Jimmy Owens Wins Third Straight Show-Me 100, Shawn Nations Takes USRA Win

Jimmy Owens' dominance of Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. continued on Saturday night as the veteran driver notched his third consecutive Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. Owens took the lead on lap 11 from Scott Bloomquist and was virtually unchallenged the rest of the way, picking up the $30,000 for his win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Lucas Oil Midwest Racing Association co-sanctioned event.

Owens now has won six races at the track since 2010. Chris Simpson came home in second; his best career finish in a crown-jewel event.  Dennis Erb, Jr. charged from 20th to take third. Brady Smith also made his way to a top five finish, grabbing fourth after starting 22nd. Chad Simpson would round out the top five, climbing from 24th to fifth at the finish.

"I have to thank Lucas Oil, Forrest Lucas, everybody with the series and this speedway, this is an awesome facility and to win this race three years in a row, I don't know what to say!" said the 2-time and reigning series champion. "Scott (Bloomquist) and I had a really good race for the lead early on, and once I cleared him I pretty much felt like if the car held together it would be our race."

Owens had to survive a first lap melee in turn two when several drivers got together, forcing a restart. "I thought we were in big trouble there, it was little slimy and Don (O'Neal) got sideways. It wasn't anyone's fault, but fortunately we had some quarter-panel and door damage. Nothing got into the tires or suspension," said the winner, who maintains the LOLMDS points lead after his fourth series win of 2013.

"I want to thank Mike Reece, Reece Monument Company, Gantte Appraisals, Sunoco, Red Line Oil, Ohlins, Cornett Racing Engines, Bloomquist Race Cars and Chris Davis from Midwest Sheet Metal. I want to especially thank Chris for what he does not only for our team, but racing in general."

Chris Simpson, who was also involved in that first lap incident, maintained his position at the start and he steadily climbed through the field. Simpson took the second spot from Bloomquist inside of 20 laps to go, and with a final caution with only nine laps to go, he took one last shot at his first career crown jewel win. "I thought maybe I had a chance there at the end, but he got out of turn two better than me and that was all she wrote. We are happy with this finish, to finish second in this magnitude of a race means a lot to me and my race team," said the driver of the Five Star Shop Service, MB Customs Chevrolet.

Erb, coming off of heartbreak last week at Batesville, needed a good finish. "Yes we really needed this run tonight, we had bad luck last week while leading at Batesville. It feels good to run up front with these guys, and to come home in third is awesome." Erb, who started on the outside of the tenth row, quickly moved into to the top ten early on in the race. He kept picking cars off, lap after lap, eventually getting to third place. On the final restart, with nine laps to go, Erb thought his best chance was to take the high side. "He (Simpson) did what had to do, he is a clean racer, I had a run on him and thought I could clear him on the front-stretch, but he shut the door, and from then on I couldn't build up my momentum."

Completing the top ten were Steve Francis, Mike Marlar, Tony Jackson, Jr., Scott Bloomquist and Jason Feger.

In preliminary action, Scott Bloomquist set the overall time (Group A) amongst the 72 entrants, with a lap of 14.902 seconds. Eric Jacobsen set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 14.934 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Reddick, Jesse Stovall, Jimmy Owens, and Steve Francis their respective heat races. Eric Turner won the LucasOilGear.com Manufacturers' Dash for Cash. Terry Phillips won the Crawford Supply Race of Champions presented by Traeger Grills.  Jimmy Mars, Dennis Erb Jr., and Billy Moyer won their respective B-Mains Mike Marlar won the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge Non-Qualifiers' Race.

Following the 100 lap main event, the USRA Modifieds rolled out for a quick 30 Lap feature. Shawn Nations picked up $1,000 to Win from RacinDirt.com. Nations started on the pole and never looked back, capturing the bonus pay and his first win of 2013 in his first race of the season. Nations was followed to the checkers by Jason Russell and Matt Dotson who each have wins at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2013. Jon Sheets and Terry Schultz were hot all night battling in the lead pack. John Allen was among the lead group and pulled off the track in the final laps citing mechanical issues.

Lucas Oil Speedway will sit quiet for a weekend in preparation for the Second Annual John Haas Memorial Drag Boat Classic on June 7-9. For ticket and camping information contact LaRay Hankins, Admissions Director (417) 282-5984 or visit LucasOilSpeedway.com. For information on the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series, visit LucasOilDragBoats.com.

This press release was provided by Lucas Oil Speedway.