McCreadie Stops Pierce For Florence Lucas Oil Late Model Series Victory

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – UNION, KY – Tim McCreadie broke through on Thursday night at Florence Speedway to win his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season. McCreadie led all 50 laps, holding off Bobby Pierce in the final circuits to take the win in the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South Shootout presented by Lucas Oil.

McCreadie, the reigning Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Champion flashed across the line just 0.759 seconds ahead of Pierce. Nick Hoffman, Josh Richards and Scott Bloomquist rounded out the top five.

Pierce moved into second with nine laps to go, overtaking Hoffman who had held the position since the opening circuit. Pierce then tracked down McCreadie, but despite a last lap ditch effort to take the win, fell just short of victory. Hoffman, an open wheel modified standout, claimed his first-career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series podium finish.

McCreadie, who became the fourteenth different winner on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2018, saluted the fans in victory lane. “Its amazing how things can turnaround. We have kind of meandered around all year. I just haven’t driven it good enough this year. These guys have put together a great piece all year. We went back to the chassis and motor combination we ran last year, and it’s really paid off the last two nights. I took two weeks off and I was with my family, but the crew have been working their tails off in the downtime we had.”

“I could see my crew chief Phillip [Snellen] and I could see him telling me that Bobby [Pierce] was closing. I don’t know if we could have held him off, but we did. Sometimes I am not the most confident person in the world, it’s the crew that keeps me going and family keeps me feeling good at home. This is a tough life for sure. I appreciate all of the fans cheering us, it makes it all worthwhile.”

Pierce, who made one of his customary late-race charges, came up short in his bid for the win. “That was a lot of fun. I really had to kick-it up there at the end. It was a great track tonight. Thanks to Josh King and the whole track crew they never stopped working on this track all day and night. I am sure another night working on it the track can be even better tomorrow night. Congrats to T-Mac on the win. Thanks to everybody who works on this car at Dunn-Benson Motorsports.”

Hoffman, who made his first dirt late model start a year ago in the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100, earned a hard-fought third-place finish. “It feels good to get two heat wins here the last two nights and then to come back with a podium finish tonight. I had a good car last night. This is something to build on heading into this weekend. He [Pierce] slid me there, he was faster up top, so I just decided not to slide him back.”

The winner’s Coffey-McCreadie Enterprises-owned, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Pro Power Racing Engine and sponsored by: Sweeteners Plus, Popejoy Inc. Plumbing, Heating and Electric, FK Rod Ends and Penske Shocks.

Completing the top ten were Ricky Weiss, Darrell Lanigan, Hudson O’Neal, Earl Pearson Jr. and Dale McDowell.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Sunoco Race Fuels North/South Shootout – Presented by Lucas Oil
Florence Speedway – Union, KY

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Bobby Pierce / 17.328 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Overton / 17.143 seconds (overall)

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce, Dale McDowell, Gregg Satterlee, Chad Stapleton, Tyler Erb, Eric Wells, Robby Hensley, Michael Brown-DNS

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Shanon Buckingham, Trevor Landrum, Donald McIntosh, Austin Rettig, Kody Evans, Joey Moriarty, James Rice

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Josh Richards, Zack Dohm, Jason Jameson, Michael Chilton, Jason Miller, Jesse Lay, Doug Drown, David Seibers, Jeremy Conaway-DNS

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Hudson O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Kent Robinson, Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, Dennis Erb, Jr., Craig Vosbergen, Austin Burns, Josh Rice

Sunoco Race Fuels Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Nick Hoffman, Ricky Weiss, Steve Casebolt , Kyle Bronson, Jared Hawkins, Devin Gilpin, Rob Mayea, Greg Johnson, Rob Anderzack

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Mason Zeigler, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Mars, Scott James , Chris Shannon, Nick Latham, Billy Green, Austyn Mills

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Gregg Satterlee, Michael Chilton, Trevor Landrum, Jason Miller, Donald McIntosh, Chad Stapleton, Tyler Erb, Eric Wells, Jesse Lay, Austin Rettig, Kody Evans, Doug Drown, Robby Hensley,,, Joey Moriarty, Michael Brown, Jeremy Conaway, James Rice, David Siebers

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Jimmy Mars, Kyle Bronson, Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, Jared Hawkins, Craig Vosbergen, Dennis Erb, Jr., Scott James , Greg Johnson, Chris Shannon, Austin Burns, Nick Latham, Rob Mayea, Rob Anderzack, Josh Rice, Devin Gilpin, Billy Green-DNS, Austyn Mills-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

FINISH	START	CAR #	DRIVER NAME	HOMETOWN	EARNINGS
1	1	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	$10,000
2	7	32	Bobby Pierce	Oakwood, IL	$5,500
3	4	2H	Nick Hoffman	Mooresville, NC	$3,500
4	5	1R	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	$2,750
5	9	0	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg, TN	$2,250
6	10	7w	Ricky Weiss	Headingley, MB	$1,800
7	6	14	Darrell Lanigan	Union, KY	$1,500
8	2	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$1,300
9	3	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	Jacksonville, FL	$1,200
10	13	17m	Dale McDowell	Chickamauga, GA	$1,100
11	8	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	$1,075
12	20	28m	Jimmy Mars	Menomonie, WI	$1,050
13	11	17d	Zack Dohm	Cross Lanes, WV	$1,025
14	18	5	Don O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$1,000
15	14	7R	Kent Robinson	Bloomington, IN	$950
16	12	25Z	Mason Zeigler ®	Chalk Hill, PA	$1,025
17	19	22	Gregg Satterlee	Indiana, PA	$900
18	15	50	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown, TN	$875
19	23	49	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville, GA	$950
20	22	40B	Kyle Bronson ®	Brandon, FL	$825
21	24	28	Dennis Erb, Jr.	Carpentersville, IL	$800
22	21	97	Michael Chilton	Salvisa, KY	$800
23	25	18L	Trevor Landrum	Erlanger, KY	$800
24	16	C9	Steve Casebolt	Richmond, IN	$800
25	17	12J	Jason Jameson	Lawrenceburg, IN	$800