Chris Madden on his way to a $10,000 payday at Boyd’s
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series made its first trip to the Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, GA on Friday night to contest an event in front of an overflow crowd. Those spectators witnessed a dominating performance by Chris Madden as the Gray Court, South Carolina driver rode away with the $10,000 first prize when all was said and done.
Scott Bloomquist proved to be the fastest in Group A qualifying as well as overall when he posted a time of 13.830 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member was followed by Randy Weaver, Tyler Millwood and Jason Croft in that group.
Madden set quick time in Group B time-trials by recording a lap of 13.933 seconds to lead Dale McDowell, Casey Roberts and Devin Moran in that group.
Bloomquist, Weaver, Madden and McDowell were the winners in the four heat races held to set the majority of the starting lineup for the feature race while Jason Croft and Tim McCreadie scored wins in the two B-main races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
Weaver and Bloomquist battled early on.
Madden bolted from his outside front row starting position to claim the early lead in the 50-lap feature with Bloomquist, Weaver, McDowell and Millwood trailing. Weaver began to issue a challenging against Bloomquist for the second spot on the second lap but the No. 0 car held its ground in the early going before McDowell attempted to take advantage of Weaver’s failed attempt to gain a position from the No. 116 machine.
The race’s only caution flag waved on lap 6 when the car of Jason Hiett rolled to a stop at the entrance of turn three. The ensuing restart allowed Weaver, Jared Landers and Jonathan Davenport to move forward against their competition.
Even in lapped traffic, Madden could not be held back
But from that point, the lead of the race would be controlled by Madden. Even as he worked through slower traffic, the No. 44 car was never seriously threatened for the top spot in the running order. However, there was plenty of action just behind the front runner.
As the race moved toward its conclusion, Weaver began to feel the heat from Landers just as Davenport and Bloomquist mixed it up for positions at the back of the top-5. As the cars came to the white flag, Landers moved around Weaver to briefly grab the runner-up position before Weaver made a bold outside move to reclaim the spot just prior to taking the checkered flag.
But in the end, it was Madden who ultimately staked his claim to history by winning the inaugural Lucas Oil race held at Boyd’s Speedway.
Feature Finish: 1. Chris Madden, 2. Randy Weaver, 3. Jared Landers, 4. Jonathan Davenport, 5. Scott Bloomquist, 6. Dale McDowell, 7. Casey Roberts, 8. Jimmy Owens, 9. Darrell Lanigan, 10. Dennis Erb, Jr., 11. Earl Pearson, Jr., 12. Aaron Ridley, 13. Donald McIntosh, 14. Tyler Millwood, 15. Brandon Sheppard, 16. Devin Moran, 17. Don O’Neal, 18. Jason Croft, 19. Steve Francis, 20. Tim McCreadie, 21. Dylan Ames, 22. Colton Flinner, 23. Riley Hickman, 24. Jason Hiett
Madden in victory lane
