Volusia Speedway Park
Feb. 13: Billy idle? Not in another Volusia victory
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 13) — Billy Moyer isn't slowing down for anything. Continuing the hottest Florida Speedweeks since Don O'Neal in 2002, the Hall of Fame driver from Batesville, Ark., led all 30 laps from the pole position Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park's 37th annual Alltel DirtCar Winternationals for a $7,000 UMP DirtCar Series victory. Site rundown video (free) | Speedweeks links | Pre-race notebook
Only Tuesday's rainout has stopped Moyer at Volusia, where he also dominated Monday's 30-lapper. The 50-year-old driver's Volusia success comes on the heels of his domination across the state at Tampa's East Bay Raceway Park, where he won three of his final four starts. Overall during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks beginning Jan. 23 in Brunswick, Ga., Moyer has racked up nearly $70,000 in earnings.
“I just hope I don’t wake up from this dream,” Moyer said. “Everything is just falling in line right now.”
Moyer's East Bay-Volusia performance, with five victories in his last six starts and five victories in eight starts overall, rival's O'Neal's 2002 showings. O'Neal won four of six at East Bay and two of five at Volusia for a best-ever Speedweeks total of six victories in 11 starts.
Josh Richards, who started in the third row, got up to second by a lap-13 restart and appeared as if he'd challenge Moyer. But after Richards stayed within several lengths for five laps, Moyer blew the field away after the final restart at lap 18, building a half-straightaway lead by lap 20 and leading by a full straightaway with just a few laps remaining. Lapped traffic hampered Moyer in the final laps, allowing Richards to cut the margin back to a half-straightaway, but Moyer's victory was never in doubt.
“I caught up to him and thought I might have a shot,” Richards said. “But he could stay smooth and consistent in the line he was running and I had to move around to try to find something, and then he got some distance on me.”
Richards was nearly a full second behind at the checkered flag while ninth-starting Clint Smith finished third. Steve Francis, who rallied from back in the pack to finish third on Monday, made a 14th-to-fourth charge Wednesday while Tim McCreadie survived a lap-eight scramble in turn four to finish fifth.
McCreadie overtook a slowing Dennis Erb Jr. on the final lap as Erb limped across the finish line with suspension problems after breaking his drivetrain. Erb, who started 19th, wasn't the only one. Justin Rattliff had rallied from 11th to third before dropping out on the 22nd lap, and fourth-starting Shane Clanton ran among the top five for 18 laps before pulling out after his left-rear wheel fell off. Jeep Van Wormer started outside the front row and was around at the finish, but he fell out of the top three after the lap-13 restart and ended up 16th, the last driver on the lead lap and just in front of Moyer at the checkered flag.
McCreadie, who started 13th, got banged around on the eighth lap in turn four when Dan Schlieper's car was pinballed out of the low groove. McCreadie restarted on the tail and steadily picked his way through to finish fifth.
Four caution periods slowed the feature between laps 7-18, none for serious incidents.
Volusia action continues Thursday evening with the $10,000-to-win opener on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. UMP returns for a $10,000-to-win event on Friday and Saturday's WoO feature also pays $10,000 to the winner. (Additional information from Kevin Kovac)
Finish: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Josh Richards, (3) Clint Smith, (4) Steve Francis, (5) Tim McCreadie, (6) Dennis Erb Jr., (7) Darren Miller, (8) Rick Eckert, (9) Donnie Moran, (10) Brady Smith, (11) Brandon Kinzer, (12) Jason Fitzgerald, (13) Billy Decker, (14) John Blankenship, (15) Vic Coffey, (16) Jeep Van Wormer, (17) Justin Rattliff, (18) Shane Clanton, (19) Darrell Lanigan, (20) Dan Schlieper, (21) Jimmy Owens, (22) Duke Whiseant, (23) Patrick Sheltra, (24) Dan Stone.
Preliminary events with corrected and official finishes:
Third consolation
Darren Miller took the lead from polesitter G.R. Smith on the eighth lap and led the rest of the way. Smith was trying to hang on to second in a last-lap battle with Donnie Moran, but Smith banged hard into the inside concrete in the first turn after a collision with Moran. Smith's car took a hard lick, but he wasn't injured. Moran finished second comfortably ahead of Shannon Babb, whose car suffered right-side damage in the consy. Ivedent Lloyd Jr., Monday's fast qualifier, was fourth. Only 13 of 20 scheduled starters began the race and several dropped out early, including sixth-starting Chub Frank, who had a tire peel off the rim entering turn one. He pulled off the track but caused a scramble behind him.
Finish: (1) Darren Miller, (2) Donnie Moran, (3) Shannon Babb, (4) Ivedent Lloyd Jr., (5) Brian Shirley, (6) Jake Redetzke, (7) Joe Isabell, (8) Russ Scheffler, (9) D.Jay Miller, (10) G.R. Smith, (11) Chub Frank, (12) Audie Swartz, (13) Lance Matthees, (14) C.J. Rayburn. Scratched: Joe Morris, Don Gordon, John Melvin, Matt Miller, Chuck Julien, Michael Walker.
Second consolation
Polesitter Billy Decker, a driver who ran among the top five in Monday's feature, led all the way to transfer to his second consecutive feature. Brady Smith fought off challenges from Frank Heckenast Jr. and Jackie Boggs to hold on to the second transfer spot. Michael Kloos ended up in third after Boggs dropped out in the late-going and Heckenast faded from contention. Chris Hackett, who started outside the front row, had a flat left rear tire on the first lap and dropped out. Wayne Chinn's early flat tire drew the race's only caution. Five of 20 starters scratched.
Finish: (1) Billy Decker, (2) Brady Smith, (3) Michael Kloos, (4) Frank Heckenast Jr., (5) Jared Hawkins, (6) Dillon Wood, (7) Mike Knight, (8) Jeff Alsip, (9) John Garvin Jr., (10) J.R. Hotovy, (11) Jackie Boggs, (12) Ricky Elliott, (13) Wendell Wallace, (14) Wayne Chinn, (15) Chris Hackett. Scratched: Tony Stewart, Steve Shaver, Eddie Carrier Jr., Danny Johnson, Terry Casey.
First consolation
Third-starting Dennis Erb. Jr. took the point from John Blankenship on the second lap and pulled away for the 10-lap victory. John Blankenship, who got the lead on the first lap when polesitter Don O'Neal got too high in turns one and two, held on to the second and final transfer spot by fighting off O'Neal amid traffic in the second half of the race. Tim Fuller was just behind O'Neal in fourth while Scott James was a distant fifth. A first-lap tangle between Luke Roffers and George Scheffler in the fourth turn left Roffers and Boom Briggs with damaged cars.
Finish: (1) Dennis Erb Jr., (2) John Blankenship, (3) Don O'Neal, (4) Tim Fuller, (5) Scott James, (6) Austin Dillon, (7) Josh McGuire, (8) Earl Pearson Jr., (9) Stacy Boles, (10) Jason McBride, (11) Al Purkey, (12) George Scheffler, (13) Andrew McKay, (14) Reid Millard, (15) Brian Dively, (16) Peter Mantha, (17) Mike Hammerle, (18) Matt Santel, (19) Luke Roffers, (20) Boom Briggs. Scratched: Dave Tychniewicz.
Sixth heat
Polesitter Brandon Kinzer outdragged fellow front-row starter Dan Schlieper out of the second turn on the first lap and led the rest of the way. Jason Fitzgerald took second from a sliding-up Schlieper in the third turn, but Schlieper stopped his slide there and held on to third. John Melvin finished fourth, but his race ended in a plume of smoke exiting turn four on the final lap as Darren Miller and Chub Frank nearly overtook him at the line. Joe Isabell started outside the second row but fell from contention.
Finish: (1) Brandon Kinzer, (2) Jason Fitzgerald, (3) Dan Schlieper, (4) John Melvin, (5) Darren Miller, (6) Chub Frank, (7) Jake Redetzke, (8) Joe Isabell, (9) Audie Swartz, (10) Lance Matthees, (11) C.J. Rayburn, (12) Michael Walker, (13) Don Gordon.
Fifth heat
After sitting out in protest of expensive tires on Monday night, Shane Clanton started on the pole and led all the way for an easy eight-lap victory. Justin Rattliff finished a half-straightaway behind in second while Vic Coffey was third in a race with some heavy hitters struggling. Donnie Moran started on the front row but quickly fell from contention. Brian Shirley, Monday's fast qualifier Ivedent Lloyd Jr., Shannon Babb and Matt Miller also finished deep in the field.
Finish: (1) Shane Clanton, (2) Justin Rattliff, (3) Vic Coffey, (4) G.R. Smith, (5) Donnie Moran, (6) Brian Shirley, (7) Ivedent Lloyd Jr., (8) Shannon Babb, (9) Bryan Barber, (10) Matt Miller, (11) D.Jay Miller, (12) Chuck Julien, (13) Joe Morris.
Fourth heat
In a battle of third-row starters, Jeep Van Wormer fought off repeated challenges from Darrell Lanigan over the final four laps to grab a victory. Lanigan finished a few lengths back in second while front-row starter Dan Stone was a distant third. Polesitter Ricky Elliott led the first four laps, but he pulled up lame exiting turn two and headed for the pits.
Finish: (1) Jeep Van Wormer, (2) Darrell Lanigan, (3) Dan Stone, (4) Chris Hackett, (5) Brady Smith, (6) Frank Heckenast Jr., (7) Jeff Alsip, (8) Dave Garvin Jr., (9) Ricky Elliott, (10) Danny Johnson: Scratched: Terry Casey, Wendell Wallace, Steve Shaver.
Third heat
Polesitter Billy Moyer won by a quarter-lap margin as he kept up his torrid pace during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks. Fourth-starting Clint Smith ran alone most of the way in second while fifth-starting Rick Eckert made a mid-race pass of Michael Kloos to grab the third and final transfer spot. Billy Decker ended up fourth and Jackie Boggs fifth ahead of Kloos.
Finish: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Clint Smith, (3) Rick Eckert, (4) Billy Decker, (5) Jackie Boggs, (6) Michael Kloos, (7) Wayne Chinn, (8) Eddie Carrier Jr., (9) Mike Knight, (10) Dillon Wood, (11) J.R. Hotovy, (12) Jared Hawkins. Scratch: Tony Stewart.
Second heat
Front-row starters Josh Richards and Jimmy Owens raced away from the field, lapping cars despite the short-eight lap distance. Richards led from the outset while the polesitting Owens couldn't quite stay in touch with the race-long leader. Fifth-starting Steve Francis picked up two spots to finish third ahead of John Blankenshiop and third-starting George Scheffler.
Finish: (1) Josh Richards, (2) Jimmy Owens, (3) Steve Francis, (4) John Blankenship, (5) George Scheffler, (6) Luke Roffers, (7) Boom Briggs, (8) Jason McBride, (9) Peter Mantha, (10) Mike Hammerle, (11) Stacy Boles, (12) Matt Santel. Scratch: Dave Tyrchniewicz.
First heat
Starting outside the front row, home-state driver Patrick Sheltra took the lead from the outset and pulled away for a victory over polesitter Duke Whiseant in a caution-free race. Fourth-starting Tim McCreadie got the third and final transfer spot over Don O'Neal while third-starting Austin Dillon faded to finish seventh. Earl Pearson Jr. was a non-factor in finishing 10th.
Finish: (1) Patrick Sheltra, (2) Duke Whiseant, (3) Tim McCreadie, (4) Don O'Neal, (5) Dennis Erb Jr., (6) Tim Fuller, (7) Austin Dillon, (8) Scott James, (9) Josh McGuire, (10) Earl Pearson Jr., (11) Al Purkey, (12) Andrew McKay, (13) Brian Dively, (14) Reid Millard.
Qualifying
Billy Moyer's impressive Georgia-Florida Speedweeks continued Wednesday night at Volusia Speedway Park's 37th annual Alltel DirtCar Winternationals as he topped 79 qualifiers in time trials. Moyer blazed to a 16.438-second lap at the D-shaped half-mile track near Daytona in preparation for the night's 30-lap, $7,000-to-win main event sanctioned by the UMP DirtCar Series.
Other drivers topping their qualifying groups and starting on the pole of their heat races: Duke Whiseant (16.954) of Texarkana, Ark.; Jimmy Owens (16.779) of Newport, Tenn.; Ricky Elliott (16.605) of Seaford, Del.; Shane Clanton (16.516) of Locust Grove, Ga.; and the night's final qualifier, Dan Schlieper (16.581) of Sullivan, Wis.
Pre-race notebook
Shannon Babb parked his Rayburn Race Car and is fielding a Rocket Chassis, the same car driven by his car owner Clint Bowyer in Monday's action. ... Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky., and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, were among drivers on hand Monday who didn't race but entered Wednesday's action. ... Other newcomers for Wednesday included Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., who is hoping to land the sponsorship to make a season-long run on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, which opens Thursday. ... Matt Santel of New Memphis, Ill., subbed in the No. 92B normally driven by Billy Faust. ... Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart was listed in the qualifying order but didn't take the track for time trials. ... DirtonDirt.com live updates continue through Thursday night.
