Sunny Skies And Great Weather Greet Competitors As They Race Toward Historic $48,000 Payout
ROSSBURG, Ohio (September 10, 2015) – Veteran Dale McDowell and young gun Brandon Sheppard rolled to impressive preliminary feature victories on the opening night of Eldora Speedway’s 45th World 100, splitting Thursday night’s two 25-lap DIRTcar-sanctioned races at the historic half-mile oval.
The $5,000-to-win triumphs put McDowell of Chickamauga, Georgia and Sheppard of New Berlin, Illinois, in prime position for Saturday’s $48,000-to-win World 100. Saturday’s heat races for the crown jewel event will be set based on drivers’ performances on Thursday and in a second night of preliminary action on Friday.
McDowell, who won the World 100 in 2005 and finished second last year, started fourth and battled early with defending World 100 champion Scott Bloomquist and Wheelersburg, Ohio’s RJ Conley. But his car quickly came to life and he found the low line and took the lead. He never looked back and took the checkered flag.
“That’s my preferred line, McDowell said. “I think that’s the best place to take care of your tires. Brandon (Sheppard) looked awfully good around the top, so I think it’s just where you get your car balanced. Our package just seems to work in the middle to the bottom – although in the heat race I was able to run up top.
“It takes two different style race cars, two different style setups to run the top and the bottom and be the best at either one. We’ll just have to see what the track conditions are, what the preparation is, what the weather may do.”
Darrell Lanigan, of Union, Kentucky charged to a second place finish while Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tennessee flirted with Eldora’s famous wall to finish third. Last minute entry Chris Madden, of South Carolina, who started 12th, worked his way to fourth, while Georgian and current World of Outlaws Late Models Series point leader Shane Clanton rounded out the top-five.
Illinois’ Sheppard, who is just 22, started second in A-Feature number two but took the victory.
Early on however, he was in a fierce battle with Eldora favorite Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Michigan as the two fought for control. Making contact on a few occasions, they battled for several laps before Sheppard found speed on the top and pulled away for the victory.
“It feels awesome,” said Sheppard. “It’s a really prestigious racetrack and my father and grandfather put a lot of hard earned money in my program. It means a lot to them and it means a lot to me because I’ve put a lot of hard work into the cars and the program.
“We were sitting at Rocket Chassis (in Shinnston, West Virginia) on Tuesday with basically a bare frame and two crew guys and I got it ready and left at midnight and made it here at 7 a.m., on Wednesday. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication.”
Two-time World 100 winner Jimmy Owens worked his way up to second followed by VanWormer. Dennis Erb Jr., was fourth with 2015 Dream winner Jonathan Davenport finishing fifth.
The 45th World 100 Weekend continues on Friday with a second night of preliminary competition. The 106-car field will again be split into two groups for heat races, B-Mains and 25-lap features that will both pay $5,000 to the winners.
The blockbuster weekend concludes Saturday night with World 100 heat races, B-Mains and the 100-lap, $48,000-to-win main event. Fans can obtain tickets information for the World 100 by going online to www.EldoraSpeedway.com or contacting the Eldora offices at 937-338-3815.
Fans who can’t make it to Eldora in person this weekend can still watch all the action live by purchasing the live Pay-Per-View video broadcast of all three nights of action that is available at live.eldoraspeedway.com.
DIRTcar UMP Late Models
Qualifying (listed overall by time) 1.1-Josh Richards, 16.604; 2.777-Jared Landers, 16.681; 3.25C-Shane Clanton, 16.755; 4.6-Jonathan Davenport, 16.845; 5.25F-Jason Feger, 16.993; 6.21-Billy Moyer, 17.010; 7.1P-Earl Pearson Jr., 17.024; 8.157-Mike Marlar, 17.032; 9.21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. , 17.109; 10.29-Darrell Lanigan, 17.123; 11.22S-Gregg Satterlee, 17.151; 12.15F-Steve Francis, 17.163; 13.C9-Steve Casebolt, 17.208; 14.D8-Dustin Linville, 17.243; 15.R1-Riley Hickman, 17.259; 16.21B-Chris Brown, 17.264; 17.R5-Chris Simpson, 17.273; 18.99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. , 17.283; 19.7R-Kent Robinson, 17.288; 20.44M-Chris Madden, 17.290; 21.5-Don O’Neal, 17.291; 22.39-Tim McCreadie, 17.316; 23.32P-Bobby Pierce, 17.318; 24.17M-Dale McDowell, 17.319; 25.18J-Chase Junghans, 17.330; 26.0-Scott Bloomquist, 17.333; 27.28E-Dennis Erb Jr. , 17.338; 28.20-Jimmy Owens, 17.355; 29.1H-Vic Hill, 17.370; 30.25Z-Mason Zeigler, 17.382; 31.54W-Matt Westfall, 17.405; 32.7W-Ricky Weiss, 17.428; 33.11A-Austin Smith, 17.430; 34.71C-RJ Conley, 17.445; 35.28C-Eddie Carrier Jr. , 17.451; 36.11R-James Rice, 17.455; 37.83-Scott James, 17.470; 38.75P-Terry Phillips, 17.480; 39.116-Randy Weaver, 17.487; 40.33-Tim Manville, 17.489; 41.3s-Brian Shirley, 17.495; 42.22-Chris Ferguson, 17.510; 43.99M-Devin Moran, 17.543; 44.32-Austin Hubbard, 17.585; 45.28M-Jimmy Mars, 17.599; 46.B5-Brandon Sheppard, 17.645; 47.93-Jay Johnson, 17.666; 48.9-Jason Croft, 17.677; 49.14M-Morgan Bagley, 17.712; 50.1*-Chub Frank, 17.769; 51.95J-Jerry Bowersock, 17.770; 52.55-Jeep VanWormer, 17.815; 53.31-Nick Latham, 17.819; 54.20C-Duane Chamberlain, 17.854; 55.18K-Brandon Kinzer, 17.857; 56.11G-Gordy Gundaker, 17.862; 57.15H-Jon Henry, 17.903; 58.1N-Casey Noonan, 17.920; 59.18-Shannon Babb, 17.948; 60.7M-Donald McIntosh, 17.975; 61.11S-Rusty Schlenk, 17.990; 62.17-Shannon Thornsberry, 18.025; 63.86R-Rick Rickman, 18.045; 64.81JR-Jason Riggs, 18.060; 65.15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 18.064; 66.86B-Neil Baggett, 18.077; 67.49-Brian Ruhlman, 18.110; 68.11-Josh Rice, 18.126; 69.B4U-Brad Eitnear, 18.137; 70.47-Alex Ferree, 18.184; 71.240-Doug Drown, 18.192; 72.99L-Scott Lewis, 18.197; 73.28W-Jeff Wolfenbarger, 18.217; 74.F5-Garrett Alberson, 18.244; 75.21D-Dan Stone, 18.248; 76.89-Mike Spatola, 18.251; 77.97-Michael Chilton, 18.305; 78.45H-Don Hammer, 18.325; 79.25L-Steve Lance, 18.333; 80.11B-Tommy Bailey, 18.339; 81.88-Andrew Reaume, 18.350; 82.3c-Charlie LaPlant, 18.360; 83.69-Jonny Huck, 18.418; 84.49C-Chad Ruhlman, 18.427; 85.15C-Wayne Chinn, 18.443; 86.8V-Craig Vosbergen, 18.472; 87.42-Doug Sanders, 18.516; 88.76K-Butch Kruckeberg, 18.531; 89.51M-Mack McCarter, 18.596; 90.9N-Ted Nobbe, 18.652; 91.5*-Bryant Dickinson, 18.742; 92.8A-Rob Anderzack, 18.887; 93.96-John Mayes, 19.249; 94.14H-Rodney Hamblin, 19.603; 95.4C-Ernie Cordier, 19.610; 96.27-Lauren Longbrake, 19.610; 97.07-Brian Ledbetter, 19.657; 98.79-Shane Unger, 19.723; 99.51G-Cameron Guidi, 20.040; 100.54N-Chris Nash, 99.991; 101.90-Brian Rickman, 99.992; 102.4B-Jackie Boggs, 99.993; 103.5N-Dustin Nobbe, 99.994; 104.87-Walker Arthur, 99.995; 105.68-Dan Shepherd, 99.996; 106.30-Mark Voigt, 99.997;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps) 1. 0-Scott Bloomquist[2] ; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[4] ; 3. 32-Austin Hubbard[1] ; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[3] ; 5. 86B-Neil Baggett[6] ; 6. 47-Alex Ferree[7] ; 7. 11S-Rusty Schlenk[5] ; 8. 49C-Chad Ruhlman[8] ; 9. 07-Brian Ledbetter[9]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps) 1. 6-Jonathan Davenport[4] ; 2. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. [3] ; 3. 14M-Morgan Bagley[1] ; 4. C9-Steve Casebolt[2] ; 5. 89-Mike Spatola[7] ; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[6] ; 7. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[5] ; 8. 14H-Rodney Hamblin[8] ; 9. 51G-Cameron Guidi[9]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps) 1. 25C-Shane Clanton[3] ; 2. 29-Darrell Lanigan[1] ; 3. 7R-Kent Robinson[5] ; 4. 1-Josh Richards[4] ; 5. 21-Billy Moyer[2] ; 6. 21D-Dan Stone[8] ; 7. 1N-Casey Noonan[7] ; 8. 45H-Don Hammer[9] ; 9. 18K-Brandon Kinzer[6]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps) 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. [2] ; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr. [1] ; 3. 777-Jared Landers[4] ; 4. 116-Randy Weaver[5] ; 5. R5-Chris Simpson[3] ; 6. 69-Jonny Huck[8] ; 7. 9-Jason Croft[6] ; 8. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[7]
Heat 5, Group E – (8 Laps) 1. 17M-Dale McDowell[2] ; 2. 54W-Matt Westfall[1] ; 3. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr.[4] ; 4. 83-Scott James[7] ; 5. 28C-Eddie Carrier Jr. [6] ; 6. R1-Riley Hickman[3] ; 7. 11A-Austin Smith[5] ; 8. 99L-Scott Lewis[8] ; 9. 11B-Tommy Bailey[9]
Heat 6, Group F – (8 Laps) 1. 3s-Brian Shirley[1] ; 2. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[3] ; 3. 25F-Jason Feger[4] ; 4. 1H-Vic Hill[2] ; 5. 90-Brian Rickman[7] ; 6. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[9] ; 7. B4U-Brad Eitnear[5] ; 8. 4C-Ernie Cordier[6]
Heat 7, Group G – (8 Laps) 1. 71C-RJ Conley[1] ; 2. 33-Tim Manville[6] ; 3. 7W-Ricky Weiss[2] ; 4. 21B-Chris Brown[4] ; 5. 18J-Chase Junghans[3] ; 6. 87-Walker Arthur[9] ; 7. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[7] ; 8. 11R-James Rice[5] ; 9. 17-Shannon Thornsberry[8]
Heat 8, Group H – (8 Laps) 1. 55-Jeep VanWormer[2] ; 2. 15F-Steve Francis[4] ; 3. 75P-Terry Phillips[3] ; 4. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[1] ; 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman[5] ; 6. 25L-Steve Lance[6] ; 7. 68-Dan Shepherd[9] ; 8. 8A-Rob Anderzack[7] ; 9. 79-Shane Unger[8]
Heat 9, Group I – (8 Laps) 1. 5-Don O’Neal[2] ; 2. 44M-Chris Madden[3] ; 3. D8-Dustin Linville[4] ; 4. 99M-Devin Moran[5] ; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[1] ; 6. 15H-Jon Henry[6] ; 7. 7M-Donald McIntosh[7] ; 8. 15C-Wayne Chinn[8] ; 9. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[9]
Heat 10, Group J – (8 Laps) 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3] ; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars[4] ; 3. 1*-Chub Frank[2] ; 4. 11-Josh Rice[5] ; 5. 240-Doug Drown[6] ; 6. 86R-Rick Rickman[1] ; 7. 27-Lauren Longbrake[8] ; 8. 96-John Mayes[7]
Heat 11, Group K – (8 Laps) 1. 31-Nick Latham[2] ; 2. 93-Jay Johnson[3] ; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson[4] ; 4. 28W-Jeff Wolfenbarger[1] ; 5. 97-Michael Chilton[5] ; 6. 3c-Charlie LaPlant[7] ; 7. 88-Andrew Reaume[6] ; 8. 42-Doug Sanders[8]
Heat 12, Group L – (8 Laps) 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[3] ; 2. 81JR-Jason Riggs[2] ; 3. 32P-Bobby Pierce[4] ; 4. F5-Garrett Alberson[1] ; 5. 51M-Mack McCarter[7] ; 6. 76K-Butch Kruckeberg[6] ; 7. 8V-Craig Vosbergen[5] ; 8. 9N-Ted Nobbe[8]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps) 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1] ; 2. 1-Josh Richards[2] ; 3. 47-Alex Ferree[7] ; 4. 21-Billy Moyer[5] ; 5. 83-Scott James[3] ; 6. 28C-Eddie Carrier Jr. [6] ; 7. R1-Riley Hickman[9] ; 8. 11S-Rusty Schlenk[10] ; 9. 86B-Neil Baggett[4] ; 10. 21D-Dan Stone[8] ; 11. 49C-Chad Ruhlman[13] ; 12. 99L-Scott Lewis[15] ; 13. 1N-Casey Noonan[11] ; 14. 18K-Brandon Kinzer[17] ; 15. 11A-Austin Smith[12] ; 16. 45H-Don Hammer[14] ; 17. 07-Brian Ledbetter[16] ; 18. 11B-Tommy Bailey[18]
B-Main 2 – (10 Laps) 1. C9-Steve Casebolt[1] ; 2. R5-Chris Simpson[5] ; 3. 18-Shannon Babb[7] ; 4. 116-Randy Weaver[2] ; 5. 1H-Vic Hill[3] ; 6. 90-Brian Rickman[6] ; 7. 89-Mike Spatola[4] ; 8. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[9] ; 9. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[10] ; 10. 9-Jason Croft[11] ; 11. 69-Jonny Huck[8] ; 12. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[14] ; 13. 14H-Rodney Hamblin[13] ; 14. 51G-Cameron Guidi[16] ; 15. 4C-Ernie Cordier[15] ; 16. B4U-Brad Eitnear[12]
B-Main 3 – (10 Laps) 1. 21B-Chris Brown[1] ; 2. 99M-Devin Moran[2] ; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[5] ; 4. 18J-Chase Junghans[4] ; 5. 15H-Jon Henry[8] ; 6. 87-Walker Arthur[7] ; 7. 97-Michael Chilton[6] ; 8. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[10] ; 9. 11R-James Rice[13] ; 10. 88-Andrew Reaume[12] ; 11. 28W-Jeff Wolfenbarger[3] ; 12. 7M-Donald McIntosh[11] ; 13. 3c-Charlie LaPlant[9] ; 14. 17-Shannon Thornsberry[16] ; 15. 15C-Wayne Chinn[14] ; 16. 42-Doug Sanders[15] ; 17. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[17]
B-Main 4 – (10 Laps) 1. 240-Doug Drown[5] ; 2. F5-Garrett Alberson[3] ; 3. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[1] ; 4. 11-Josh Rice[2] ; 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman[4] ; 6. 8V-Craig Vosbergen[12] ; 7. 51M-Mack McCarter[6] ; 8. 25L-Steve Lance[7] ; 9. 86R-Rick Rickman[8] ; 10. 76K-Butch Kruckeberg[9] ; 11. 27-Lauren Longbrake[11] ; 12. 9N-Ted Nobbe[15] ; 13. 68-Dan Shepherd[10] ; 14. 8A-Rob Anderzack[13] ; 15. 96-John Mayes[14] ; 16. 79-Shane Unger[16]
Twin 25 Feature #1 – (25 Laps) 1. 17M-Dale McDowell[4] ; 2. 29-Darrell Lanigan[8] ; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[7] ; 4. 44M-Chris Madden[11] ; 5. 25C-Shane Clanton[6] ; 6. 5-Don O’Neal[5] ; 7. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr.[15] ; 8. 0-Scott Bloomquist[3] ; 9. 7R-Kent Robinson[14] ; 10. 47-Alex Ferree[23] ; 11. 39-Tim McCreadie[19] ; 12. 99M-Devin Moran[22] ; 13. 54W-Matt Westfall[9] ; 14. 71C-RJ Conley[2] ; 15. 1-Josh Richards[21] ; 16. 21B-Chris Brown[20] ; 17. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[24] ; 18. 93-Jay Johnson[12] ; 19. 22-Chris Ferguson[18] ; 20. 31-Nick Latham[1] ; 21. 7W-Ricky Weiss[16] ; 22. 33-Tim Manville[10] ; 23. 32-Austin Hubbard[13] ; 24. D8-Dustin Linville[17]
Twin 25 Feature #2 – (25 Laps) 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2] ; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[4] ; 3. 55-Jeep VanWormer[1] ; 4. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr. [8] ; 5. 6-Jonathan Davenport[6] ; 6. 28M-Jimmy Mars[11] ; 7. 15F-Steve Francis[10] ; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. [5] ; 9. 3s-Brian Shirley[3] ; 10. 25F-Jason Feger[15] ; 11. R5-Chris Simpson[21] ; 12. 75P-Terry Phillips[16] ; 13. 14M-Morgan Bagley[13] ; 14. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[24] ; 15. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. [7] ; 16. 32P-Bobby Pierce[18] ; 17. 18-Shannon Babb[23] ; 18. C9-Steve Casebolt[19] ; 19. 1*-Chub Frank[17] ; 20. F5-Garrett Alberson[22] ; 21. 777-Jared Landers[14] ; 22. 81JR-Jason Riggs[12] ; 23. 240-Doug Drown[20] ; 24. 22S-Gregg Satterlee[9]