June 3, 2011 - The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series was greeted with a packed house for the annual Toyota of Knoxville 75. What appeared as potential battle with the series front-runners turned into an exciting race for other series regulars looking to make their own mark.

Jared Landers of Batesville, AR led all the way in winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned Toyota of Knoxville 75 on Friday Night at Tazewell Speedway. Landers earned $10,00 for his second career super late model victory in a hotly contested race. Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA finished a close second followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; Steve Francis of Ashland, KY; and 23rd starting Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN.

"I don't know what to say, except that the car was strong all night long, thanks to my crew they did a great job. Tommy Grecco is now my new crew chief, and to win here at Tazewell is just unbelievable," said the 30-year-old Landers, who currently leads the Quarter Master Rookie of the Year chase for the series.

There was a massive pileup on the first lap included Davenport, Ray Cook, Scott Bloomquist, Owens and Steve Casebolt resulted in a red flag. When the race resumed Landers grabbed the lead with Davenport in tow.

Mike Marlar followed in the third, being chased by Francis and John Blankenship. The top five remained the same until a caution came out on lap 24. Owens, who had to restart on the tail because he went to the pits, was up to ninth in the running order.

Landers maintained his lead as Davenport, Marlar and Francis all closed on him. Francis dove to the inside of Marlar in the race for third as the top three ran door-to-door Francis got caught behind Billy Ogle Jr. who was exiting the track, causing Francis to loose several spots.

With 25 laps to go Landers was still out in front with Davenport and Marlar putting the heat on him. Owens had climbed inside the top five after getting around Tyler Reddick and was now hunting down the leaders.

Marlar, saw his night go up in smoke as his engine let go six laps from the finish. Marlar slowed on the front stretch, bringing out the final caution of the race. This set-up a shootout to the finish between Landers, Davenport, and Owens.

Landers managed to withstand several challenges from Davenport and Owens, but beat the duo to the line for his first series win of the year in the Lance Landers-owned Rocket Chassis Chevrolet powered by an ECR Racing Engine. Crawford Supply, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Mark Martin Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer Racing sponsor his car.

Bloomquist still holds the series points lead despite finishing three laps down with severe damage to his car. Owens is now just 15 points behind Bloomquist.

Rounding out the top ten were: Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA; John Blankenship of Williamson, WV; Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA; Eric Wells of Hazard, KY; and Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY.

In preliminary events Jonathan Davenport was the Red Buck Cigar Fast Qualifier and also earned $300 from Martin Roofing. Heat race winners were Jared Landers, Steve Francis, Jimmy Owens, and Scott Bloomquist. The B-Mains were won by Tommy Kerr and Bub McCool.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary

Friday Night, June 3rd, 2011

Toyota Knoxville 75

Tazewell Speedway - Tazewell, TN

Red Buck Cigars Fast Time:

Jared Landers / 11.024 seconds (Group A)

Jonathan Davenport / 10.983 seconds (Group B and Overall)

Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jared Landers, John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Dale McDowell, Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks

Wiles Driveshafts Second Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Steve Francis, Eric Jacobsen, Vic Hill, Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Terry Wolfenbarger

Sweet Manufacturing Third Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Brad Neat, Tyler Reddick, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Victor Lee, Don O'Neal

HAWK Brakes Fourth Heat (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Scott Bloomquist, Mike Marlar, Ray Cook, Steve Casebolt, Bub McCool, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs

JRi Shocks First B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Tommy Kerr, Chris Wall, Billy Ogle, Steve Smith, Jeff Maupin, Mike Weeks, Terry Wolfenbarger

Wrisco Aluminum Second B-Main (12 Laps- Top 3 Advance): Bub McCool, Bryan Hendrix, Jason Trammell, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Don O'Neal-DNS

"Toyota Knoxville 75" Feature Finish - 75 Laps

FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 1 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
2 6 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
3 2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
4 3 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
5 23 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
6 14 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
7 5 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
8 13 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
9 9 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
10 10 41n Brad Neat Dunnville, KY
11 7 5 Eric Jacobsen Watsonville, CA
12 19 71w Chris Wall Springfield, LA
13 4 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
14 8 36 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
15 18 57J Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS
16 11 1v Vic Hill Mosheim, TN
17 12 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
18 17 4T Tommy Kerr Maryville, TN
19 20 5h Bryan Hendrix Knoxville, TN
20 22 90J Jason Trammell Knoxville, TN
21 15 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
22 21 201 Billy Ogle Knoxville, TN
23 24 99jr Frank Heckenast, Jr. Frankfort, IL
24 16 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN

(Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series story and results courtesy James Essex)

The modified street class ran the first feature of the night. Sixteen drivers were on hand to race in front of the big crowd. Jordan Horton set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.436 seconds.

Horton elected to start the race from the outside of the front row and moving Clyde Overholt to the inside. But on the initial start of the race, Horton was slow coming to the green flag. The outside line stacked up behind the slow-moving Horton. The caution flag eventually waved for a spin by Leonard Bray in turn 2. Horton came to the pits for an ignition problem that would not go away. The field was lined back up with no laps on the board.

Gary Blanken moved up one row and was not on the outside of the front row. Blanken used Horton's misfortunes to take the early lead on lap 1. Brad Davis quickly moved past Overholt for second. Another caution waved for Dustin Collins as he spun in turn 2. Blanken pulled away from Davis on the restart and would do so for the next three cautions. Davis, Overholt, and Warren McMahan battled for second place.

Just after the race's halfway point, McMahan moved past a fading Overholt for third. McMahan began pressuring Davis for second. Following a caution for Josh Chesney's engine problems on lap 15, Overholt's night ended on the restart and parked his machine. McMahan continued to pressure Davis for second in the closing laps, but could not move past Davis for the spot. Up front, Blanken pulled away for the win. Davis, McMahan, Chris Collingsworth, and Tim Hatfield rounded out the top five.

Modified Street Results
1 5 Gary Blanken
2 88 Brad Davis
3 33 Warren McMahan
4 77 Chris Collinsworth
5 3 Tim Hatfield
6 56 Tony Horton
7 P21 Robbie Buchanan
8 54 Larry Burke
9 20 Scottie Atkins
10 4 Clyde Overholt
11 XXX Josh Chesney
12 A37 Drew Kennedy
13 44C Dustin Collins
14 22 Jason Sizemore
15 56H Jordan Horton
16 17 Leonard Bray

The classic cars saw Robbie Sands return to victory lane. The feature ran caution free and Sands easily pulled away for the win. The battle of the night was for second as Phillip Shockley and Logan Dukes ran nose-to-tail for most of the race. With two laps to go, Dukes moved alongside Shockley. But Shockley had the preferred line and held the spot. Shockley held on to finish second behind Sands. Dukes was third, Adam Hicks and Tom Conaway rounded out the top five.

Classic Car Results
1 17 Robbie Sands
2 34 Phillip Shockley
3 6 Logan Dukes
4 13 Adam Hicks
5 4 Tom Conaway
6 7 Jim Yeary
7 2 Ron Rudder
8 1 Daris Braden
9 8 Joe Keck

The final race of the night was the pure street feature. Dustin Eldridge paced the field in qualifying with a time of 14.759 seconds. At the start, Eldridge jumped out to the lead on the first lap. The battle for second was hotly contested as Appaches Quinton moved from the fourth starting spot into second and getting past Jason Long. Quinton appeared to have something for Eldridge, but spun in turn 4 on lap 2. Jonathan Miracle moved around Long and into second. In the final laps, J.J. Green got around Long for third. Eldridge went on to win the race over Miracle. Green finished third, Long settled for fourth, and Quinton rallied to finish fifth.

Pure Street Results
1 94 Dustin Eldridge
2 41 Johnathan Miracle
3 12 J.J. Green
4 15 Jason Long
5 15 Appaches Quinton
6 14 Austin Atkins
7 28 Justin James
8 O7 Tony Spoon

This week's victory lane photos are courtesy Michael Moats of MRM Racing Photos.