East Bay Raceway Park
Real Deal back to his winning ways at East Bay
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Don O'Neal in victory lane. (ronskinnerphotos.com)
GIBSONTON, Fla. (Feb. 4) — Don O'Neal is the second winningest Late Model driver in East Bay Raceway Park history, and there was a time when everyone simply expected him to be in victory lane. The Martinsville, Ind., driver had a stretch of eight victories over 17 East Bay races from 2000-02 and he entered 2008 with 11 wins overall at the third-mile oval near Tampa. Notebook | Prelims | Slideshow
But since winning a pair of Winternationals events in 2005, O'Neal has gone on his longest East Bay dry spell in 10 years. So surely it was nice to be back in victory lane at his winter haven Monday with his $5,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory in the Winternationals opener.
"Man, it's been a while I've been to victory lane period," O'Neal said, "so it feels pretty damn good, I'm telling you."
Indeed, O'Neal's previous victory came in August, so he's especially grateful that he's gotten off to a solid start with his new Kentucky-based Harrod Farms team. "To start out with the money and a win, I can't wait until tomorrow night," O'Neal said after picking up the $5,000 victory. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."
O'Neal needed two characteristics for his victory. Speed, which he had plenty of in his No. 71 Rayburn Race Car, and patience, so he could wait out the six cautions that slowed the first nine laps of the race. But when the final 21 circuits of the 30-lapper went caution-free, O'Neal cruised to win by a half-straightaway as a flurry of contenders battled for second behind him.
Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.,, who ran third most of the way and fell to fourth late, made a last-ditch charge to overtake Justin Rattliff and Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio, in the final laps to finish second. Miller, who started 15th, went from fifth to second with an outside run in the race's waning laps before settling for third ahead of Rattliff, who ran second most of the way. Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., rounded out the top five while fast qualifier Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., ended up sixth.
Erb chased Rattliff in the low groove most of the race, but he wised up when Matt Miller made his high-groove run in the closing laps. "I knew I had a better car if I couldn't gotten past Justin there. He was really holding me up there," said Erb, who said his tight-handling car didn't feel good in the high groove. "Then I heard Matt come around there and I figured, 'Either I'm going to run fourth or I'm going to make something out of this,' and it all worked out."
Erb nipped Miller at the checkered flag for second.
It appeared that Rattliff's low groove was going to give him second place until the flurry of action in the final laps. "We were coming into turn one with two to go, Matt went around me," the Campbellsville, Ky., driver said. "And we completed that lap and went into turns one and two on the white flag and Erb ran right through the middle where we had thrown up mud, and there was kind of a groove up there. I'd have gotten up there in another lap. I just didn't know."
Cautions plagued the early laps. When the race was 25 minutes old, only four laps were complete and series officials switched from double-file to single-file restarts.
Most of the cautions involved scrambles among drivers mid-pack, but the final caution was costly for fifth-starting Steve Francis, who was running third when he spun in turn four and fell from contention.
While drivers mostly drove away from the accidents, a turn-two wreck on a lap-four restart was triggered when sixth-running Dave Tyrchniewicz got sideways in turn two and collected Kevin Cole, Vic Coffey and Chuck Harper, whose car bounded into the air as he slid into the pile.
A lap-three fracas on the frontstretch included perhaps 10 cars including Mike Marlar, Damon Eller, Tim McCreadie, Jared Hawkins, Billy Drake, Eddie Carrier Jr. and Terry English. Randy Korte rolled to a stop near the turn-one exit and medical personnel attended to him after he complained of back pain. He was taken to a nearby hospital, said members of the Riggs Motorsports team, which is fielding cars for the Highland, Ill., driver at East Bay.
The first scramble on the frontstretch was on the first lap and caused a complete restart. Billy Moyer pitted and changed a tire under the caution and returned to the tail while Terry Casey was ordered off the track by series officials for his part in the wreck.
O'Neal admitted getting a little impatient while cruising around the track repeatedly under caution, but he knew he had a good car after a solid practice session on Sunday.
"We came out and ran one hot-lap session and put it back in the box. I said if I had any luck it all, I was hoping to get the job done, and we did," said O'Neal, who is liking his decision to join the Harrod Farms team. "The way it looks, that's the best thing I've done."
Notebook
O'Neal's Jay Dickens-powered Rayburn Race Car is sponsored by Harrod Farms, Perry's Auto Sales and Central Painting. ... O'Neal's previous special event victory came Aug. 7 at Dubuque (Iowa) Speedway in Lucas Oil Series competition. ... His previous East Bay victory came Feb. 12, 2005. ... Michael England of Glasgow, Ky., was scheduled to be in action, but his father David England died of an apparent heart attack on Sunday night in Tampa. England was 49. The track honored him with a moment of silence. ... Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky., scratched from time trials after having engine problems. He'll get a Tuesday delivery of a rocker arm from GCP Engines in Ashland, Ky., to make repairs. ... Each qualifier received a single lap on the track. ... The first three nights of action at East Bay are run under Lucas Oil Series rules but with no points. The last three nights count toward parts, but the three nights together count the equivalent of a single race during the regular season. ... Seventy-six cars were in attendance at Sunday's practice with 73 entering Monday. ... Mark Andersen of Blanchard, Mich., who flipped his car in the Feb. 2 finale at Golden Isles Speedway's Super Bowl of Racing IV in Brunswick, Ga., arrived in the pits following East Bay's time trials. ... Terry English fielded a MasterSbilt for the first time at East Bay. ... Brian Shirley drove a C.J. Rayburn house car. ... Josh Richards drove the Ernie Davis-owned No. 25 that he piloted last season occasionally at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. ... Peyton Taylor drove the No. 14jr owned by Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff, Mo. ... Dan Stone is debuted a Rocket Chassis after several years driving Lazer cars. ... Earl Pearson Jr. and Bart Hartman were among drivers with their haulers in the pits who didn't race.
