Mike Marlar Wins Night #2 at Knoxville Raceway

KNOXVILLE, IA (September 15, 2017) Defending Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals winner Mike Marlar, came from the seventh starting spot to win Friday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature event. Marlar took the lead on lap 20 from Tim McCreadie and then held off the field for the win. Marlar’s Ronnie Delk-owned Rocket Chassis became the second driver in the 13-year history of the event to score a perfect night in points.

McCreadie came home in second, with the previous night’s winner, Josh Richards taking third. Brandon Sheppard was fourth, with Chris Simpson completing the top five drivers.

McCreadie’s Sweeteners Plus, Longhorn would grab the lead at the start of the main event. He led one lap before Sheppard took control of the race on the second circuit. Sheppard held a healthy lead over McCreadie for most of the first half of the race, but McCreadie slowly reeled Sheppard in, passing him for the lead on the 18th lap.

A caution then bunched the field up as McCreadie led another lap after the restart and then Marlar got around him for the top spot. Marlar led the rest of the way to take his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season.

Marlar commented on his win in Lucas Oil Victory Lane: “When I got to third, I thought man this is an awesome race. Thanks to the fans for coming out tonight, they saw a good show. Ronnie Delk does not have any bad equipment. I wouldn’t call it a back-up car, it’s just the car were using tonight.”

Marlar will sit on the pole for the $40,000 to win finale on Saturday Night and was extremely pleased with his car and team. “We had a really good racecar tonight. My crew is just awesome. They got this car ready to go tonight. I have a lot of hometown people up here helping me this weekend and I appreciate every one of them.”

McCreadie had failed to make the feature on Thursday Night, yet rebounded to a runner-up finish. “We were good down on the bottom. We didn’t need that caution. You have to slow down so much entering the corner that someone on the outside has the momentum on you. I thought it was going to be Brandon [Sheppard] but it was Marlar and those guys that know what they are doing. We are going to work on our car and hopefully get better for tomorrow night.”

Richards came from the eighth starting position tonight to place third. “The track was a lot slicker tonight. We left the car alone after we tried some stuff early on. Mike did a great job. He has really fast car and we are going to have to get better to beat him tomorrow night.”

Marlar’s car is powered by a Cornett Racing Engines and is sponsored by Delk Equipment Sales, RS Trading Company, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra, Modern Images, and GW Performance.

Completing the top ten were Jimmy Mars, Chase Junghans, Bobby Pierce, Darrell Lanigan, and Gregg Satterlee.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, September 15th, 2017
Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals
Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Mike Marlar / 17.511 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport / 17.612 seconds

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Mike Marlar, Rodney Sanders, Jared Landers, Dave Eckrich, Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Spencer Diercks, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jonathan Brauns

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Hudson O'Neal, Jason Feger, Gregg Satterlee, Jimmy Owens, Dale McDowell, Kyle Bronson, Matt Furman, Jay Johnson, Colton Flinner-DNS

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Mars, Tyler Bruening, Shannon Babb, Chad Simpson, Jake O'Neil, Randy Timms, Bob King
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Chase Junghans, Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce, Steve Francis, Jonathan Davenport, Ryan Gustin, Timothy Culp, Scott Bloomquist, Mike Fryer

DirtOnDirt.com Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Josh Richards, Chris Simpson, Boom Briggs, Billy Moyer, Brent Larson, Tyler Erb, Brian Shirley, Justin Duty
ASi Racewear Heat Race #6 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Kent Robinson, Jesse Stovall, Don O'Neal, Earl Pearson, Jr., Billy Moyer, Jr., Jeremiah Hurst, Tim Lance

Penske Racing Shocks C-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to Back of B-Main): Dennis Erb, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Matt Furman, Randy Timms, Jeremiah Hurst, Mike Fryer, Justin Duty, Tim Lance-DNS, Brian Shirley-DNS, Jay Johnson-DNS, Bob King-DNS, Jonathan Brauns-DNS, Colton Flinner-DNS

Fast Shafts B-Main Finish (15 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to Back of A-Main): Don O'Neal, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson, Jr., Dale McDowell, Chad Simpson, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb, Jr., Shannon Babb, Steve Francis, Brent Larson, Ryan Gustin, Billy Moyer, Jr., Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Dave Eckrich, Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Jake O'Neil, Jonathan Davenport

Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics
Entrants: 53
Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Lap 1); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 2 – 17); Tim McCreadie (Laps 18 – 19); Mike Marlar (Laps 20 – 25)
Cautions: Earl Pearson Jr., Don O’Neal (Lap 1); Boom Briggs (Lap 14); Jared Landers (Lap 18)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: n/a
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Mike Marlar
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Dale McDowell (Started: 22nd; Finished: 11th; Advanced 11 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Josh Richards
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Dale McDowell
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Mike Marlar
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Gregg Satterlee
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Josh Davis (Mike Marlar)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Lap #1 – 19.605 seconds)
Safecraft Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (15 Laps)
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard
Time of Race: 19 minutes 45 seconds

SATURDAY Penske Racing Shocks C-Main Line Up (15 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to Back of B-Main):

SATURDAY Fast Shafts B-Main Line Up (20 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to Back of A-Main):

SATURDAY Feature Line Up (100 Laps):

Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Point Standings:

For the latest breaking news concerning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2017 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Official Sponsors Include:

ASi Racewear - "The Official Merchandise Vendor" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Bad Boy Mowers - "The Official Mower" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Dunn Benson Ford - "The Official Pace Truck" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
E3 Spark Plugs - "The Official Spark Plug" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Fast Orange - “The Official Hand Cleaner” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
GEICO - "The Official Insurance" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
General Tire - "The Official Tire" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Hoosier Tire - "The Official Race Tire" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
K&N Engineering - "Official Sponsor" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Products - "The Official Oil" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Racing TV - "Official Sponsor" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
MAVTV Motorsports Network - "The Official TV Network" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Miller Welders - "The Official Welder" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Nitro-Bee PLUS - "The Official Race Receiver" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Optima Batteries - "The Official Battery" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
ProtectTheHarvest.com - "Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Ram Mounts - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
RhinoAg - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Rugged Radios - “The Official Communications” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Safecraft - "The Official Fire Suppression System" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Sunoco Race Fuels - "The Official Fuel" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Spray Nine - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Super Clean - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
United Rentals - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Wrisco Aluminum - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Zotto - “Official Sponsor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners Include:

Allstar Performance, Andy Durham Race Engines, AR Bodies, Black Diamond Chassis, Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars, Boyd Bilt Fabrication, BRODIX, Capital Race Cars, COMP Cams, Cornett Racing Engines, CV Products, DirtonDirt.com, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Heath Lawson Photography, Hot Rod Processing, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, Longhorn Chassis, Midwest Sheet Metal, Öhlins Shocks, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Penske Shocks, PFC Brakes, Pierce Race Cars, Pro Power Racing Engines, QA1, Rocket Chassis, Simpson Race Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Wallace Engines, WELD Racing, 5150 Race Trailers

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the nation’s premier dirt late model sanctioning organization.  In 2016, the LOLMDS will sanction 53 events in 19 states.  The series is owned by the parent company Lucas Oil Products Inc. and receives national exposure through a TV package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios.  LOLMDS events will be broadcast on four TV Networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.  For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com. 

About Lucas Oil Racing TV

The Future of Motorsports is HERE! Get Lucas Oil Racing TV and experience racing excitement like you've never seen! Lucas Oil Racing TV is the online app for all your favorite devices like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android Devices and more! No matter where you are or when you want to watch, you can stream the best and most exciting motor racing on the planet!

Lucas Oil Racing TV has all your favorite motorsports - from grass roots to international competition, as well as exclusive LIVE EVENTS and behind the scenes interviews and footage that you won't see anywhere else! But that's just the beginning! Lucas Oil Racing TV brings you some of motorsports greatest broadcasters and build specialists... from Dave Despain to the mechanics of Two Guys Garage, as well as all the latest news, reviews, and interviews from every genre of racing.

Lucas Oil Racing TV is the Exclusive, Unlimited, 24/7 All-Access Motorsports App and it's available NOW! For more information or to sign up, go to: www.LucasOilRacing.TV.

About MAVTV Motorsports Network

Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV is a television network with its roots deep in the automotive world. MAVTV offers an unparalleled line-up of exclusive motorsports, that includes prestigious events such as the Chili Bowl, The AMA Pro Motocross series, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and NHRA Drag Racing. But MAVTV goes far beyond the national mainstream events and also covers multitudes of grassroots series' from across the globe: Drag boats, sprint boats, drag racing, pro pulling, rally racing, drifting, dirt racing, ice racing and everything in between.

MAVTV also knows you don't have to be a race fan to be an automotive enthusiast, which is why we have developed a package of automotive reality and custom build shows that is truly second to none. If it has a motor, it's on MAVTV...MAVTV is THE motorsports network. To learn more about MAVTV go to: www.MAVTV.com.

About Lucas Oil Products

Founded in 1989 by Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, Lucas Oil Products, Inc. has established itself as one of the fastest-growing lubrication product lines in the consumer automotive aftermarket, featuring a line of engine oils, greases, gear lubes, problem-solving additives, and car-care products.  Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil has established itself as a worldwide leader in the lubrication industry.  Motorsports has always been part of the Lucas Oil culture and the cornerstone of the company's marketing strategy.  Such passion for motorsports has inspired Lucas Oil to sponsor many race teams, events and series at all levels, including, NHRA, IRL, ASCS, NASCAR, IHRA and many more.  Lucas Oil has also taken ownership and operational control of a number of high profile racing properties, such as: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Lucas Oil Modified Series, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO. and the Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway in Blythe, CA.

In 2007 Lucas Oil founded its own production house, Lucas Oil Production Studios, dedicated to producing high action motorsports television.  Currently Lucas Oil Production Studios produces over 300 hours of original programming for networks such as CBS, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and MAVTV.  More information about Lucas Oil Products, Inc. visit the company website at:  www.LucasOil.com.