2017 Diamond Nationals Results – July 15, 2017 – Lucas Oil Dirt Series

Heat 1
Jimmy Owens and Vaught setup row 1. Its Jimmy Owens out of turn two. The stack up nose to tail at the front.

Bloomquist is making a charge. He’s battling Earl Pearson Jr for 2nd. It’s short lived. Bloomquist loses a bunch of ground to Pearson. They are all over his for 4th at the checkered flag.

Jimmy Owens wins heat 1.

Heat 2
Steve Francis and Payton Looney line up on row 1. Steve Francis takes the early lead.

Tim McCreadie started at the tail. By lap 3, he’s up to 5th. He’s clicking them off high and low. Doesn’t matter, wherever they aren’t, McCreadie goes.

Steve Francis wins heat 2. McCreadie charges to 4th.

Heat 3
It’s an all O’Neal front row. The real deal and the new deal lead the field into turn 1. Hudson O’Neal goes high. He carries a ton of speed off the high side and down the back straight. Hudson started to stick his nose to his outside. Unsure if his dad would leave him room he back out.

Don O’Neal begins to drive away. The race is for 2nd. Hudson O’Neal, Jesse Stoval and Brian Shirley each pick their own lane and race it out.

3 to go, Don O’Neal is slowing.

Hudson is going to get another shot at the win! He drives it in low and hard in turn 3. Slide job for the lead!

Don O’Neal crosses him on exit. Last lap, Don takes the lead back in turn 1. Hudson hits the cushion. It’s a reply of lap 1. This time Hudson O’Neal puts his nose to the outside and leaves it there. He’s got it.

Hudson goes high in 3-4. Don low. They come off the final corner. Side by side! At the line it’s Hudson O’Neal by 3 feet!

Heat 4
Darrell Lanigan and Dennis Erb Jr set row 1. Lanigan takes his new ride to the lead in turn 1. Dennis slots into 2nd. Josh

Richards looks anxious. He looks under Erb at the exit of two. That won’t do it. Richards drives to the high side in 3. Erb and Richards run side by side. Lap after lap. Caution.

Green, Lanigan drives away. Richards jumps right to the top. This time he gets it done. Richards carries the high side momentum on the outside down the back straight. He confirms the position in turn 3.

Richards sets sights on Lanigan. He’s there. Lanigan moves up a lane. He was running the bottom. He likely hears Richards coming.

They come off turn 4, nose to tail. Darrell Lanigan nips him at the line. He wins the 4th and final heat.

Main Event
Jimmy Owens and Hudson O’Neal lead the field to green. Fireworks. We’re racing!

Jimmy Owens gets the early jump. Hudson O’Neal settles into 2nd. But Hudson isn’t settled at all. He hasn’t left the cushion. Hudson continues to jump over the cushion small mistakes.

Josh Richards is climbing through the pack. He’s high, low. He all over and flying through the field. Meanwhile, Jimmy Owens is checking out on Hudson O’Neal.

Richards is around Don O’Neal for 3rd and now he’s looking under Hudson O’Neal for 2nd. He takes it at the exit of turn 2. Move Richards to 2nd. That quick.

As the O’Neal’s race side by side-by-side for 3rd. The leader, Owens, is deep in lapped traffic.

Brian Shirley is holding up Jimmy Owens on the high side. Owens could go low, the lane is open but he’s glued to the high side. Josh Richards is rapidly reeling in the leader.

Richards rolls around the bottom. There’s a little moister left down there against the tire barriers. Owens continues to be locked to the back bumper of Shirley, they both run high.

Lap 50, still no caution. The track has slicked over. Most run the bottom with the exception of a handful, including the leader.

In no time at all, Richards is there. The battle for the ring and the Diamond Nationals win is here.

Josh Richards has the bottom lane to himself. He drives right by Owens and then the lapped car of Shirley. New leader, Josh Richards.

Lap 57, trouble! Jimmy Owens has jumped the cushion. He’s in the wall and stopped at the high side in turn 3.

Back green. Josh Richards drives away. He has no pressure from behind.

But the battle is on for 2nd. Don O’Neal and Hudson O’Neal run side-by-side, again. But as the O’Neil’s fight for the bottom, Darrell Lanigan see’s an opportunity. He takes it through the middle in turn 3 to the outside of the both of them. He nearly drives from 4th to 2nd in one corner. However, Don O’Neal holds onto 2nd down the front straight-away.

At the front, Josh Richards has it on cruise control.

Josh Richards wins the 2017 Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway!

Josh Richards comments on the night, “We weren’t very fast in hot laps or qualifying. We basically went with the same set-up as last night, and then we made some adjustments.”

He continued, “We weren’t that great at the beginning, but the longer the race went, the tires on the car felt good; I hate it for Jimmy though. I saw that he tried to get back by me on the outside and he got up close to the wall and the car must have stalled or something.”

The Diamond Nationals winner concluded, “Jimmy was pretty good early, and he was so far out there, but he eventually came back to us. We just have to focus on being fast, the last two nights helped a lot. It can turnaround in a heartbeat.”

Don O’Neal ran 2nd tonight, “We still have some work to do to catch the number 1 car, but we are getting there. We have a third last night and a second tonight, so we are getting close to having this Peak Antifreeze and Coolant and Cometic Gasket car back to Victory Lane.”

Don O’Neal is running a new car, “We keep coming up short, but we have got to keep digging. We were good out in the open and with traffic. This was a new car last night and we are happy to keep getting these podium finishes. If we keep running like this, the wins will come.”

Lanigan is also running a new car, “Tonight was a good night for the Clint Bowyer team. On that final restart, I thought I could roll the top and go by those guys ahead of me, but it just didn’t work out as I had planned.”

Related: New matte white car debuts for Darrell Lanigan

View full Lucas Oil Speedway results below.

Author: Shane Walters

Josh Richards Photos
July 15th, 2017
Lucas Oil Speedway

Qualifying – Group A
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Will Vaught (15.555); 2. Steve Francis; 3. Jimmy Owens; 4. Payton Looney; 5. Jeremy Grady; 6. Jason Papich; 7. Scott Bloomquist; 8. Clay Daly; 9. JC Wyman; 10. Raymond Merrill; 11. Ear Pearson Jr; 12. Bob King; 13. Al Humphrey; 14. Randy Timms; 15. Gregg Satterlee; 16. Tim McCreadie; 17. Austin Rettig;

Qualifying – Group B
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Don O’Neal (15.505); 2. Darrell Lanigan; 3. Hudson O’Neal; 4. Dennis Erb Jr; 5. Brian Shirley; 6. Josh Richards; 7. Jesse Stovall; 8. Jacob Magee; 9. Logan Martin; 10. Jake O’Neil; 11. Tony Jackson Jr; 12. Kolby Vandenbergh; 13. Rodney Sanders; 14. Terry Phillips; 15. Scott Crigler; 16. Cole Wells; 17. Boom Briggs; 18. Will McMillan;

Heat 1
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Jimmy Owens; 2. Will Vaught; 3. Earl Pearson Jr; 4. Scott Bloomquist; 5. Jeremy Grady; 6. Gregg Satterlee; 7. JC Wyman; 8. Al Humphrey; 9. Austin Rettig;

Heat 2
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Steve Franics; 2. Payton Looney; 3. Jason Papich; 4. Tim McCreadie; 5. Clay Daly; 6. Randy Timms; 7. Brantlee Gotschall; 8. Raymond Merrill; 9. Bob King;

Heat 3
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Hudson O’Neal; 2. Don O’Neal; 3. Jesse Stovall; 4. Brian Shirley; 5. Logan Martin; 6. Scott Crigler; 7. Tony Jackson Jr; 8. Rodney Sanders; 9. Boom Briggs;

Heat 4
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Darrell Lanigan; 2. Josh Richards; 3. Dennis Erb Jr; 4. Jaco Magee; 5. Jake O’Neil; 6. Kolby Vandenbergh; 7. Terry Phillips; 8. Cole Wells; 9. Will McMillan;

B Main 1
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Clay Daly; 2. Randy Timms; 3. Gregg Satterlee; 4. Brantlee Gotschall; 5. JC Wyman; 6. Raymond Merrill; 7. Jeremy Grady; 8. AL Humphrey; 9. Bob King;

B Main 2
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

1. Jake O’Neil; 2. Logan Martin; 3. Terry Phillips; 4. Rodney Sanders; 5. Boom Briggs; 6. Kolby Vandenbergh; 7. Scott Crigler; 8. Cole Wells; 9. Will McMillan; 10. Tony Jackson Jr;

Main Event
July 15th, 2017 – LOLMDS
Lucas Oil Speedway

Feature Finish (60 Laps):

FINISH	START	CAR #	DRIVER NAME	HOMETOWN	EARNINGS
1	8	1R	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	$12,800
2	6	5	Don O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$6,400
3	4	14	Darrell Lanigan	Union, KY	$4,200
4	2	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$3,550
5	10	0	Jesse Stovall	Billings, MO	$2,250
6	15	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	$2,500
7	12	28E	Dennis Erb, Jr.	Carpentersville, IL	$2,200
8	18	2T	Jake O’Neil	Tucson, AZ	$1,300
9	9	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	Jacksonville, FL	$2,000
10	3	15	Steve Francis	Bowling Green, KY	$1,800
11	5	1V	Will Vaught	Crane, MO	$1,075
12	13	0	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg, TN	$2,050
13	26	20x	Rodney Sanders	Happy, TX	$1,025
14	7	15P	Payton Looney	Republic, MO	$1,000
15	1	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	$1,900
16	14	3s	Brian Shirley	Chatham, IL	$1,000
17	21	32B	Clay Daly	Salinas, CA	$1,000
18	20	36	Logan Martin	West Plains, MO	$1,000
19	17	5T	Randy Timms	Wheatland, OK	$1,000
20	19	22	Gregg Satterlee	Rochester Mills, PA	$1,700
21	23	99B	Boom Briggs	Bear Lake, PA	$1,700
22	11	91P	Jason Papich	Nipomo, CA	$1,000
23	16	10m	Jacob Magee	Caney, KS	$1,000
24	24	43	Jeremy Grady	Story City, IA	$1,000
25	22	75P	Terry Phillips	Springfield, MO	$1,000
26	25	56	Tony Jackson, Jr.	Lebanon, MO	$1,000

Race Statistics

Entrants: 37
Lap Leaders: Jimmy Owens (Laps 1 – 51); Josh Richards (Laps 52 – 60)
Cautions: Jimmy Owens (Lap 57)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Boom Briggs
Miller Welders Fast Time Provisional: Jeremy Grady
Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association Provisionals: Tony Jackson Jr.; Rodney Sanders
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Josh Richards
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Rodney Sanders (Started: 26th; Finished: 13th; Advanced Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Josh Richards
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Darrell Lanigan
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Josh Richards
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Hudson O’Neal
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Don O’Neal)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Jimmy Owens (Lap #1 – 16.7414 seconds)
Safecraft Most Laps Led: Jimmy Owens
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Jimmy Owens
Time of Race: 21 minutes 35 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

POS	CAR #	DRIVER NAME	HOMETOWN	POINTS	EARNINGS
1	1R	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	5405	$150,450
2	0	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg, TN	5185	$145,925
3	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	5165	$124,775
4	5	Don O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	4910	$95,300
5	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	Jacksonville, FL	4805	$96,925
6	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	4765	$94,825
7	14	Darrell Lanigan	Union, KY	4595	$73,275
8	28E	Dennis Erb, Jr.	Carpentersville, IL	4525	$65,175
9	22	Gregg Satterlee	Rochester Mills, PA	4390	$70,550
10	15	Steve Francis	Bowling Green, KY	4290	$54,125
11	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	4195	$55,400
12	99B	Boom Briggs	Bear Lake, PA	3920	$44,900

*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*

MORE LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT

2017 Schedule/Results | Lucas Oil Dirt Section

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