Bloomquist Scores Attica Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Win; Holtgraver Takes UNOH All Star Victory
By Brian Liskai: (Attica, OH) Making his first ever visit to Attica Raceway Park, Scott Bloomquist survived a two-lap dash to the finish for his fifth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season worth $10,000 on Detroit Chocolat Night.
Bloomquist led all 50-laps in his Ole Smoky Moonshine, Lucas Oil Products sponsored Sweet-Bloomquist entry. Bloomquist, from Mooresburg, Tenn., earned his 51st career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory out dueling Steve Francis, Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Owens, and Mason Zeigler to round out the top five.
“It was a little bit of work out there. Depending on how you came off the corners with those…mobiles I guess you’d call them…they’d definitely throw you around. You had to pay attention where the wall was at. The car was awesome…I could run anywhere on the race track. But with two to go I felt something..like something jarred on the car. Like a lot of races this year I was wondering if I’d lose this on the last lap,” said Bloomquist.
“This is our first time here; everyone knows our winning percentage at new tracks in my career is pretty good. This is really a nice track. I hoped the fans enjoyed this show,” said the 50-year-old veteran.
“We are a little short of help this weekend, but everybody did a great job. I had to groove the tires and do some other things, but overall the car handled so well all night long. We have been so close to winning other races this year; I was determined to win this tonight. I have to thank Ole Smoky Moonshine, Penske Shocks, Hawkeye Trucking, Base Fuels, Lucas Oil Products, and Durham Race Engines.”
Both Francis and Pearson took a shot at Bloomquist in the final two circuits, but they came up short of going to victory lane.
“I caught a rock about half way through and tore the face shield off so we just were trying to see where we were going. It’s our second straight runner-up finish,” said Francis, who brought his Clint Bowyer Racing, Georgia Boot, Barry Wright Race Cars entry across the line for another podium finish. “We are really running well here lately. It’s great to be back in the mix for a win. Scott could run straighter up off the corner than we could. I slipped back to fifth at one point, and the car was so much better up top. We just didn’t have anything for Scott on that final restart. The way it turned out, we were fortunate to hold off Earl for second.”
Pearson finished third in his Bobby Labonte Racing, Lucas Oil Products, Longhorn Chevrolet. “With the way our season has gone this year, I didn’t know what was going to happen on that final restart. The car was good all race long, it would run better down low on the track. I thought I was going to get by Steve there a couple of times, but we will take this finish…I think we run third here last year. Hopefully when we come back we can move up a spot or two.”
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Danny Holtgraver would lead all 30 laps of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions feature to score the victory. It was the third UNOH All Star win of the year for Holtgraver and the third overall career win at Attica for the driver of the Rob Hunter Racing #10h. Holtgraver has seven total wins in 2014.
“I didn’t want to see the lapped cars with five to go. I caught them pretty quick and I thought I might be able to get around them but they were just as fast. I was struggling there. I knew Caleb (Griffith) would be there. Clean air definitely helped tonight…I was able to get out front and go,” said Holtgraver beside his Seneca Energy Corp. /Berlin Natural Bakery/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/DKW Transport backed machine.
“I can’t thank Rob Hunter enough for giving me this opportunity. And my dad, Earl, Josh, Pup…everyone that helps out. It’s a lot of fun and hopefully we can turn things around here at the end of the season and get some good runs,” added Holtgraver.
“Anyone that knows me knows I’m not real comfortable on the cushion and I wasn’t really beating it down. There was enough there to keep up my momentum. I knew I could run the bottom…luckily I was good enough to get it done. We were fast out of the box tonight and that’s where we’ve been struggling at the beginning of the night. So hopefully if we can come out tomorrow like this…it makes your night a lot easier,” concluded Holtgraver.
After a fantastic battle with Rob Chaney and Byron Reed, Attica’s 2014 track champion Caleb Griffith would take the second spot.
“We were pretty good night. I saw Big Dan (Holtgraver’s dad) come out on the red and he changed his line so I thought I could switch my line around and it looked okay for awhile and I thought we were going to get to him. But then he legged it out a little and when he got stuck in traffic Rob (Chaney) got to us and raced us hard. Bringing home second is a good effort,” said Griffith beside his Al Davis Carpet/McDonald’s/JLH General Contractor/Shelluke’s Bar/Crown Battery/B&L Plumbing/Griff’s Engines/Bethesda Care Center/Erlin Trader/Ballville EZ Shop backed machine.
Byron Reed, who scored his first win of the season last Saturday at Attica, would storm from his 11th starting spot for a third place finish.
“This isn’t generally the type of track I do well on so it feels good to run well on this. I think if I would have found the top in one and two sooner I could have gotten up there to run with them. But, once I got back up there I started catching them again. I happy with how we did,” said Reed beside his Crown Battery/Kistler Engines/ProShocks backed #5.
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – Scott Bloomquist #0
In the 50 lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature, Bloomquist and Francis would bring the field to green with Bloomquist gaining the advantage over Earl Pearson Jr., Francis, Jimmy Owens, and Mason Zeigler. Pearson would grab second on lap two.
Just as things seemed like they would get interesting as the leaders prepared to enter heavy lapped traffic, the caution flew on lap 12 when Ryan Markham stopped with a flat tire. Just prior Bloomquist made a daring move, splitting two lapped cars in turn three.
When the green flew again, Bloomquist pulled away from Francis, Pearson, Zeigler (who won the Summer Nationals event at Attica in July), Brian Birkhofer, Jared Landers, and Owens. Landers would spin on lap 15 to slow the race pace. When the green flew so did Bloomquist, pulling away with the battle for second heating up between Francis, Pearson and Zeigler.
As Bloomquist drove away, Pearson would take second on lap 15, bringing Zeigler to third. Zeigler would take second on lap 17 and he Pearson and Francis continues to battle hard over the next hand full of laps. The caution would fly for a Rocky Owens spin on lap 17.
The restart order was Bloomquist, Zeigler, Francis, Pearson and Owens. When the race went back to green again Bloomquist drove away from the tremendous battle for second with Zeigler, Francis and Pearson swapping the spot all over the track. Pearson would take the runner-up son on lap 20 but Zeigler continue to hound him.
The leaders would finally find lapped traffic on lap 29 and Bloomquist had a nearly three second lead over Francis, Zeigler, Pearson, Owens, Don O’Neal and Birkhofer. Nothing would change in the top six through lap 40. Pearson would finally take third on lap 41.
Bloomquist was on cruise control, extending his lead to nearly four second when the caution flew with two laps to go when Jason Papich spun in turn four. That would put Francis, Pearson, Zeigler, Owens and O’Neal right on Bloomquist rear bumper.
When the green came for the two lap dash to the finish, Bloomquist drove away for the win over Francis and Pearson. Owens would get around Zeigler to take fourth.
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UNOH All-Star Circuit of Champions – Danny Holtgraver #10H
In the 30-lap UNOH All Star feature, Rob Chaney and Holtgraver would bring the field to green. But, before a lap could be completed Lee Jacobs would spin in turn two, collecting Caleb Armstrong. On the ensuing restart, Holtgraver would drive into the lead over Chaney, Duane Zablocki, Caleb Griffith, Cap Henry, Sheldon Haudenschild, Chris Andrews and Byron Reed.
Griffith would drive into third on lap two and battled with Chaney for the runner-up spot. Holtgraver would blast away on the high line as Griffith took second on lap four. The race would grind to a halt on lap seven when Jody Keegan tipped over in turn three. The restart order was Holtgraver, Griffith, Chaney, Zablocki, Reed, Sheldon Haudenschild, Henry, Andrews, Jac Haudenschild (up from 16th) and Dale Blaney (up from 18th).
Holtgraver got a tremendous restart but Griffith stayed within striking distance as Chaney and Reed battle for third. Brian Lay would spin in turn four on lap 10 for another caution. A lap later and Stuart Brubaker spun for the race’s final caution.
The restart with 19 laps to go had Holtgraver over Griffith, Chaney, Reed, Sheldon Haudenschild, Zablocki, Henry and Jac Haudenschild. As Holtgraver held his line to maintain the lead when the green reappeared, Griffith, Chaney, Reed and Sheldon Haudenschild waged a darn good battle. Reed would take third on lap 14 only to see Chaney regain the spot a circuit later.
Holtgraver could not shake Griffith as Chaney and Reed continued their war for third with Sheldon Haudenschild, Zablocki, Henry and Blaney in tow. Holtgraver finally caught the back of the pack with five laps remaining and had to move his high line to the bottom and Griffith closed. Reed would use the traffic to finally take third on lap 27.
Holtgraver would navigate through the traffic to take the win over Griffith, Reed, Chaney and Zablocki.
Attica Raceway Park – 8/29/2014
Detroit Chocolat Night
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – 31 cars
[#]-Starting Position
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 14.329 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Steve Francis / 14.563 seconds
Fast Shafts Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
Scott Bloomquist, Mason Zeigler, Don O’Neal, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jason Papich, Matt Irey, Larry Bellman, Steve Sabo
Eibach Springs Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
Earl Pearson, Jr., Jared Landers, Jason Hughes, Rocky Owens, Shane McLoughlin, Douglas Baird, Devin Moran, Steve Casebolt
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
Steve Francis, Brian Birkhofer, John Blankenship, Larry Kingseed, Ryan Missler, Ross Nicastri, Cody Scott, Chris Keller
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
Jimmy Owens, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Jeff Babcock, Ryan Markham, Devin Shiels, John Bores, Mike Bores
JRi
Shocks B-Main #1 (12 Laps, Top 6 Transfer) Finish:
Jason Papich, Shane McLoughlin, Devin Moran, Ryan Missler, Chris Keller, Matt Irey, Devin Shiels, Larry Bellman, John Bores, Ross Nicastri, Steve Sabo, Douglas Baird, Mike Bores, Cody Scott, Steve Casebolt-DNS
A-Main – (50 Laps)
1. O-Scott Bloomquist[1]; 2. 15-Steve Francis[2]; 3. 44-Earl Pearson Jr.[3]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 5. 25Z-Jason Zeigler[5]; 6. 5-Don O’Neal[9]; 7. 15B-Brian Birkhofer[6]; 8. 23-John Blankenship[10]; 9. 28-Eddir Carrier Jr.[8]; 10. 777-Jared Landers[7]; 11. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr.[13]; 12. 12-Jason Hughes[11]; 13. 5M-Ryan Markham[16]; 14. 36-Matt Irey[22]; 15. 91P-Jason Papich[17]; 16. OO-Chris Keller[21]; 17. 99M-Devin Moran[19]; 18. 9M-Shane McLoughlin[18]; 19. 15BX-Mike Bores[24]; 20. 1B-Jeff Babcock[12]; 21. 29-Rocky Owens[15]; 22. 50Y-Ryan Missler[20]; 23. 21-Larry Kingseed[14]; 24. 48-John Bores[25]; 25. C9-Steve Casebolt[23]
Hard Charger: 36-Matt Irey[+8]
UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprints (30 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 81-Lee Jacobs, 12.651; 2. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 12.663; 3. 9X-Rob Chaney, 12.681; 4. 60K-Jody Keegan, 12.719; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.766; 6. 55F-Taylor Ferns, 12.779; 7. 53-Cap Henry, 12.857; 8. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.883; 9. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.884; 10. 22-Cole Duncan, 12.943; 11. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.950; 12. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 12.950; 13. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.968; 14. 4-Danny Smith, 13.002; 15. 24H-Brandon Wimmer, 13.033; 16. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 13.048; 17. 98H-Dave Blaney , 13.056; 18. 9W-Jac Haudenschild, 13.059; 19. 6M-Max Stambaugh, 13.148; 20. 14K-Dale Blaney , 13.183; 21. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.197; 22. 11X-Brandon Martin , 13.205; 23. 11N-Randy Hannagan, 13.220; 24. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.220; 25. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 13.236; 26. 9-Dean Jacobs, 13.340; 27. 33M-Beau Stewart, 13.372; 28. 45-Tim Shaffer, 13.512; 29. 7-Troy Kingan, 13.817; 30. 40I-Mark Imler, 14.028
Heat 1 – Kear’s Speed Shop (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5R-Byron Reed[3] ; 2. 1ST-Gary Taylor[7] ; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs[6] ; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 6. 7-Troy Kingan[8] ; 7. 91-Cale Thomas[1] ; 8. 98H-Dave Blaney [2]
Heat 2 – All Pro Aluminum Heads (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4-Danny Smith[3] ; 2. 11X-Brandon Martin [1] ; 3. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[6] ; 4. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[2] ; 5. 9-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 6. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 7. 55F-Taylor Ferns[5] ; 8. 40I-Mark Imler[8]
Heat 3 – Dragon Racing Fuels (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 11N-Randy Hannagan[1] ; 2. 53-Cap Henry[5] ; 3. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[3] ; 4. 6M-Max Stambaugh[2] ; 5. 9X-Rob Chaney[6] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 7. 33M-Beau Stewart[7]
Heat 4 – Kinsler Fuel Injection (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 14K-Dale Blaney [2] ; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[3] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[1] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[5] ; 5. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[4] ; 6. 45-Tim Shaffer[7] ; 7. 60K-Jody Keegan[6]
Dash – Jake’s Custom Golf Carts (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 9X-Rob Chaney[2] ; 2. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[1] ; 3. 53-Cap Henry[4] ; 4. 81-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 5. 16-Chris Andrews[6] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[3]
B-Main – MSD Ignitions (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 45-Tim Shaffer[8] ; 2. 22-Cole Duncan[3] ; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 4. 60K-Jody Keegan[1] ; 5. 33M-Beau Stewart[7] ; 6. 55F-Taylor Ferns[2] ; 7. 40I-Mark Imler[10] ; 8. 7-Troy Kingan[9]
UNOH A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[2]; 2. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[8]; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[11]; 4. 9X-Rob Chaney[1]; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[6]; 6. 53-Cap Henry[3]; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7]; 8. 16-Chris Andrews[5]; 9. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[16]; 10. 14K-Dale Blaney [18]; 11. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[10]; 12. 6M-Max Stambaugh[17]; 13. 11X-Brandon Martin [19]; 14. 9-Dean Jacobs[23]; 15. 11N-Randy Hannagan[20]; 16. 1ST-Gary Taylor[22]; 17. 35-Stuart Brubaker[14]; 18. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[15]; 19. 81-Lee Jacobs[4]; 20. 22-Cole Duncan[13]; 21. 45-Tim Shaffer[24]; 22. 45L-Brian Lay[21]; 23. 60K-Jody Keegan[12]; 24. 4-Danny Smith[9]
Hard Charger: 9-Dean Jacobs[+9]
©2014 – Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH