(Courtesy DIRTcar PR) ROSSBURG, OH — Sep. 6, 2018 — The Biggest Dirt Race In The World, the 48th annual World 100 commenced with the first of two Prelim Nights at the famed ½ (0.500) mile high-banked dirt oval of Eldora Speedway (OH), located just east of the Indiana/Ohio state line in Rossburg, Ohio on Thursday, September 6th. The first of three full nights of racing for the “Granddaddy of them all” featured the popular “Every Lap Matters” format highlighted by twin 25-lap features paying $10,000 to win each. An even 100 cars were in the pits and a pair of former Globe winners stood in victory lane at the end of a very long evening that had two rain delays totaling over five hours with the final checkered flag falling at 3:53a.m.
Four-time race winner and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer, Scott Bloomquist passed fellow former World 100 winner, six-time winner, Billy Moyer with four laps to go in the Odd Feature to score his 13th career Feature Win at Eldora. Eight of those checkered flags have come in the Dirt Late Model Dream making Bloomquist one of just seven drivers to have won both crown jewel events at Eldora. For the Mooresburg, TN legend, it was his first Prelim Night Feature win of his career in his #0 Reece Monument Company / Sweet-Bloomquist Racecars / Durham Racing Engines machine.
“We didn’t qualify quite as good; the car was tight for the first lap maybe. But once we got heat in the tires, it was on. The car is really good. We’re excited, we could move around a lot. We were almost rubbing the inside rail to the wall, to the top and anywhere in the middle. It’s dialed in like we were before.” Remarked the 54-year-old standout after the race. “This is the same car we ran here for the Dream. We’re pretty close to the same setup, so hopefully we can get the same result. People think we like all that controversy, when actually I prefer a nice smooth weekend. Let’s hope we have one.” Bloomquist added. It would be Moyer and defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion and former four-time World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Champion, Josh Richards leading the field to the green flag for the Odd Feature and it was Moyer beating Richards to the first corner. Moyer would try and extend his lead as 2018 Lernerville Speedway (PA) Track Champion, Michael Norris charged past Richards for second after starting third. In the meantime, Bloomquist, who started seventh, began methodically picking his way through the field and would slip past Norris with under 10 laps to go.
Bloomquist then set his sights on Moyer and the battle was on between arguably the two most successful dirt late model drivers in history. Bloomquist made the pass for the lead with four laps to go and pulled away for the $10,000 payday. Moyer settled for second with Norris completing the podium in third. Don O’Neal and former World 100 and Dream winner, Dale McDowell completed the top five after starting 12th. 2016 World 100 winner, Bobby Pierce was sixth as Richards, defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Champion, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Erb and current Outlaws points leader, Chris Madden would finish off the top 10.
In the Even Feature, 2007 World 100 winner, Jimmy Owens, also one of just seven drivers to have won both tracks’ crown jewel events, the World 100 and the Dirt Late Model Dream, started on the pole and made no mistake the entire race in his #20 Ramirez Motorsports / Rocket XR1 Chassis / Durham Racing Engines ride. The Newport, TN veteran fended off consistent strong challenges from another former World 100 winner, Brian Birkhofer (2002 & 2012) to secure his second Prelim Night Feature victory of his career to move into the 46-year-old into five-way tie for second all-time in that category.
“We had a good car all night long except for Qualifying. I don’t know what I did there, but we missed it real bad. But in the heats, we were good, a couple of things went our way. Then we made a couple of changes for the Feature and we had a good hot rod.” Offered Owens in victory lane. “I felt like I could run through the middle of the race track a lot better than when I was going around the top. You could get some good momentum off the corners by just touching that right rear up in the stuff.” He added.
It would be Owens and Birkhofer leading the field to the green flag for the Even Feature and it was Owens rocketing out to the front of the field. Now a two-time and reigning DIRTcar Summer Nationals Champion, Brian Shirley slipped past Birkhofer for second from his fourth starting spot and tried to pressure Owens who held the point. Owens would keep a safe piece of real estate between himself and Shirley as the second-place driver was being pressured himself from Birkhofer who was looking to reclaim the runner-up spot.
With nine laps to go, Birkhofer got past Shirley and set his sights on Owens for the race lead. He was able to get close but couldn’t quite muster up a charge as Owens would hang on to lead all 25 laps for the $10,00 paycheck. Birkhofer settled
for second as Zack Dohm, who started 12th, completed the podium finishers in third. Shirley fell back to fourth as Tim McCreadie completed the top five. Two-time and defending race winner, Jonathan Davenport started 14th and came through with a sixth place showing while Chad Simpson, Jimmy Mars, Chris Ferguson and 2006 World 100 winner, Earl Pearson Jr., would finish off the top 10.
Qualifying 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.203; 2. 22-Chris Ferguson, 15.259; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell, 15.453; 4. 17D-Zack Dohm, 15.456; 5. 32P-Bobby Pierce, 15.475; 6. 1GK-Ryan King, 15.481; 7. 157-Mike Marlar, 15.487; 8. 12D-Doug Drown, 15.501; 9. 5-Don O’Neal, 15.524; 10. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr, 15.545; 11. 17J-Greg Johnson, 15.557; 12. 18B-Shannon Babb, 15.600; 13. 1R-Josh Richards, 15.622; 14. 84-Austin Smith, 15.627; 15. 25C-Shane Clanton, 15.634; 16. 58-Donald McIntosh, 15.648; 17. 91-Tyler Erb, 15.649; 18. 111-Steven Roberts, 15.654; 19. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 15.666; 20. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 15.674; 21. O-Scott Bloomquist, 15.678; 22. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 15.681; 23. 1G-Devin Gilpin, 15.691; 24. 30-Brian Birkhofer, 15.695; 25. 5N-Dustin Nobbe, 15.715; 26. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 15.716; 27. 6L-Ivedent Lloyd Jr., 15.721; 28. 3s-Brian Shirley, 15.723; 29. 2C-Joey Coulter, 15.741; 30. OK-Freddie Carpenter, 15.754; 31. 97D-Cade Dillard, 15.762; 32. 25S-Chad Simpson, 15.763; 33. 44-Chris Madden, 15.764; 34. 7R-Kent Robinson, 15.766; 35. 72-Michael Norris, 15.780; 36. 21H-Robby Hensley, 15.782; 37. 17T-Shannon Thornsberry, 15.787; 38. 39-Tim McCreadie, 15.860; 39. 21-Billy Moyer, 15.864; 40. 14-Darrell Lanigan, 15.876; 41. 89-Mike Spatola, 15.877; 42. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 15.895; 43. 32-Chad Stapleton, 15.896; 44. 71R-Rod Conley, 15.927; 45. 4G-Kody Evans, 15.933; 46. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 15.938; 47. 2H-Nick Hoffman, 15.958; 48. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 15.964; 49. 20H-Jon Henry, 15.965; 50. 51-Joey Moriarty, 15.974; 51. 31-Nick Latham, 15.981; 52. 56-Jonathan Rowan, 15.993; 53. 18J-Chase Junghans, 15.997; 54. 50-Shanon Buckingham, 15.998; 55. 9-Devin Moran, 16.019; 56. 76-Brandon Overton, 16.025; 57. 101T-Forrest Trent, 16.041; 58. 16T-Tyler Bruening, 16.079; 59. 995-Dwight Falcon, 16.094; 60. 4H-Jason Hughes, 16.102; 61. 25-Jason Feger, 16.122; 62. 12J-Jason Jameson, 16.142; 63. 7-Ross Robinson, 16.154; 64. 6-Blake Spencer, 16.167; 65. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 16.170; 66. 39T-Rob Toland, 16.179; 67. 18-Jack Sullivan, 16.188; 68. 97C-Michael Chilton, 16.223; 69. 20C-Duane Chamberlain, 16.233; 70. 22R-Will Roland, 16.252; 71. 19-Greg Roberson, 16.256; 72. 20-Jimmy Owens, 16.261; 73. 89W-Justin Williams, 16.275; 74. 212-Josh Putnam, 16.286; 75. 93-Jay Johnson, 16.297; 76. 1H-Vic Hill, 16.307; 77. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 16.331; 78. 95J-Jerry Bowersock, 16.347; 79. 45-Kyle Hammer, 16.362; 80. 3-Matt Miller, 16.443; 81. 14R-Jeff Roth, 16.453; 82. 12-Josh Rice, 16.454; 83. 5D-Bryant Dickinson, 16.461; 84. 2S-Travis Stemler, 16.480; 85. 1N-Casey Noonan, 16.501; 86. 22S-Gregg Satterlee, 16.530; 87. C9-Steve Casebolt, 16.552; 88. 69-Jonny Hodgkiss, 16.774; 89. w13-Jason Whitaker, 16.832; 90. 32S-Chris Simpson, 16.856; 91. 8-Rob Anderzack, 16.899; 92. M8-Brett Miller, 16.905; 93. 55-Jeep VanWormer, 16.930; 94. 28C-Tyler Carpenter, 17.299; 95. 22F-Nick Fenner, 18.187; 96. 18x-Michael Page, 99.991; 97. 33M-Tim Manville, 99.992; 98. 83-Scott James, 99.993; 99. 25B-Mike Benedum, 99.994
Heat #1 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. O-Scott Bloomquist[2]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 3. 17J-Greg Johnson[3]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[5]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[7]; 6. 19-Greg Roberson[8]; 7. 14R-Jeff Roth[9]; 8. 8-Rob Anderzack[10]; 9. 31-Nick Latham[6]; 10. 97D-Cade Dillard[1]
Heat #2 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 25S-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 3. 56-Jonathan Rowan[6]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 5. 22-Chris Ferguson[4]; 6. 12J-Jason Jameson[7]; 7. M8-Brett Miller[10]; 8. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 9. 12-Josh Rice[9]; 10. 18B-Shannon Babb[3]
Heat #3 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 2. 1R-Josh Richards[3]; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell[4]; 4. 1G-Devin Gilpin[2]; 5. 32-Chad Stapleton[5]; 6. 18J-Chase Junghans[6]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 8. 55-Jeep VanWormer[10]; 9. 89W-Justin Williams[8]; 10. 5D-Bryant Dickinson[9]
Heat #4 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 30-Brian Birkhofer[2]; 2. 7R-Kent Robinson[1]; 3. 17D-Zack Dohm[4]; 4. 50-Shanon Buckingham[6]; 5. 84-Austin Smith[3]; 6. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[10]; 7. 212-Josh Putnam[8]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[5]; 9. 2S-Travis Stemler[9]; 10. 6-Blake Spencer[7]
Heat #5 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 72-Michael Norris[1]; 2. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[2]; 3. 32P-Bobby Pierce[4]; 4. 25C-Shane Clanton[3]; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 6. 9-Devin Moran[6]; 7. 93-Jay Johnson[8]; 8. 4G-Kody Evans[5]; 9. 1N-Casey Noonan[9]; 10. 22F-Nick Fenner[10]
Heat #6 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 21H-Robby Hensley[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 4. 1GK-Ryan King[4]; 5. 58-Donald McIntosh[3]; 6. 18x-Michael Page[10]; 7. 39T-Rob Toland[7]; 8. 1H-Vic Hill[8]; 9. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 10. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[9]
Heat #7 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 2. 91-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. 6L-Ivedent Lloyd Jr.[2]; 4. 2H-Nick Hoffman[5]; 5. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[8]; 6. 101T-Forrest Trent[6]; 7. 18-Jack Sullivan[7]; 8. 17T-Shannon Thornsberry[1]; 9. C9-Steve Casebolt[9]; 10. 33M-Tim Manville[10]
Heat #8 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 3s-Brian Shirley[2]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[5]; 4. 97C-Michael Chilton[7]; 5. 12D-Doug Drown[4]; 6. 111-Steven Roberts[3]; 7. 16T-Tyler Bruening[6]; 8. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8]; 9. 69-Jonny Hodgkiss[9]; 10. 83-Scott James[10]
Heat #9 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 21-Billy Moyer[1]; 2. 5-Don O’Neal[4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 4. 20H-Jon Henry[5]; 5. 995-Dwight Falcon[6]; 6. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[7]; 7. 45-Kyle Hammer[8]; 8. 2C-Joey Coulter[2]; 9. W13-Jason Whitaker[9]; 10. 25B-Mike Benedum[10]
Heat #10 – (10)Laps – Top 4 Transfer 1. 14-Darrell Lanigan[1]; 2. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 3. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3]; 4. OK-Freddie Carpenter[2]; 5. 4H-Jason Hughes[6]; 6. 51-Joey Moriarty[5]; 7. 32S-Chris Simpson[9]; 8. 3-Matt Miller[8]; 9. 22R-Will Roland[7]
B-Feature #1 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[1]; 3. 18J-Chase Junghans[4]; 4. 101T-Forrest Trent[5]; 5. 14R-Jeff Roth[6]; 6. 31-Nick Latham[11]; 7. 55-Jeep VanWormer[9]; 8. 17T-Shannon Thornsberry[10]; 9. 93-Jay Johnson[7]; 10. 1N-Casey Noonan[12]; 11. 45-Kyle Hammer[8]; 12. 995-Dwight Falcon[3]; 13. 5D-Bryant Dickinson[14]
B-Feature #2 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 22-Chris Ferguson[1]; 2. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[4]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[8]; 4. 111-Steven Roberts[5]; 5. 4H-Jason Hughes[3]; 6. 58-Donald McIntosh[2]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[9]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[12]; 9. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[10]; 10. 6-Blake Spencer[14]; 11. 22R-Will Roland[13]; 12. M8-Brett Miller[6]; 13. 39T-Rob Toland[7]
B-Feature #3 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 2. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[5]; 3. 18-Jack Sullivan[7]; 4. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[2]; 5. 89W-Justin Williams[11]; 6. 32-Chad Stapleton[1]; 7. 8-Rob Anderzack[8]; 8. C9-Steve Casebolt[12]; 9. 22F-Nick Fenner[14]; 10. 7-Ross Robinson[6]; 11. 97D-Cade Dillard[13]; 12. 4G-Kody Evans[9]; 13. 19-Greg Roberson[3]
B-Feature #4 – (12)Laps – Top 2 Transfer 1. 18x-Michael Page[4]; 2. 12D-Doug Drown[2]; 3. 84-Austin Smith[1]; 4. 51-Joey Moriarty[5]; 5. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[8]; 6. 12J-Jason Jameson[3]; 7. 3-Matt Miller[10]; 8. 18B-Shannon Babb[13]; 9. 212-Josh Putnam[6]; 10. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[14]; 11. 16T-Tyler Bruening[7]; 12. 2S-Travis Stemler[11]; 13. 1H-Vic Hill[9]; 14. 69-Jonny Hodgkiss[12]
Twin 25 A-Feature #1- (25)Laps 1. O-Scott Bloomquist[7]; 2. 21-Billy Moyer[1]; 3. 72-Michael Norris[3]; 4. 5-Don O’Neal[5]; 5. 17M-Dale McDowell[12]; 6. 32P-Bobby Pierce[13]; 7. 1R-Josh Richards[2]; 8. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 9. 91-Tyler Erb[9]; 10. 44-Chris Madden[10]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[15]; 12. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[21]; 13. 9-Devin Moran[22]; 14. 1G-Devin Gilpin[17]; 15. 89-Mike Spatola[16]; 16. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[6]; 17. 17J-Greg Johnson[11]; 18. 25C-Shane Clanton[18]; 19. 2H-Nick Hoffman[19]; 20. 6L-Ivedent Lloyd Jr.[14]; 21. 25-Jason Feger[23]; 22. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[24]; 23. 20H-Jon Henry[20]; 24. 157-Mike Marlar[4]
Twin 25 A-Feature #2 – (25)Laps 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 30-Brian Birkhofer[2]; 3. 17D-Zack Dohm[12]; 4. 3s-Brian Shirley[4]; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie[8]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[14]; 7. 25S-Chad Simpson[5]; 8. 28M-Jimmy Mars[15]; 9. 22-Chris Ferguson[21]; 10. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr[9]; 11. 50-Shanon Buckingham[17]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton[13]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson[16]; 14. 14-Darrell Lanigan[10]; 15. 97C-Michael Chilton[19]; 16. 21H-Robby Hensley[3]; 17. 12D-Doug Drown[24]; 18. OK-Freddie Carpenter[20]; 19. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[23]; 20. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[7]; 21. 7R-Kent Robinson[6]; 22. 56-Jonathan Rowan[11]; 23. 1GK-Ryan King[18]
Courtesy Jim DenHamer Photo
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