Scott Bloomquist and Shannon Babb scored the most recent victories in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action over the past week.
Bloomquist recorded wins at LaSalle Speedway and I-80 Speedway, while Babb made the trip to victory lane at Luxemburg Speedway.
On Thursday, May 18, Bloomquist inherited the lead with five laps to go at Illinois’ LaSalle Speedway when race leader Josh Richards spun in turn two. From there, Bloomquist then led the rest of the way for his 81st career series victory.
Bloomquist started on the outside front row and led the first 35 laps of the race until Richards worked his way around him in heavy lapped traffic. Richards began pulling away from the pack when he hooked the berm in turn number two causing him to spin sideways in front of the field. The caution came out and Richards had to restart on the tail end of the lead lap.
Bloomquist then held off pole sitter Mike Marlar for his fourth series win of the season. Marlar came home in second, with Dennis Erb, Jr. third, Don O’Neal fourth and Tim McCreadie in fifth.
“I would like to thank my crew, they have worked their butts off the last few weeks building a new car after we wrecked one in Ohio,” Bloomquist said. “The top line was fast tonight, but it was also treacherous in spots. A little below that there were some slick spots and I think maybe that’s what caused him (Richards) to spin.”
On Friday night, Shannon Babb held off Richards to take the victory at Wisconsin’s Luxemburg Speedway.
Richards finished in second, with Darrell Lanigan in third, Gregg Satterlee in fourth and Tim McCreadie in fifth.
“I just want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight,” Babb said. “It was quite cold to be out here. Thanks to the track crew for getting this track raceable. I wasn’t so sure they could do it late today, but they scraped off the top and it was smooth
While Babb was out front for the entire 50-lap distance, it was not an easy win as Richards pressured him several times for the lead. Near the end while Babb was trying to lap a car, he got sideways and that gave Richards a shot on the outside to pass him, but Babb beat Richards into turn one and held on the rest of the way for the victory.
After Saturday’s race at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota was cancelled due to rain, the series next traveled to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska, where Bloomquist scored fifth series victory of the season on Tuesday night.
Bloomquist took the lead from Lanigan on lap ten and led the rest of the way to score the 82nd career series win.
Mason Zeigler finished in second, while Earl Pearson, Jr. came home in third. Gregg Satterlee was fourth and McCreadie finished in fifth.
Bloomquist extended his points lead over McCreadie with the win and was pleased with his car for most of the race.
“We battled with Lanigan early on,” said Bloomquist. “I had to find a line to run at the start. There were several cautions and I was a bit concerned about the tires firing on the restarts. Towards the end of the race, the car was faster and I got a better handle on turn two, it had been causing the car to push a few times.”
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
LaSalle Speedway – LaSalle, IL
Race Results – May 18, 2017
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $11,100 |
| 2 | 1 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $5,500 |
| 3 | 10 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $4,200 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $3,550 |
| 5 | 6 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,950 |
| 6 | 20 | 18 | Shannon Babb | Mowequa, IL | $1,800 |
| 7 | 11 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $2,300 |
| 8 | 13 | 32C | Chris Simpson | Oxford, IA | $1,300 |
| 9 | 16 | 14 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,900 |
| 10 | 9 | C9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | $1,100 |
| 11 | 5 | 1R | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $1,775 |
| 12 | 14 | 99JR | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL | $1,050 |
| 13 | 19 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee ® | Rochester Mills, PA | $1,825 |
| 14 | 8 | 15 | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,700 |
| 15 | 12 | 1m | Mike Mataragas | DeKalb, IL | $950 |
| 16 | 15 | 29d | Spencer Diercks | Davenport, IA | $925 |
| 17 | 3 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | $900 |
| 18 | 17 | 10S | Taylor Scheffler | Waukesha, WI | $875 |
| 19 | 18 | 99B | Boom Briggs ® | Bear Lake, PA | $1,550 |
| 20 | 24 | 15V | Kolby Vandenbergh | Ashland, IL | $825 |
| 21 | 22 | 25F | Jason Feger | Bloomington, IL | $800 |
| 22 | 21 | B12 | Kevin Weaver | Gibson City, IL | $800 |
| 23 | 7 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal ® | Martinsville, IN | $1,500 |
| 24 | 23 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,600 |
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Luxemburg Speedway – Luxemburg, WI
Race Results – May 19, 2017
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 1 | 18 | Shannon Babb | Mowequa, IL | $10,200 |
| 2 | 2 | 1R | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $6,200 |
| 3 | 3 | 14 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $4,200 |
| 4 | 4 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee ® | Rochester Mills, PA | $3,550 |
| 5 | 8 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,950 |
| 6 | 11 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $2,600 |
| 7 | 7 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | $1,500 |
| 8 | 5 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $2,100 |
| 9 | 9 | C9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | $1,200 |
| 10 | 14 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,800 |
| 11 | 12 | 15 | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,775 |
| 12 | 20 | 99B | Boom Briggs ® | Bear Lake, PA | $1,750 |
| 13 | 17 | 28m | Jimmy Mars | Menomonie, WI | $1,025 |
| 14 | 15 | B1 | Brent Larson | Lake Elmo, MN | $1,000 |
| 15 | 21 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,750 |
| 16 | 12 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $925 |
| 17 | 6 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $1,900 |
| 18 | 18 | 3 | Brett Swedberg | Shawano, WI | $875 |
| 19 | 10 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal ® | Martinsville, IN | $1,550 |
| 20 | 22 | 25 | Jared Siefert | Luxemburg, WI | $825 |
| 21 | 15 | 99JR | Frank Heckenast, Jr. | Frankfort, IL | $800 |
| 22 | 24 | 1B | Doug Blashe | Marion, WI | $800 |
| 23 | 23 | 15A | Nick Anvelink | Bonduel, WI | $800 |
| 24 | 19 | 58 | AJ Diemel | Elk Mound, WI | $800 |
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
I-80 Speedway – Greenwood, NE
Race Results – May 23, 2017
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $11,100 |
| 2 | 4 | 25Z | Mason Zeigler | Chalk Hill, PA | $5,500 |
| 3 | 16 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $4,300 |
| 4 | 14 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Rochester Mills, PA | $3,550 |
| 5 | 5 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $3,050 |
| 6 | 20 | 1R | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $2,500 |
| 7 | 1 | 14 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $2,200 |
| 8 | 23 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $2,100 |
| 9 | 8 | 15 | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,900 |
| 10 | 18 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,800 |
| 11 | 17 | 18J | Chase Junghans | Manhattan, KS | $1,075 |
| 12 | 19 | 99B | Boom Briggs | Bear Lake, PA | $1,750 |
| 13 | 24 | 1B | Matt Buller | Henderson, NE | $1,025 |
| 14 | 6 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,800 |
| 15 | 11 | 4W | JC Wyman | Griswold, IA | $950 |
| 16 | 15 | 4 | Tad Pospisil | Norfolk, NE | $925 |
| 17 | 3 | J0 | Jake O’Neil | Tucson, AZ | $900 |
| 18 | 13 | 3c | Mike Collins | New Orleans, LA | $875 |
| 19 | 9 | 98 | Ben Schaller | Omaha, NE | $850 |
| 20 | 12 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $825 |
| 21 | 21 | 5d | John Duty | Portland, OR | $800 |
| 22 | 7 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,500 |
| 23 | 10 | 32C | Chris Simpson | Oxford, IA | $800 |
| 24 | 22 | 20x | Rodney Sanders | Happy, TX | $800 |
