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Friesen dominates Super DIRTcar Series field to earn fifth Volusia victory
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 20, 2014 – Unheralded Casey Roberts surged past Scott Bloomquist for his first World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory, while Stewart Friesen dominated the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified main event on Thursday night during the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park.
Roberts, 36, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment, passing dirt-track legend Scott Bloomquist coming to the white flag and hanging on to win. Refusing to concede after losing the lead to Bloomquist on lap 31 of the 50-lap feature, Roberts patiently stuck to the bottom of the half-mile oval and slipped ahead of Wednesday night’s DIRTcar Late Model feature victor to gain command as lap 49 was scored. Roberts then staved off a last-ditch bid by Bloomquist to score his first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph by a mere. 0.185 of a second.
“I’m pretty much a no-name or whatever,” Roberts, of Toccoa, Ga., modestly said while standing on the homestretch stage following the race. “I guess everybody thinks it’s good to see guys like me win. I’ll tell you, I’m just blessed to be here. It feels like it’s not even really happening.”
Bloomquist held on to finish second and Dale McDowell was third
On the flip side, Friesen was strong all night and charged out quickly in the Super DIRTcar Series 30-lap main event. He picked his way through lapped traffic in the caution-free race to win for the fifth time at Volusia Speedway Park.
“We were very happy to win tonight,” said Friesen, 30, of Sprakers, N.Y. “We had a great race car, we had a good time trial, we were able to start up front. Obviously, getting the redraw number one was super beneficial and we were able to capitalize on it. … Hopefully the track stays like this because we’ve got everything pretty dialed in right now. Starting position was key tonight, and we’ll try to do our best going forward.”
Australia’s Peter Britten was second with eight-time series champion Brett Hearn in third.
The World of Outlaws Late Models and Super DIRTcar Big-Blocks return to Volusia on Friday night. Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps begin at 6 p.m. and racing is at 7:30 p.m.
For more information and updates on the DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment, clickDIRTcarNationals.com or follow on Twitter at Twitter.com/DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment Statistical Report; Feb. 20, 2014; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
Super DIRTcar Series A-Main (30 Laps): 1. (1w) Stewart Friesen ($2,000), 2. (21a) Peter Britten, 3. (20) Brett Hearn, 4. (3h) Justin Haers, 5. (9H) Matt Sheppard, 6. (1) Billy Pauch, 7. (10v) Billy VanInwegen, 8. (22c) Mario Clair, 9. (55) Anthony Perrego, 10. (98h) Jimmy Phelps, 11. (5) Jimmy Horton, 12. (07) Tim Kerr, 13. (7z) Dale Planck, 14. (6m) Mat Williamson, 15. (54) Steve Bernard, 16. (30) Jamie Mills, 17. (3a) Kevin Albert, 18. (323) Neal Williams, 19. (21k) Randy Chrysler, 20. (8) Rich Scagliotta, 21. (21) Yan Bussiere, 22. (85) H.J. Bunting, 23. (42) Kyle Sheldon, 24. (48Too) Dave Rauscher, 25. (88) Dave Allen, 26. (22J) Jeremy Wilder.
World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main (50 Laps): 1. (101) Casey Roberts ($10,000), 2. (0) Scott Bloomquist, 3. (17m) Dale McDowell, 4. (23) John Blankenship, 5. (22) Gregg Satterlee, 6. (1) Brandon Sheppard, 7. (15) Steve Francis, 8. (29) Darrell Lanigan, 9. (24) Rick Eckert, 10. (25) Shane Clanton, 11. (21) Billy Moyer, 12. (19) Tim Fuller, 13. (5) Don O’Neal, 14. (2) Brady Smith, 15. (32c) Vic Coffey, 16. (18w) Eric Wells, 17. (157) Mike Marlar, 18. (38) Kenny Pettyjohn, 19. (21L) Ivedent Lloyd Jr., 20. (1*) Chub Frank, 21. (39) Tim McCreadie, 22. (14M) Morgan Bagley, 23. (44) Clint Smith, 24. (81) Brian Shirley, 25. (40B) Kyle Bronson.
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Roberts, Moyer, Sheppard, Blankenship, Clanton, Bagley, Garvin, Heckenast, Jacobsen, Sullivan, Winge, Hammerle
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Satterlee, Bronson, Lloyd, O’Neal, Coffey, Pierce, Frank, Merrill, Beyers, Owens, Erb
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Bloomquist, Francis, Lanigan, McDowell, Pettyjohn, Briggs, Eckert, Stone, Landers, Babcock, Moreland
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Shirley, B. Smith, Marlar, McCreadie, Wells, Fuller, Junghans, C. Smith, Fitzgerald, Hollenbeck, Julien
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Coffey, Clanton, Frank, Bagley, Pierce, Garvin, Heckenast, Owens, Sullivan, Erb, Jacobsen, Winge, Beyers, Hammerle (DNS) Merrill
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Eckert, Wells, Pettyjohn, Fuller, Stone, Junghans, C. Smith, Babcock, Landers, Moreland, Fitzgerald, Hollenbeck, Julien, Briggs