UNION, Ky. (Aug. 12) — Overtaking long-time race leader Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., with only four laps remaining in Saturday’s $50,000-to-win feature, fourth-starting Tim McCreadie outran Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., to score his first career Sunoco North-South 100 victory at Florence Speedway.

Rolling around the high side of the racetrack, McCreadie began reeling in Bloomquist late, attempting to slide ahead of the Hall of Famer with less than 10 laps remaining. Crossing ahead of Bloomquist down the backstretch, McCreadie shot to the front of the field on lap 97, leading the final circuits for his fifth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season.

“Mid-race, I gave (crew member) Phillip a thumbs down under the yellow,” McCreadie said after Saturday’s race. “I’m like, ‘Man, we’re just not good enough.’ We were struggling to steer through the center and not enough side bite in. That’s a bad issue with me. If I have good side bite and I don’t steer it’s not a big thing, but if I have no side bite and I don’t turn, bad, bad for me.

“I’ve raced enough and I know that Bobby’s as good as you’re going to get when there’s that little strip way out there. He poked me a few times and slid me once. I thought, ‘Well, overtime I see No. 32 come behind me on that board down the backstretch, I better get up. I finally made a little mistake getting in to (turn) one and slid higher than I wanted to and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, this is way better up here.’

“Then we started going and started going. It just happened to be our night, I guess. I don’t really know how to explain it. (Bloomquist) went right, I went left. He went left, I went right. We got lucky enough to win."

It was outside polesitter Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., charging to the lead at the drop of the green flag. As the race leaders approached lapped traffic, Bloomquist begin closing in on the race leader, pulling ahead of Owens out of turn four to take the lead on lap 18.

Bloomquist cruised through the first half of the race, stretching his lead over Owens and third-running McCreadie at the halfway mark. But the race was far from over.

Using momentum from a mid-race restart, McCreadie slipped past Owens to run in second on lap 64. As the race neared the checkers, McCreadie began his charge around the top side of the racetrack, with Pierce, the defending North-South 100 winner, in tow.

The pair worked their way past Bloomquist in the final laps, with Pierce finishing runner-up at the line. Bloomquist ran third, with Owens finishing fourth. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., improved two positions to round out the top five.

“When (Bloomquist) went in to (turn) one after I passed him off of (turn) four, I had so much speed through there that I knew the dumb for me to do was to be on his right-rear quarter panel, because I’d just get myself into the fence,” McCreadie said of his late-race pass. "That’s how it is here at Florence. If you get off of turn two and a guy comes across like that, all you got to do is ease up a little bit because you can make so much time in to (turn) three. I didn’t know that was going to be the race, by any stretch of the imagination, but I knew I was going to be leading coming off of (turn) four.”

Right in the mix of the late-race excitement, Pierce knew it would be difficult to overtake McCreadie for his second straight North-South 100 victory.

“I kind of showed (McCreadie) my line,” Pierce said. “He was running the middle so much, I didn’t think he’d move up that high. There with about 30 laps to go, he got really high. And I was like, ‘Man, there probably goes the chances of winning.’ He’s really hard to pass. He’s good at blocking, good at staying out front of you. I’m just kind of surprised we both caught (Bloomquist). This top, there was like two inches of cushion. It was crazy.”

After leading more than half of the race, Bloomquist wasn’t prepared for the late-race charges by McCreadie and Pierce. Running third, he notched his 14th career top-five North-South 100 finish.

“Our tires got a little bit greased over feeling,” Bloomquist said after the race. “I didn’t know they were up there. If I’d have known they were up there, I’d have went up there. It’s pretty simple really.

"These tire rules are difficult. You get too soft a tire for the condition and the tires are coming and going. But it made for a good race, I guess, for everybody else."

35th annual Sunoco North-South 100

Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $50,000
2. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Pierce, $10,000
3. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Sweet-Bloomquist, $7,000
4. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Rocket, $5,000
5. Darrell Lanigan (14), Union, Ky., Club 29, $4,000
6. Brandon Overton (116), Evans, Ga., Longhorn, $3,800
7. Zack Dohm (17), Cross Lanes, W.Va., Swartz, $3,600
8. Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $3,400
9. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Rocket, $3,350
10. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $3,300
11. Don O’Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $3,250
12. Shanon Buckingham (50), Morristown, Tenn., Longhorn, $3,200
13. Michael Chilton (97), Salvisa, Ky., Rocket, $3,150
14. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $3,125
15. Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., Rocket, $3,100
16. Eddie Carrier Jr. (10), Salt Rock, W.Va., Rocket, $3,075
17. Billy Moyer Jr. (21JR), Bateville, Ark., Moyer Victory, $3,050
18. Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., Longhorn, $3,025
19. Scott James (83), Bright, Ind., Rocket, $3,000
20. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., Rocket, $3,000
21. Steve Francis (15), Bowling Green, Ky., $800
22. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Black Diamond, $3,000
23. Victor Lee (6), Danville, Ky., Swartz, $3,000
24. Robby Hensley (21), Walton, Ky., Club 29, $3,000
25. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Rocket, $3,000
26. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., Club 29, $3,000
27. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., Longhorn, $800
Non qualifiers’ race winner: Dale McDowell
Heat race winners (among 67 cars): Carrier, Bloomquist, Davenport, Richards, Pierce, D. O’Neal, Owens, Buckingham, McCreadie, Marlar, Pearson, Overton
Consolation winners: Dohm, Carrier, Satterlee
Provisional starters: Pearson, Erb, Francis, Briggs, Hensley
Lap leaders: Owens 1-17; Bloomquist 18-96; McCreadie 97-100

Blog-style reports and Saturday preliminaries:

Non-qualifiers’ race

Finish: Dale McDowell, Craig Vosbergen, Kent Robinson, Steve Casebolt, Jackie Boggs, Austin Hubbard, Nick Latham, Timothy Culp, Chad Stapleton, Ray Cook, Trevor Landrum, Dustin Nobbe, Jesse Lay, Jason Miller, Connor Meade, Chris Ferguson, Tommy Bailey, Chris Combs, Steve Landrum

Main event notes

Lap 100: McCreadie wins the Sunoco North-South 100.

Lap 97: McCreadie crosses ahead of Bloomquist down the backstretch to take the lead.

Lap 91: McCreadie and Pierce are reeling in Bloomquist as they charge around the high side.

Lap 87: As Pierce attempts to reel in McCreadie for second, Darrell Lanigan and Josh Richards battle for sixth.

Lap 75: Bloomquist leads McCreadie, Owens, Pierce and Overton.

Lap 64: Using momentum from the restart, McCreadie overtakes Owens to run in second.

Lap 63: Satterlee slows on the frontstretch to draw a caution. Bloomquist leads Owens, McCreadie, Overton and Pierce.

Lap 60: As Bloomquist leads, third-running McCreadie fights off challenges from Overton and Pierce.

Lap 50: Bloomquist stretches his lead at the halfway mark over Owens, McCreadie, Pierce and Brandon Overton, who started 11th.

Lap 38: Dennis Erb slows on the frontstretch for a caution. Bloomquist leads Owens, McCreadie, Richards and Shanon Buckingham.

Lap 34: The first yellow flag waves as Gregg Satterlee and Mason Zeigler tangle in turns three and four, spinning in front of the race leaders. In a tight battle for the lead, Bloomquist and Owens avoided contact.

Lap 30: Bloomquist continues to lead Owens, McCreadie, Pierce and Richards.

Lap 18: Working the bottom of the racetrack, Bloomquist pulls ahead of Owens exiting turn four to take the lead down the frontstretch.

Lap 10: Owens continues to lead as the front of the filed approaches lapped traffic. Bloomquist runs in second, followed by Tim McCreadie, Josh Richards and Bobby Pierce.

Lap one: Jimmy Owens pulls ahead of fellow front-row starter Scott Bloomquist to lead the opening lap.

10:43 p.m.: Drivers are given the call to start their engines and begin rolling out for hot laps.

10:22 p.m.: Feature cars begin rolling on to the racetrack, as crew members fill the infield pit area.

Pre-feature notes

Lining up outside the fourth row, Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., will start his 22nd Sunoco North-South 100. He tops the all-time list for most career North-South starts. … Polesitter Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., has finished runner-up in the past three North-South 100 features. He has 13 career top-fives in the crown jewel event. … Joining the list of drivers making their first career North-South 100 start is Zack Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., and Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa. … Winning his consolation, Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., is among former race winners in the starting lineup. He scored his first career North-South 100 victory in the 2014 edition of the event. … Running second in his consolation, Victor Lee of Danville, Ky., qualified for the North-South feature for the first time since 2004. He’s also locked in to Saturday’s modified feature. … Receiving series provisionals are Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., and Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. … Lucas Oil Series competitors Steve Francis of Bowling Green, Ky., and Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., will use emergency provisionals to start the main event.

Non-qualifiers’ race lineup

Row 1: Kent Robinson, Dale McDowell
Row 2: Steve Casebolt, Jackie Boggs
Row 3: Jason Miller, Nick Latham
Row 4: Chris Combs, Kyle Bronson
Row 5: Steve Landrum, Chris Ferguson
Row 6: Devin Moran, Austin Hubbard
Row 7: Craig Vosbergen, Timothy Culp
Row 8: Ray Cook, Adam Bowman
Row 9: Chad Stapleton, Dustin Nobbe
Row 10: R.J. Conley, Connor Meade

Sunoco North-South 100 lineup

Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Josh Richards, Tim McCreadie
Row 3: Bobby Pierce, Shanon Buckingham
Row 4: Darrell Lanigan, Hudson O’Neal
Row 5: Mike Marlar, Don O’Neal
Row 6: Brandon Overton, Scott James
Row 7: Brian Shirley, Jason Jameson
Row 8: Jonathan Davenport, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 9: Zack Dohm, Eddie Carrier Jr.
Row 10: Gregg Satterlee, Victor Lee
Row 11: Mason Zeigler, Michael Chilton
Row 12: Earl Pearson Jr., Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 13: Steve Francis, Boom Briggs
Row 14: Robby Hensley

Third consolation

Polesitter Michael Chilton shot to the lead when the green flag waved, with fellow front-row starter Michael Page slipping back to seventh. A yellow flag waved on the first lap for a turn one tangle involving Boom Briggs and Roger Williams. The battle for second heated up as the race went back green, with Steve Casebolt racing side-by-side with Gregg Satterlee. Charging around the high side and sliding through turns three and four, Satterlee pulled ahead of Chilton to lead lap five. As the race reached the halfway mark, Satterlee held his lead, with Chilton putting distance between himself and third-running Casebolt. Dominating late-race, Satterlee won the consolation, with Chilton finishing second to transfer to the main event.

Finish (top two transfer): Gregg Satterlee, Michael Chilton, Steve Casebolt, Jason Millar, Chris Combs, Chris Ferguson, Austin Hubbard, Ray Cook, Dustin Nobbe, Tommy Bailey, Roger Williams, Devin Gilpin, Michael Page, Boom Briggs, Joey Moriarty

Second consolation

Outside polesitter Eddie Carrier Jr. charged to the lead at the drop of the green flag, as Earl Pearson Jr. and Mason Zeigler battled for the runner-up spot. As Carrier extended his lead to nearly half a straightaway, the fight for second continued through the early running, with Pearson and Zeigler swapping positions. As the race reached the halfway mark, Zeigler pulled away from Pearson to run solidly in second. A yellow flag waved on lap 13 when James Rice shredded a tire. Carrier held on to win the consolation, with Zeigler grabbing the second and final transfer spot.

Finish (top two transfer): Eddie Carrier Jr., Mason Zeigler, Dale McDowell, Earl Pearson Jr., Nick Latham, Steve Landrum, Devin Moran, Timothy Culp, Chad Stapleton, Connor Meade, Jesse Lay, Zak Blackwood, James, Rice, Robby Hensley, John Whitney, Cody Mahoney

First consolation

A yellow flag waved on the opening lap when R.J. Conley spun in turn three, bringing the race to a complete restart. As the front-row starters crossed the line side-by-side, Kent Robinson edged ahead of Zack Dohm to lead the first two laps, with Dohm pulling ahead on lap three. With Dohm holding his lead, fifth-starting Victor Lee slipped past Robinson to run in second by the fourth lap. Lee challenged Dohm at the halfway mark, with the top two cars distancing themselves from the rest of the field. Dohm won the consolation, with Lee finishing runner-up to transfer to the feature.

Finish (top two transfer): Zack Dohm, Victor Lee, Kent Robinson, Jackie Boggs, Dennis Erb Jr. Kyle Bronson, Steve Francis, Craig Vosbergen, Adam Bowman, R.J. Conley, Trevor Landrum, Austyn Mills, Billy Green, Tyler Erb, Paul Stubber

Pre-race notes

Among the 16 cars already locked in to Saturday’s feature, drivers Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, Tenn., Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., will make their first-ever Sunoco North-South 100 start. … There are five former North-South winners already locked in to the $50,000-to-win event, including Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. … Weekend entrant Rick Eckert of York, Pa., was inducted to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon. Scheduled to start ninth in the first consolation, he has scratched from Saturday evening's program. … Among other drivers who have scratched for the night are John Gill of Mitchell, Ind., Brandon Kinzer of Allen, Ky., Jeep Van Wormer of Pinconning, Mich., and Kody Evans of Camden, Ohio. … Hometown driver Darrell Lanigan is the lone Kentucky driver already locked in to Saturday’s main event. While Lanigan is a former Ralph Latham Memorial winner, he’s still looking for his first-career North-South victory. … Bloomquist, Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., are among drivers who have already won special events at Florence earlier this season. … Currently Florence weekly points leader Robby Hensley of Walton, Ky., is in line to receive the track provisional for Saturday’s feature.

Consolation lineups

(15 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Zack Dohm, Kent Robinson
Row 2: Kyle Bronson, Steve Francis
Row 3: Victor Lee, Jackie Boggs
Row 4: R.J. Conley, Adam Bowman
Row 5: Rick Eckert, Tyler Erb
Row 6: Craig Vosbergen, Trevor Landrum
Row 7: Dennis Erb Jr., Austyn Mills
Row 8: Paul Stubber, Billy Green
Row 9: John Gill
Second consolation
Row 1: Earl Pearson Jr.; Eddie Carrier Jr.
Row 2: Steve Landrum, Mason Zeigler
Row 3: Dale McDowell, Chad Stapleton
Row 4: Devin Moran, Nick Latham
Row 5: James Rice, Timothy Culp
Row 6: Robby Hensley, Cody Mahoney
Row 7: Connor Meade, John Whitney
Row 8: Brandon Kinzer, Jesse Lay
Row 9: Zak Blackwood
Third consolation
Row 1: Michael Chilton, Michael Page
Row 2: Gregg Satterlee, Chris Ferguson
Row 3: Jason Miller, Chris Combs
Row 4: Steve Casebolt, Austin Hubbard
Row 5: Joey Moriarty, Jeep Van Wormer
Row 6: Boom Briggs, Tommy Bailey
Row 7: Dustin Nobbe, Ray Cook
Row 8: Kody Evans, Roger Williams
Row 9: Devin Gilpin

Pre-race setup

The Lucas Oil Series wraps up on Saturday night with Florence Speedway’s 35th annual Sunoco North-South 100 finale. The first eight rows of the feature have already been set by a double round of heat races contested on Friday night.

Based on Friday’s combined passing points totals, former North-South 100 winners Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., will start on the front row of Saturday’s $50,000-to-win event. Bloomquist’s most recent North-South victory came in 2000, while Owens’s last came in 2011.

Saturday’s program will include three 15-lap consolation races, with the top-two finishers from each race transferring to the main event. Series and track provisionals will make up the final rows of the feature lineup. The show will also include a Late Model non-qualifiers’ race and the $2,000-to-win UMP modified feature.