Golden Isles Speedway
Owens gets racing room, $10,000 win in opener
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Jimmy Owens earned $10,000. (rickschwalliephotos.com)
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Jan. 23) — Jimmy Owens felt like he had a good car all night long in the opening event of the Super Bowl of Racing IV at Golden Isles Speedway. The Newport, Tenn., driver, who started third in the 24-car UMP Late Model field, just needed a little racing room to show it in the 50-lap feature. Prelims | Slideshow
After dropping back to fourth midway through the race, Owens began his march toward the front. He dispatched of Chris Madden, early leader Earl Pearson Jr. and then tracked down high-running leader Shane Clanton for the winning pass on lap 37.
"Once we got around those guys, we were good on the bottom," said the 35-year-old Owens, who has a three-race winning streak counting his final two victories of 2007. "We just needed a clean track and once we got it we were pretty good."
Owens earned $10,000 at a 4/10-mile oval that kicked off an unprecedented stretch of 10 races over 11 nights with $10,000 going to the winner each night.
The sixth-starting Clanton ended up a half-straightaway behind in second with Earl Pearson Jr., who led the first 30 laps, finishing third in front of a sparse crowd. Polesitter Chris Madden ran second through the first half of the race before settling for fourth and Billy Moyer was fifth. Darrell Lanigan emerged from his 19th starting spot to finish sixth.
Owens was glad to see the 4/10-mile track, shortened from its 5/8-mile configuration five months ago, allowed plenty of passing during the main event.
"It was a good track, it was good and racy," said Owens, who ran third behind Pearson and Madden before Clanton dropped him to fourth on lap 25. "Any time you can get passed on the high side and things like that, you've got a racy track, and it just makes for better racing for the fans and everybody."
Owens could make his car work on the high side, but he was best down low and that left the higher-running Clanton vulnerable when he tracked down the leader in the final 15 laps.
"Once we got to Clanton, he never moved back down, so it was good for me," Owens said.
Clanton didn't get rolling until midway through the race because some cars angling through the corners robbed him of his preferred higher groove. But he came alive after a lap-21 restart and powered around Scott Bloomquist, Moyer, Owens, Madden and Pearson over the next 10 laps.
"They started moving down getting into the corner," the Locust Grove, Ga., driver said, "so it just left me a lane out there."
"Heck, as fast as I was when I went by 'em, I thought, 'Heck, this is pretty good here.' Then I started hearing him again. I started letting up a little bit because I thought I was killing the (right-rear) tire, but evidently (Owens) was a little bit better than I was.
"I started letting up, just trying to save the race car. I was trying to save the race car as much as I could — I saved too much, I guess.
"Anytime you lead one, you think you oughta have it. It's disappointing, but ... I've got second place on the first night, no race car torn up, so I'm looking pretty good for nine more days."
Owens, whose only previous racing at Golden Isles came in a modified, has served notice that he'll be competitive the remainder of the 10 nights. "It's great to open up the season with a win," he said. "We're just going to take it day by day and hope for the best."
Notebook
Owens' Bloomquist Race Car has a Cornett engine and sponsorship from Gantte Appraisals, Reece Monument, PRC, VP Racing Fuels and Byrd's Radiator. ... Owens won his previous two starts, both in 2007. He captured O'Reilly Southern All Star-sanctioned Blue-Gray 100 at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., and the Crate Racin' USA World Championship at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Fla. ... The UMP-sanctioned Super Late Model race was slowed by three cautions, none for major incidents. Dan Schlieper slowed on the ninth lap, Tim McCreadie slowed on lap 13 and Donnie Moran stopped on the backstretch to bring out the final caution on lap 21. ... In a preliminary feature, Shane Williams of DeLeon Springs, Fla., won the 50-lap National Late Model Series event to earn $3,000.
