entrants: 35
Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 - 21); Billy Ogle Jr. (Laps 22 - 38); Scott Bloomquist (Laps 39 - 46); Billy Ogle Jr. (Laps 47 - 50)
Caution Flags: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Ray Cook
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Fast Time Provisional: Brett Miller

First Heat (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Reddick, Casey Roberts, Eric Wells, Chad Ogle, Trevor Bayne, Mark Douglas, Ryan King, Eric Jacobsen
 
Second Heat (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer): Chris Madden, Vic Hill, Dale McDowell, Ty Dillon, Jeff Maupin, Jeff Wolfenbarger, Jeff Neubert, Jason Welshan
 
Third Heat (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer): Billy Ogle Jr., Brad Neat, John Blankenship, Jared Landers, Steve Francis, Mark Vineyard, Josh Henry, Jonathan Davenport, Ray Cook
 
Fourth Heat (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Don O'Neal, Jimmy Owens, Tommy Kerr, Brett Miller, David Watts, Steve Smith, D.J. Wells, Heath Alvey
 
B-Main (12 Laps - Top 3 Transfer): Chad Ogle, Mark Douglas, Jeff Maupin, Jeff Wolfenbarger, Jeff Neubert, Ryan King, Trevor Bayne, Jason Welshan-DNS, Eric Jacobsen-DNS
                                               
Second B-Main (12 Laps - Top 3 Transfer): Steve Francis, Jonathan Davenport, Mark Vineyard, Brett Miller, D.J. Wells, Ray Cook, Josh Henry, Steve Smith, David Watts, Heath Alvey-DNS

Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 12.182 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Billy Ogle Jr. / 12.225 seconds

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On the docket next for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, IN on Saturday, August 25th. The event will feature Red Buck Cigars Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $10,000 main event. For more information, check out www.lawrenceburgspeedway.com.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and be sure to follow the series at www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.