WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 22) — There's a definite home-state flavor shaping up around the 23rd annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Lucas Oil Speedway.

After winning heat races during Friday night's qualifying program, home-state standouts Tony Jackson Jr. and Jesse Stovall picked the first and second starting spots for Saturday’s Show-Me 100 to create an all-Missouri front row for Saturday evening's $30,000-to-win finale.

Stovall, 34, of Billings, Mo., was the biggest star of the preliminary night, recording the overall fastest lap in time trials and driving to a convincing victory in the first of six 20-lap heat races. He will seek to become just the second Missouri driver to win the Show-Me 100, duplicating the accomplishment of Springfield’s Terry Phillips in 1999 at West Plains Motor Speedway.

“I’ve got a little confidence, but you can’t get over-confident,” said Stovall, whose seventh-place finish in last year’s Show-Me 100 was his career-best performance in his five previous feature starts. “I’m just not that guy, so we’ll just see what happens. I’m just gonna take a different approach here and try not to force the win. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it don’t.”

Stovall’s Black Diamond Race Car, which he campaigns in a joint effort with Bill Swafford of Poplar Bluff, Mo., understands that the strength he’s shown over the first two nights of the Show-Me 100 weekend — he finished second in Thursday night’s MLRA Cowboy Classic — stamps him as a favorite to emerge triumphant in Saturday night’s headliner. He’s attempting to keep a low profile, however.

“You’ve always got fans who are fans when you’re winning and fans who are fans all the time — and you get a few more when you’re running good,” Stovall said. “That’s just part of any competition. They got an eye on you, and it makes it tough on me because I like to stay out of the spotlight.

“The main thing is, you gotta be there the last 20 laps,” he added. “But you gotta figure out how to do that because, like Jimmy Owens says, there’s no riding around anymore. It’s wide-open every lap — there’s no riding around like there used to be back in the day. They go hard every lap. The conserving part of it is really tough to explain … I’m learning it and I’m probably not smart enough to explain it yet, but I’m starting to figure it out and hopefully we do it right (Saturday).”

Stovall is especially excited to lead the field to the green flag with Jackson, a 33-year-old from Lebanon, Mo., who not only drives a Black Diamond-Club 29 like Stovall but also is one of Stovall’s most regular competitors.

“It’ll be interesting because me and him race on the MARS series and the MLRA and we race each other hard but we typically race each other clean,” Stovall said. “It’ll be interesting to see who leads the first lap. We’ll probably be wide-open to lead the first lap and then after that we’ll try to ride around and see what happens.”

Jackson demonstrated that he’s primed to make a run at the checkered flag with his equally dominant triumph in Friday’s second prelim. He led from flag-to-flag, finishing the race a full straightaway ahead of Carpentersville, Ill.'s Dennis Erb Jr.

After Jackson flirted with a breakthrough victory in last year’s Show-Me 100 — a race he also started from the pole position and led early before mechanical trouble left him with a 26th-place finish — he hopes to be around at the end this time around.

“We’re gonna check everything 10 times,” said Jackson, whose career-best finish is four previous Show-Me 100 starts was eighth, in 2013. “Last year we had a good race car and had some problems, so we’ll just do the best we can and try to pace ourselves.

“I said it last year I don’t know if we’re not supposed to win races like this. We don’t travel around and we don’t particularly just race any Lucas Oil races … we just come to crown jewels, so it’s 10 times harder with all the race cars. But man, it’d be big (to win). Obviously it would be the biggest win of my career and we’re gonna do everything we can to do it.”

Jackson would love to keep the Show-Me 100 cash and trophy inside the state of Missouri’s borders.

“Jesse is running real good and starts right beside me,” Jackson. “We’ve got a rivalry or whatever you want to call it, but it would be awesome if one of us could win it from Missouri.”

Other heat winners on Friday night were Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., whose career-best finish in four Show-Me 100 starts is third in 2007 at West Plains; three-time Show-Me 100 winner Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., whose lap-seven pass of Spring, Texas’s Chris Brown in the fourth heat represented the only lead change of the six prelims; Cowboy Classic victor Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga.; and 20-year-old Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, who will make his first-ever Show-Me 100 start.

Blog-style updates of the Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com qualifying night at Lucas Oil Speedway:

Race of Champions

Billy Moyer completed a sweep of the Late Model dashes, winning the 12-lap Race of Champions that was reserved for past champions of the Show-Me, Lucas Oil Series and MLRA tour.

The Hall of Famer came from the fourth starting spot to overtake race-long pacesetter Wendell Wallace for the lead on lap nine with an inside move off turn four. He pulled away to defeat Wallace by several car lengths and pocket another $1,000 check.

Race of Champions finish: Billy Moyer, Wendell Wallace, Shannon Babb, Don O'Neal, Tony Jackson, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Terry Phillips, Chad Simpson, Earl Pearson Jr.

Manufacturers' Dash

Racing off the outside pole, Billy Moyer outgunned front-row mate Scott Bloomquist for the lead at the start of the 10-lap Manufacturers' Dash and never looked back en route to a $1,000 victory representing his new Moyer Victory Race Car brand.

Young Devin Moran overtook Scott Bloomquist for second on a lap-seven restart and finished in the runner-up spot in his MasterSbilt mount, 0.736 of a second behind the victor. Bloomquist settled for third in his Sweet-Bloomquist car, followed by Shannon Babb (Rocket) and Jesse Stovall (Black Diamond).

The race's lone caution flag flew on lap seven when J.C. Wyman spun out of fifth place between turns one and two.

Manufacturers' Dash finish: Billy Moyer (Victory), Devin Moran (MasterSbilt), Scott Bloomquist (Sweet-Bloomquist), Shannon Babb (Rocket), Jesse Stovall (Black Diamond), Billy Moyer Jr. (Longhorn), Jimmy Mars (MB Customs), Dennis Erb Jr. (Barry Wright), Charles LaPlant (Pierce), J.C. Wyman (GRT), Tony Jackson Jr. (Club 29).

All-Missouri front row

Tony Jackson Jr. drew the pole position and Jesse Stovall picked the outside pole, putting Missouri drivers at the front of the pack for the start of Saturday night's Show-Me 100.

Show-Me 100 redraw

With the track reconditioning the racing surface for the Manufacturers' Dash and Race of Champions that will close the program, the 18 heat-race transfers are assembling in front of the grandstand to redraw for starting positions in Saturday night's Show-Me 100. The winners will pick spots 1-6, runners-up 7-12 and third-place finishers 13-18.

Sixth heat

Devin Moran ran away with the prelim, leading from wire-to-wire to lock into his first-ever Show-Me 100. Austin Siebert finished a distant second, 2.430 seconds behind Moran. Jack Sullivan slipped by Scott Lewis for third on lap 10 and stayed there to the finish. Randy Weaver was never a factor, slipping backward from the third starting spot to a sixth-place finish. Colby Johnson brought out the race's first caution flag, spinning between turns one and two on lap eight. Another caution flew on the restart when a mid-pack battle resulted in a tangle that sent Steve Francis spinning into the turn-three wall and Jason Feger sliding nose-first into the concrete as well; both drivers limped into the pit area with bodywork damage.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Devin Moran, Austin Siebert, Jack Sullivan, Jason Papich, Scott Lewis, Randy Weaver, Dave Eckrich, Brantlee Gotschall, Dustin Walker, Jacob Magee, Colby Johnson, Steve Francis, Jason Feger.

Fifth heat

Jonathan Davenport controlled the action, leading from flag-to-flag without facing a single challenge. He crossed the finish line seconds ahead of Kent Robinson, who ran second after passing Shane Essary on lap six. Essary settled for third, staying comfortably ahead of Jake O'Neil throughout the race's second half.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Jonathan Davenport, Kent Robinson, Shane Essary, Jake O'Neil, Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson, Garrett Alberson, Jason Bodenhamer, Austin Rettig, Brad Looney, Darin Busch, Chad Wheeler (DNS) Rick Kimberling.

Fourth heat

Billy Moyer swung to the outside of Chris Brown to assume command on lap seven and never looked back en route to victory. Brown stayed within striking distance of Moyer for several circuits, but Moyer pulled away in the late stages to beat the Texas driver by 0.892 of a second. Earl Pearson Jr. cruised alone throughout the event to finish third, leaving Ryan Gustin and Bobby Pierce on the outside looking in.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Billy Moyer, Chris Brown, Earl Pearson Jr., Ryan Gustin, Bobby Pierce, Hunter Rasdon, Cole Farmer, R.C. Whitwell, Levi Kissinger, Jeff Roth, Matt Johnson, Gavin Landers, Dan Shepherd (DNS) Will Vaught.

Third heat

Brian Shirley led all the way, but things got close in the final laps when a lapped car slowed his pace and Jared Landers moved in to Shirley's back bumper entering turn one on the last circuit. Shirley held on to defeat Landers by a couple car lengths. Don O'Neal finished a half-straightaway farther back in third, while Eddie Carrier Jr. was a distant fourth. Jason Rauen started second and ran in the position for the race's first four laps, but after losing the spot to Landers and being overtaken for third by O'Neal on lap six he steadily faded from contention and finished 10th.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Brian Shirley, Jared Landers, Don O'Neal, Eddie Carrier Jr., Jimmy Mars, Brandon McCormick, Jeremy Payne, Kyle Beard, Kyle Berck, Mark Dotson, Jason Rauen, Cody Holtkamp, Junior Hoover.

Second heat

Tony Jackson Jr. completely dominated the action, leading all the way and defeating Dennis Erb Jr. by a full straightaway margin. Shannon Babb finished third after losing the second spot to Erb on a lap-eight restart, while Terry Phillips was a close fourth after his outside bids late in the distance couldn't carry him into a transfer spot. The race's first caution flag flew on lap six when Brian Schutt spun wildly into the turn-three wall after contact with Phillips, who survived the encounter while Schutt restarted at the rear with damage to his car's deck. A second caution was needed on lap eight when J.C. Wyman was left sitting backwards in turn two after a scrape with Cole Wells.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Tony Jackson Jr., Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips, Jim Shereck, Kip Hughes, Robert Baker, Randy Timms, Cole Wells, J.C. Wyman, John Driskill, Steve Johnson, Brian Schutt.

First heat

Jesse Stovall cruised to victory, leading the entire distance without facing a single challenge. He crossed the finish line 1.780 seconds in front of Billy Moyer Jr., who turned back several threats from Scott Bloomquist to finish second. Bloomquist settled for third, with Jason Utter and a late-charging Jimmy Owens completing the top five.

Finish (top 3 transfer): Jesse Stovall, Billy Moyer Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Jason Utter, Jimmy Owens, Chris Spieker, Wendell Wallace, Jason O'Brien, Brandon Sheppard, Timothy Culp, Charles LaPlant, Randy Roth, Cliff Morrow, Bryon Allison.

Qualifying

Jesse Stovall of Billings, Mo., showed the way in the split-group time trials, turning a lap of 15.962 seconds to earn the $500 check for setting the night's overall fastest time. He will start from the pole in the first of tonight's six 20-lap heat races as he seeks to become just the second home-state driver to win the Show-Me 100.

Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., was quickest in the second group with a lap of 16.093 seconds, putting him on the pole for tonight's fourth heat.

Other heat-race polesitters will be Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., Shane Essary of Aurora, Mo., and Scott Lewis of Henderson, Colo.

The only caution-causing incidents during the multi-car time trials were for spins by Junior Coover of Norfolk, Neb., and Colby Johnson of Enid, Okla. Johnson actually spun twice in turn four on consecutive laps.

Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., meanwhile, did not log a time after pulling off the track during his qualifying run due to mechanical trouble.

Pre-race set up

A field of 80 cars is signed in for action Friday as qualifying for the 23rd annual Show-Me 100 begins on the 3/8-mile oval.

Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., won Thursday night’s Midwest LateModel Racing Association-sanctioned Cowboy Classic, which served as a tuneup for the weekend’s headline event. He has started just the Show-Me 100 headliner just twice before, finishing a career-best seventh in the 2012 edition driving for Clint Bowyer Racing after placing 22nd in his debut run the previous year in the Barry Wright house car.

Time trials — split into ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups — will kick off Friday’s program. Six 20-lap heat races will then be contested transferring three drivers from each to Saturday night’s Show-Me 100. The card will be rounded out by a pair of dashes — the annual 10-lap Chassis Manufacturers’ Dash ($500 to win) and the Race of Champions for past Show-Me 100, Lucas Oil Series and MLRA champions ($1,000 to win).

Hot laps are scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m. CT, with time trials set to begin at 7:35 p.m.

Pre-race notes

Temperatures are in the 60s under overcast skies. … Three drivers who competed in Thursday night’s MLRA show are not back for Show-Me 100 qualifying: Larry Jones of El Dorado Springs, Mo.; Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., who had planned all along only to stop in on Thursday on his way to the Saturday-Sunday World of Outlaws Late Model Series events at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va.; and Raymond Merrill of Salisaw, Okla., who flew out today to attend a Quarter Horse event after driving Jack Sullivan’s car in Thursday’s program. Greenbrier, Ark.’s Sullivan will enter tonight’s action, however, driving the same car Merrill ran albeit with his familiar No. 18 replacing Merrill’s No. 12M on the mount’s doors. … New entries tonight are Brad Looney of Republic, Mo., and Richard Kinderling of Slater, Mo., pushing the field to 80 cars. … The 80-car field is the largest since the Show-Me 100 moved to Lucas Oil Speedway in 2010; the previous high for Wheatland was 73 cars in ’10. It’s also the first time the event has reached the 80-car mark since 93 machines were signed in for the 2006 show at West Plains (Mo.) Motor Speedway, which drew an event-record 128 cars in 1999. … After scratching from Thursday night’s competition due to engine trouble during time trials, Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., installed a backup powerplant for tonight’s action. … Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., will drive his older car tonight after failing to qualify for Thursday evening’s feature driving a machine that sported a new red-dominated wrap. … The new-for-2015 clay on Lucas Oil Speedway produced some tricky track conditions for drivers on Thursday night. Among the observations: Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who advanced from the 21st starting spot to finish ninth in the feature, called the surface “goofy” because it had a variety of slick, smooth, rough and traction-laden spots to challenge racers, and Pierce’s father, former standout driver Bob Pierce, noticed that the drivers who finished near the front of Thursday night’s A-Main tended to be “hustlers” who adapted well to the conditions that rewarded aggressiveness.

Heat race lineups

(20 laps; top 3 transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Jesse Stovall, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 2: Scott Bloomquist, Chris Spieker
Row 3: Jason Utter, Wendell Wallace
Row 4: Jason O’Brien, Jimmy Owens
Row 5: Randy Roth, Charles LaPlant
Row 6: Brandon Sheppard, Timothy Culp
Row 7: Bryon Allison, Cliff Morrow
Second heat
Row 1: Shannon Babb, Tony Jackson Jr.
Row 2: Robert Baker, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 3: J.C. Wyman, Kip Hughes
Row 4: Terry Phillips, Brian Schutt
Row 5: Jim Shereck, Cole Wells
Row 6: John Driskill, Randy Timms
Row 7: Steve Johnson
Third heat
Row 1: Brian Shirley, Jason Rauen
Row 2: Jared Landers, Brandon McCormick
Row 3: Don O’Neal, Eddie Carrier Jr.
Row 4: Jeremy Payne, Jimmy Mars
Row 5: Kyle Berck, Mark Dotson
Row 6: Kyle Beard, Cody Holtkamp
Row 7: Junior Coover
Fourth heat
Row 1: Billy Moyer, Chris Brown
Row 2: Ryan Gustin, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 3: Levi Kissinger, Cole Farmer
Row 4: Hunter Radon, Gavin Landers
Row 5: Bobby Pierce, R.C. Whitwell
Row 6: Jeff Roth, Matt Johnson
Row 7: Dan Shepherd
Fifth heat
Row 1: Shane Essay, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Jake O’Neil, Kent Robinson
Row 3: Chris Simpson, Chad Simpson
Row 4: Chad Wheeler, Brad Looney
Row 5: Garrett Alberson, Austin Rettig
Row 6: Jason Bodenhamer, Darin Busch
Row 7: Rick Kimberling
Sixth heat
Row 1: Scott Lewis, Devin Moran
Row 2: Randy Weaver, Jason Papich
Row 3: Dave Eckrich, Austin Siebert
Row 4: Brantlee Gotschall, Jack Sullivan
Row 5: Steve Francis, Jason Feger
Row 6: Jacob Magee, Dustin Walker
Row 7: Colby Johnson

Time trials order

First group
Jesse Stovall (00), Billings, Mo., 15.962
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 15.98
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 16.07
Billy Moyer Jr. (21Jr), Batesville, Ark., 16.073
Tony Jackson Jr. (56), Lebanon, Mo., 16.103
Jason Rauen (98), Farley, Iowa, 16.11
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 16.12
Robert Baker (17M), Bryant, Ark., 16.122
Jared Landers (777), Batesville, Ark., 16.155
Chris Spieker (56s), Massena, Iowa, 16.162
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 16.21
Brandon McCormick (42), Lebaon, Mo., 16.247
Jason Utter (31), Columbus Junction, Iowa, 16.287
J.C. Wyman (4W), Griswold, Iowa, 16.318
Don O'Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., 16.33
Wendell Wallace (6), Batesville, Ark., 16.334
Kip Hughes (GO), Ada, Okla., 16.346
Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va., 16.356
Jason O'Brien (15b), Atlantic, Iowa, 16.419
Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo., 16.424
Jeremy Payne (186), Springfield, Mo., 16.433
Brian Schutt (42x), Lebanon, Mo., 16.492
Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 16.492
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 16.5
Randy Roth (26R), Bentonville, Ark., 16.545
Jim Shereck (17), St. Charles, Mo., 16.551
Kyle Berck (14), Marquette, Neb., 16.586
Charles LaPlant (3c), East Prairie, Mo., 16.644
Cole Wells (10w), Aurora, Mo., 16.705
Mark Dotson (85d), Cameron, Mo., 16.775
Jon Driskill (88), Bentonville, Ark., 16.815
Brandon Sheppard (b5), New Berlin, Ill., 16.815
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark., 16.837
Timothy Culp (c8), West Monroe, La., 16.899
Randy Timms (5T), Wheatland, Okla., 16.991
Cody Holtkamp (26), Holt's Summit, Mo., 17.036
Bryon Allison (1A), Marshall, Mo., 17.202
Steve Johnson (116), Joplin, Mo., 17.332
Junior Coover (10c), Norfolk, Neb., 17.522
Cliff Morrow (99M), Enid, Okla., 17.644
Second group
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 16.093
Shane Essary (15s), Aurora, Mo., 16.182
Scott Lewis (99L), Henderson, Colo., 16.299
Chris Brown (21b), Spring, Texas, 16.316
Jonathan Davenport (6), Blairsville, Ga., 16.34
Devin Moran (99M), Dresden, Ohio, 16.388
Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 16.41
Jake O'Neil (0), Tucson, Ariz., 16.416
Randy Weaver (116), Crossville, Tenn., 16.417
Earl Pearson Jr. (44), Jacksonville, Fla., 16.457
Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 16.458
Jason Papich (91P), Nipomo, Calif., 16.506
Levi Kissinger (8K), Mt. Vernon, Ind., 16.523
Chris Simpson (R5), Oxford, Iowa, 16.56
Dave Eckrich (58), Oxford, Iowa, 16.586
Cole Farmer (26F), Glenwood, Ark., 16.587
Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 16.61
Austin Siebert (16A), Grandview, Mo., 16.626
Hunter Rasdon (R5), Jonesboro, Ark., 16.639
Chad Wheeler (188), Muskogee, Okla., 16.648
Brantlee Gotschall (4G), Nevada, Mo., 16.662
Gavin Landers (77), Batesville, Ark., 16.696
Brad Looney (14), Republic, Mo., 16.696
Jack Sullivan (18), Greenbrier, Ark., 16.736
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 16.751
Garrett Alberson (R5), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.757
Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky., 16.772
R.C. Whitwell (6), Tucson, Ariz., 16.793
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., 16.8
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 16.865
Jeff Roth (14R), Bentonville, Ark., 16.936
Jason Bodenhamer (2b), Centerview, Mo., 16.951
Jacob Magee (10M), Caney, Kan., 16.985
Matt Johnson (5J), Archie, Mo., 17.027
Darin Busch (56c), Enid, Okla., 17.233
Dustin Walker (14W), Peculiar, Mo., 17.276
Dan Shepherd (68), Denver, Colo., 17.422
Rick Kimberling (1K), Slater, Mo., 18.151
Colby Johnson (130), Enid, Okla., 38.551
Will Vaught (1V), Crane, Mo., 99.99

Friday Schedule

6:15 p.m.: Drivers’ meeting
6:45 p.m.: Hot laps
7:30 p.m.: Invocation and national anthem
7:35 p.m.: Racing begins
Late Model time trials
Modified heats (8 laps)
Track prep (15-20 minutes)
Late Model heats (20 laps)
Intermission/track prep
Late Model Manufacturers’ Dash for Cash (10 laps/$500 to win)
Modified pole dash (10 laps)
Late Model Race of Champions (12 laps/$1,000 to win)