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Bloomquist
unstoppable in fourth World 100
ROSSBURG, OH (Sept. 6) –Nothing could stop Scott Bloomquist from
claiming his fourth World 100 trophy Saturday night at Eldora
Speedway. Not a lap-19 penalty that dropped him from the
lead to the tail of the field. Not a steady Dale McDowell looking
for an Eldora crown jewel sweep. And not slower traffic during
the race’s closing laps.
Bloomquist’s famed number 0 machine was unstoppable at the historic
one-half mile oval as it carried the National Dirt Late Model Hall of
Famer through the field for a $47,000 victory in the 44th running of
the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned event; considered as “the granddaddy of them
all.”
“I believe everybody got to witness the fastest race car in the world
right there,” Boomquisit, 50, of Mooresburg, TN, told the Eldora crowd,
which for once was nearly unanimous in applauding a driver who usually
polarizes fans. “We talked this week in the shop; I told
everybody I was gonna win this race this weekend and here it is.”
Advancing from his fifth starting spot, Bloomquist first took the lead
from McDowell on lap 19, only to be penalized for an unapproved window
net and sent to the tail of the field when the caution waved on the
following lap.
That only made things more interesting.
Bloomquist stormed back to the front and retook the lead from McDowell
on lap 72 of the 100-lap race. He continued his torrid pace
through the remaining distance, again knifing through traffic until he
crossed the finish line with a half-track advantage.
McDowell of Chickamauga, GA settled for the runner-up finish while
22nd-starting Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN made a late charge to finish
third. Jason Feger of Bloomington, IL and Matt Miller of
Whitehouse, OH rounded out the race’s top five finishers.
Bloomquist was penalized for using a Lexan-supported window
net. After opposing crew members protested that the piece
could assist aerodynamics, UMP DIRTcar officials ruled the window net
was an unapproved device. It was removed from Bloomquist’s
car and he was sent to the tail of the field for the restart.
That didn’t faze Bloomquist.
Restarting in the 29th position, he quickly began his march back to the
front. He worked his way into the top 15 by lap 35 and was
up to eighth by halfway. He cracked the top five on lap 55 and
after grabbing fourth a few laps later, was elevated to second when
21st-starting Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, PA spun while attempting to
take the lead from McDowell on lap 61 and collected third-running Jimmy
Mars of Menomonie, WI.
Bloomquist made sure the massive Eldora crowd new his plan under the
ensuing caution by pumping his fist and making the cowabunga hand
signal out of the driver’s window of his race car as he drove down the
front straightaway.
“The car was just so good and I was so confident,” said Bloomquist, who
scored his sixth consecutive top-10 finish in the World
100. “I knew there was plenty of laps left and I knew the
car would work anywhere on the racetrack. Anyone that would
try to run the bottom like I did, they could get in there, but as soon
as they’d throttle they’d push out of it, which would just leave me the
whole racetrack.”
If not for Bloomquist, McDowell, 48, would have been the star of the
show. Starting from the outside pole, he pulled his Team
Dillon Racing mount ahead of polesitter Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN on
the start of the race and controlled the early laps.
He gave up the lead after a lengthy side-by-side battle with
Bloomquist, but was quickly reestablished to the point after
Bloomquist’s penalty. McDowell again pulled away through the
race’s middle portions until Zeigler began making his bid for the top
spot.
McDowell was given a brief relieve when Zeigler got into turn three too
hard on lap 61 and spun his machine to avoid making contact with the
leader but that only cleared the way for Bloomquist to move
to second for the restart and to eventually take the lead 11 laps later.
In falling one position short of his second World 100 victory,
McDowell, who claimed a $100,000 payday in Eldora’s Dirt Late Model
Dream in June, missed out on becoming just the third driver to win both
of Eldora’s crown jewel events in the same season.
“I think I overworked my tire running that high side,” McDowell
said. “I was just free – just a little bit too
free. But that’s part of it. We’ll go to work a
little bit and try to come back here in June and repeat the Dream
maybe.”
Bloomquist’s charge through the field was the main highlight on a night
that featured plenty of passing around Eldora’s historic high
banks. Besides the charges by Bloomquist, Zeigler and
Owens, Terry Phillips of Springfield, MO charged from 17th to ninth,
Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, IL advanced from 29th to 10th and defending
World 100 champion John Blankenship of Williamson, WV moved from 32nd
to 12th.
The racy track surface didn’t go unnoticed by drivers, including the
victor.
“This is the best Eldora I’ve ever seen,” said Bloomquist, who claimed
his first World 100 trophy in 1988. “I gotta take my hat off for
everyone that worked on (the track). You can see it’s from
the top to the bottom wall. I know there was a few times I wasn’t
sure If I wasn’t rubbing the inside wall with the left front.”
Eldora returns to action September 19 and 20 with the Four Crown
Nationals featuring the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and UMP
DIRTcar Modifieds Friday night, while the three national divisions of
the United States Auto Club (USAC); Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown,
round out the weekend on Saturday.
Fans can purchase remaining race tickets and campsites for the Four
Crown Nationals — or any other exciting Eldora event — by going online
to www.EldoraSpeedway.com. Tickets and campsites may also be purchased
through the Eldora offices during normal business hours by calling
(937) 338-3815
Additionally, race fans and race teams can get behind-the-scenes access
by following @EldoraSpeedway on Twitter, hitting ‘Like’ at
Facebook.com/EldoraSpeedway and viewing video highlights at
YouTube.com/EldoraSpeedwayInc. Mobile device users can access the
Eldora Speedway app for the iPhone, iPad and Android, which are
available for download via iTunes and Google Play.
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