Jimmy Owens
Jimmy Owens has developed a mastery over the Atomic Speedway as he collected his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win in the past three attempts on Sunday night. This was the first race for the national tour since Georgia-Florida Speedweeks. The driver from Newport, Tennessee took home $12,000 from the Alma, Ohio track for his efforts in a race shown live by MavTV Plus.
A total of 31 cars signed in for competition.
Group A Qualifying: 1. Devin Moran(13.109), 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Tyler Erb, 4. Spencer Hughes, 5. Earl Pearson Jr., 6. Hudson O’Neal, 7. Steve Casebolt, 8. Ross Robinson
Group B Qualifying: 1. Garrett Alberson(13.429), 2. Shane Clanton, 3. Jimmy Owens, 4. Bobby Pierce, 5. Tyler Carpenter, 6. Josh Rice, 7. Kirk Phillips, 8. R.J. Conley
Heat 1 Finish(Top-4 Transfer): 1. Devin Moran, 2. Tyler Erb, 3. Earl Pearson Jr., 4. Steve Casebolt
Heat 2 Finish: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Hudson O’Neal, 3. Spencer Hughes, 4. Ross Robinson
Heat 3 Finish: 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Garrett Alberson, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Dennis Erb Jr.
Heat 4 Finish: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Bobby Pierce, 3. Josh Rice, 4. Shane Clanton
B-main Finish(Top-6 Transfer): 1. Ashton Winger, 2. Tyler Carpenter, 3. Daulton Wilson, 4. R.J. Conley, 5. Rod Conley, 6. Kirk Phillips
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 50-lap feature it was Moran who went to the early lead with Owens, Thornton, Sheppard and Erb following in his tire tracks. Owens passed by Moran for the lead on the second circuit. Further back, Tyler Erb moved around Sheppard to grab fourth.
Erb wasn’t finished there as he took third away from Thornton on the fourth time around the track. Meanwhile, Moran kept Owens in his sights over the next several laps. By lap 13, Moran closed onto the rear spoiler of the race leader and appeared ready to make a move.
Owens held off the challenge posed by Moran who then fell back into the clutches of Erb. The No. 1 car moved by the No. 9 for the runner-up position on lap 18 when Moran got tangled with a slower car. However, the battle between Erb and Moran would continue to rage as Owens slipped away from the pack.
O’Neal, who won at Atomic last season, began to make his presence felt when he passed by Sheppard to take fifth then later went around Thornton for fourth.
A lap 31 caution for Ross Robinson briefly slowed the action. On the restart, Owens maintained the top spot while Moran regained second from Erb. Owens found himself held up by slower cars as the laps ticked away which allowed Moran to close in and make for a close finish but Owens would eventually sail under the checkered flag for the victory.
“I could hear somebody behind me,” Owens said in his victory lane interview with MavTV. “I didn’t know if that was him or a lapped car but I knew if I held a good line and kept the car good and straight that maybe we could carry it on to the finish. I know Devin has been extremely good this year and i thought if we was going to be able to beat him we’d have to do it on the take off. I was able to get a good run there and kind of run him up the backstretch down yonder but I thought I had him cleared. It’s all good racing.”
It was the 79th career Lucas Oil win for Owens and an emotional one after the recent death of team owner Leon Ramierez. It was the second series win of 2022 for Owens.
Feature Finish: 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Devin Moran, 3. Tyler Erb, 4. Hudson O’Neal, 5. Brandon Sheppard, 6. Ricky Thornton Jr., 7. Garrett Alberson, 8. Earl Pearson Jr., 9. Josh Rice, 10. Dennis Erb Jr., 11. Tim McCreadie, 12. Ashton Winger, 13. Shane Clanton, 14. Spencer Hughes, 15. Tyler Carpenter, 16. Daulton Wilson, 17. R.J. Conley, 18. Freddie Carpenter, 19. Rod Conley, 20. Ross Robinson, 21. Bobby Pierce, 22. Kirk Phillips, 23. Todd Brennan, 24. Steve Casebolt
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