East Bay Raceway Park
Feb. 8: Moyer fights off newcomer Smith, wins
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Brady Smith (2) got this close. (mikerueferphotos.photoreflect.com)
GIBSONTON, Fla. (Feb. 8) — If competitors weren't impressed that Wednesday night's victory meant Billy Moyer was still the man to beat at East Bay Raceway Park, the 50-year-old Hall of Famer drove the point home on Friday night. Leading all 50 laps in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event, the veteran from Batesville, Ark., earned $10,000 for his record 17th career victory at East Bay. Slideshow | Speedweeks links | Feb. 8 notebook
Brady Smith, making his first appearance of the week at East Bay, finished just a length behind in second as lapped traffic gave Moyer fits on two occasions, including the final lap. Eric Jacobsen, who started 10th, finished a distant third while Donnie Moran, who started 12th, finished fourth. John Blankenship started his first feature of the week and rallied from 18th to fifth at the third-mile oval near Tampa as changing track conditions scrambled the running order in the second half of the race.
Moyer said track conditions made it a "tire game" to select the right compound on a track with a notoriously tricky surface. "i just had to be careful with that left rear on. It gave up big time."
Moyer started outside the front row and immediately took command in a race where foes diced for every groove behind him. Only polesitter Matt Miller, who pulled up lame after running second for 12 laps, and Smith were able to stay remotely close to the blazing Moyer.
Smith made it interesting with 15 laps remaining as he closed up on Moyer's rear deck amid lapped traffic. While Moyer tried to work under the slower Tim McCreadie, Smith was waiting to pounce as he peeked under the leader in each corner. The traffic helped allow the third-running Jacobsen, nearly a half-track behind Moyer 10 laps earlier, to also close in on the frontrunners.
A lap-40 caution for a slowing Dan Schlieper bunched the field for the restart and gave Moyer clear racetrack with 10 laps remaining. On the restart, Smith stayed within striking distance for a few laps, but Moyer began to ease away and had a five-length lead with five laps remaining. Jacobsen, Moran and Blankenship couldn't keep up with the top two during the final stretch of racing, but Smith closed up on Moyer amid more traffic in the final laps. Smith, of Solon Springs, Wis., couldn't find a way past in the waning moments.
"I couldn't hear him, but I knew he was there," Moyer said, adding that the lapped traffic made his car tough to handle. "When I could run by myself there, the car ran great. ... I just had to stay up on top of the wheel and make sure I didn't make any mistakes."
The race was slowed by five cautions, none for serious incidents. Scott James slowed on the 15th lap and tail-starting Don O'Neal stopped with a punctured radiator on the lap-15 restart.
The Dart Winternationals wrap up Saturday night with a 75-lap feature paying $12,000 to the winner. Also, the Dart Winternationals champion will be crowned. Moyer's victory moved him into a tie atop the standings with Miller, who has four top-five finishes and has led the points virtually all week. O'Neal is third in the points chase, 90 points behind the leaders.
Finish: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Brady Smith, (3) Eric Jacobsen, (4) Donnie Moran, (5) John Blankenship, (6) Mike Marlar, (7) Steve Francis, (8) Ray Cook, (9) Terry Casey, (10) Tim McCreadie, (11) Steve Shaver, (12) Josh Richards, (13) Scott James, (14) Wayne Chinn, (15) Steve Casebolt, (16) Dan Schlieper, (17) Chuck Harper, (18) Bart Hartman, (19) Tim Fuller, (20) Earl Pearson Jr., (21) Shane Clanton, (22) Don O'Neal, (23) Matt Miller, (24) Shannon Babb, (25) Dave Tyrchniewicz.
Details of the night's preliminary events with correctly and official finishes:
Non-qualifiers' race
Don O'Neal watched Tim Fuller pull off a last-lap pass in the third consolation, then duplicated the move himself in the Strawberry Dash to earn a spot in the feature event. The fifth-starting O'Neal, who at one point appeared as if he was going to pull off the track before a caution appeared, was on the high side and Justin Rattliff was on the low side as they swallowed up race-long leader Dennis Erb Jr. with less than two laps to go. Rattliff took the lead at the white flag ahead of Erb, who dove low in turn one and lost control. Up high, O'Neal kept up his momentum and caught Rattliff between turns three and four. O'Neal roared out of the fourth turn to take the victory.
Finish: (1) Don O'Neal, (2) Justin Rattliff, (3) Kevin Cole, (4) Vic Coffey, (5) Billy Faust.
Fourth consolation
Starting outside the front row, Ray Cook got the jump on polesitter Clint Smith and rode the high groove to victory. Smith nosed in on Cook in the early laps, but slipped up in turn one on the fourth lap and allowed Cook to edge away. Smith moved to the high side at the halfway point and cut Cook's lead to a few lengths, but he ended up settling for second. Third-row starter Rohn Moon finished a distant third.
Finish: (1) Ray Cook, (2) Clint Smith, (3) Rohn Moon, (4) Dan Stone, (5) Jared Hawkins, (6) John Mason, (7) Rodney Melvin, (8) Tim Dohm, (9) Kellen Chadwick, (10) Butch McGill, (11) Tony Knowles, (12) Peyton Taylor.
Third consolation
In the best race of the week, Tim Fuller made a high-side pass of polesitter D.J. Wells on the last lap and grabbed a feature transfer spot. Wells ran the high side from the outset and fought off early challenges from Terry English and then Don O'Neal, who nearly got alongside on the low side midway through the race. While O'Neal kept chipping away, the fifth-starting Fuller went to the extreme high side and began moving to the front. Fuller took second coming to the white flag, then made his winning move on the 12th and final lap, sweeping around Wells exiting turn four.
Finish: (1) Tim Fuller, (2). D.J. Wells, (3) Don O'Neal, (4) Terry English, (5) Billy Drake, (6) Dennis Erb Jr., (7) Justin Rattliff, (8) Jeep Van Wormer, (9) Eddie Carrier Jr., (10) Chris Wall, (11) Jeff Beyers, (12) Jason McBride, (13) Vic Coffey, (14) Tyler Ivey, (15) Marshall Austin Jr.
Second consolation
Polesitter John Blankenship held off his car builder Scott Bloomquist to transfer to his first feature of the week. Bloomquist, who lost ground when he got out of shape in turn two on the fourth lap, was nearly a half-straightaway behind when a lap-eight caution bunched the field. On the restart, Bloomquist began working the high side and was within a length when another caution appeared with two laps remaining. Another caution set up a one-lap shootout, but Bloomquist couldn't find a way past. A first-lap caution appeared when Eric Wells got sideways in turn one, collecting three competitors.
Finish: (1) John Blankenship, (2) Scott Bloomquist, (3) Scott James, (4) Doug Blashe, (5) Damon Eller, (6) Joe Denby, (7) Danny Johnson, (8) J.R. Hotovy, (9) Donald Beyers, (10) Chris Hackett, (11) Mark Andersen, (12) Ky Harper, (13) Wendell Wallace, (14) Freddy Smith, (15) Eric Wells, (16) Jason Riggs.
First consolation
Polesitter Mike Marlar outdragged fellow front-row starter Steve Casebolt on the backstretch of the first lap and raced his way into the main event. Casebolt briefly lost second to Darren Miller, but took up the chase of Marlar again on the second lap. The top two pulled well ahead of the field, but Casebolt lost his power steering and slowed on the ninth lap to draw a caution. Casebolt's departure (the team later discovered a broken oil pump) moved Brian Shirley into second for a restart with three laps to go. Shirley did his best to challenge Marlar, but couldn't make the move. Rick Eckert finished third ahead of Miller. A second-lap caution appeared for a turn-one scramble that included Bob Geiger, Jim Borden and Clint Coffman.
Finish: (1) Mike Marlar, (2) Brian Shirley, (3) Rick Eckert, (4) Darren Miller, (5) Jackie Boggs, (6) Jimmy Owens, (7) Tyler Boggs, (8) Joe Isabell, (9) Billy Faust, (10) Doug Horton, (11) Ronnie Lee Whitt, (12) Rick Aukland, (13) Steve Casebolt, (14) Keith Nosbisch, (15) Bob Geiger, (16) Jim Borden, (17) Clint Coffman.
Sixth heat
Winning a heat race for the third night in a row, polesitter Josh Richards outran Donnie Moran as he continued his strong runs in the Ernie Davis-owned No. 25. Moran was second while Shane Clanton, making his first 2008 appearance at East Bay, grabbed the third and final transfer spot despite trailing blue smoke the last two laps. Terry English finished fourth, one spot better than Dan Stone. The race's first caution appeared after one lap when Kellen Chadwick spun in turn four; the second caution appeared on the eighth lap as Austin Hubbard got crossed up on the frontstretch.
Finish: (1) Josh Richards, (2) Donnie Moran, (3) Shane Clanton, (4) Terry English, (5) Dan Stone, (6) Tim Fuller, (7) Kevin Cole, (8) Eddie Carrier Jr., (9) Kellen Chadwick, (10) Marshall Austin Jr., (11) Tyler Ivey, (12) Austin Hubbard. Scratch: Anthony White, Josh McGuire.
Fifth heat
After running fellow front-row starter Tim Dohm high on the first lap, Dave Tyrchniewicz fought off challenges from sixth-starting Wayne Chinn to win his second heat of the week. Chinn had a flurry of competitors trying to steal the second spot as Tim McCreadie and Clint Smith pressured him through the late stages. Chinn held on to second and McCreadie beat Smith for third with his momentum exiting turn four. Dohm, who was piloting a T&R Logging car as a teammate to Jared Hawkins, never recovered from his first-lap foray near the turn-four wall and finished sixth. Fourth-starting Justin Rattliff struggled early and finished seventh while Chris Madden pulled out on the fifth lap as smoke trailed his No. 44.
Finish: (1) Dave Tyrchniewicz, (2) Wayne Chinn, (3) Tim McCreadie, (4) Clint Smith, (5) Don O'Neal, (6) Tim Dohm, (7) Justin Rattliff, (8) Jared Hawkins, (9) Billy Drake, (10) Rodney Melvin, (11) Jeff Beyers, (12) Tony Knowles, (13) Chris Madden. Scratch: Russ Adams.
Fourth heat
Polesitter Brady Smith outran fellow Team Zero driver Eric Jacobsen for a victory in his first 2008 appearance at East Bay. Jacobsen fought off repeated challenges from Steve Francis to hold the second spot, including when Francis nearly got alongside exiting turn four on the final lap. D.J. Wells ran with the frontrunners early and held on to finish fourth in a car equipped with an engine he got from Francis. Third-starting Jeep Van Wormer had his best starting spot of the week but ended up sixth. Bryan Collins slowed on the first lap to draw the race's lone caution.
Finish: (1) Brady Smith, (2) Eric Jacobsen, (3) Steve Francis, (4) D.J. Wells, (5) Ray Cook, (6) Jeep Van Wormer, (7) Rohn Moon, (8) Chris Wall, (9) John Mason, (10) Jason McBride, (11) Peyton Taylor, (12) Vic Coffey, (13) Butch McGill, (14) Dennis Erb Jr., (15) Bryan Collins.
Third heat
Polesitter Billy Moyer pulled away for an easy victory while the battle for second was a dandy. Scott Bloomquist held the second spot most of the race, but Terry Casey's lap-six slide job in turn four stole the position from Bloomquist, who faded the rest of the way to finish fifth. Steve Shaver, who followed Casey past Bloomquist, was third and Steve Casebolt, who started third but fell back as far as sixth, was fourth. Bloomquist finished fifth. The only caution appeared on the ninth lap when Joe Denby stopped on the backstretch.
Finish: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Terry Casey, (3) Steve Shaver, (4) Steve Casebolt, (5) Scott Bloomquist, (6) Jimmy Owens, (7) Freddy Smith, (8) Billy Faust, (9) J.R. Hotovy, (10) Keith Nosbisch, (11) Eric Wells, (12) Bob Geiger, (13) Jason Riggs, (14) Jim Borden, (15) Joe Denby.
Second heat
Polesitter Bart Hartman fought off a mid-race challenge from fellow front-row starter Chuck Harper and captured the 10-lapper. Harper had his best heat-race run of the week in finishing second while Earl Pearson Jr. was third. John Blankenship threatened to challenge Pearson late in the race, but never made a serious move. The race's first caution appeared on the second lap when Bryan Barber spun in turn one, collecting Kurt Owens, Rick Aukland and Doug Blache. Owens slammed the turn-four wall on the sixth lap for the second caution, ending his race. Doug Horton was running third in the early going, but he came to a stop during the early caution period and was pushed off the track.
Finish: (1): Bart Hartman, (2) Chuck Harper, (3) Earl Pearson Jr., (4) John Blankenship, (5) Darren Miller, (6) Danny Johnson, (7) Tyler Boggs, (8) Doug Blashe, (9) Joe Isabell, (10) Mark Andersen, (11) Rick Aukland, (12) Kurt Owens, (13) Doug Horton, (14) Bryan Barber. Scratch: Clint Coffman.
First heat
Surviving early pressure from polesitter Shannon Babb, Matt Miller led all 10 laps for a victory to qualify for his fifth straight East Bay feature. Babb was never challenged for the second spot as Dan Schlieper finished far behind in third after holding off Mike Marlar. Third-starting Damon Eller finished fifth. Ky Harper broke during track-packing and wasn't able to start.
Finish: (1) Matt Miller, (2) Shannon Babb, (3) Dan Schlieper, (4) Mike Marlar, (5) Damon Eller, (6) Brian Shirley, (7) Chris Hackett, (8) Rick Eckert, (9) Scott James, (10) Jackie Boggs, (11) Donald Beyers, (12) Ronnie Lee Whitt, (13) Wendell Wallace. Scratch: Ky Harper.
Qualifying
Terry Casey apparently isn't settling for his richest career victory. One night after leading all 40 laps at East Bay Raceway Park's Dart Winternationals, the New London, Wis., posted the fastest qualifying time among 88 entrants for Friday's $10,000-to-win event. Casey tripped the clock at 14.264 seconds as the fast qualifier for the second consecutive night at the third-mile oval near Tampa. Over the Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, Casey has a 2008-best four fast qualifying times.
Other drivers topping their groups in qualifying: Matt Miller (14.548) of Whitehouse, Ohio; Chuck Harper (14.529) of Beverly, W.Va.; Eric Jacobsen (5) of Santa Cruz, Calif.; Donnie Moran (14.569) of Dresden, Ohio; and Tim Dohm (14.620) of Cross Lanes, W.Va., who drove a borrowed T&R Logging car after engine problems in his own No. 6T. Casey spun a "2" on the PRC wheel, meaning a two-car inversion for the heat races. The top qualifier in each group will start outside the front row of each prelim.
Pre-race notes
The 88 entries was a high for the week (95 drivers overall have entered throughout the week). ... Through four events, seven drivers have made every feature event: Don O'Neal, Matt Miller, Shannon Babb, Tim Dohm, Donnie Moran, Steve Francis and Terry English, who required a provisional starting spot on Thursday night. .... Miller has been in the top five each night and leads the Dart Winternational point standings, which pays $7,500 to the winner from $30,000 in cash and awards. ... Among newcomers for Friday night: Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill.; and Butch McGill of West Union, W.Va., who took the seat of the No. 18d driven earlier in the week by Danny Mitchell. ... Vic Coffey piloted Tim McCreadie's backup car, adding an "x" to the No. 39. The car was towed off the track in hot laps. ... In the last 11 Lucas Oil events at East Bay, no driver has more than one victory.
