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CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 8) — Jimmy Owens found himself in a familiar location Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The winningest driver in Bad Boy Buggies World of Outlaws World Finals history stood in victory lane at Charlotte yet again after winning a wild World of Outlaws Late Model Series finale at the 4/10-mile oval.
Owens, 42, of Newport, Tenn., came out on top of a tight back-and-forth battle with Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., midway through Saturday's 50-lap race to earn $12,050 for his record sixth World Finals victory. Owens' 10th-career WoO triumph came in front of a sellout crowd as the national tour concluded its season at Charlotte's prestigious three-day event.
"It's awesome to come here and get this win," said Owens, who claimed his third series victory of the season. "This is a really big race for us because there's always a big crowd and there's always stiff competition here. These are the best drivers in the country and to beat them never gets old.”
Owens' victory gave Club 29 Race Cars a sweep of the weekend. Friday's race was claimed by Club 29 founder and house car driver Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who wrapped up his third WoO LMS championship with his record 17th series victory of the season.
Lanigan, who finished fifth Saturday, was also on the stage Saturday night celebrating his season title and the $100,000 champion's paycheck.
"It's been just a unbelievable year on the series," said Lanigan, who launched Club 29 Race Cars this season with veteran setup guru Ronnie Stuckey. "The cars were phenomenal this weekend with a win and a top five and Jimmy winning the other one. It's just unbelievable."
Owens crossed the finish line 1.193 seconds ahead in his Reece Monument-sponsored Club 29 Race Car while McCreadie drove his Sweeteners Plus Rocket Chassis around Bloomquist late in the race to finish second. Bloomquist was third in his self-designed Sweet-Bloomquist Race Car with Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., fourth in his Moyer Extreme by Longhorn Chassis just ahead of Lanigan.
After slipping back to fourth early in the race, the second-starting Owens put himself back in contention when he moved by Madden for third on lap 20. Just as the sixth-starting McCreadie began to catch pole-starting Bloomquist, Owens caught both cars to make it a three-car battle for the lead.
Bloomquist and McCreadie went back and forth for the top spot on both sides of the halfway mark as McCreadie took the point on lap 24 only to give it back on the next lap. All the while, Owens was lurking just behind the two leaders and at times making it three wide for the lead.
McCreadie finally cleared Bloomquist on lap 27 and began to edge away as Bloomquist continued to fight heavy pressure from Owens' No. 20 machine. Owens finally took the second spot from Bloomquist on lap 31 and quickly reeled in McCreadie as he struggled with heavy lapped traffic.
Once he caught McCreadie, Owens wasted little time making his bid for the lead. With a pair of lapped cars separating him from McCreadie, Owens split the side-by-side slower machines entering turn three on lap 33 and continued his charge to pull alongside McCreadie in turn four. A bobble by the high-running McCreadie gave Owens the break he needed to pull ahead at the completion of the lap.
Owens never looked back from there, pulling away as the track's bottom groove began to become noticeably faster than the top. Bloomquist and McCreadie both took shots at Owens as the frontrunners ran through traffic in the closing laps, but Owens remained steady and pulled away from each challenge.
"I was just kind of taking it easy trying to bide my time a little bit," Owens said. "The harder I ran the car, the better it got. We just kept getting better and better. I didn't think we had enough for Scott, but McCreadie got in there and got Scott off that bottom. A lot of things just went our way and we were able to pull it out and get the win."
McCreadie's runner-up finish capped off a three-win season on the WoO LMS that landed the 2006 series champion third in the final series standings. The 40-year-old veteran racer appeared to be in control of the race after taking command just after the halfway point, but his high line gave way and allowed Owens to close and make the winning pass.
"I felt good and made some moves on (Bloomquist), but Jimmy came along just as that little strip of rubber was starting to lay," said McCreadie, denied his first World Finals victory. "I didn't know the rubber was down there. I was trying to make my hay up on the top and ride what got me to the lead, but he got us."
In settling for third, Bloomquist, the 2004 WoO champion who now competes on the tour part time, finished the season without a victory in 11 WoO LMS races entered, marking just the second time since the tour's modern era began in 2004 that he's failed to win a series race. His only previous season without a WoO LMS triumph came in 2006 when he entered only four series races.
"The car was really good, but just not quite good enough," the 50-year-old Bloomquist said after notching his eighth top-five WoO finish on the season. "We got a little bit loose, which made it really hard on us to get off the bottom. We'd hit the crumbs and stuff and just didn't have what it took."
Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., advanced from the 12th starting spot to finish sixth with Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., seventh. Friday's runner-up Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., was eighth, while double-dipping Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D., finished ninth just after wrapping up his championship-winning season on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. WoO LMS championship points runner-up Rick Eckert or York, Pa., rounded out the top 10 finishers.
The race was slowed by two early cautions. The first appeared with nine laps complete when heat race winner Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., spun from the fourth position. The yellow flag again waved one lap later when Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., slowed in turn four, spurring a pileup that collected Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., and Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Pa.
First heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Jimmy Owens, Billy Moyer, James Rice, Chub Frank, Eric Jacobsen, Gregg Satterlee, G.R. Smith, Kenny Collins, Mike Altobelli Jr., Anthony Burroughs, Bob Gordon, Dustin Mitchell, Russell Erwin Jr.
Second heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Jason Feger, Austin Hubbard, Donny Schatz, Morgan Bagley, Frank Heckenast Jr., Jeff Rine, Jonathan Davenport, Matt Parks, Kerry King Jr., J.T. Spence, Nick Davis, Jason Covert.
Third heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Eric Wells, Jared Landers, Vic Hill, Dan Stone, Duane Chamberlain, Dale Hollidge, Charlie Sandercock, Robbie Stuart, Don Gordon, Cody Mahoney.
Fourth heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Chris Madden, Darrell Lanigan, Mason Zeigler, Steve Francis, Dennis Erb Jr., Casey Roberts, Ray Cook, Bobby Pierce, Kyle Bronson, John Garvin Jr., Walker Arthur, Brian Ledbetter.
Fifth heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Tim McCreadie, Rick Eckert, Ricky Thornton Jr., Josh Richards, Clint Smith, Don O’Neal, Jim Yoder, Boom Briggs, Greg Roberson, Jim O’Hara, Donald McIntosh (DNS) D.J. Troutman.
Sixth heat finish (10 laps; top 3 transfer): Billy Moyer Jr., Bub McCool, Ryan Gustin, John Blankenship, Dennis Franklin, Andrew Reaume, Chad Hollenbeck, Chuck Harper, Shane Clanton, Chris Ferguson, Chase Junghans.
First B-Main finish (12 laps; top 2 transfer): Chub Frank, Frank Heckenast Jr., Eric Jacobsen, Morgan Bagley, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Jeff Rine, G.R. Smith, Matt Parks, Jason Covert, Mike Altobelli Jr., Kerry King Jr., J.T. Spence, Anthony Burroughs, Bob Gordon, Nick Davis, Kenny Collins, Dustin Mitchell, Russell Erwin Jr.
Second B-Main finish (12 laps; top 2 transfer): Jared Landers, Dennis Erb Jr., Casey Roberts, Dan Stone, Duane Chamberlain, Kyle Bronson, Steve Francis, Ray Cook, Vic Hill, Charlie Sandercock, Walker Arthur, Robbie Stuart, Don Gordon, Brian Ledbetter, Cody Mahoney, Bobby Pierce, Dale Hollidge, John Garvin Jr.
Third B-Main finish (12 laps; top 2 transfer): John Blankenship, Josh Richards, Clint Smith, Don O’Neal, Chase Junghans, Shane Clanton, Boom Briggs, Chad Hollenbeck, Jim Yoder, Andrew Reaume, Chuck Harper, Greg Roberson, Jim O’Hara, Dennis Franklin, Chris Ferguson, Donald McIntosh.
(10 laps; top 3 transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Jimmy Owens, James Rice
Row 2: Billy Moyer, Eric Jacobsen
Row 3: G.R. Smith, Russell Erwin Jr.
Row 4: Chub Frank, Anthony Burroughs
Row 5: Gregg Satterlee, Dustin Mitchell
Row 6: Kenny Collins, Mike Altobelli Jr.
Row 7: Bob Gordon
Second heat
Row 1: Jason Feger, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Austin Hubbard, Donny Schatz
Row 3: Morgan Bagley, Matt Parks
Row 4: Frank Heckenast Jr., J.T. Spence
Row 5: Jeff Rine, Kerry King Jr.
Row 6: Nick Davis, Jason Covert
Third heat
Row 1: Dale McDowell, Scott Bloomquist
Row 2: Jared Landers, Vic Hill
Row 3: Eric Wells, Duane Chamberlain
Row 4: Dan Stone, Dale Hollidge
Row 5: Robbie Stuart, Cody Mahoney
Row 6: Charlie Sandercock, Don Gordon
Fourth heat
Row 1: Chris Madden, Darrell Lanigan
Row 2: Steve Francis, Mason Zeigler
Row 3: Bobby Pierce, Casey Roberts
Row 4: Dennis Erb Jr., Ray Cook
Row 5: Kyle Bronson, Walker Arthur
Row 6: John Garvin, Brian Ledbetter
Fifth heat
Row 1: Tim McCreadie, Rick Eckert
Row 2: Don O’Neal, Donald McIntosh
Row 3: Josh Richards, Clint Smith
Row 4: Ricky Thornton Jr., Boom Briggs
Row 5: Jim Yoder, D.J. Troutman
Row 6: Greg Roberson, Jim O’Hara
Sixth heat
Row 1: Billy Moyer Jr., Chase Junghans
Row 2: Shane Clanton, Ryan Gustin
Row 3: John Blankenship, Dennis Franklin
Row 4: Bub McCool, Andrew Reaume
Row 5: Chris Ferguson, Chuck Harper
Row 6: Chad Hollenbeck