MARKLEYSBURG, PA (April 24, 2015) – Don O’Neal found victory lane for the first time this season on Friday Night at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex. The defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion landed in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 41st time in his career.
Trailing O’Neal to the finish line was current LOLMDS point’s leader, Jonathan Davenport; followed by Earl Pearson Jr., Kyle Hardy, and Chris Ferguson.
“It was a good night for the Clint Bowyer Racing Team. To get that first win of the season is just great and hopefully this will get us going! The track was really good tonight. That one caution flag might have saved me from getting passed for the lead, but I just kept it glued on the bottom and brought it home,” said O’Neal.
“I have to thank all my crew: Barry and Lance Wright, Tony Trent, and my crew chief Jeremy Justice. The car was perfect tonight. All I did was just keep out of trouble. Towards the end there I was hoping to get to the checkered flag before I got into some more traffic.”
“I would like to thank Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Crawford Supply, Georgia Boot, Cometic Gasket, Toyota, Penske Shocks, and Sunoco Race Fuels.”
Davenport; with his runner-up finish; maintains the series point’s lead heading to Hagerstown Speedway tomorrow night. “Well I guess we get to keep the Midwest Sheet Metal Orange Spoiler for another night. Earl and I had a great race most of the night. That Chris Ferguson, man he did a great job. I have run with him countless times in the Southeast and he can wheel a car. He has just had a lot of bad luck this year.”
Davenport was able to track down O’Neal at the end of the race, but just as O’Neal was about to enter heavy traffic, the race was over. “I was able to catch Don, but passing him was going to be another story. I am real happy for K&K Rumley and all of my sponsors. I have only been here and at Hagerstown once, so it is going to be a learning weekend for sure.”
Pearson, in the Lucas Oil Products/Dunn-Benson Ford, entry ran as high as second in the race, and eventually settled for third. “I thought we had a shot at O’Neal, but our tires went away at the end. We could really gain some ground on restarts. Somebody kicked that mud and water out on the track in turn four and it started to get real slimy.”
Completing the top ten were Steve Francis, Dylan Yoder, Eddie Carrier Jr., Rick Eckert, and Mason Zeigler.
In preliminary action, Chris Ferguson set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 32 entrants, with a lap of 16.024 seconds. Don O’Neal set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 16.342 seconds. Chris Ferguson, Gregg Satterlee, Don O’Neal, and Kyle Yoder won their respective heat races. Scott Bloomquist and Tim Senic won their respective B-Mains.
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, April 24th, 2015
Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex – Markleysburg, PA
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Chris Ferguson / 16.027 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Don O’Neal / 16.342 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Ferguson, Earl Pearson Jr., Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, Scott Bloomquist, Keith Barbara, Bob Gordon, Mike Benedum
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Gregg Satterlee, Jonathan Davenport, Mason Zeigler, Justin Kann, Kenny PettyJohn, Dennis Erb Jr., Dan Angelicchio, Matt Cochran
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Jared Landers, Eddie Carrier Jr., Keith Jackson, Tim Senic, Mike Lupfer, Chris Brown, Josh Richards
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Kyle Hardy, Dylan Yoder, Devin Moran, Jimmy Owens, Austin Hubbard, Michael Lake, Jason Miller, Brandon Sheppard
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Dennis Erb Jr., Kenny PettyJohn, Keith Barbara, Dan Angelicchio, Matt Cochran, Bob Gordon, Mike Benedum
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Tim Senic, Austin Hubbard, Mike Lupfer, Chris Brown, Jason Miller, Josh Richards, Michael Lake, Brandon Sheppard