By James Essex

A year ago Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN came into the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 at Florence (KY) Speedway trailing point’s leader, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN by 280-points. What a difference a year makes. This year Owens enters the $50,000 to win event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series ahead of Bloomquist by 140-points based on an amazing streak of top five finishes.

While the 39-year-old Owens has captured four series wins in 2011, he has put together a remarkable streak of 22 top five finishes in 23 races. That’s the consistency that Owens had hoped for when the year began, as the runner-up in the LOLMDS points the last two years to Bloomquist, many felt this was the year that Owens would unseat the Hall of Fame driver atop the points.

Owens, himself is building quite a resume that one day will most likely put him into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame which sits on the grounds of Florence Speedway.. Last year Owens won a thrilling race over good friend, Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL to take his second career North/South 100 triumph. His first win in the crown-jewel event came in 2007.

“We’ve always run pretty well at Florence in the past,” said Owens. “Last year to beat Earl there at the end, that was pretty exciting, the fans seem to always see a good race at Florence and I look for this year to be no different.”

Owens and his race team are taking nothing for granted. During the off-week between the LOLMDS events at Tri-City (IL) and Lucas Oil (MO) Speedway they built a new Bloomquist Race Car. The first night out at Fonda, NY they won, and followed that up with two runner-up finishes at Utica-Rome (NY) and Hagerstown (MD).

Last week Owens and his crew skipped the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake (WI) Speedway to work on their truck. The old saying “taking it one race at a time” definitely holds true for Owens and his crew has the set their sights on a championship, but that must wait. With $90,000 in first place prize money alone up for grabs the next two weeks, Owens hopes to continue to build on his points lead.

“There’s a lot of racing left to go, from experience one bad finish for us and Scott’s right back there in the hunt, he can go on a winning streak just like that, hopefully we will continue to have solid finishes and let the points take care of themselves,” said Owens who’s only finish outside the top five in a series event this season was a sixth at East Bay back in February.

Activity at Florence Speedway will get underway on Thursday Night with a special practice session. On Friday Night will be Red Buck Cigar Time Trials, and on Saturday Night will be Heat Races, B-Mains and the 29th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil Products paying $50,000 to win and $2,500 to start.

Blankenship Competes in Pocono ARCA Event

One week after his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win, John Blankenship of Williamson, WV participated in his second career ARCA event, this time at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA. Blankenship driving for the famed-Venturini Motorsports Team finished 20th, despite loosing a wheel on lap seven. Blankenship made his ARCA debut back in June at Winchester (IN) Speedway where he finished 10th. His next scheduled start in the series will be at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL on August 21st, the day after he competes in the COMP Cams Topless 19 at Batesville (AR) Motor Speedway.

Francis Debuts Roush-Yates Engine

Veteran Steve Francis of Ashland, KY in his first season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series has made the switch to a Roush-Yates powerplant under the hood of his MasterSbilt Race Cars. The 43-year-old former World 100 and Dirt Track World Championship winner debuted the new engine at the LOLMDS event on July 30th at Hagerstown (MD) Speedway. Francis finished sixth in that event, and followed up at a World of Outlaws event at Shawano (W) with a fifth place finish and he wound up seventh in the final rundown for the USA Nationals last Saturday at Cedar Lake.

Francis, who has yet to win on the Lucas Oil Series tour this year, enters the race fourth in points as he will try to become only the second driver in the history of the North/South 100 from the state of Kentucky to win the prestigious event. The late Jack Boggs of Grayson, KY is the only homestate driver to win the annual event, and he won it a record three times.