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Winner Billy Moyer (21) threads the needle at Knoxville. (thesportswire.net)

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Sept. 30) — Coming from his 11th starting spot, Billy Moyer swept under Tim McCreadie in turn four on the 17th lap and pulled away for a $7,000 victory in Thursday's semifeature for the seventh annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals.

The 52-year-old Moyer, of Batesville, Ark., sets himself up for a solid starting spot for Saturday's $40,000-to-win event at the half-mile oval. McCreadie ended up a half-straightaway back in second while eighth-starting Scott Bloomquist came up to finish third. Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., got up to second on the 11th lap but faded to finish fourth. Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., came from 10th to round out the top five.

Finish: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Tim McCreadie, (3) Scott Bloomquist, (4) Earl Pearson Jr., (5) Brady Smith, (6) Austin Hubbard, (7) Josh Richards, (8) Brian Birkhofer, (9) Kelly Boen, (10) Chad Simpson, (11) Matt Miller, (12) Scott James, (13) Brian Shirley, (14) Rick Eckert, (15) Bub McCool, (16) Mark Burgtorf, (17) Ryan Newman, (18) Brad Neat, (19) Denny Eckrich, (20) John Vandenberg, (21) Darren Miller, (22) Jack Sullivan, (23) Rob Moss, (24) Steve Francis. Fast qualifier (among 61 cars): Jimmy Owens, 17.950 seconds. Heat race winners: Mark Burgtorf, Brady Smith, Bub McCool, Jack Sullivan, Billy Moyer. C-main winner: Will Vaught. B-main winner: Brian Birkhofer.

Earlier updates from Thursday's action:

Main event lineup

C-main

Outside front-row starter Will Vaught led all the way for the victory. Polesitter Jimmy Owens also transfers to the B-main along with Shannon Babb and Jason Utter.

Finish: Will Vaught, Jimmy Owens, Shannon Babb, Jason Utter, Chris Simpson, John Duty, Jay Johnson, Alonzo Grosse, Chad Chenoweth, Rich Bell, Chris Spieker, Jake Meier, Junior Coover. Scratched: Tyler Reddick, Darrell Lanigan, Curt Schroeder, Ron Boyse, Jimmy Mars, Denny Woodworth, Darrel DeFrancis, Jill George.

Mid-event notes

Several teams have called it a night, including Jimmy Mars, whose team is replacing a rear end in his No. 28. ... Darrell Lanigan had his heat race all but sewn up, but he pulled to the infield during a caution with just two laps remaining when he noticed the water temperature dropping — his engine lost all its water because of a hole in the radiator. Uncertain if the motor overheated, the team plans to get up early Friday and swap powerplants, said crew chief Randall Edwards. "The good thing is you get a second chance," Edwards said of the Knoxville format, which holds another prelim on Friday. Lanigan had a poor qualifying effort, too, because of a faulty fuel regulator, the crewman said. ... Mark Burgtorf wasn't pleased with his qualifying effort, but he got the handle on his race car — without making a single setup change — by winning his heat race. "The car's better than the driver right now," Burgtorf said. "I'm not used to these speeds compared to the (shorter) tracks we normally run." ... Curt Schroeder of Des Moines scratched after breaking his lone motor in hot laps; he plans to spectate the rest of the weekend. ... The smoke from Shannon Babb's car in his heat race appeared to be mechanical, but it was from his left-rear tire after body damage to the left-side of his car. Babb received the damage when Kelly Boen rubbed past en route to a fourth-place finish. ... Jack Sullivan is making his first visit to Knoxville and hasn't quite figured out the quirky format that sets the line up of each race. "I told him just tell me which one to be in next," said Sullivan, who won his heat race.

Fifth heat

Seventh-starting Billy Moyer took the lead from polesitter Rob Moss on a lap-two restart and cruised the rest of the 12-lapper. He won by nearly a half-track margin. Moss held on for second while Brad Neat and 10th-starting Matt Miller got the other transfer spots to the main event. A first-lap scramble in turns one and two sent Jimmy Mars to the pits to be checked out, then he lost a left-rear wheel on second lap. Rick Eckert also pitted before a lap was complete and ended up starting on the tail. Jake Meier, who caught of piece of the lap-one skirmish, retired on the eighth lap. Jill George retired after the first-lap tangle in turn two. Only seven cars were running at the finish.

Finish: Billy Moyer, Rob Moss, Brad Neat, Matt Miller, Rick Eckert, John Blankenship, Rickey Frankel, Eddie Kirchoff, Jake Meier, Jimmy Mars, Jill George.

Fourth heat

Fourth-starting Jack Sullivan overtook Denny Woodworth early in the race, then held off charges from fifth-row starters Tim McCreadie and Earl Pearson Jr. in the final laps. Pearson got alongside Sullivan with an outside move in the final laps but ended up slipping back to third behind McCreadie. Sixth-starting Kelly Boen got the fourth and final transfer spot. Two yellows slowed the action. Chris Simpson drew the first yellow early in the race and seventh-starting Shannon Babb, who ran as high as second, stopped in turn four on the eighth lap after his car showed a plume of smoke for a lap and a half (Woodworth also pulled pitside just before Babb's yellow).

Finish: Jack Sullivan, Tim McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., Kelly Boen, Darren Miller, Jeremiah Hurst, John Anderson, Mike Wallace, Alonzo Grosse, Shannon Babb, Denny Woodworth, Chris Simpson.

Third heat

Inheriting the lead before a lap-10 restart in the 12-lapper, ninth-starting Bub McCool captured the third heat. McCool, in his first trip to Knoxville, went from fourth-to-second on a lap-nine restart and then took the lead when Darrell Lanigan dropped to the infield. Lanigan had taken the lead from polesitter Kerry Hansen just past the race's midpoint. Steve Francis, who started with McCool in the fifth row, made key moves late in the race to get second while Scott James was third. NASCAR driver Ryan Newman recovered from a poor qualifying effort, rallying from the sixth row to get the fourth and final transfer spot. Two cautions slowed the action. Nick Marolf slowed on the ninth lap to draw the prelim's first caution; another yellow appeared after the white flag flew when Rich Bell got into the turn-four guardrail after running fifth most of the race.

Finish: Bub McCool, Steve Francis, Scott James, Ryan Newman, Denny Eckrich, Kerry Hansen, Jason Rauen, Nick Marolf, Chris Spieker, Chad Chenoweth, Darrell Lanigan, Rich Bell.

Second heat

Roaring to the front from his seventh starting spot, Brady Smith overtook polesitter and early leader John Vanderberg exiting turn four on the fourth lap and cruised the rest of the way. Fifth-row starters Austin Hubbard and Scott Bloomquist threaded their way to the front to finish second and third while Vandenberg, driving a Bill Moyer Sr.-owned No. 18 Pierce Race Car driven by Shannon Babb years ago, held on for the fourth and final transfer spot.

Finish: Brady Smith, Austin Hubbard, Scott Bloomquist, John Vandenberg, Brian Birkhofer, Andy Eckrich, Jeff Guengerich, Mike Fryer, Jason Utter, Tyler Reddick, Darrel DeFrance.

First heat

Polesitter Mark Burgtorf overtook early leader and fellow front-row starter Jeep Van Wormer and cruised the rest of the way to earn a starting spot in the main event. Sixth-starting Chad Simpson rallied to finish second while fourth-row starters Brian Shirley and Josh Richards got the final two transfer spots. Van Wormer faded to seventh when he slowed on the final lap.

Finish: Mark Burgtorf, Chad Simpson, Brian Shirley, Josh Richards, Dan Schlieper, Joel Callahan, Jeep Van Wormer, Boone McClaughlin, Jimmy Owens, Will Vaught, John Duty, Jay Johnson.

Heat race lineups

Qualifying

Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., topped 61 qualifiers Thursday on the opening night of the seventh annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Owens posted a lap of 17.950 seconds at the half-mile oval as the only driver to crack the 18-second mark.

Owens will start near the tail of an inverted heat race later Thursday in Knoxville's unique point-system format for Thursday and Friday's preliminary features that set the field for Saturday's $40,000-to-win event. Thursday's semifeature pays $7,000 to the winner.

The rest of the top five in qualifying were two-time and defending event winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. (18.006); Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. (18.218); Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla. (18.443); and Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio (18.480).

Thursday's time trials (unofficial)

Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, time

1. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 17.950
2. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 18.006
3. Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky., 18.218
4. Earl Pearson Jr. (44), Jacksonville, Fla., 18.443
5. Matt Miller (7), Waterville, Ohio, 18.480
6. Will Vaught (1), Crane, Mo., 18.509
7. Austin Hubbard (19), Seaford, Del., 18.528
8. Bub McCool (57j), Vicksburg, Miss, 18.536
9. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 18.544
10. Jake Meier (20x), Tipton, Iowa, 18.548
11. Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., 18.561
12. Brian Birkhofer (15B), Muscatine, Iowa, 18.573
13. Denny Eckrich (50), Tiffin, Iowa, 18.630
14. Darren Miller (32D), Milledgeville, Ill., 18.638
15. Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 18.639
16. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 18.655
17. Brady Smith (2), Solon Springs, Wis., 18.691
18. Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 18.700
19. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 18.709
20. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 18.732
21. Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 18.777
22. Tyler Reddick (11), Corning, Iowa, 18.838
23. Nick Marolf (33), Moscow, Iowa, 18.855
24. Kelly Boen (07), Henderson, Colo., 18.871
25. Rick Eckert (24), York, Pa., 18.897
26. Dan Schlieper (9), Sullivan, Wis., 18.912
27. Andy Eckrich (56), Iowa City, Iowa, 18.917
28. Jason Rauen (98), Farley, Iowa, 18.919
29. John Anderson (2), Omaha, Neb., 18.943
30. Brad Neat (41), Dunnville, Ky., 18.961
31. John Duty (5), Portland, Ore., 19.002
32. Jason Utter (31), Columbus Junction, Iowa, 19.034
33. Scott James (83), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 19.044
34. Jack Sullivan (1), Greenbrier, Ark., 19.051
35. John Blankenship (23), Williamson, W.Va., 19.086
36. Boone McLaughlin (14), Mediapolis, Iowa, 19.087
37. Darrel DeFrance (99D), Marshalltown, Iowa, 19.122
38. Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky., 19.141
39. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 19.289
40. Rickey Frankel (33), Quincy, Ill., 19.340
41. Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich., 19.344
42. Mike Fryer (5m), Freeport, Ill., 19.363
43. Chris Spieker (56x), Massena, Iowa, 19.390
44. Jeremiah Hurst (29), Dubuque, Iowa, 19.405
45. Eddie Kirchoff (5), Gillette, Wyo., 19.442
46. Mark Burgtorf (7B), Quincy, Ill., 19.500
47. John Vandenberg (18), Oskaloosa, Iowa, 19.562
48. Kerry Hansen (25), Spencer, Wis., 19.568
49. Denny Woodworth (45), Mendon, Ill., 19.585
50. Rob Moss (1m), Iowa City, Iowa, 19.596
51. Jay Johnson (93), West Burlington, Iowa, 19.611
52. Jeff Guengerich (15), Washington, Iowa, 19.642
53. Ryan Newman (39), South Bend, Ind., 19.704
54. Mike Wallace (8), Carter Lake, Iowa, 19.773
55. Jill George (22), Cedar Falls, Iowa, 19.881
56. Joel Callahan (40), Dubuque, Iowa, 19.954
57. Junior Coover (10), Norfolk, Neb., 20.069
58. Chad Chenoweth (7c), Huron, S.D., 20.200
59. Alonzo Grosse (44), Council Bluffs, Iowa, 20.865
60. Curt Schroeder (15c), Des Moines, Iowa, no time
61. Ron Boyse (74), Kalona, Iowa, no time

Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals

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