MARYVILLE, TN (June 20, 2015) Randy Weaver sprints to the first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of his career on Saturday Night at Smoky Mountain Speedway. In front of tonight’srecord-setting crowd, the 45-year-old driver took the lead on lap 17 from Chris Ferguson and went unchallenged to win the Lucas Oil Ole Smoky Moonshine Classic.
Weaver drove the Chip Stone-owned Longhorn Chassis and becomes the 11th different winner this season on the LOLDMS tour. Scott Bloomquist finished second, followed by 10th place starter Jonathan Davenport. Rounding out the Top-5 were Jimmy Owens, and Casey Roberts.
“First and foremost, I am thinking about my dad. Tomorrow is father’s day. It’s going to be a tough one with this being my first one without him. The Good Lord takes care of me and my family. He lets me do this for a living. The crew we have is great; the car was great as well. I’d like to thank my car owner Chip Stone for all of this.”
“To beat Scott [Bloomquist] and Jonathan [Davenport] is just unbelievable. Davenport and I are pals and we talk quite a bit, but not about racing. If there was someone to end his streak I guess I would have been a good choice.”
Bloomquist came home second but was several car lengths behind Weaver at the finish. “We had a really good car here tonight. The track kind of slicked over more than we thought it would. We went with a softer tire than some others. After the last two nights, we will take this and head to the next one. I want to thank Mike Reece of Reece Monument Company, Crop Production Services, Dyna Gro, Lucas Oil, and all of my other sponsors for their support.”
Bouncing back from brake line troubles in time trials, and starting deep in his heat race, Davenport managed to rebound in impressive style. He started in tenth for the 50 lap feature and fought his way past some stiff competition to finish third. “We needed a caution at the end. Scott and I had a good battle to in the closing laps. I don’t know if I would have had anything for Randy; he was awfully strong tonight. Congratulations to him on the win!”
“I’m very thankful to A.F. Stone Professional Medical Services, Mission Transport, Stone Land Clearing and Excavating, Save More Commercial Laundry, VP, and Outlaw Racing Southeast. This Cornett Ford has been flawless all year. I want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight hopefully they saw a good show,” said the winner.
Completing the top ten were Earl Pearson, Jr., Chris Ferguson, Jared Landers, Tommy Kerr, and Dennis Erb Jr.
In preliminary action, Chris Ferguson set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 32 entrants, with a lap of 15.387 seconds. Scott Bloomquist set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 15.691 seconds. Chris Ferguson, Scott Bloomquist, Scott Bloomquist, and Skip Arp won their respective heat races. Steve Francis and Ray Cook won their respective B-Mains.
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, June 20th, 2015
Lucas Oil Ole Smoky Moonshine Classic
Smoky Mountain Speedway – Maryville, TN
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Chris Ferguson / 15.387 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Scott Bloomquist / 15.691 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Ferguson, Devin Moran, Jimmy Owens, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Steve Francis, Steve Casebolt, Ryan King, Mark Vineyard
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Randy Weaver, Mike Marlar, Don O’Neal, Tommy Kerr, Brandon Sheppard, Skylar Marlar, David Payne, Dusty Carver
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Casey Roberts, Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson, Jr., Ray Cook, Mark Douglas, Dennis Franklin, Steven Roberts
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Skip Arp, Jared Landers, Chris Brown, Donald McIntosh, Dennis Erb, Jr., David Webb, Tommy Bailey, Jeff Wolfenbarger
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Steve Francis, Steve Casebolt , Brandon Sheppard, Skylar Marlar, Mark Vineyard, Ryan King, Dusty Carver, David Payne-DNS
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Ray Cook, Dennis Erb, Jr., Dennis Franklin, Mark Douglas, Tommy Bailey, David Webb, Steven Roberts, Jeff Wolfenbarger-DNS
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
FINISH |
START |
CAR # |
DRIVER NAME |
HOMETOWN |
1 |
3 |
116 |
Randy Weaver |
Crossville, TN |
2 |
2 |
0 |
Scott Bloomquist |
Mooresburg, TN |
3 |
10 |
6 |
Jonathan Davenport |
Mount Airy, NC |
4 |
9 |
20 |
Jimmy Owens |
Newport, TN |
5 |
6 |
101 |
Casey Roberts |
Toccoa, GA |
6 |
14 |
1 |
Earl Pearson, Jr. |
Jacksonville, FL |
7 |
1 |
22F |
Chris Ferguson |
Mount Holly, NC |
8 |
8 |
777 |
Jared Landers |
Batesville, AR |
9 |
15 |
4T |
Tommy Kerr |
Maryville, TN |
10 |
20 |
28e |
Dennis Erb, Jr. |
Carpentersville, IL |
11 |
11 |
5 |
Don O’Neal |
Martinsville, IN |
12 |
17 |
15 |
Steve Francis |
Ashland, KY |
13 |
13 |
28 |
Eddie Carrier, Jr. |
Salt Rock, WV |
14 |
16 |
7 |
Donald McIntosh |
Dawsonville, GA |
15 |
12 |
21b |
Chris Brown |
Spring, TX |
16 |
21 |
B5 |
Brandon Sheppard |
New Berlin, IL |
17 |
5 |
99m |
Devin Moran |
Dresden, OH |
18 |
24 |
30 |
Ryan King |
Seymour, TN |
19 |
19 |
c9 |
Steve Casebolt |
Richmond, IN |
20 |
7 |
157 |
Mike Marlar |
Winfield, TN |
21 |
18 |
53 |
Ray Cook |
Brasstown, NC |
22 |
22 |
2F |
Dennis Franklin |
Gaffney, SC |
23 |
23 |
8 |
David Payne |
Murphy, NC |
24 |
4 |
31 |
Skip Arp |
Georgetown, TN |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 32
Lap Leaders: Chris Ferguson (Laps 1 – 16); Randy Weaver (Laps 17 – 50)
Cautions: Skip Arp (Lap 1); Chris Brown (Lap 6)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: none
Miller Welders Fast Time Provisionals: David Payne, Ryan King
Wrisco Feature Winner: Randy Weaver
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Dennis Erb Jr. (Started: 20th; Finished: 10th; Advanced 10 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performer of the Race: Randy Weaver
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jonathan Davenport
Rookie of the Race: Chris Brown
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Kenny Holt (Jimmy Owens)
CV Products Fastest Lap of the Race: Randy Weaver (Lap #3 – 16.633 seconds)
Hot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Randy Weaver (34 Laps)
PFC Brakes Tough Break Award: Mike Marlar
Time of Race: 25 minutes 10 seconds