WHEATLAND, Mo. — At long last, Hall of Fame driver Scott Bloomquist solved the Lucas Oil Speedway puzzle.

The 54-year-old driver from Mooresburg, Tenn., inherited the lead Saturday on lap 69 when leader Jimmy Owens spun and went on to capture the 26th annual Show-Me 100 presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com in front of a capacity crowd of 8,000 fans. It was Bloomquist's record sixth Show-Me 100 victory — but first since the race moved to Lucas Oil Speedway in 2010 from its original home in West Plains, Mo.

“We were trying to be real smooth out there,” said Bloomquist, adding that his car didn’t feel quite as good as during Thursday’s preliminary feature victory. “Jimmy was pretty good there … I didn’t see exactly what happened there. That’s unfortunate for him. We were starting to put a little pressure and trying to find a groove and just find a place the car was happy. It would’ve been a good race at the end, but we didn’t have to do that. Everything turned out the way we like.”

For much of the race, it appeared a showdown was brewing between Bloomquist and Owens, who captured Friday’s $6,000 prelim. But after leading 61 of the first 69 laps, Owens spun after making contact with Earl Pearson Jr. in turn four when the cars briefly got hooked together. He parked for good with damage after another spin while attempting to rally on lap 78.

In the closing stages, Bloomquist fought off a few challenges from Bobby Pierce and Brian Shirley, then pulled away to win by more three seconds at the checkers.

Shirley, of Chatham, Ill., ended up second with Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., in third. Last year’s winner Pierce, of Oakwood, Ill., settled for fourth while battling carburetor problems and 12th-starting Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, rounded out the top five finishers.

But the postrace attention, as it was most of the weekend, was on Bloomquist. He earned $30,000 for his 89th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and 597th overall of his career.

“We’ve been coming here to this racetrack, we’d never won the Show-Me at this racetrack,” Bloomquist said. “We kind of had a seal on it over at West Plains for a while there, but this track’s quite a bit different, and it throws something different at you every year you come, you know?

“We’ve been playing with a lot of different things with our car. Again, I said coming into this weekend, the car felt as good or better than it’s ever been here. If not the best it’s ever felt here.”

Bloomquist last won the Show-Me 100 in 2008, the final of five times to win the race at West Plains Motor Speedway, but he ended any talk of a Wheatland jinx.

"When the Dirt Trax Dominator is out front, he's pretty hard to beat,” said Shirley, pleased with his second straight runner-up finish during the Memorial Day weekend. "We're fighting. We’ll keep digging and I think we're going to have a good year.”

Owens and Bloomquist started on the front row with Owens winning the sprint into the first turn. He led until Bloomquist made a pass coming to the start-finish line to complete lap 15.

Back came Owens to regain the lead, out of turn four on lap 23, just before the race's first caution flew one lap later as fourth-place-running Mason Zeigler's car came to a stop on the frontstretch.

Owens gradually pulled away after the restart and built up a 10-length lead by lap 40 over Bloomquist, Shirley, Pierce and Marlar. Jared Landers, who had gained eight positions from his 14th starting spot, spun in turn four to bring out a caution on lap 45 and bunched the field.

Owens and Bloomquist continued to run 1-2 until the race took a shocking turn on lap 69. Owens was attempting to make an inside pass of lapped car Earl Pearson Jr. when the right rear of his car somehow hooked Pearson's left-side and the leader spun in turn four to bring out the race's third caution. Owens, forced to go to the rear of the field, spun again in turn four on lap 78, heavily damaging his car and ending his once-promising night.

“(Pearson) was was kind of cutting the corner off a little bit, and when I committed in (to turn three) I didn’t know he was gonna cut the corner off,” Owens said. “So when I committed in a little hard and he turned down a little bit, it just left me right there. I went in a little hard, too, and my right-rear just barely caught his car … it was just one of them deals.”

Pierce moved into second on lap 80, but Shirley returned the favor as the duo pursued Bloomquist when Landers spun a lap later to bring out the final caution.

Pierce briefly used the high side to put some pressure on Bloomquist, but was unable to sustain it. Shirley moved into second and briefly flirted with a challenge before fading in the final laps.

26th annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Sweet-Bloomquist, $30,000
2. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Rocket, $15,000
3. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $10,000
4. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Rocket, $8,000
5. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, Longhorn, $6,000
6. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $5,000
7. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Black Diamond, $4,000
8. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $3,000
9. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $2,750
10. Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., Rocket, $2,600
11. Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $2,500
12. Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, Black Diamond, $2,475
13. Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., Black Diamond, $2,450
14. Shanon Buckingham (50), Morristown, Tenn., Rocket, $2,425
15. Don O’Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $2,400
16. B.J. Robinson (1), Bossier City, La., Black Diamond, $2,375
17. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., Longhorn, $2,350
18. Will Vaught (1v), Crane, Mo., Rocket, $2,325
19. Darrell Lanigan (14), Union, Ky., Club 29, $2,300
20. Mason Oberkramer (93), Brosley, Mo., Rocket, $2,250
21. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., Rocket, $2,200
22. Jared Landers (777), Batesville, Ark., Black Diamond, $2,150
23. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Rocket, $2,100
24. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., Moyer Victory, $2,050
25. Jesse Stovall (00), Billings, Mo., Black Diamond, $2,000
26. Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., Black Diamond, $2,000
27. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., Rocket, $2,000
28. Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., MB Customs, $2,000
29. Tony Jackson Jr. (14R), Lebanon, Mo., Rocket, $2,000
Lap leaders: Bloomquist 15-22, 70-100; Owens 1-14, 23-69.
Preliminary feature winners (among 66 cars): Bloomquist, Owens
Consolation winners: Satterlee, Pearson, Richards
Non-qualifiers’ race winner: Mars
Provisional starters: D. O’Neal, Lanigan, Jackson, Vaught

Feature updates

Lap 100: Bloomquist pulled away over final circuits to win his sixth Show-Me 100 — and first at Lucas Oil Speedway — by 3.012 seconds over Shirley. Marlar placed third, followed by Pierce, Chris Simpson, McCreadie, Erb, Davenport, Hudson O'Neal and Satterlee.

Lap 90: Bloomquist leads by 1.4 seconds over Shirley, who regained second from Pierce using inside lane on lap 86.

Lap 85: Bloomquist 1-second lead over Pierce, with Shirley running inside of him.

Lap 81: Caution for Jared Landers stopping on the inside of turn one ... Pierce had been racing outside Shirley for second, with both drivers not far behind Bloomquist.

Lap 78: Owens spins again in turn four to draw a caution flag, then drives backward on backstretch to pits and angrily retires from the race. Bloomquist leads Shirley, Pierce, Marlar, Chris Simpson, McCreadie, Babb, Richards, Erb and Hudson O'Neal.

Lap 69: Big development as third caution flies for Owens, who spun in turn four while lapping Pearson ... appeared that Owens's right-rear corner caught the left side of Pearson's car, pulling him around and putting him to the rear of the field. Bloomquist now leads Shirley, Pierce, Marlar, McCreadie, Chris Simpson, Babb, Buckingham, Richards and Erb.

Lap 65: Owens short lead over Bloomquist in heavy traffic ... Shirley, Pierce and Marlar follow.

Lap 45: Caution for Jared Landers, who spins in turn four while running sixth; he doesn't stop moving and blends back into field in 10th place. Owens leads Bloomquist, Shirley, Pierce, Marlar, McCreadie, Chris Simpson, Davenport, Buckingham and Landers.

Lap 24: First caution for Mason Zeigler, who stopped in turn four while running fourth. Owens leads Bloomquist, Shirley, Marlar, Pierce, Jared Landers, Davenport, Bronson, Chad Simpson and Hudson O'Neal.

Lap 23: Owens goes back in front with move underneath Bloomquist in traffic.

Lap 15: Bloomquist grabs lead from Owens.

Lap 10: Owens leads Bloomquist entering lapped traffic ... Shirley, Zeigler and Marlar follow.

Lap 1: Owens leads over Bloomquist.

10:51 p.m.: The green flag flies ...

10:45 p.m.: The feature field forms into a four-wide pace lap with fireworks filling the air.

Pre-feature notes

Driver introductions for the 29-car feature field began just before 10:30 p.m. CT. … While none of polesitter Scott Bloomquist’s five Show-Me 100 triumphs have come since the race moved to Lucas Oil Speedway, he has registered runner-up finishes in the race here in 2011, ’15 and ’16. … Outside polesitter Jimmy Owens has won three of his four Show-Me 100s starting from the front row: in 2011, ’12 and ’16. … Seventh-starter Bobby Pierce is shooting to become the first back-to-back Show-Me 100 winner since Owens captured three straight from 2011-13. … First-time Show-Me 100 feature starters are Austin Rettig, Kyle Bronson, Shanon Buckingham, B.J. Robinson and Mason Oberkramer. … Lucas Oil Series provisionals went to teammates Don O’Neal and Darrell Lanigan and MLRA provisionals were claimed by Will Vaught and Tony Jackson Jr., whose own No. 56 is sidelined by mechanical trouble so he will start the race driving Jeff Roth’s car.

Show-Me 100 lineup

Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Brian Shirley, Hudson O’Neal
Row 3: Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler
Row 4: Bobby Pierce, Austin Rettig
Row 5: Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson
Row 6: Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson
Row 7: Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers
Row 8: Shanon Buckingham, B.J. Robinson
Row 9: Dennis Erb Jr., Billy Moyer
Row 10: Gregg Satterlee, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 11: Josh Richards, Jesse Stovall
Row 12: Shannon Babb, Mason Oberkramer
Row 13: Don O’Neal, Darrell Lanigan
Row 14: Tony Jackson Jr., Will Vaught
Row 15: Jimmy Mars

Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge

Jimmy Mars led the 20-lap event from flag-to-flag, but he had to turn back a late threat from Chase Junghans to secure the victory by 0.510 of a second over the Kansas driver. Mars decided to forego the $2,500 first-place prize and start at the rear of the Show-Me 100’s field. The race’s most significant incident occurred on lap 11 when Matt Furman slammed the turn-three wall hard. His car swapped ends and nearly flipped — drawing a red flag — but he wasn’t injured.

Finish: Jimmy Mars, Chase Junghans, Jack Sullivan, Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr., Austin Siebert, Kaeden Cornell, Dave Eckrich, Kolby Vandenbergh, Scott Crigler, Mitch McGrath, Justin Duty, Jeff Roth, J.C. Wyman, Joe Godsey, Matt Furman, Cade Dillard, Al Humphrey, Jake Davis, Logan Martin, Reid Millard, Payton Looney, Brad Looney, Tyler Erb.

Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge lineup

(20 laps; winner has option to take $2,500 or 100 starting spot)
Row 1: Jake Davis, Jimmy Mars
Row 2: Cade Dillard, Austin Siebert
Row 3: Logan Martin, Chase Junghans
Row 4: Brandon Sheppard, Jack Sullivan
Row 5: Frank Heckenast Jr., Joey Moriarty
Row 6: Jeff Roth, Scott Crigler
Row 7: J.C. Wyman, Joe Godsey
Row 8: Matt Furman, Tyler Erb
Row 9: Mitch McGrath, Kolby Vandenbergh
Row 10: Dave Eckrich, Brad Looney
Row 11: Raymond Merrill, Reid Millard
Row 12: Gavin Landers, Payton Looney

Third B-main

Josh Richards led from flag-to-flag to win by 0.949 of a second over Mason Oberkramer, who overtook Brandon Sheppard for second on a lap-nine restart. Sheppard faded to a fifth-place finish in his family-owned machine. The original start was negated by an incident before a lap was completed that began when Payton Looney spun between turns three and four and was clipped in his car’s nose by Tyler Erb; Erb’s right-side damage was accented by a blow he received in the left-rear from Jeremy Grady, whose car was the only one of those involved to be towed off. Erb continued after a pit stop but spun in turn two on lap four after contact from behind by Joey Moriarty; Erb’s rough night went on to include his involvement in a homestretch tangle on lap nine and a bounce into the air in turn four on lap 13. Two cautions were triggered by Reid Millard, who spun on laps six and seven at opposite ends of the track.

Finish (15 laps; top 2 transfer): Josh Richards, Mason Oberkramer, Cade Dillard, Logan Martin, Brandon Sheppard, Joey Moriarty, J.C. Wyman, Tyler Erb, Dave Eckrich, Reid Millard, Payton Looney, Jeremy Grady, Mark Burgtorf.

Second B-main

Earl Pearson Jr. led the entire distance, maintaining a short-but-safe lead over Shannon Babb for the final 14 circuits to beat the Illinois driver by 0.942 of a second. Jimmy Mars lost second to Babb on a lap-one restart and settled for a distant third-place finish. Caution flags flew were needed on lap one when Kaeden Cornell ended up spun around in turn two following a multi-car scramble and lap six when Tony Jackson Jr. stopped on the backstretch with mechanical trouble.

Finish (15 laps; top 2 transfer): Earl Pearson Jr., Shannon Babb, Jimmy Mars, Austin Siebert, Don O’Neal, Frank Heckenast Jr., Scott Crigler, Matt Furman, Kolby Vandenbergh, Raymond Merrill, Darrell Lanigan, Kaeden Cornell, Tony Jackson Jr., Cole Wells.

First B-main

The race began with Gregg Satterlee spinning in turn two after contact with Jesse Stovall, but with Jake Davis also twirling it became a two-car incident without a lap completed and thus both drivers got their starting spots back. Satterlee took full advantage of the break, passing race-long pacesetter Will Vaught for the lead on a lap-10 restart and marching on to win by 2.448 seconds over Jesse Stovall, who overtook Vaught for second exiting turn two on the final circuit. Davis also slipped past Vaught on the last lap to finish third. Caution flags also flew on lap 10 when Justin Duty spun in turn one while running fifth and the 11th circuit when Gavin Landers ended up sitting disabled in turn four needing wrecker service.

Finish (15 laps; top 2 transfer): Gregg Satterlee, Jesse Stovall, Jake Davis, Will Vaught, Chase Junghans, Jack Sullivan, Jeff Roth, Joe Godsey, Mitch McGrath, Brad Looney, Gavin Landers, Justin Duty, Al Humphrey, Blonde Bomber Mitchell.

Pre-race notes

One year after Saturday night’s Show-Me 100 finale was postponed to Sunday evening by heavy storms that swept over the track, the 2018 edition of the crown jewel event is concluding under gorgeous, albeit a bit hot, conditions. Skies are brilliantly sunny and temperatures have soared to around 90 degrees with the chance of rain appearing to be virtually non-existent. … Not surprisingly, the most popular pit-area conversation item on Saturday is the penalty Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., received from Lucas Oil Series officials Friday night because his crewman, Jordan Bland,  attempted to manipulate the pre-race draw for qualifying positions in Bloomquist’s possible favor by illicitly acquiring the No. 2 ball from the bingo spinner cage the tour uses for the pre-race draw. … Friday-night feature winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., is scheduled to start the 100-lapper from the outside pole — an unobstructed view the four-time race champion has become very familiar with for the initial green flag of the Show-Me 100. This year marks the sixth time in nine Show-Me 100s at Lucas Oil Speedway that Owens will start from the front row. … Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., cut short his first competitive appearance of the month, leaving in disappointing fashion Friday night after his car sustained heavy damage when he couldn’t avoid hitting Owens’s sideways car on the opening circuit of a heat race. … Other drivers who have scratched from Saturday evening’s B-mains are Cliff Morrow, Bryon Allison, Shannon Scott, Joseph Gorby, Aaron Poe and Terry Phillips, a former Show-Me 100 champion who headed north run USTMS-sanctioned modified events after competing in Thursday evening’s program. … Justin Duty of Molino, Ore., was still replaying the initial start of Friday night’s 40-lap feature in his mind as he prepared for Saturday’s action. The young racer had a golden opportunity to register a career-best Lucas Oil Series run after winning the first heat to earn the pole position for the A-main, but he lost control of his car between turns one and two on the opening lap and spun. “Driver error,” he mourned. “I thought it was gonna be real bad, but at least everybody missed us.” … Payton Looney of Republic, Mo., added two more problems to the litany of headaches he’s experienced in Show-Me 100 competition on Friday night. He discovered shortly before the start of hot laps that the replacement rearend he acquired from fellow racer Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon, Mo., didn’t fit his car correctly, leaving his car’s setup off so much that he spent the remainder of the night racing with the knowledge that he wasn’t 100 percent — and during hot laps insult was added to injury when loose lug nuts allowed his car’s left-front wheel to fly off. Looney said he changed tubes in the left side of the rearend and made other adjustments to the right side this afternoon and is hopeful that he’ll be back in form in his B-main. ... This evening's program is being broadcast live on MAV-TV.

Pre-race setup

The 26th annual Show-Me 100 presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Lucas Oil Speedway weekend concludes on Saturday night with the headline $30,000-to-win event. Three B-mains and the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge Last Chance Race will be run to complete the field for the 100-lap feature.

Friday-night preliminary feature winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., will start from the pole position after accumulating the most points in the Thursday and Friday preliminary programs. He will be joined on the front row by four-time and defending Show-Me 100 winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who captured Friday night’s A-main.

Eighteen drivers are locked into the Show-Me 100 after the preliminary events. Six more drivers will transfer through the three 15-lap B-mains, with the remainder of the field filled out by two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series provisionals; two Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Association provisionals; the last-chance race winner (if the victor opts to take the starting spot rather than the Show-Me Challenge payoff); a past Show-Me provisional; and any drivers eligible for Lucas Oil Series emergency provisionals.

Tonight’s drivers’ meeting is set for 6 p.m. CT. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with the three B-Mains kicking off the competitive portion of the show at 7:05 p.m.

Show-Me 100 lineup

Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Brian Shirley, Hudson O’Neal
Row 3: Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler
Row 4: Bobby Pierce, Austin Rettig
Row 5: Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson
Row 6: Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson
Row 7: Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers
Row 8: Shanon Buckingham, B.J. Robinson
Row 9: Dennis Erb Jr., Billy Moyer
Row 10: Gregg Satterlee, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 11: Josh Richards, Jesse Stovall
Row 12: Shannon Babb, Mason Oberkramer
Row 13: Lucas Oil provisionals
Row 14: Lucas emergency provisionals
Row 15: MLRA provisionals
Row 16: NQ winner, Past Show-Me winner

B-main lineups

(15 laps; top 2 transfer)
First B-main
Row 1: Jesse Stovall, Will Vaught
Row 2: Gavin Landers, Gregg Satterlee
Row 3: Chase Junghans, Jack Sullivan
Row 4: Brad Looney, Justin Duty
Row 5: Mitch McGrath, Joe Godsey
Row 6: Billy Moyer Jr., Al Humphrey
Row 7: Jake Davis, Blonde Bomber Mitchell
Row 8: Jeff Roth, Terry Phillips
Second B-main
Row 1: Jimmy Mars, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 2: Frank Heckenast Jr., Shannon Babb
Row 3: Austin Siebert, Don O’Neal
Row 4: Scott Crigler, Raymond Merrill
Row 5: Kolby Vandenbergh, Tony Jackson Jr.
Row 6: Matt Furman, Cole Wells
Row 7: Kaeden Cornell, Darrell Lanigan
Row 8: Shannon Scott, Aaron Poe
Third B-main
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards
Row 2: Mason Oberkramer, Logan Martin
Row 3: Payton Looney, Cade Dillard
Row 4: Joey Moriarty, Dave Eckrich
Row 5: Tyler Erb, J.C. Wyman
Row 6: Mark Burgtorf, Jeremy Grady
Row 7: Reid Millard, Joseph Gorby
Row 8: Bryon Allison, Cliff Morrow