WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 28) - Tim McCreadie, in search of his first Show-Me 100 victory, wasted little time in taking a first step toward it Friday night as he led all 45 laps of the Cowboy Classic at Lucas Oil Speedway.

McCreadie, 47, of Watertown, N.Y., started third and had the lead by the conclusion of lap one. He never gave it back, beating Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., by 1.225 seconds at the finish of the first of Friday’s two preliminary events for Saturday’s 29th annual Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtecttheHarvest.com.

Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., briefly threatened McCreadie midway through the race before settling for third. Polesitter Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., challenged McCreadie in the early laps but faded to a fourth-place finish in his family-owned No. b5 while ninth-starter Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., completed the top five in his Clint Bowyer Racing mount.

“This is an amazing weekend to be out here and to be patriotic,” said McCreadie, whose Paylor Motorsports No. 39 was covered with a military-themed “Honor for Heroes” wrap. “If you see anybody from the military, give them a thanks. They’re way tougher than I am.”

McCreadie said it was nice to collect some valuable points toward Saturday night’s Show-Me 100 lineup with the strong start in a race delayed from Thursday due to rain. He earned $6,000 for the victory in the Longhorn chassis house car.

“It helps the bank account,” said McCreadie, who earned his second Lucas Oil Series triumph of the season. “Money's money, no matter what you do. We need to perform.”

McCreadie, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season points leader, fought off pressure from the fifth-starting Pierce as the 24-year-old worked the inside groove to cut McCreadie’s lead to .038 of a second by lap 23.

But Pierce, the 2017 Show-Me 100 winner, was unable to keep pace. And it was the 20-year-old O’Neal who tried to mount a late charge after starting sixth.

“By the time I got to second, everybody was spread out,” said O’Neal, who overtook Pierce for the runner-up spot on lap 32. “Not that I was any faster than Timmy, but I would have liked to have had a chance to race him a little bit.

“It took me about 15 laps to fire,” he added. “I was a little too tight early. The car came around as the race track blacked over a little bit. It’s nothing to complain about. We had a solid second-place finish behind an amazing guy. It’s an honor to be on the podium and hopefully we can get one more spot later (in the nightcap).”

McCreadie said that despite what might have looked like a smooth, decisive drive to the finish, he maintained an aggressive mind-set as he weaved through lapped traffic.

“When you see the 32 on the board (Pierce) and then Hudson, those guys don’t take laps off,” McCreadie said. “I just knew the best shot I had was to not wait around and catch a guy and pass. I got beat about a month ago by being a little too cautious at the end of a race.”

Pierce said he can drive more aggressively in the second qualifying program, after getting solid points with his third-place run.

“We already know we’re in good position, but I really wanted to get that win,” Pierce said. “We were closing on T-Mac and he moved down and pulled away from me. After that, I tried some things … maybe the top was still there. Before I knew it Hudson was there and there was nothing I could really do.”

The only caution flag occurred on lap seven when Earl Pearson Jr. slowed on the speedway with right-rear bodywork damage. McCreadie had a two-car-length lead over Sheppard at the time, with a five-car gap back to Pierce in third.

Notes: McCreadie registered his 24th career Lucas Oil Series victory, tying him with Billy Moyer for seventh on the tour’s all-time win list. … It was McCreadie’s second win at Lucas Oil Speedway; his previous success came on May 26, 2017, in the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson event leading into the Show-Me 100. His best finish in seven career Show-Me 100 feature starts — three at West Plains, Mo., and four at Wheatland — is third, in 2017. … Winning the Cowboy Classic historically is a good omen — the race’s last six victors have gone on to win the 100-lapper three times and never finish worse than fourth. … Four-time Show-Me 100 winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., charged from 22nd to finish seventh. … Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who has won the Show-Me 100 a record six times, finished 10th in his first action in six weeks. … Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., finished 17th after experiencing an eventful trip to Wheatland. His hauler broke down with transmission trouble in Kentucky, necessitating repairs that delayed his arrival until around midnight on Thursday; he would have missed Thursday’s program if it hadn’t been postponed by rain. ... Defending Show-Me 100 champion Payton Looney of Republic, Mo., scratched from Friday’s action with a motor problem following qualifying. Looney’s team soon began making an engine change — putting in a powerplant borrowed from Brennon Willard — to run Friday's nightcap; he has a past champion’s provisional to use if he can’t crack the starting lineup for Saturday's finale. … With Friday’s twin 45-lap preliminary features not offering Lucas Oil Series points, no provisional starting spots were available. ... The checkered flag waved on the Cowboy Classic feature at 8:34 p.m. CT. The postponed modified program from Thursday was then run in its entirety, giving Late Model teams a chance to prepare before the start of the regularly-scheduled Don and Billie Gibson Tribute card.

Feature lineup

Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Scott Crigler
Row 2: Tim McCreadie, Ryan Gustin
Row 3: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal
Row 4: Scott Bloomquist, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 5: Josh Richards, Shannon Babb
Row 6: Tony Jackson Jr., Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 7: Billy Moyer Jr., Kyle Bronson
Row 8: Stormy Scott, Chris Ferguson
Row 9: Brian Shirley, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 10: Jonathan Davenport, Rick Eckert
Row 11: Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens
Row 12: Jake Timm, Shane Clanton

Consolation results

(10 laps; top 2 transfer)

First consolation finish: Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Kolby Vandenbergh, Kaeden Cornell, Justin Duty, Jason Papich, Chase Junghans, Daniel Hilsabeck, Aaron Marrant, Brennon Willard, Jay Fields, Al Humphrey, David Webster (DNS) Payton Looney.

Second consolation finish: Rick Eckert, Jake Timm, Jesse Stovall, Garrett Alberson, Jeremiah Hurst, Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson, Austin Rettig, Steve Stultz, Justin Reed, Jeremy Grady, Chris Kratzer (DNS) Ryan Johnson.

Third consolation finish: Mike Marlar, Shane Clanton, Mason Oberkramer, Tyler Erb, Logan Martin, Bob Gardner, Cole Wells, Matt Cosner, Scott Lewis, Larry Clawson, Reid Millard, Gordy Gundaker (DNS) Cody Holtkamp.

Heat race results

(8 laps; top 3 transfer)

First heat finish: Brandon Sheppard, Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer Jr., Jimmy Owens, Kaeden Cornell, Justin Duty, Chase Junghans, Al Humphrey, Jay Fields (DNS) Payton Looney.

Second heat finish: Tim McCreadie, Josh Richards, Stormy Scott, Jonathan Davenport, Kolby Vandenbergh, Jason Papich, Daniel Hilsabeck, Aaron Marrant, Brennon Willard, David Webster.

Third heat finish: Bobby Pierce, Tony Jackson Jr., Brian Shirley, Jake Timm, Jesse Stovall, Chad Simpson, Garrett Alberson, Chris Kratzer, Justin Reed.

Fourth heat finish: Scott Crigler, Frank Heckenast Jr., Kyle Bronson, Rick Eckert, Jeremiah Hurst, Chris Simpson, Austin Rettig, Steve Stultz, Jeremy Grady, Ryan Johnson.

Fifth heat finish: Ryan Gustin, Shannon Babb, Chris Ferguson, Shane Clanton, Mason Oberkramer, Tyler Erb, Logan Martin, Matt Cosner, Larry Clawson, Reid Millard.

Sixth heat finish: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr., Earl Pearson Jr., Mike Marlar, Gordy Gundaker, Bob Gardner, Cole Wells, Scott Lewis, Cody Holtkamp.

Qualifying results

First group
Brandon Sheppard (b5), New Berlin, Ill., 15.678
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 15.797
Tony Jackson Jr. (56), Lebanon, Mo., 15.863
Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark., 15.947
Stormy Scott (2), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.069
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 16.124
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 16.160
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 16.198
Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 16.218
Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., 16.228
Josh Richards (14), Shinnston, W.Va., 16.228
Brian Shirley (3S), Chatham, Ill., 16.276
Kaeden Cornell (50x), Willard, Mo., 16.304
Jason Papich (91P), Nipomo, Calif., 16.308
Jesse Stovall (00), Billlings, Mo., 16.325
Payton Looney (15), Republic, Mo., 16.347
Brennon Willard (3W), Lebanon, Mo., 16.501
Kolby Vandenbergh (15), Ashland, Ill., 16.517
Justin Reed (11R), Camp Point, Ill., 16.556
Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., 16.568
Daniel Hilsabeck (22H), Adel, Iowa, 16.577
Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 16.635
Justin Duty (15D), Mulino, Ore., 16.680
David Webster (44W), Monroe, Wis., 16.723
Garrett Alberson (59), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.810
Al Humphrey (6), Giltner, Neb., 16.824
Aaron Marrant (1x), Richmond, Mo., 16.840
Chris Kratzer (55), Wichita, Kan., 17.005
Jay Fields (7J), Colorado Springs, Col., 17.258
Second group
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 16.478
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 16.532
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 16.538
Scott Crigler (12c), Monticello, Ark., 16.556
Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 16.574
Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 16.595
Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 16.617
Mason Oberkramer (93), Brosley, Mo., 16.618
Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 16.619
Jeremiah Hurst (41), Dubuque, Iowa, 16.620
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 16.626
Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., 16.680
Rick Eckert (0E), York, Pa., 16.792
Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 16.851
Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 16.864
Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 16.890
Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 16.923
Cole Wells (7), Aurora, Mo., 16.948
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., 16.991
Logan Martin (36), West Plains, Mo., 17.036
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 17.086
Steve Stultz (78s), Peoria, Ariz., 17.156
Matt Cosner (66), Ridgeley, W.Va., 17.213
Cody Holtkamp (23), Holts Summit, Mo.,  17.381
Jeremy Grady (43), Story City, Iowa, 17.491
Larry Clawson (L88), Kansas City, Mo., 17.593
Scott Lewis (99), Henderson, Colo., 17.662
Ryan Johnson (7J), Aurora, Mo., 17.770
Reid Millard (14R), Jefferson City, Mo., 18.503

Cowboy Classic schedule

2 p.m. - Grandstands open
4:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
5 p.m. - Hot laps (Late Models)
- Late Model time trials
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Late Model consolations (15 laps)
- Late Model feature (45 laps)
- Modified hot laps
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Modified consolations (12 laps)
- Modified feature (20 laps)
(Event will be followed by Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson)