Eldora Speedway
World 100 heats and consolations (updated)
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Chub Frank lost a transfer spot in this wreck. (Amber Vander Pluym)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Sept. 9) — Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, Tenn., a crate engine regular, broke through for an open-engine competition surprise and earned the pole position for the World 100 with a victory in the sixth heat.
Joining Buckingham on the front row is fellow Tennessean and three-time race winner Scott Bloomquist. Other heat race winners — Ohio upstart Wayne Chinn, another Tennessean Randy Weaver, two-time UMP champ Randy Korte and 2005 Dream winner Matt Miller — will fill out the remainder of the first three rows of the feature. Heat race finishes are now official.
Corrections: Shannon Babb was briefly listed as driving a Barry Wright Race Car; it's Shanon Buckingham in a Wright car. Also, Eddie Carrier Jr. was originally listed as disqualified for failing to weigh, but officials reinstated him after it was revealed he was told not to weigh. And Brian Shirley was the second driver, besides Brad Neat, to be docked two positions for jumping a restart in the fifth heat).
First heat
Matt Miller, the 2005 Dream winner at Eldora, led every lap for a half-straightaway victory over Mike Marlar. "It's the first time we've won a heat race here in a while, so it's nice to be in," Miller said. "We'll see what happens." Fast qualifier Jimmy Owens was another half-straight back in third to earn the final transfer spot. Chasing the top three to the finish was polesitter Freddy Smith, who was penalized on the second start for jumping and dropped to a second-row starting spot. Five-time World 100 winner Billy Moyer advanced two positions to finish fifth.
Notes: A lap-seven caution appeared for David Hilliker, who appeared to pull up with engine problems in turn four. ... Another caution appeared on the lap-seven restart when Dusty Moore broke an axle and Curt Spalding spun in turn four. The first three starts didn't last a lap. Josh Bocook spun on the first start, Smith was penalized for jumping the second start and front-row starter Ben Adkins spun in front of the field in turn two on the third attempted start. Officials called for a single-file restart.
Finish (cars running): Matt Miller, Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens, Freddy Smith, Ivedent Lloyd Jr., Billy Moyer, Terry Phillips, Tim Dohm, Brandon Kinzer, Scott James (alternate starter), Rod Conley, Brian Ruhlman, Shawn Toczek, Curt Spalding, Josh Bocook, Jackie Boggs, Dusty Moore, Greg Johnson, Dave Hilliker, Ben Adkins
Second heat
Driving a spanking new Gerstner Plumbing-backed No. 7, Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., led all the way, staying ahead of a feisty battle behind him as he negotiated lapped traffic midway through the race en route to victory. "This is only the second night on this race car," Korte said. "It's a pretty good race car." Ninth-starting Donnie Moran, who was already up to third after three laps, finished second to clinch his 19th start in a World 100 feature. Eighth-starting Chub Frank made some nifty moves to get up to third, but he got into the turn-one wall by himself on a lap-14 restart, collecting Chris Madden and others. That moved Darrell Lanigan up to the third and final transfer spot with Brady Smith fourth and Jeep Van Wormer fifth. Last year's World 100 winner, fourth-starting Earl Pearson Jr., was knocked out on the first lap when he and Frank got together exiting turn two and Pearson spun in front of much of the field.
Notes: Jordan Bland spun in turn one to bring out a lap-14 caution and was towed off the track. ... Chub Frank made a bold slide job of Smith on the eighth lap in turn three, then briefly got together with Moran exiting turn two before both cars straightened out. ... A first-lap scramble in turn two scrapped the first start. ... Another scramble ensued on the second start in turn two. ... Because of the scrambles, alternate starter Bill Hahn was up from the 10th row all the way to the fifth row because of the two aborted starts. Hahn was lapped later in the race.
Finish (cars running): Randy Korte, Donnie Moran, Darrell Lanigan, Brady Smith, Jeep Van Wormer, Michael England, Jason Keltner, Jay Johnson, Chuckie May, Andrew Reaume, Casey Noonan, Bill Hahn, Chub Frank, Chris Madden, Doug Drown, Jordan Bland, David Webb, Earl Pearson Jr., George Lee, Dustin Neat.
Third heat
Making his first big-race lineup at Eldora, Randy Weaver of Crossville, Tenn., started outside the front row and dominated a heat slowed by a single caution on the first start. Weaver had to fight off a late-race challenge from Schlieper, who slid past John Mason to grab second on the sixth lap and nearly cut down Weaver's straightaway lead to nothing in the final laps. Brian Birkhofer rallied strong from his seventh starting spot to finish a close third. Mason, who was a solid second early in the race, damaged his spoiler when he caught the turn-three wall on lap four and never recovered. Polesitter Dale McDowell was a lackluster fifth. "To me, this is just like winning any race I've ever been in," Weaver said of making the World 100 field. "I appreciate all them fans from Tennessee."
Notes: Jerry Rice, G.R. Smith and John Blankenship were involved in a first-lap wreck that drew a caution. Rice pitted for repairs. ... Davey Johnson and Bill Frye were among drivers scratching. ... The track was watered and worked briefly before the third heat.
Finish (cars running): Randy Weaver, Dan Schlieper, Brian Birkhofer, John Mason, Dale McDowell, Chris Wall, Josh Richards, Chad Simpson, Justin Rattliff, D.J. Wells, Jared Hawkins, Steve Casebolt, Bobby Kitchen, Steve Barnett, Kris Patterson, John Blankenship, Jason Dunn, G.R. Smith, Steve Shaver, Jerry Rice.
Fourth heat
Fighting off several late-race challenges from sixth-starting Steve Francis, Wayne Chinn of nearby Bradford, Ohio, led all 15 laps from outside the front row to secure his first start in the World 100. "This is great. This is just unreal," he said after crossing the scales. "I've got a good car here and I look forward to getting it a little better for the feature." Chinn stuck with the high groove and stayed in control despite Francis sliding into turn three to challenge in the final laps. A lap-14 caution for Ky Harper in turn one forced Chinn to survive one last attempt by Francis. Dennis Erb Jr., who ran second most of the first eight laps, settled for the third and final transfer spot ahead of Bart Hartman.
Notes: Wayne Chinn has driven a Rocket Chassis most of the last two seasons but returned to a Rayburn Race Car recently. ... Ky Harper got into the turn-one wall on the 14th lap in front of the leaders, and all the leaders got past except Clint Smith, who clipped the nose of Harper's car with his left-rear tire after Harper's car came to rest. ... A lap-six caution also appeared for Harper earlier when he got into the backstretch wall. ... Polesitter Frank Heckenast faded early and was 10th after six laps.
Finish (cars running): Wayne Chinn, Steve Francis, Dennis Erb Jr., Billy Drake, Rick Eckert, Bart Hartman, Tim Hitt, Jerry Bowersock, Frank Heckenast Jr., Eric Wells, Tim Manville, Josh Williams, Jared Landers, Bryan Barber, Mark Douglas, Aaron Scott, Chad Hina, Lee Devasier, Clint Smith, Ky Harper.
Fifth heat
Three-time World 100 winner Scott Bloomquist stalked Jason Feger for seven laps, then blew the field away the rest of the distance of a race slowed only by a lap-seven caution for Don Hammer's spin. "I think we're definitely onto something here," said Bloomquist, winning in a car that won its first time out two weeks ago. Brad Neat crossed the finish line second, but he was charged with jumping the race's lone restart and dropped to fourth. That moved Ray Cook to second and gave a transfer spot to Feger, who had faded over the last half of the race. Don O'Neal finished fifth.
Notes: Don Hammer spun in turn two to bring out a lap-eight caution with Bloomquist, Feger and Brad Neat in the top three spots. .... Bloomquist had to move down a lane to avoid Hammer. ... A four-wide battle for fourth developed on the first lap with Ray Cook and Don O'Neal in the mix. ... The heat marked the first one in which all 20 scheduled starters made the call.
Finish (cars running): Scott Bloomquist, Ray Cook, Jason Feger, Brad Neat, Don O'Neal, Chad Ruhlman, Steve Smith, Brian Shirley, Garrett Durrett, Anthony White, Brett Wyatt, Ryan Dauber, Rick Corbin, Rusty Seaver, Booper Bare, Jeff Kohn, Tony Knowles, Terrance Nowell, Duane Chamberlain, Don Hammer (Note: Neat and Shirley were penalized for jumping a restart and docked two positions).
Sixth heat
Winning a battle of front-row starters, Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, Tenn., outran Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., to earn the heat win and the pole position for the World 100. Driving a Barry Wright chassis, the crate engine star broke through for his biggest accomplishment in open-engine competition. Wallace got alongside a few times, including when the frontrunners crossed the flagstand in a near dead heat on the 10th lap. But after a lap-11 caution Buckingham held on. Wallace finished two lengths behind with Shannon Babb finishing third ahead of Vic Hill and Eddie Carrier Jr.
Note: A caution slowed the action on lap 11.
Finish (cars running): Shanon Buckingham, Wendell Wallace, Shannon Babb, Vic Hill, Eddie Carrier Jr., Shane Clanton, Eric Smith, Matt Lux, Josh McGuire, Chris Combs, John Gill, Shannon Thornsberry, Whitney McQueary, Tyler Boggs, Rusty Seaver, Rick DeLong, Michael Kloos, Ray Bradford. (Note: Carrier was initially disqualified for failing to weigh, but officials reinstated him when it was revealed he'd been told not to weigh).
First consolation
Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., led all 20 laps to earn a World 100 starting spot. "We've gotten a lot better here at Eldora. It's a tough place to race," Smith said. "We'll make a couple of quick small changes and see if we can't put on a show for all these great fans that came out here." Jeep Van Wormer, Michael England and Josh Richards took the other transfer spots as Scott James, a tail-starting alternate in his heat race, rallied valiantly to finish fifth but didn't have time to catch Richards.
Notes: An eight-car scramble between turns three and four on the 14th lap saw Mason roll over near the outset of the wreck. Others were collected long after Mason came to a stop, including a third-running Freddy Smith, who held the third of four transfer spots. Jason Keltner, Brandon Kinzer, Andrew Reaume and Chuckie May were also involved. ... Track officials scrambled to remove Mason from his overturned car as the red flag was dropped. No one was injured ... Dale McDowell, the 2005 race winner, dropped out on the fifth lap. ... Ivedent Lloyd Jr. was running in a transfer spot early but faded.
Finish (cars running): Brady Smith, Jeep Van Wormer, Michael England, Josh Richards, Scott James, Chris Wall, Billy Moyer, Terry Phillips, Tim Dohm, Ivedent Lloyd Jr., Rod Conley, Chad Simpson, Casey Noonan, Jay Johnson, Justin Rattliff, Chuckie May, Freddy Smith, John Mason, Brandon Kinzer, Jason Keltner, Andrew Reaume, Jared Hawkins, D.J Wells, Dale McDowell.
Second consolation
Rebounding from a heat race penalty, Brad Neat of Dunnvile, Ky., started outside the front row and led every lap of the second consolation to earn his third straight starting spot in the World 100. Neat questioned the officials' ruling during his postrace interview, but then turned his focus toward the 100-lapper. Billy Drake started on the front row with Neat and finished second while Rick Eckert moved past Vic Hill to take third in the final laps. Hill got the final transfer spot ahead of Tim Hitt, who was right there at the finish.
Finish (cars running): Brad Neat, Billy Drake, Rick Eckert, Vic Hill, Tim Hitt, Chad Ruhlman, Matt Lux, Bart Hartman, Brian Shirley, Eddie Carrier Jr., John Gill, Eric Smith, Don O'Neal, Steve Smith, Josh McGuire, Eric Wells, Jerry Bowersock, Chris Combs, Garrett Durrett, Anthony White, Frank Heckenast Jr., Shannon Thornsberry, Brett Wyatt, Tim Manville, Shane Clanton.
