Chris Madden Scores First Florence Victory On Lucas Oil LM Dirt Series; T-Mac Second

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – UNION, KY – Chris Madden found his way to Victory Lane on Thursday night in the Sunoco North/South Shootout at Florence Speedway.

The win marks the South Carolina native’s first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season and his first ever at Florence Speedway.

Madden becomes the thirteenth different winner on the Series in 2019.

Madden started on the pole and faded as far back as fifth in the running order early in the race. Zack Dohm led the first fifteen laps of the 50-lap race before Owens charged to the lead on lap sixteen. Owens went on to hold a comfortable lead until contact with a lapped car sent him spinning out of the lead with 43 laps scored.

Madden inherited the top spot on the restart and pulled away from Tim McCreadie in the closing laps to pick up the win.

The defending North-South Shootout winner, Tim McCreadie, was second with Dohm registering his best career LOLMDS finish, in third place. Stormy Scott claimed the fourth spot ahead of Kent Robinson who rounded out the top five drivers.

In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Madden was worried at the start of the race. “I went too far on my adjustments for sure. The first 20 laps, I wasn’t as comfortable as I should have been and then searched and found a line that was working. We just hustled the car and got back up there in the thick of things. I got back into second and then Jimmy had a lead on us. I hated to see that happen to him but am thankful for the win.”

“We have been really good in this car,” Madden added. “We now have two wins and a second-place finish. There are a lot of crown jewel races coming up. We got one last week at Cedar Lake and we hope to get one here on Saturday Night.”

“The track was really good tonight. There’s definitely going to be some awesome racing here the next two nights. I want to thank Cody Sommer and Scott [Bloomquist] for giving me this opportunity. Thanks to all of the fans for coming out and supporting us tonight,” said the 44-year-old Madden.

McCreadie came home in second. “This surface and the tire rule just suit me really well here. You just can’t run it through the middle, you just have to maneuver it. Jimmy was doing that; he was running half-way through the middle and then on the bottom. Chris was just a little bit better there at the end. We tried to run that top, but we just couldn’t make up much time on him.”

Dohm, whose father Tim owns one-career LOLMDS win, was looking for his first-ever series triumph. “We seem like we always run good here, but we never have started up front like we did tonight. I was a little shocked when I drove by Chris there at the start and I thought we were setting a pretty pace. I could feel the right rear tire getting hot and it was shoving the car across the track. Coming out of here with a third is awesome. It was just myself and my brother Nick, so we feel pretty good to run like we did against this caliber of competition.”

The winner’s Scott Bloomquist Racing, Bloomquist Race Cars chassis is powered by a Custom Race Engine and sponsored by: STELL-IT, Great America Steak Company, Petroff Towing, Lucas Oil Products, Sorbera Chiropractic, and Crossfit by Overton.

Completing the top ten were Dale McDowell, Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Ern, and Michael Norris.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Sunoco North/South Shootout
Florence Speedway – Union, KY

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Chris Madden / 15.471 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Devin Gilpin / 16.8651 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Chris Madden, Kent Robinson, Kyle Strickler, Mike Marlar, Ricky Weiss, Nick Hoffman, Robby Hensley, Austin Burns, Chad Stapleton-DNS

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Frank Heckenast, Jr., Mike Benedum, Jesse Lay, Austin Rettig, Jason Miller, Earl Pearson, Jr., Jeff Alsip, Roger Williams, Steve Casebolt

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, Scott James, Josh Richards, Trevor Landrum, Tyler Erb, Jason Jameson, Kevin Weaver

Lucas Oil Products Penetrating Oil Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Zack Dohm, Stormy Scott, Bobby Pierce, Victor Lee, Devin Gilpin, Josh Rice, Joey Moriarty, Paul Stubber, Scott Bloomquist

Sunoco Race Fuels Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Michael Norris, Billy Green, Devin Moran, Shanon Buckingham, Kyle Bronson, Johnny Scott, Billy Moyer Jr., Todd Brennan, Mike Provenzano

Arizona Sport Shirts Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Tim McCreadie, Jonathan Davenport, Dale McDowell, Hudson O’Neal, Donald McIntosh, Zak Blackwood, Greg Johnson, David Webb

Lucas Oil Products Red “N” Tacky Spray Grease B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Ricky Weiss, Josh Richards, Tyler Erb ®, Trevor Landrum, Mike Marlar, Robby Hensley, Jason Miller, Earl Pearson, Jr., Jason Jameson ®, Austin Burns, Steve Casebolt , Kevin Weaver, Roger Williams, Austin Rettig, Nick Hoffman, Jeff Alsip-DNS, Chad Stapleton-DNS

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Victor Lee, Shanon Buckingham, Hudson O’Neal, Devin Gilpin, Josh Rice, Johnny Scott, Billy Moyer, Jr., Greg Johnson, David Webb, Paul Stubber, Mike Provenzano, Scott Bloomquist, Donald McIntosh, Kyle Bronson, Joey Moriarty, Todd Brennan, Zak Blackwood

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):