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Bloomquist
works hard for Volunteer
By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (March 2-3) — Scott Bloomquist of nearby Mooresburg has
won several special-event, big-purse Super Late Model shows at Volunteer
Speedway over the years. But his victory on a bone-chilling cold
Saturday night in
First he had to work his way past pole-sitter Tim McCreadie to move into
the runner-up spot, and then on lap 80 complete the race-winning pass on
Chris Madden. But once out front, over the final 20 circuits he pulled
away to a comfortable margin of victory over Madden, who held off Jimmy
Owens who finished in third-place, making it a
“I really love this track, there’s not many places you can race at like this,” said Bloomquist from victory lane following his second-consecutive Spring Thaw 100 victory. “Me and all the guys who help on the car, we enjoy it when we have the opportunity to race close to home. This place sure has been awfully good to us over the years. We’ve had some big wins here. A lot of fans locally here in East Tennessee that have supported us throughout the years, they don’t get the chance to come out on the road and follow us around the country during the year to see us race.
“When you come to race here at ‘The Gap,’ you usually have multi-groove racing action. I want to thank track owner Joe Loven for having this event, because with the cold weather conditions it definitely was uncomfortable for everyone the last couple of nights. But it was a good show, and the fans saw a great race tonight. With the big races scheduled here this year, we’ll be back to race at least three more times.”
Cold weather is nothing new to McCreadie, from
Madden, from
Fast-time for the Spring Thaw 100 was set by Brad Neat of
With the top four finishers from each heat race transferring into the starting lineup for the Spring Thaw 100, finishing behind McCreadie in heat one was Kerry Jones, Randy Weaver and Mark Vineyard.
Madden was chased to the checkers in the second heat race by Vic “The Thrill” Hill, Steve Smith and Damon Eller.
Bloomquist had a rearview mirror full of a hard-charging Owens at the flagstand in the third heat, with Anthony White and Mike Smith finishing third and fourth, respectively.
McDowell overtook Mike Weeks for the lead with only three laps remaining in the fourth heat and streaked to the victory, with Weeks, Mark Douglas and Michael Jackson rounding out the top-four at the finish.
Following the four-wide salute to the fans during parade laps for the Spring Thaw 100 by the field of 24 starters, at the waving of the green flag Tim McCreadie and Chris Madden raced side-by-side down the front straightaway into the first turn. But carrying the momentum up high in the banking, racing off turn two down the backstretch Madden powered into the lead, with McCreadie settling into second, followed by Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell and Vic Hill.
Jimmy Owens disposed of Kerry Jones to move into sixth-place on the third lap. Racing off turn two on lap 6, Steve Smith worked under Randy Weaver to take over the seventh spot, closing right on the tail of Jones.
With Madden holding an eight-car length advantage over McCreadie, the battle for the runner-up spot between McCreadie and Bloomquist was heating up. With the lead trio encountering heavy traffic at the tail of the field when they started dropping cars a lap down, Bloomquist pulled alongside of McCreadie on the inside as they raced off turn two on lap 10. Racing hard down the backstretch into the third turn, McCreadie and Bloomquist made slight contact with “T-Mac” momentarily getting out of shape entering the corner. That was all Bloomquist needed, and he set his sights on reeling in the race leader Madden.
Owens dropped to the inside of Hill racing off the fourth turn on lap 12 to make the pass to move into fifth. The event’s first caution waved on lap 19 when Rick Rogers tangled with another competitor in the third turn, with Rogers coming out on the losing end, thus erasing a half-straightaway advantage Madden and Bloomquist held over McCreadie and McDowell.
The top-five on the restart were Madden, Bloomquist, McCreadie, McDowell and Owens. With a clear track in front of them, Madden and Bloomquist set sail — quickly pulling back away from McCreadie and McDowell.
Bloomquist brought the fans to their feet as he first dropped to the inside of Madden racing off turn two on lap 20 to challenge for the lead, only to see Madden slam the door shut. On the opposite end of the track, Bloomquist stepped up to the outside of Madden around turns three and four trying to work around him for the lead. But once again Madden slammed the door shut and maintained his lead.
With Bloomquist dropping back in line behind Madden, content to ride and conserve his tires for later in the race, the pace was slowed when the caution waved on lap 32 for debris on the track. While under yellow — Rogers, Doug Dodd and Mike Weeks entered the pits calling it a night.
Back under green once again Madden and Bloomquist flexed their muscle, pulling out to 10 car-lengths over McCreadie, McDowell and Owens in just a couple of laps. But right outside the top-five, Hill had Steve Smith breathing down his neck for the sixth spot. However, a strong run for Smith ended with motor problems and fluid being dumped on the track on lap 38, bringing out the caution.
With the Spring Thaw 100 reaching the halfway point at lap 50, the top five showed Madden riding out front followed by Bloomquist, McCreadie, McDowell and Owens. Completing the top 10 in the running order was Hill, Weaver, Anthony White, Brad Neat and Jones.
Mounting a charge on McDowell trying to take away fourth-place, getting a strong run up top on the outside racing off the fourth turn, Owens pulled off the pass to the delight of the fans who rose to their feet cheering for “The Newport Nightmare.”
Owens closed to the rear bumper of McCreadie, where he looked to the inside and also outside for several circuits. Rim-riding up top between turns three and four, Owens drove around the outside of McCreadie as they raced off turn four on lap 65 to move into third. The caution appeared just three circuits later on lap 68 when Jeff Maupin spun in the fourth turn.
The first three cars in line for the restart were all Bloomquist Race Cars, with Madden leading the way over Blooomquist and Owens. Madden, who finished in second-place last August to Bloomquist in the Scorcher 100, looked to improve his finishing position by one spot in winning the Spring Thaw 100.
Back under green conditions, Bloomquist was turning the heat up on Madden — looking to the outside and also taking peeks to the inside as they raced off the corners. On lap 78 the leaders began working heavy lapped traffic, and for two circuits Madden managed to carefully choose the right lines in working his way around the slower cars while also holding Bloomquist back in second-place.
Getting a good run on the bottom off the fourth turn, Bloomquist pulled alongside of Madden racing down the front straightaway into the first turn on lap 80. With cars two-wide directly in front of the leaders, Bloomquist down low and Madden up high in the banking, split the lapped car of Troy Eads as they raced off turn two.
Bloomquist, driving the Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Allstar
Performance/Sweet Mfg. Inc./Ohlins/VP Racing Fuel/Hoosier by Pup/Hypercoils/Arizona
Sport Shirts/Gotta Race/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars/No.
0
Completing the top 10 finishers were Hill, Weaver, White, Jones and Mark Vineyard.
Besides the
“We were off just a little last night for qualifying and it cost us just enough to where we didn’t get to start from the front row,” said Bloomquist. “But winning our heat race locked up a starting spot inside of row two for us. Chris (Madden) was really good tonight, but I believe tire (compound) choice was a key to our victory — because our car really drove well up off the corners. The lapped cars made it tough tonight, and we were fortunate there when we made the pass for the lead. I got a strong run on the bottom while Chris kind of got trapped up on the high side of the lapped car.
“I want to thank Bob and Barb Miller along with all of the other
sponsors we have on the car. Plus I can’t forget all of the guys who
helped work on the car this weekend — Tommy Hicks, Tony Wiggins, Jesse
Kerns,
Shanon Buckingham was a threat to win on any given Saturday night last year in the “Ramey Ford” Crate Late Model division. His statistics were impressive to say the least, as he won nine features in just 12 starts.
Dale Ball is also no stranger to victory lane — but in Super Late Model competition. Ball, the 1999 Super Late Model track champion had an outstanding 2006 season at “The Gap” as he led the division with five victories. Besides chauffeuring his Super Late Model this season, he also plans to run several Crate Late Model events.
With Buckingham earning the pole position for the 25-lap feature, and Ball nailing down the outside front-row starting berth — the question on the minds of many was, would Buckingham pick right back up with his winning ways of last year, or would Ball win in his first-ever Crate Late Model start?
The duo raced door-to-door for the first lap-and-a-half before Ball grabbed the lead over Buckingham racing off turn two, with Bobby Mays, Allen Champ and 17-year-old rookie Josh Henry holding down the top five spots in the running order. It didn’t take long for the yellow flag to wave, as James Cole spun exiting the fourth turn and slammed down against the inside concrete retaining wall while the field was working the second lap.
With Ball clearly ahead of Buckingham, contact was made with the right-front of Buckingham’s mount to the left-rear quarter panel of Ball’s Smith Brothers Harley-Davidson of Johnson City/Alan Poyner Enterprises/Mainline Communications/Jim Schweitzer Inc./Broyles Tire/Twin D Auto & Truck Sales/Tri-City Rubber & Gasket Co./Advance Auto Parts/Bilstein Shocks/Steve “The Man” Williams/Warrior Race Cars/No. 2 Monte Carlo. The resulting right-front suspension damage sent Buckingham into the pits for the remainder of the race.
With Buckingham out of contention, Mays looked to turn the heat up on the race leader Ball. On several occasions he managed to sneak a peek under Ball racing off the corners, but could not complete the pass to move to the point. Action behind the leaders was fast and furious involving Champ, Kenny Peeples Jr., John Llewellyn, Austin Dillon, Warren McMahan, Clint Solomon and Henry, though Henry faded down the stretch as he lost the power steering on his car.
Ball, from
“To be quite honest, I don’t really know what happened when (Shanon) Buckingham got into me,” said Ball following the race in his victory lane interview. “I was in the lead, and he was behind me. I held my line racing off the corner, and next thing I know I got hit from behind. I guess whatever happened to his car, he somehow must think it was my fault or something — because when his car came to a stop on the track during the caution and he got out, he was waving his arms or something at me. But the way I see it is, I was in the lead and ahead of Buckingham, and he was who got into me from behind. I hate he fell out of the race, but I don’t feel I was a fault. If I was at fault I would admit it. Anyone who races with me knows I don’t have to run over them to win races. If Buckingham’s got a problem with me, he knows where I’m at if he wants to talk with me.
“There really are a lot of competitive cars in this Crate Late Model class. We had a good car tonight, but I know Bobby Mays was running strong too. A few times I could glance over and catch a glimpse of him to the inside of me as we raced off the corners. This car of ours is one we raced as a Super Late Model from 2003 through 2005 and had it for a backup last year. But late last season my car owner, Alan Poyner, he wanted to run a few races, so we put a crate engine in. I don’t know how many of these races I’ll run this season, but I do plan on running at least half the schedule in order to qualify for the season-ending events with the Fastrak Racing Series Crate Late Model organization. And hopefully this win tonight won’t be our only victory.”
Chad Ogle of Sevierville, a winner of four races last year, opened the 2007 racing season by recording an impressive victory in the 25-lap “Lawson Chevrolet” Open Wheel Modified feature over Wayne James, Aaron Coffey, John Harrell and Brandon Mason.
Mike Kelley earned $100 for capturing the pole position (16.805-seconds … 85.69 mph) for the 20-lap “Rusty Wallace Toyota” Hobby Stock feature.
Kelley grabbed the lead at the drop of the green over outside front-row starter Mike Hodges. While Kelley and Hodges were running one-two during the first half of the event, running in third and waiting to steal center stage from the front running duo was 17-year-old Jesse Helton of Bulls Gap. Helton’s late-race pass of Hodges for the lead was all the youngster needed, because once out front he would not be denied his first-ever feature win at “The Gap.”
Chasing Helton to the checkers were Hodges, Mike Mays, Dustin Shaver and Roger Hunter.
Joey Allen of
Mike Seymour held off Robert Lewis, Wayne Lewis, Josh Driskill and Steve Skeen to capture his first-ever Renegade Pure Stock feature win in an event that was red-flagged twice. All in all it was a bad night for the father and son duo of Linton and Tony Perry, as each got upside down — flipping their mounts several times racing off turn two down the backstretch.
The next racing program scheduled at Volunteer Speedway will be during Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR weekend (March 23-24) when the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will be making their first-ever appearance at the track.
“NINTH ANNUAL
SPRING THAW 100” — VOLUNTEER
(Showing Finish Position, Starting Position, Driver Name, Car #, Hometown)
1. (3) Scott Bloomquist #0-Mooresburg, TN
2. (2) Chris Madden # 3. (7) Jimmy Owens #20-Newport, TN 4. (1) Tim McCreadie #39-Watertown, NY 5. (4) Dale McDowell #17m-Welcome, NC 6. (6) Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN 7. (9) Randy Weaver #116-Crossville, TN 8. (11) Anthony White #2x-Clinton, TN 9. (5) Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN 10. (13) Mark Vineyard #4-Powell, TN 11. (14) Damon Eller #I4-Crumpler, NC 12. (12) Mark Douglas #52d-Knoxville, TN
13. (16) Michael Jackson # 14. (15) Mike Smith #4-Rogersville, TN
15. (20)
16. (22) Brian Booze #2-Marion, PA 17. (23) Jeff Maupin #0-Greeneville, TN 18. (17) Brad Neat #41-Dunnville, KY 19. (21) Luke Roffers #21-Concord, NC 20. (10) Steve Smith #3-Powell, TN 21. (18) Ricky Arms #4a-Moss, TN
22. (8) Mike Weeks #22- 23. (24) Doug Dodd #12-Cambridge, OH 24. (19) Rick Rogers #44-Knoxville, TN
“RAMEY FORD” CRATE LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Dale Ball #2; 2) Bobby Mays #19; 3) Kenny Peeples Jr. #22; 4) Austin Dillon #3; 5) John Llewellyn #90; 6) Allen Champ #11c; 7) Warren McMahan #33; 8) Clint Solomon #36; 9) Josh Henry #B00; 10) Todd Brooks #T1; 11) Joe “Dirt” Goode #911; 12) Travis Trent #5; 13) John King Jr. #11k; 14) Shanon Buckingham #44; 15) James Cole #5c; 16) Brad Dyer #20; 17) Shane Roberts #17s
“LAWSON CHEVROLET” OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED (25 laps)
1) Chad Ogle #10; 2) Wayne James #4; 3) Aaron Coffey #0; 4) John Harrell #H19; 5) Brandon Mason #15; 6) Danny James #j4; 7) Clint Shutts #135; 8) Jason Hall #911; 9) Matt Barrett #34; 10) Duke Bare #0; 11) Larry James #j2; 12) Aaron Ogle #181; 13) Stanley Donahoo #00; 14) J.J. Patterson #72; 15) Don Scalf #3 – Did Not Start: Chris Pendleton #15
“RUSTY WALLACE
1) Jesse Helton #28; 2) Mike Hodges #m2; 3) Mike Mays #30; 4) Dustin Shaver #7; 5) Roger Hunter #7-11; 6) Duke Bare #52; 7) Phillip Nichols #33; 8) Jamie Whitt #1; 9) R.J. Mayes #01; 10) Rick Fillers #21; 11) Patrick Flannery #38; 12) Chris Gregg #9; 13) Mike Kelley #8; 14) Ralph Miles #1; 15) Everett Cobb #13; 16) Robbie Jones #29; 17) Ray Jarnigan #31; 18) Matt Letterman #49 – Did Not Start: Robbie Woods #16, Michael Millsap #22, Charles Allen #1
MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Joey Allen #A00; 2) Kevin Atwell #95; 3) Kenny Absher #11; 4) Chuck McMahan #99; 5) Josh Henry #B00; 6) Brandon Johnson #B01; 7) Toby Jones #66; 8) Steve Skeen #10; 9) Brandon Petit #05b; 10) Kurt Owens #7up; 11) Randy Lane #5; 12) Brent Hensley #70; 13) Nick Cole #63 – Did Not Start: Jimmy Seay #6
RENEGADE PURE STOCK (15 laps)
1) Mike Seymour #777; 2) Robert Lewis #4; 3) Wayne Lewis #9s; 4) Josh Driskill #D00; 5) Steve Skeen #17; 6) Linton Perry #1; 7) Ronnie Bibbins #3; 8) Charlie Bates #27; 9) Eddie Smith #8; 10) Jason Delph #36; 11) Tony Perry #7; 12) Marion “Bubba” Guy #20
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