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Eldora Speedway

Pearson tops Eldora's Dream XVIII qualifying

June 9, 2012, 12:53 am
By Kevin Kovac
UMP DIRTcar Racing
Earl Pearson Jr. heads for fast time honors at Eldora. (jmsprophoto.com)
Earl Pearson Jr. heads for fast time honors at Eldora. (jmsprophoto.com)

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 8) — Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., kicked off the 18th Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Commercial Mowers in fine fashion on Friday night, topping the 98-car field with the fastest lap in time trials at Eldora Speedway. | Complete Dream XVIII coverage

The 40-year-old standout ripped off a lap of 15.476 seconds to start the second round of qualifying, vaulting him past first-round fast qualifier Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.

Pearson’s time held up for the remainder of the session, putting him in the spotlight on opening night of the prestigious $100,000-to-win DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned event.

“I was worried about O’Neal when he put that first lap down,” said Pearson, who timed second to O’Neal in the first round of qualifying. “I figured he’d come out that second lap and beat that, so we’re happy to end up with fast time.”

Pearson was also smiling after spinning a ‘3’ on the invert wheel, providing him the best possible starting position in his heat race on Saturday night. He will take the green flag from inside row two in the first of six 15-lap preliminaries, each of which transfers three drivers to the 100-lap Dream main event.

A former World 100 winner who drives a Longhorn Chassis for NASCAR veteran Bobby Labonte, Pearson will attempt to start the seventh Dream 100 of his career. He owns a top finish of fifth (2005) in the race that offers the dirt Late Model division’s richest first-place prize.

O’Neal, 47, was unable to better his first-round time of 15.592 seconds, but he still ended qualifying with his MasterSbilt No. 71 second overall. He will start third in Saturday’s second heat race as he bids to become the first driver in Dream history to win the event in consecutive years.

The ‘3’ invert was perfect for the drivers who timed 13-18 in qualifying, handing each a pole position start in a heat. Saturday’s polesitters will include former Dream winners Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who hit the wall on his second qualifying lap but was fast enough with his first circuit to rank 14th; Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who made a hasty switch to his backup car for qualifying after hitting the turn-two wall during hot laps; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; and Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky.

Friday’s top 60 qualifiers locked themselves into heat-race starting spots. Drivers timing below that threshold were for the first time split into three 20-lap Qualifying Features that paid $1,000 to win, offered full DIRTcar UMP points and provided racers an opportunity to better their starting positions in Saturday’s heat races.

Duane Chamberlain of Richmond, Ind., Jeff Babcock of Wayne, Ohio, and sprint car veteran Shane Cottle of Kokomo, Ind., emerged victorious in the Qualifying Features. Each will start 11th in a heat on Saturday evening.

The driver who gained the most from the new Qualifying Features format was 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and current Nationwide Series regular Austin Dillon of Welcome, N.C., who started last (11th) in the second race after failing to record a time because he jumped the turn-two berm and ripped off his car’s nosepiece during his first lap. He charged forward to finish third, moving him further up in the heat lineup.

Saturday’s racing program, which begins at 7 p.m., includes six heat races, C- and B-features and the new ‘scramble’ races prior to the $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Commercial Mowers.

Heat race lineups

15 laps; top three advance
First heat
Row 1: Jimmy Owens, Klint Byars
Row 2: Earl Pearson Jr., Jared Landers
Row 3: Chub Frank, Chris Madden
Row 4: Ky Harper, Mike Marlar
Row 5: Clint Smith, Jesse Stovall
Row 6: Duane Chamberlain, Ronnie DeHaven Jr.
Row 7: Chad Smith, B.J. Robinson
Row 8: Greg Kindle, Don Gordon
Row 9: Will Vaught
Second heat
Row 1: Jonathan Davenport, Scott Bloomquist
Row 2: Don O'Neal, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Billy Moyer, Duke Whiseant
Row 4: Curtis Roberts, Terry Casey
Row 5: Greg Johnson, Doug Drown
Row 6: Jeff Babcock, Austin Dillon
Row 7: Mike Spatola, Bill Lewis
Row 8: Mark Voight, Dustin Neat
Row 9: Jason Riggs
Third heat
Row 1: Tim McCreadie, Steve Shaver
Row 2: Eddie Carrier Jr., Jason Feger
Row 3: Steve Casebolt, John Blankenship
Row 4: Terry Phillips, Curt Spalding
Row 5: Justin Coulter, Michael Kloos
Row 6: Shane Cottle, Tony Knowles
Row 7: Mark Dodson, Scott Bowersock
Row 8: James Rice, Dillon Wood
Fourth heat
Row 1: Darrell Lanigan, Jeep Van Wormer
Row 2: Chris Ferguson, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 3: Ray Cook, Scott James
Row 4: Tyler Reddick, Jon Henry
Row 5: Chris Wall, Donnie Moran
Row 6: Scott Creel, Casey Noonan
Row 7: Justin Chance, Wayne Chinn
Row 8: Matt Irey, Shannan Thronsberry
Fifth heat
Row 1: Shannon Babb, Shane Clanton
Row 2: Josh Richards, Brian Birkhofer
Row 3: R.J. Conley, Ryan VanderVeen
Row 4: Steve Francis, Bub McCool
Row 5: Jacob Hawkins, Andrew Reaume
Row 6: Devin Moran, Dennis Franklin
Row 7: Tim Lance, Cody Scott
Row 8: Jay Johnson, Jacob Grizzle
Sixth heat
Row 1: Eric Wells, Brian Shirley
Row 2: Brad Neat, Kent Robinson
Row 3: Dale McDowell, Matt Miller
Row 4: Jimmy Mars, Jerry Bowersock
Row 5: Jackie Boggs, Jared Hawkins
Row 6: John Lobb, Tim Rivers
Row 7: Leon Henderson, Tracy Pearson Jr.
Row 8: Kevin Colston, Jay Sessoms

Time trials (unofficial)

  1. Earl Pearson Jr. (44), Jacksonville, Fla. 15.476
  2. Don O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind. 15.592
  3. Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va. 15.606
  4. Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C. 15.670
  5. Josh Richards (25), Shinnston, W.Va. 15.682
  6. Brad Neat (41), Dunnville, Ky. 15.696
  7. Klint Byars (5), Carrollton, Miss. 15.699
  8. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn. 15.820
  9. Steve Shaver (6), Vienna, W.Va. 15.823
  10. Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich. 15.837
  11. Shane Clanton (25), Fayetteville, Ga. 15.852
  12. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill. 15.858
  13. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn. 15.868
  14. Jonathan Davenport (15), Blairsville, Ga. 15.883
  15. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y. 15.884
  16. Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky. 15.904
  17. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill. 15.924
  18. Eric Wells (18), Hazard, Ky. 15.930
  19. Jared Landers (5), Batesville, Ark. 15.940
  20. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill. 15.964
  21. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill. 15.985
  22. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill. 16.002
  23. Brian Birkhofer (15), Muscatine, Iowa 16.014
  24. Kent Robinson (7r), Bloomington, Ind. 16.044
  25. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark. 16.083
  26. Steve Casebolt (9c), Richmond, Ind. 16.088
  27. Ray Cook (53), Brasstown, N.C. 16.089
  28. R.J. Conley (71), Wheeler, Ohio 16.091
  29. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga. 16.112
  30. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C. 16.132
  31. Duke Whiseant (A1), Texarkana, Ark. 16.142
  32. John Blankenship (23), Williamson, W.Va. 16.147
  33. Scott James (81), Lawrenceburg, Ind. 16.148
  34. Chub Frank (1*), Bear Lake, Pa. 16.149
  35. Jared Hawkins (37), Fairmont, W.Va. 16.218
  36. Ryan Vanderveen (23), Six Lakes, Mich. 16.264
  37. Matt Miller (3), Whitehouse, Ohio 16.277
  38. Ky Harper (34), Holland, Ohio 16.343
  39. Curtis Roberts (9r), Coleman, Mich. 16.369
  40. Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo. 16.410
  41. Tyler Reddick (11), Corning, Calif. 16.410
  42. Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky. 16.450
  43. Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis. 16.451
  44. Mike Marlar (5b), Winfield, Tenn., time unavailable
  45. Terry Casey (42), New London, Wis. 16.521
  46. Curt Spalding (111), Hartford, Mich. 16.544
  47. Jon Henry (15), Ada, Ohio 16.547
  48. Bub McCool (57), Vicksburg, Miss. 16.553
  49. Jerry Bowersock (20), Wapakoneta, Ohio 16.576
  50. Clint Smith (44), Senoia, Ga. 16.588
  51. Greg Johnson (24h), Bedford, Ind. 16.594
  52. Justin Coulter (555), Ontario, Canada 16.595
  53. Chris Wall (71), Springfield, La. 16.605
  54. Jacob Hawkins (20), Fairmont, W.Va. 16.659
  55. Jackie Boggs (4b), Grayson, Ky. 16.670
  56. Jesse Stovall (00), Galena, Mo. 16.698
  57. Doug Drown (1), Wooster, Ohio 16.706
  58. Michael Kloos (6k), Trenton, Ill. 16.754
  59. Donnie Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio 16.774
  60. Andrew Reaume (88), Blenheim, Ontario 16.777
  61. Duane Chamberlin (20), Richmond, Ind. 16.846
  62. Tim Lance (48), Brimfield, Ill. 16.885
  63. Tim Rivers (46), Salem, Ind. 16.936
  64. Casey Noonan (1), Toledo, Ohio 16.939
  65. Devin Moran (99m), Dresden, Ohio 16.958
  66. Shane Cottle (31) 16.987
  67. Scott Creel (31), Franklinton, La. 17.003
  68. Dennis Franklin (38), Gaffney, S.C. 17.011
  69. Tony Knowles (26), Tyrone, Ga. 17.024
  70. Chad Smith (19), Dayton, Ohio 17.031
  71. Jeff Babcock (1), Wayne, Ohio 17.037
  72. Scott Bowersock (33), Wapakoneta, Ohio 17.107
  73. James Rice (11), Verona, Ky 17.163
  74. Wayne Chinn (1), Bradford, Ohio 17.164
  75. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill. 17.182
  76. Mark Dodson (32), Caledonia, Miss. 17.206
  77. Shannon Thornsberry (17), Martin, Ky. 17.264
  78. Bill Lewis (26), Warren, Ind. 17.364
  79. Leon Henderson (10), Laurel, Miss. 17.461
  80. B.J. Robinson (R5), Shreveport, La. 17.499
  81. Dustin Neat (25), Dunnville, Ky. 17.517
  82. John Lobb (28), Frewsburg, N.Y. 17.576
  83. Ronnie DeHaven Jr. (17), Winchester, Va. 17.627
  84. Jay Johnson (93), West Burlington, Iowa 17.677
  85. Greg Kindle (44), Paola, Ind. 17.787
  86. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill. 17.870
  87. Tracy Pearson (16), Woodstock, Ga. 18.282
  88. Matt Irey (36), Bainsville, Ohio 18.359
  89. Cody Scott (92), Ontario, Ohio 18.629
  90. Kevin Colston (38) 18.686
  91. Don Gordon (33), Chatham, Ontario 19.062
  92. Jacob Grizzle (99), Blairsville, Ga., no time
  93. Dillon Wood (1w), New Smyrna Beach, Fla., no time
  94. Will Vaught (1v), Crane, Mo. no time
  95. Jason Riggs (81jr), Harrisburg, Ill., no time
  96. Jay Sessoms (00), Stanley, N.C. no time
  97. Justin Chance (2), Mansfield, Ohio, no time
  98. Austin Dillon (3), Welcome, N.C. no time
 
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