Tri-City Speedway
Pearson rules Tri-City for fourth straight victory
By James Essex
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Dale McDowell flipped in time trials; he wasn't injured. (stlracingphotos.com)
GRANITE CITY, Ill. (July 16) — Polesitter Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., led all 50 laps Friday at Tri-City Speedway to become the first driver in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series history to win four straight features. Pearson took home $10,000 for his Budweiser 50 as he withstood mid-race challenges from several drivers for his series-leading seventh victory. | Video | Slideshow
Fellow front-row starter Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., was second followed by series points leader Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, took the fourth spot from Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., on the final lap.
"I want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight,” Pearson said in victory lane. "I would like to give credit to my crew for all of their hard work, and the guys back at the race shop.”
The top five set a blistering pace early with Pearson breaking away from the field to build a comfortable lead on Bloomquist, Moyer, Chris Wall of Holden, La., and Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind. But a lap-21 caution for Tyler Reddick changed the race’s dynamics.
After the restart, Pearson maintained his patented low groove while Bloomquist and Owens found traction on the top groove of the racing surface, allowing them to close in on Pearson by the halfway mark. Moyer made it a three-car battle for second, using the same line as Pearson while the 10th-starting Birkhofer made a mid-race surge, taking fifth from O’Neal on lap 31.
Moyer took second from Bloomquist with four laps to go, but he couldn’t catch Pearson at the 4/10-mile oval near St. Louis, Mo.
Notes: Pearson’s Bobby Labonte-owned MasterSbilt Race Car is powered by a Larry Wallace Racing Engine and sponsored by Lucas Oil Products and Red Buck Cigars. ... Dale McDowell’s 23rd-to-seventh run gave him the PBM-Erson Cams Hard Charger honors. McDowell flipped his primary car in time trials when he got into the wall. His backup car was damaged in a heat race wreck, but his crew made repairs and he took a provisional starting spot in the main event. ... Among drivers failing to make the main event: Mark Voigt, Brian Shirley, John Anderson, Rodney Melvin, Kevin Weaver, Rickey Frankel, Bryan Collins and Jeremy Payne. ... The Tri-City event will be featured as an hour-long broadcast on Speed at 1 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 7. ... The Lucas Oil Series moves to Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., on Saturday for the fourth annual CMH Diamond Nationals, a $10,000-to-win event.
Budweiser 50: (1) Earl Pearson Jr., (2) Billy Moyer, (3) Scott Bloomquist, (4) Brian Birkhofer, (5) Jimmy Owens, (6) Don O’Neal, (7) Dale McDowell, (8) John Blankenship, (9) Jimmy Mars, (10) Ray Cook, (11) Steve Casebolt, (12) Chris Wall, (13) Brady Smith, (14) Brad Neat, (15) Tim Isenberg, (16) Terry Phillips, (17) Wendell Wallace, (18) Mark Burgtorf, (19) Eric Wells, (20) Chad Zobrist, (21) Dan Schlieper, (22) Craig Smith, (23) Bub McCool, (24) Tyler Reddick, (25) Billy Moyer Jr. Fast qualifier (among 42 cars): Pearson, 14.753 seconds. Heat race winners: Pearson, Casebolt, Moyer, O’Neal. Consolation winners: McCool, Neat. Provisional starters: McDowell, Reddick, Smith.
