Kyle Bronson Takes First Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Appearance At Raceway 7

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – CONNEAUT, OH – Kyle Bronson took advantage of race leader Jimmy Owens’ misfortune on lap 45 and then went on to win his third career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race on Friday night at Raceway 7.

The event is the biggest dirt late model race in 16 years at the Northeast Ohio facility and was held in front of a packed grandstand. The A-Main saw a dramatic ending as Owens’ dominance of the race came to an end after he slowed suddenly. With four laps to go he pulled pit side, ending his bid for a fifth series victory of the season.

Bronson led the first nine laps of the race before yielding the lead to Owens. Upon inheriting the lead back from Owens’ misfortune, the Florida native then quickly pulled away from second-place-running Tim McCreadie to win the event. With his podium finish, McCreadie maintains second place in the Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings after coming home in the runner-up position. He was followed to the stipe by Josh Richards, Hudson O’Neal, and Jonathan Davenport.

Bronson was several car lengths behind Owens when the 3-time Series Champion slowed suddenly and dropped out of the race. “These races are so tough to win. I feel terrible for Jimmy, he was the class of the field tonight. He was gone and in another zip code. Jimmy and his guys have been helping me a lot lately. I hate it for those guys as well. I knew when they said over race control McCreadie was second, that I just needed to hit my marks and take care of my race car, because he would race me clean.”

In McCreadie’s post-race interview, he was grateful for another podium finish. “Once the track cleaned off in the middle, we couldn’t maneuver anymore. This is one of the smoothest tracks we have been on in a while. We brought the car home in one piece, so we should be ready for tomorrow at Pittsburgh. We finished second in our only other appearance here before (in a Big Block Modified), so I guess that’s the best we could do tonight as well. They filled nearly every seat in the grandstands tonight, so thank you to everyone who came out to support this event.”

With his third-place finish, Richards managed to keep himself just behind McCreadie in the Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings. “I thought we were going to be better than we were tonight. The car was too loose at the start of the race. We had a third or fourth place car, but as the race wore on, we got better. When we got some heat in the right rear tire, we closed on McCreadie, but we didn’t have enough to pass him. We have had a lot of speed near the end of a lot of races this season, but we have just some bad breaks. The last time I was here John Gill was driving for my dad (Mark Richards), so it’s kind of neat to finally race here.”

The winner’s Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Brandon Ford, Brandon Collision, All-Florida Real Estate Group, Racecar Engineering, Integra Shocks, VP Fuels, and Valvoline.

Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler, Tyler Erb, Max Blair, and Doug Drown.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, October 4th, 2019
Raceway 7 – Conneaut, OH

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Don O’Neal / 17.054 seconds (New Track Record)
Fast Time Group B: Devin Moran / 17.115 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Josh Richards, Tim McCreadie, Chub Frank, Stormy Scott, Chad Wright, Gregg Satterlee, Earl Pearson, Jr., Don O’Neal

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Mike Marlar, Billy Moyer, Jr., Max Blair, Shanon Buckingham, Ryan Scott, Bump Headman, Charles Powell

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb ®, Devin Moran ®, Jared Miley, Jacob Hawkins, Breyton Santee, Jerry Aber, Ryan Markham

Lucas Oil Products Penetrating Oil Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal, Mason Zeigler, Doug Drown, Johnny Scott, Darrell Bossard, Garrett Mott, Austin Hubbard-DNS

Lucas Oil Products Red “N” Tacky Spray Grease B-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shanon Buckingham, Gregg Satterlee, Earl Pearson, Jr., Don O’Neal, Chad Wright, Charles Powell, Ryan Scott, Bump Headman

FAST Shafts B-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Johnny Scott, Jacob Hawkins, Darrell Bossard, Ryan Markham, Breyton Santee, Jerry Aber, Garrett Mott, Austin Hubbard-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):