Volunteer Speedway
Bloomquist tunes new car, wins at Bulls Gap
By Robert Walden
Volunteer Speedway
Scott Bloomquist earned $4,000. (mrmracing.net)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (May 3) — If Scott Bloomquist, has a test track, its Volunteer Speedway. He used the 4/10-mile oval to shake down a new car at the Thunder at the Gap 50 and earned $4,000 for leading every lap of the Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series event. “We’ve got some big races coming up on our schedule around the country over the next several weeks, and this is a brand new car we ran tonight," the Hall of Famer from Mooresburg, Tenn., said in victory lane. "With the Gap being close to home, we decided to debut this new car here to shake it down and see how well it ran, and most definitely it passed with flying colors." | Slideshow
Bloomquist, who set fast time and started on the front row, was slowed only by eight caution flags in marching to victory over Rick Rogers of Knoxville, Tenn., Mike Smith of Rogersville, Tenn., John Gill of Mitchell, Ind., and Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville. Shanon Buckingham ran second early before a lap-11 scuffle with a lapped car forced him to the tail, and he rebounded to finish eight. Vic Hill ran among the top five the first half of the race but, just after losing the second spot to Rogers, fell out on the 28th lap with a broken right-rear wheel.
Bloomquist beat Rogers to the finish by a half-straightaway margin for his first victory at Volunteer since last July's Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series stop at the high-banked oval.
Notes: Bloomquist's self-designed winning car has a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsorship from Miller Bros. Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Allstar Performance, Sweet Mfg., Ohlins, Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuel, Arizona Sport Shirts and Gotta Race. ... The most serious of eight cautions came on the eight lap for a multicar tangle in the fourth turn which blocked the racing groove. Among the drivers involved: Bobby Mays, Steve Smith, Michael Jackson, Dale Ball, Jeff Wolfenbarger, April Farmer, Shane Roberts and Mike Weeks. ... Weeks rallied from 24th to 10th to get the Phoenix Conversions Hard Charger award. ... Brad Hall won the track's Crate Late Model feature over Steve Jones. ... The AAPTS competitors head to Mountain Raceway Park in Maryville, Tenn., for a May 10 event.
AAPTS @ Volunteer: (1) Scott Bloomquist, (2) Rick Rogers, (3) Mike Smith, (4) John Gill, (5) Billy Ogle Jr., (6) Tommy Kerr, (7) Mark Douglas, (8) Shanon Buckingham, (9) Anthony White, (10) Mike Weeks, (11) Chad Ogle, (12) Kerry Jones, (13) Dan Tipton, (14) Shane Roberts, (15) Stacy Boles, (16) Michael Jackson, (17) Vic Hill, (18) Jeff Wolfenbarger, (19) April Farmer, (20) Dale Ball, (21) Skip Arp, (22) Bobby Mays, (23) Steve Smith, (24) Jeff Maupin. Fast qualifier (among 31 cars): Bloomquist, 12.143 seconds. Dash winners: Hill, Gill. Consolation winners: Maupin, Kerr.
