Volunteer Speedway
McDowell leads every lap of Spring Nat'ls opener
By Joshua Joiner
DirtonDirt.com staff writer
Dale McDowell heads to a $4,000 Spring Nationals victory at Bulls Gap. (Chad Wells)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (March 15) — Polesitter Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., dominated Friday night’s opening round of the weekend’s Spring Thaw doubleheader at Volunteer Speedway, claiming a flag-to-flag victory in the inaugural event of Ray Cook’s Spring Nationals tour.
McDowell got the jump on fellow front-row starter Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., on the start of the race and never looked back. He remained steady when heavy traffic allowed Ogle to close the gap around the race’s halfway mark, and later pulled away on a pair of late restarts as he cruised to a $4,000 victory in a tune-up event for Saturday’s $10,000-to-win Spring Thaw finale at Volunteer’s 4/10-mile oval. | Video | Slideshow
The winner of Saturday night’s 50-lap main event may leave with a bigger payday, but McDowell will go down as the first-ever winner on Cook’s new series.
“This is definitely a special win for us,” said McDowell, who earned a $10,000 payday at last year’s Spring Thaw when the event was ran as a single unsanctioned race. “Ray and I have kinda group up racing together, so it’s pretty neat to win this first race on his new series. And there’s some good cars here. There’s a lot of good competition, and that also helps to make ya feel good about it.”
Ogle settled for second in the 40-lap race ahead of sixth-starting Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., who was the only car among the front-runners to move forward. Casebolt’s advancement shuffled third-starting Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., back to fourth at the checkers, while fourth-starting David Payne of Murphy, N.C., finished fifth.
In a race that was mostly contested in a single lane around the middle of the track surface, the initial start of the race proved critical. McDowell had no problem pulling away from Ogle and the rest of the pack, but he struggled at times to get around slower traffic as the race’s first 33 laps ran green. McDowell’s struggles with lapped showed just how tough it was to pass on a night when Volunteer produced a track surface that was dryer than what’s typical for the high-banked track.
“I think the start was very important because I really don’t think I could’ve passed him,” McDowell said. “So we were fortunate to get ahead on the start, but if it was reversed, I think we would’ve probably ran second.”
Ogle also felt that the start was the race’s deciding moment. He was also unhappy about it, feeling as though McDowell fired early.
“I didn’t really like the start. I think he fired way early and that really got me behind,” Ogle said. “That was pretty big there because I think if we got out front we had a really good shot at holding him off.
We were able to regain and get back to him, but I could never get up beside him after I got to him. I thought I was gonna have a chance to in the traffic, but he always got ‘em cleared just as I got to him.”
Both McDowell and Ogle will look to make improvements to their machines for Saturday’s complete racing program, which unlike Friday’s event will include heat races as part of the preliminary action for the Spring Nationals event.
“We’ve gotta make a few adjustments,” McDowell said. “I feel like I need to be a little bit better in lapped traffic and I need to be able pass. They locked 10 of us in (from qualifying) tonight, but the heat races could make things different. You definitely want to have a car you that you can maneuver around in traffic.”
“I’m happy with second tonight, but maybe we can one-up it tomorrow,” said Ogle, who last season claimed a $10,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory at Volunteer. “We’ll do a few things to try and get a little better. But I like where we’re at right now. I feel really good about tomorrow.”
The weekend doubleheader makes up the first two rounds of the 10-race Spring Nationals miniseries. Including Volunteer’s events, the races are all spread over four weekends with the final event slated for May 11.
Notes: McDowell’s Team Dillon Racing entry is sponsored by Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Cometic Gaskets and Big Dog Motorsports. ... McDowell earned his second victory of the season after also claiming a $4,000 victory in March 8’s unsanctioned special event at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Ga. ... The first 33 laps of Friday’s race ran caution free with the first caution coming when Vic Hill of Mosheim, Tenn., spun on lap 33. Mark Vineyard of Knoxville, Tenn., spun a lap later to bring out the second caution. ... Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., gave up his 12th starting spot and dropped to the tail of the field before the start. He made a few laps before pulling into the infield. ... Devin Friese of Chambersburg, Pa., won a four-lap last-last chance scramble race to the race’s final starting spot. ... Volunteer hosts the Spring Nationals again Saturday night for the $10,000-to-win Spring Thaw finale. The weekend doubleheader makes up the first two rounds of the 10-race Spring Nationals that's spread over four weekends between now and May 11.
Spring Thaw: (1) Dale McDowell, (2) Billy Ogle Jr., (3) Steve Casebolt, (4) Chris Madden, (5) David Payne, (6) Steve Francis, (7) John Blankenship, (8) Tyler Millwood, (9) Casey Roberts, (10) Ty Dillon, (11) Eric Wells, (12) Jared Landers, (13) Eric Jacobsen, (14) Mark Vineyard, (15) Mark Douglas, (16) Devin Friese, (17) Joey Coulter, (18) Vic Hill, (19) Coy Hedgecock, (20) Stacey Boles, (21) Michael Chilton, (22) Josh Collins, (23) Scott Bloomquist. Fast qualifier (among 29 cars): McDowell, 12.912 seconds. Consolation winners: Dillon, Bloomquist. Last chance winner: Friese.
