Moyer marches to Thursday Lucas Oil win at East Bay

TAMPA, Fla. - Billy Moyer took the lead on lap six and never looked back as he marched on to his 24th Winternationals win Thursday night in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla.<br /> <br /> Moyer and Brandon Sheppard battled back and forth for several laps until Moyer finally mastered a consistent line around the famed "Clay by the Bay" and set-sail on his way to victory lane. Following Moyer to the stripe were Mike Benedum, Brandon Sheppard, Steve Casebolt, and Dennis Franklin.<br /> <br /> "It feels good to get back to victory lane at East Bay," Moyer said. "They went out and worked on the track after the B-mains, and it turned out pretty much how I thought it would. We have led every night down here, and we were finally able to get the finish we wanted. I want to thank my crew for all of their hard work."<br /> <br /> Sheppard led the first lap, but Moyer charged by him for the lead on the second circuit. Sheppard then fought back to regain the point by lap five as the duo raced side-by-side around the 1/3 mile clay oval. Moyer finally forged ahead of Sheppard on lap six and distanced himself from Sheppard.<br /> <br /> Benedum, in his best career run in a LOLMDS event, would make it a three-car battle for the lead. Moyer entered heavy traffic by lap 18, and maneuvered his way through lap traffic until a caution came out on lap 25 that cleared the way. Benedum got the jump on Sheppard as he pounced on the second spot during the ensuing restart. Moyer darted away from the field and maintained a safe distance the rest of the race to take his first victory of the season, and the 791st of his Hall of Fame career.<br /> <br /> Benedum was extremely happy with his finish and was overwhelmed with emotion in victory lane.<br /> <br /> "To run with guys like Moyer, (Don) O'Neal, (Jimmy) Owens, and those guys, I am tickled to death," he said. "We have switched back-and-forth between the Rocket and Longhorn in the last two weeks. We had the Rocket out here tonight. I can't thank my crew enough, they have worked so hard on the car. This is just unbelievable."<br /> <br /> Completing the top ten were Bobby Pierce, Jared Landers, Stormy Scott, Jimmy Owens, and David Fieber.<br /> <br /> In preliminary action, Billy Moyer Jr. set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 44 entrants, with a lap of 15.797 seconds. Sheppard set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 16.036 seconds. Moyer Jr., Don O'Neal, Sheppard and Moyer won their respective heat races. Vic Hill and Dennis Franklin won their respective B-Mains.<br /> <br /> For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit <a href="http://www.lucasdirt.com" target="_blank">LucasDirt.com</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series</strong><br /> <strong> East Bay Raceway Park

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