Scott Bloomquist
Scott Bloomquist won the Cowboy Classic on the first night of competition in the three-night event that will culminate in the Show-me 100 race on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. However, the Mooresburg, Tenn. driver was not allowed to take a qualifying lap on the second night of festivities at the track in an event that serves as a tribute to Don and Billie Gibson(creators of the Show-me 100 at West Plains Speedway).
According to a report delivered by Dave Argabright during the Lucas Oil Racing TV broadcast of the race on Friday night, a Bloomquist crew member did not follow proper procedure during the pill draw that is used by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series to establish the order for qualifying attempts.
The sanctioning body made the decision to deny Bloomquist a qualifying attempt because of that failure, forcing the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame driver to start at the rear of the third heat race of the night.
Although the features held on Thursday and Friday night do not pay points toward the LOLMDS championship, the races do serve to help determine the starting lineup for the $30,000-to-win Show-me 100 on Saturday night. With no provisional starting positions being awarded in the Thursday and Friday races, it will be imperative for Bloomquist to work his way into a transfer position in either the heat race of one of the B-main preliminaries to get into the Friday feature.
Bloomquist finished seventh in the third heat race which required him to race in one of the B-mains.
The No. 0 won the second B-main to gain a place in the main event. Not only did Bloomquist have to come from deep in the field, but after contact with Jimmy Mars, the car had a broken left front suspension. He basically won the race on three wheels.
Bloomquist eventually drove up to third at the finish of the 40-lap feature.
In his post-race interview with Lucas Oil Racing TV he said, “One of my boys put us in a bad spot and the series did its job and didn’t let us qualify.”
