9/15/2017
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Mike Marlar Wins Night #2 at Knoxville Raceway
KNOXVILLE, IA (September 15, 2017) Defending Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals winner Mike Marlar, came from the seventh starting spot to win Friday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature event. Marlar took the lead on lap 20 from Tim McCreadie and then held off the field for the win. Marlar’s Ronnie Delk-owned Rocket Chassis became the second driver in the 13-year history of the event to score a perfect night in points.
McCreadie came home in second, with the previous night’s winner, Josh Richards taking third. Brandon Sheppard was fourth, with Chris Simpson completing the top five drivers.
McCreadie’s Sweeteners Plus, Longhorn would grab the lead at the start of the main event. He led one lap before Sheppard took control of the race on the second circuit. Sheppard held a healthy lead over McCreadie for most of the first half of the race, but McCreadie slowly reeled Sheppard in, passing him for the lead on the 18th lap.
A caution then bunched the field up as McCreadie led another lap after the restart and then Marlar got around him for the top spot. Marlar led the rest of the way to take his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season.
Marlar commented on his win in Lucas Oil Victory Lane: “When I got to third, I thought man this is an awesome race. Thanks to the fans for coming out tonight, they saw a good show. Ronnie Delk does not have any bad equipment. I wouldn’t call it a back-up car, it’s just the car were using tonight.”
Marlar will sit on the pole for the $40,000 to win finale on Saturday Night and was extremely pleased with his car and team. “We had a really good racecar tonight. My crew is just awesome. They got this car ready to go tonight. I have a lot of hometown people up here helping me this weekend and I appreciate every one of them.”
McCreadie had failed to make the feature on Thursday Night, yet rebounded to a runner-up finish. “We were good down on the bottom. We didn’t need that caution. You have to slow down so much entering the corner that someone on the outside has the momentum on you. I thought it was going to be Brandon [Sheppard] but it was Marlar and those guys that know what they are doing. We are going to work on our car and hopefully get better for tomorrow night.”
Richards came from the eighth starting position tonight to place third. “The track was a lot slicker tonight. We left the car alone after we tried some stuff early on. Mike did a great job. He has really fast car and we are going to have to get better to beat him tomorrow night.”
Marlar’s car is powered by a Cornett Racing Engines and is sponsored by Delk Equipment Sales, RS Trading Company, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra, Modern Images, and GW Performance.
Completing the top ten were Jimmy Mars, Chase Junghans, Bobby Pierce, Darrell Lanigan, and Gregg Satterlee.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, September 15th, 2017
Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals
Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Mike Marlar / 17.511 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport / 17.612 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Mike Marlar, Rodney Sanders, Jared Landers, Dave Eckrich, Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Spencer Diercks, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jonathan Brauns
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Hudson O'Neal, Jason Feger, Gregg Satterlee, Jimmy Owens, Dale McDowell, Kyle Bronson, Matt Furman, Jay Johnson, Colton Flinner-DNS
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Mars, Tyler Bruening, Shannon Babb, Chad Simpson, Jake O'Neil, Randy Timms, Bob King
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Chase Junghans, Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce, Steve Francis, Jonathan Davenport, Ryan Gustin, Timothy Culp, Scott Bloomquist, Mike Fryer
DirtOnDirt.com Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Josh Richards, Chris Simpson, Boom Briggs, Billy Moyer, Brent Larson, Tyler Erb, Brian Shirley, Justin Duty
ASi Racewear Heat Race #6 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Kent Robinson, Jesse Stovall, Don O'Neal, Earl Pearson, Jr., Billy Moyer, Jr., Jeremiah Hurst, Tim Lance
Penske Racing Shocks C-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to Back of B-Main): Dennis Erb, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Matt Furman, Randy Timms, Jeremiah Hurst, Mike Fryer, Justin Duty, Tim Lance-DNS, Brian Shirley-DNS, Jay Johnson-DNS, Bob King-DNS, Jonathan Brauns-DNS, Colton Flinner-DNS
Fast Shafts B-Main Finish (15 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to Back of A-Main): Don O'Neal, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson, Jr., Dale McDowell, Chad Simpson, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb, Jr., Shannon Babb, Steve Francis, Brent Larson, Ryan Gustin, Billy Moyer, Jr., Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Dave Eckrich, Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Jake O'Neil, Jonathan Davenport
Feature Finish (25 Laps):
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN EARNINGS
1 7 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN $7,000
2 2 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY $4,000
3 8 1R Josh Richards Shinnston, WV $3,000
4 3 1S Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL $2,000
5 6 32S Chris Simpson Oxford, IA $1,500
6 11 28m Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI $1,000
7 12 18 Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS $900
8 18 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL $800
9 4 14 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY $700
10 9 22 Gregg Satterlee Rochester Mills, PA $600
11 22 17m Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA $580
12 23 25 Chad Simpson Mt. Vernon, IA $560
13 21 1 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL $740
14 20 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN $720
15 15 71 Hudson O'Neal Martinsville, IN $500
16 1 20S Rodney Sanders Happy, TX $490
17 5 1777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR $480
18 10 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN $470
19 24 91 Tyler Erb New Waverly, TX $460
20 14 99B Boom Briggs Bear Lake, PA $450
21 16 0 Jesse Stovall Billings, MO $440
22 17 16 Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA $430
23 13 25F Jason Feger Bloomington, IL $410
24 19 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN $600
Race Statistics
Entrants: 53
Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Lap 1); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 2 – 17); Tim McCreadie (Laps 18 – 19); Mike Marlar (Laps 20 – 25)
Cautions: Earl Pearson Jr., Don O’Neal (Lap 1); Boom Briggs (Lap 14); Jared Landers (Lap 18)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: n/a
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Mike Marlar
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Dale McDowell (Started: 22nd; Finished: 11th; Advanced 11 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Josh Richards
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Dale McDowell
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Mike Marlar
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Gregg Satterlee
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Josh Davis (Mike Marlar)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Lap #1 – 19.605 seconds)
Safecraft Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (15 Laps)
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard
Time of Race: 19 minutes 45 seconds
Submitted By: Jeremy Shields