ROSSBURG, OH – Veteran Dirt Late Model driver Darrell Lanigan, the 2003 winner of the Dirt Late Model Dream, and Ricky Weiss, one of the young stars of Dirt Late Model racing, each picked up $10,000 victories on Thursday night at Eldora Speedway as the 25th annual Dirt Late Model Dream kicked off at the high-banked, one-half mile oval.
Lanigan, of Union, Kentucky, started the first 25-lap feature event in the fifth position but methodically worked his way to the runner-up position in the first 10 laps behind race-long leader Jonathan Davenport.
With Davenport slowed while working his way through lapped traffic, Lanigan chipped away at the 20-car length deficit once he moved to the runner-up position on lap 15 and finally caught Davenport, the 2015 Dream winner, in the closing laps.
Lanigan made his move as the lead duo raced to the white flag. Coming off of turn four with the white flag in the air, Lanigan pulled even with Davenport and then the two made contact in turn one forcing Davenport up the track.
Lanigan held his line on the bottom of the track, while Davenport collected his car and charged back on the outside groove of the speedway. Again, in turns three and four, Lanigan forced Davenport up the track and then powered away for the win.
“It never gets old winning at Eldora,” Lanigan said. “It is always special to win here at these big events.”
Davenport settled for the runner-up finish in the first feature ahead of Brian Shirley, Chris Ferguson and Tim McCreadie. Earl Pearson, Jr., Gregg Satterlee, Chad Simpson, Mason Zeigler and Hudson O’Neal completed the top ten.
At last fall’s World 100, Weiss was not allowed to compete after his car failed pre-race tech inspection. Weiss returned to Eldora looking for redemption and the Canadian and found it in becoming the first Canadian to win a preliminary event before one of the Eldora “crown jewel” events.
Weiss, of Headingley, Manitoba, Canada, took the lead from Jacob Hawkins on lap 11 of the second feature event and was never seriously challenged the remainder of the 25-lap, caution-free event.
“It was disappointing to leave here like that last year,” Weiss said. “My guys have been really working hard at Scott’s (veteran driver, Bloomquist) shop and have really given me a good car.”
Chris Madden also moved around Hawkins in the races mid stages but could never challenge Weiss. In fact, after dropping back several car lengths to Madden, Hawkins charged back in the closing laps and just as they took the checkered flag, the duo made contact, in sparks-flying scraped with the outside wall.
Both drivers drove away from the melee with Madden scored in the second position ahead of Hawkins. Former Dream winners Dale McDowell and Jimmy Owens completed the top five. Shane Clanton, Jimmy Mars, Tyler Erb, driving for St. Mary’s-based Best Performance Motorsports, Mike Marlar and Brandon Sheppard completed the top ten.
The 25th Running of the Dirt Late Model Dream continues Friday with another pair of $10,000-to-win main events. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM with heat race action slated for 8:00 PM.
Late Models Group A – Qualifying 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 15.593; 2. 83-Scott James, 15.628; 3. 88R-Andrew Reaume, 15.644; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 15.703; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 15.712; 6. 22S-Gregg Satterlee, 15.732; 7. 22-Chris Ferguson, 15.771; 8. 32S-Chris Simpson, 15.772; 9. 24-Dylan Yoder, 15.790; 10. 49D-Jonathan Davenport, 15.819; 11. 3S-Brian Shirley, 15.840; 12. 18K-Brandon Kinzer, 15.858; 13. 1S-Chad Simpson, 15.860; 14. 18X-Michael Page, 15.878; 15. 1P-Earl Pearson, Jr., 15.910; 16. 39-Tim McCreadie, 15.932; 17. 88-Trent Ivey, 15.946; 18. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 15.949; 19. 23B-John Blankenship, 15.968; 20. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 15.983; 21. 17-Zack Dohm, 16.003; 22. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 16.005; 23. 4G-Kody Evans, 16.023; 24. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr., 16.030; 25. 32-Bobby Pierce, 16.035; 26. 111-Steven Roberts, 16.070; 27. 12J-Jason Jameson, 16.092; 28. 31AUS-Paul Stubber, 16.121; 29. 2-Brandon Overton, 16.125; 30. 1GK-Ryan King, 16.138; 31. 2H-Nick Hoffman, 16.139; 32. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr., 16.161; 33. 36V-Kyle Hardy, 16.238; 34. 72-Michael Norris, 16.272; 35. 95J-Jerry Bowersock, 16.366; 36. 1V-Vic Hill, 16.370; 37. OK-Freddie Carpenter, 16.396; 38. 1N-Casey Noonan, 16.445; 39. 5N-Dustin Nobbe, 16.545; 40. OO-Dalton Polston, 16.565; 41. 27-Jim Yoder, 16.579; 42. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 16.583; 43. 55-Jeep Van Wormer, 16.848; 44. 14R-Jeff Roth, 16.915; 45. 25H-Chuck Hummer, 17.524; 46. 22F-Nick Fenner, 18.215
Heat #1 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 1S-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 29-Darrell Lanigan[4]; 3. 24-Dylan Yoder[2]; 4. 1ST-Johnny Scott[3]; 5. 2-Brandon Overton[8]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce[7]; 7. 17-Zack Dohm[6]; 8. OK-Freddie Carpenter[10]; 9. 88-Trent Ivey[5]; 10. 36V-Kyle Hardy[9]; 11. 27-Jim Yoder[11]; 12. 25H-Chuck Hummer[12]
Heat #3 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[6]; 3. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[3]; 4. 83-Scott James[4]; 5. 18X-Michael Page[1]; 6. 72-Michael Norris[9]; 7. 1M-Mike Mataragas[5]; 8. 1GK-Ryan King[8]; 9. 111-Steven Roberts[7]; 10. 1N-Casey Noonan[10]; 11. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[11]; 12. 22F-Nick Fenner[12]
Heat #5 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 1P-Earl Pearson, Jr.[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson[3]; 4. 88R-Andrew Reaume[4]; 5. 23B-John Blankenship[5]; 6. 2H-Nick Hoffman[8]; 7. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[9]; 8. 12J-Jason Jameson[7]; 9. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[11]; 10. 4G-Kody Evans[6]; 11. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[10]
Heat #7 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[3]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.[8]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr.[6]; 7. 1V-Vic Hill[9]; 8. 18K-Brandon Kinzer[2]; 9. OO-Dalton Polston[10]; 10. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[7]; 11. 14R-Jeff Roth[11]
B-Feature #1 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 17-Zack Dohm[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 3. 72-Michael Norris[2]; 4. OK-Freddie Carpenter[5]; 5. 1GK-Ryan King[6]; 6. 36V-Kyle Hardy[9]; 7. 1N-Casey Noonan[10]; 8. 88-Trent Ivey[7]; 9. 111-Steven Roberts[8]; 10. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[12]; 11. 27-Jim Yoder[11]; 12. 25H-Chuck Hummer[13]; 13. 22F-Nick Fenner[14]
B-Feature #3 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 2H-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr.[2]; 3. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[3]; 4. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[7]; 5. 1V-Vic Hill[4]; 6. 18K-Brandon Kinzer[6]; 7. 12J-Jason Jameson[5]; 8. 4G-Kody Evans[9]; 9. OO-Dalton Polston[8]; 10. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[11]; 11. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[10]; 12. 14R-Jeff Roth[12]
A-Feature 1 – (25)Laps 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan[5]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 22-Chris Ferguson[11]; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 6. 1P-Earl Pearson, Jr.[7]; 7. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[10]; 8. 1S-Chad Simpson[4]; 9. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[8]; 10. 71-Hudson O’Neal[16]; 11. 83-Scott James[14]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 13. 88R-Andrew Reaume[15]; 14. 18X-Michael Page[18]; 15. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.[20]; 16. 32S-Chris Simpson[12]; 17. 17-Zack Dohm[21]; 18. 23B-John Blankenship[19]; 19. 2-Brandon Overton[17]; 20. 32-Bobby Pierce[23]; 21. 1ST-Johnny Scott[13]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr.[24]; 23. 24-Dylan Yoder[9]; 24. 2H-Nick Hoffman[22]
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Late Models Group B – Qualifying 1. 8H-Jacob Hawkins, 15.582; 2. 87-Ross Bailes, 15.681; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 15.760; 4. 0B-Shannon Babb, 15.877; 5. 14-Josh Richards, 15.881; 6. 9-Devin Moran, 15.911; 7. 7M-Donald Mcintosh, 15.919; 8. 157-Mike Marlar, 15.931; 9. 25C-Shane Clanton, 15.944; 10. 1T-Tyler Erb, 15.962; 11. 49T-Jake Timm, 15.976; 12. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.987; 13. 20-Jimmy Owens, 16.021; 14. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 16.040; 15. 7W-Ricky Weiss, 16.041; 16. 17M-Dale McDowell, 16.045; 17. 50-Shanon Buckingham, 16.080; 18. 7R-Kent Robinson, 16.081; 19. 18-Chase Junghans, 16.089; 20. 5-Don O’Neal, 16.135; 21. 99RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 16.142; 22. 12W-Ashton Winger, 16.152; 23. 2X-John Henderson, 16.167; 24. OOS-Jesse Stovall, 16.170; 25. 101T-Forrest Trent, 16.199; 26. 421-Anthony Sanders, 16.203; 27. O-Scott Bloomquist, 16.230; 28. 16T-Tyler Bruening, 16.240; 29. 51-Joey Moriarty, 16.242; 30. 33-Jonathan Henry, 16.295; 31. 20C-Duane Chamberlain, 16.306; 32. B1-Brent Larson, 16.310; 33. 21-Robby Hensley, 16.326; 34. 8S-Kyle Strickler, 16.380; 35. C9-Steve Casebolt, 16.382; 36. 2S-Stormy Scott, 16.425; 37. 71R-Rod Conley, 16.579; 38. 48-Tim Lance, 16.620; 39. 14G-Joe Godsey, 16.643; 40. 6-Blake Spencer, 16.696; 41. 5D-Bryant Dickinson, 16.974; 42. 8A-Rob Anderzack, 17.180; 43. P3-Josh Robertson, 17.298; 44. 48F-Colton Flinner, 99.991; 45. 71C-RJ Conley, 99.992
Heat #2 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 8H-Jacob Hawkins[4]; 3. 25C-Shane Clanton[2]; 4. 50-Shanon Buckingham[5]; 5. 99RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 6. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 7. 101T-Forrest Trent[7]; 8. 51-Joey Moriarty[8]; 9. 21-Robby Hensley[9]; 10. 71R-Rod Conley[10]; 11. 5D-Bryant Dickinson[11]
Heat #4 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars[1]; 3. 33-Jonathan Henry[8]; 4. 7R-Kent Robinson[5]; 5. 87-Ross Bailes[4]; 6. 8S-Kyle Strickler[9]; 7. 12W-Ashton Winger[6]; 8. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 9. 48-Tim Lance[10]; 10. 421-Anthony Sanders[7]
Heat #6 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 7W-Ricky Weiss[1]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[4]; 3. 18-Chase Junghans[5]; 4. 7M-Donald Mcintosh[3]; 5. O-Scott Bloomquist[7]; 6. 49T-Jake Timm[2]; 7. C9-Steve Casebolt[9]; 8. 2X-John Henderson[6]; 9. 14G-Joe Godsey[10]; 10. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[8]; 11. P3-Josh Robertson[11]
Heat #8 – (10)Laps – Top 5 Transfer 1. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 2. 0B-Shannon Babb[4]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 5. 5-Don O’Neal[5]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[8]; 7. 16T-Tyler Bruening[7]; 8. OOS-Jesse Stovall[6]; 9. 48F-Colton Flinner[11]; 10. 6-Blake Spencer[10]
B-Feature #2 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 14-Josh Richards[1]; 2. 8S-Kyle Strickler[2]; 3. 51-Joey Moriarty[5]; 4. 9-Devin Moran[6]; 5. 71R-Rod Conley[9]; 6. 12W-Ashton Winger[4]; 7. 21-Robby Hensley[7]; 8. 48-Tim Lance[8]; 9. 421-Anthony Sanders[10]; 10. 5D-Bryant Dickinson[11]; 11. 101T-Forrest Trent[3]
B-Feature #4 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 16T-Tyler Bruening[4]; 2. B1-Brent Larson[2]; 3. 49T-Jake Timm[1]; 4. C9-Steve Casebolt[3]; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott[12]; 6. OOS-Jesse Stovall[6]; 7. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[9]; 8. 48F-Colton Flinner[8]; 9. 2X-John Henderson[5]; 10. 6-Blake Spencer[10]; 11. 14G-Joe Godsey[7]; 12. P3-Josh Robertson[11]
A-Feature 2 – (25)Laps 1. 7W-Ricky Weiss[4]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[2]; 3. 8H-Jacob Hawkins[1]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[7]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 6. 25C-Shane Clanton[9]; 7. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3]; 8. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 9. 157-Mike Marlar[12]; 10. 1-Brandon Sheppard[16]; 11. 0B-Shannon Babb[6]; 12. 7R-Kent Robinson[14]; 13. 7M-Donald Mcintosh[15]; 14. 18-Chase Junghans[11]; 15. 33-Jonathan Henry[10]; 16. 50-Shanon Buckingham[13]; 17. 87-Ross Bailes[18]; 18. 8S-Kyle Strickler[23]; 19. O-Scott Bloomquist[19]; 20. B1-Brent Larson[24]; 21. 99RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[17]; 22. 16T-Tyler Bruening[22]; 23. 5-Don O’Neal[20]; 24. 14-Josh Richards[21]
Courtesy of Campbell Photo
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