Tim McCreadie Leads All The Way To Win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Cowboy Classic
Story By: LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – WHEATLAND, MO – Tim McCreadie took the lead on the first lap and blazed his way to win the Cowboy Classic on Friday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway.
The current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Point Leader charged from his third spot at the drop of the green, taking the lead from polesitter Brandon Sheppard. He went on to lead all 45 laps to win the 8th Annual Cowboy Classic. The event, originally scheduled for Thursday Night, was co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association.
Hudson O’Neal came from his sixth starting spot to finish second. He was 1.22 seconds behind McCreadie at the finish. Bobby Pierce finished in third followed by Sheppard and Josh Richards.
Sheppard challenged McCreadie early on until Pierce picked up the pace to move into second on lap nine. Pierce then closed the gap on McCreadie. He briefly managed to get within a car length of McCreadie. There was only one early caution on lap 7.
While the differential between McCreadie and Pierce stayed consistent for several laps. Pierce saw O’Neal close the margin on him and take over the second spot on lap 31. O’Neal was able to make up some ground on McCreadie once he got to second, but lapped traffic kept O’Neal at bay in the waning laps.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the second time this year and for the 24th time in his career, McCreadie was very grateful to get the win, “I mean you are always worried about being boxed in at this place when you are going through traffic. When you see Pierce and Hudson on the board, those two don’t take laps off. I knew the best shot I had was to not wait around in traffic. I got beat a month ago by JD by being a little too cautious at the end of the race. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. This is an amazing weekend out here for Memorial Day and to have our car all dressed up by being Patriotic. If you see anybody from the military give them a thanks.”
O’Neal came home in second. “The car felt pretty good out there this evening. By the time I got to second everybody was pretty much spread out. Not that I was any faster than Timmy, but I would have liked a chance to clear out the lap traffic and take a shot on him at the end. It took me about 15 laps to really get going.”
Former Show-Me 100 winner, Bobby Pierce, took third. “Now that we got third, we can push it a little harder in the race tonight. It was really a good Show-Me Point Race for us in this first one. So, we can take some more chances in the second feature. I really wanted to win that one. I was closing in on T-Mac for a while. He moved back down and pulled away from me, after that I tried some things and the next thing I knew, Hudson was underneath me and there was nothing I could do.”
The winner’s Donald and Gena Bradsher-owned Paylor Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Bilstein Shocks, New Point Lighting and Design, D&E Marine, Raci8ng for Heroes, and The Aesthetic Haus.
Completing the top ten were Ryan Gustin, Jimmy Owens, Frank Heckenast Jr., Stormy Scott, and Scott Bloomquist.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Cowboy Classic
Friday, May 28th, 2021 (Thursday, May 27th, Make-Up Event)
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 15.678 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Frank Heckenast Jr. / 16.478 seconds
Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 0-Scott Bloomquist[3]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 5. 50-Kaeden Cornell[5]; 6. 15D-Justin Duty[8]; 7. 18J-Chase Junghans[7]; 8. 6H-Al Humphrey[9]; 9. 7J-Jay Fields[10]; 10. (DNS) 15L-Payton Looney
Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[4]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[2]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 5. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[6]; 6. 91P-Jason Papich[5]; 7. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 8. 1X-Aaron Marrant[9]; 9. 3W-Brennon Willard[10]; 10. 44W-David Webster[8]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 4. 49T-Jake Timm[3]; 5. 00S-Jesse Stovall[5]; 6. 25S-Chad Simpson[7]; 7. 59-Garrett Alberson[8]; 8. 55-Chris Kratzer[9]; 9. 11R-Justin Reed[6]
Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 12C-Scott Crigler[2]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[5]; 5. 41-Jeremiah Hurst[4]; 6. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]; 7. 94-Austin Rettig[7]; 8. 78S-Steve Stultz[8]; 9. 43-Jeremy Grady[9]; 10. 7JR-Ryan Johnson[10]
Fast Shafts Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 18B-Shannon Babb[1]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[4]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[5]; 5. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[7]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[8]; 9. L88-Larry Clawson[9]; 10. 14M-Reid Millard[10]
Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 5. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[5]; 6. 4G-Bob Gardner[7]; 7. 7W-Cole Wells[6]; 8. 99L-Scott Lewis[9]; 9. 23-Cody Holtkamp[8]
LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 3. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[4]; 4. 50-Kaeden Cornell[3]; 5. 15D-Justin Duty[5]; 6. 91P-Jason Papich[6]; 7. 18J-Chase Junghans[7]; 8. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 9. 1X-Aaron Marrant[10]; 10. 3W-Brennon Willard[12]; 11. 7J-Jay Fields[11]; 12. 6H-Al Humphrey[9]; 13. 44W-David Webster[14]; 14. (DNS) 15L-Payton Looney
UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 2. 49T-Jake Timm[1]; 3. 00S-Jesse Stovall[3]; 4. 59-Garrett Alberson[7]; 5. 41-Jeremiah Hurst[4]; 6. 25S-Chad Simpson[5]; 7. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]; 8. 94-Austin Rettig[8]; 9. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 10. 11R-Justin Reed[11]; 11. 43-Jeremy Grady[12]; 12. 55-Chris Kratzer[9]; 13. (DNS) 7JR-Ryan Johnson
MyRacePass B-Main #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 3. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 5. 36-Logan Martin[7]; 6. 4G-Bob Gardner[6]; 7. 7W-Cole Wells[8]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 9. 99L-Scott Lewis[10]; 10. L88-Larry Clawson[11]; 11. 14M-Reid Millard[13]; 12. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 13. 23-Cody Holtkamp[12]
Lucas Oil Feature Finish (45 Laps):
| Pos | Start | Car # | Competitor | Hometown | Pay |
| 1 | 3 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $6,000.00 |
| 2 | 6 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $3,000.00 |
| 3 | 5 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | $2,000.00 |
| 4 | 1 | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $1,500.00 |
| 5 | 9 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $1,250.00 |
| 6 | 4 | 19R | Ryan Gustin | Marshalltown, IA | $1,000.00 |
| 7 | 22 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $950.00 |
| 8 | 8 | 99JR | Frank Heckenast Jr | Frankfort, IL | $900.00 |
| 9 | 15 | 2S | Stormy Scott | Las Cruces, NM | $850.00 |
| 10 | 7 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $800.00 |
| 11 | 12 | 20RT | Ricky Thornton Jr. | Adel, IA | $700.00 |
| 12 | 2 | 12C | Scott Crigler | Alton, MO | $600.00 |
| 13 | 11 | 56JR | Tony Jackson Jr | Lebanon, MO | $600.00 |
| 14 | 24 | 25 | Shane Clanton | Zebulon, GA | $600.00 |
| 15 | 10 | 18B | Shannon Babb | Moweaqua, IL | $600.00 |
| 16 | 19 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $600.00 |
| 17 | 16 | 22F | Chris Ferguson | Mt. Holly, NC | $600.00 |
| 18 | 21 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $600.00 |
| 19 | 14 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $600.00 |
| 20 | 20 | 0E | Rick Eckert | York, PA | $600.00 |
| 21 | 13 | 21 | Billy Moyer Jr | Batesville, AR | $600.00 |
| 22 | 23 | 49T | Jake Timm | Winona, MN | $600.00 |
| 23 | 17 | 3S | Brian Shirley | Chatham, IL | $600.00 |
| 24 | 18 | 1 | Earl Pearson Jr | Jacksonville, FL | $600.00 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 58
Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1 – 45)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Tim McCreadie
Arizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: n/a
Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Tim McCreadie
Margin of Victory: 1.225
Stop Tech Brakes Cautions: Earl Pearson Jr. (Lap 7)
Series Provisionals: n/a
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Track Provisionals: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal, Bobby Pierce
Penske Shocks Top 5: Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal, Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jimmy Owens (Advanced 15 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadie
Hot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Tim McCreadie (45 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon Sheppard
Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: (Lap 1 – 16.285 seconds)
Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Philip Snellen (Tim McCreadie)
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Tim McCreadie (14.707 seconds)
Time of Race: 15 minutes 7 seconds
