TAMPA, FL (February 8, 2005)- Tim McCreadie from Watertown, NY captured his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event on Tuesday Night on Night 2 of the 29th Annual “Winternationals” from East Bay Raceway Park. The 30 year old racer earned $5000 for the biggest win of his dirt late model racing career.  McCreadie led all 30 laps and withstood a late race charge from Terry English in traffic as he secured the win behind the wheel of his Rocket Chassis Grand Prix powered by a C.C. Performance Engine and sponsored by Sweeteners Plus, A&C Speedworld and Hoosier Racing Tires.  English from Benton, KY finished second in the Arizona Sport Shirts/C.J.Rayburn Monte Carlo.  Don O’Neal of Martinsville, In placed third in the A-1 Auto Salvage/C.J. Rayburn Monte Carlo.  Fourth place would go to Billy Moyer of Batesville, AR driving the J&J Steel/C.J. Rayburn entry and rounding out the top five was Dennis Erb, Jr. of Carpentersville, IL in the Petroff Towing/C.J. Rayburn Monte Carlo.  There was another record car count set on Tuesday Night as 117 entries from 23 states participated in the night’s racing program being the previous night’s record shattering 116 entries.

McCreadie, who captured the ninth and final heat race of the night was the last driver to redraw for the first nine spots in the main event and lucky for him the number one starting spot was all that was left by the time McCreadie drew.  McCreadie and Ohio’s Jason Montgomery would make up the front row grid for the 30 lap main event.  Once the green flag dropped it took McCreadie very little time to beat Montgomery to the inside of turn number one as he took a lead he would never relinquish. English would get by Montgomery on the initial lap with Moyer and O’Neal following gim.  The first caution of the race came out on the fourth place whe Mike Marlar and Ricky Elliott got together in turn number two.  When the race went green again McCreadie would hold the advantage over English as O’Neal would scoot by Moyer to grab third dropping Moyer to fourth with Dennis Erb, Jr. now running in fifth place.  The second and final yellow occurred on lap 11 on the frontstretch for Freddy Smith and Billy Drake.  On the lap 12 restart McCreadie would again use his positioning to get a two to three car length advantage over English.

As the race went past the halfway mark it was still McCreadie showing the way with English in second trailed closely by O’Neal, Moyer and Erb.  The top five running order would remain the same as the race entered the closing stages with less than five laps to go, but McCreadie would have little bit of business to deal with if he was going to take the checkered flag.  With less than five circuits to go McCreadie was coming up on the back of the field and that would allow English to close the gap to one car length in the closing moments of the race.  English got right on McCreadie’s bumper as the two picked up the tail end of the pack, but English just could not find an avenue to get by McCreadie, who held his line perfectly just as he had done for the entire race and that perfect driving would led him to the finish line first to score the biggest win of  his career.  “I knew I had to keep my line on the bottom lap after lap,” said the winner afterwards.  “English and O’Neal are two of the best in the business and I knew if I fouled up they would be by me in a hurry,” said the son of legendary racer, “Barefoot” Bob McCreadie.

English, who finished third on the first night of “Winternationals” competition bettered that by one spot on Tuesday placing second as the opening night winner, Don O’Neal would bring home third just ahead of Moyer and Erb.  Completing the top ten were Shannon Babb, Tim Dohm, RickEckert, Jason Montgomery ad Matt Miller.

In preliminary action Robbie Blair was the Fast Timer with a lap of 15.398 seconds.  The Heat Races went to Eddie Carrier, Jr., Tim Dohm, Jason Montgomery, Dennis Erb,Jr., Don O’Neal, Terry English, Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer and Tim McCreadie.  The First B-Main went to Billy Drake with the Second B-Main going to Steve Francis.  The other two B-Main winners who advanced to the feature were Terry Casey and Steve Shaver.  The Strawberry Dash Winner was Greg Johnson.

Race Summary  Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series  Tuesday Night, February 8, 2005 East Bay Raceway Park

Fast Time Award:  Robbie Blair  15.398 seconds

First Heat:  1) Eddie Carrier, Jr.  2) Bo Feathers  3) Robbie Blair  4) Clint Coffman

Second Heat:  1) Tim Dohm  2) Rick Eckert  3) Chris Conley  4) Dan Schlieper

Third Heat:  1) Jason Montgomery  2) Matt Miller  3) R.J. Conley  4) John VanDenBerg

Fourth Heat:  1) Dennis Erb, Jr.  2) Brady Smith 3) Steve Francis  4) Earl Pearson, Jr.

Fifth Heat:  1) Don O’Neal  2) Jimmy Mars  3) Billy Drake  4) Brian Birkhofer

Sixth Heat:  1) Terry English  2) John Mason  3) Mike Marlar  4) John Gill

Seventh Heat:  1) Shannon Babb  2) Scott James  3) Steve Shaver  4) Darren Miller

Eighth Heat:  1) Billy Moyer  2) Donnie Moran  3) Terry Casey  4) Michael England

Ninth Heat:  1) Tim McCreadie  2) Ricky Elliott  3) Keith Nosbisch  4) Rod Conley

First B-Main: 1) Billy Drake  2) Robbie Blair  3) Earl Pearson, Jr.  4) Dan Schlieper

Second B-Main:  1) Steve Francis  2) Brian Birkhofer  3) Chris Conley 4) Davey Johnson

Third B-Main:  1) Terry Casey  2)  Garrett Durrett  3) John Gill  4) Mike Collins

Forth B-Main:  1) Steve Shaver 2) Darren Miller  3) Rod Conley  4) Barry Bragdon

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series A-Main (30 Laps):  1) Tim McCreadie  2) Terry English  3) Don O’Neal  4) Billy Moyer  5) Dennis Erb, Jr.  6) Shannon Babb  7) Tim Dohm  8) Rick Eckert  9) Jason Montgomery  10) Matt Miller  11) Scott James  12) Jimmy Mars  13) Eddie Carrier, Jr.  14) Steve Francis  15) Brady Smith  16) John Mason  17) Terry Casey 18) Donnie Moran  19) Shane Clanton  20) Steve Shaver  21) Dan Schlieper  22) Bo Feathers  23) Billy Drake  24) Freddy Smith  25) Mike Marlar  26) Ricky Elliott

Race Statistics Entries:  117 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Freddy Smith and Mike Marlar R.A.C.E.Provisionals:  Dan Schlieper and Shane Clanton PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the Race:  Steve Francis (advanced 5 positions) Lap Leaders:  Tim McCreadie 1-30 Cautions:  2

TAMPA, FL (February 7, 2005)- Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN won his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series main event as the series opened it's 2005 racing season kicking off with the 29th Annual Winternationals from East Bay Raceway Park.  O'Neal led every lap of the 30 lap main event earning $5000 for his 10th career win at East Bay.  The 40 year old driver did not win without any threats as Steve Francis gave him all he wanted for several laps during the race.  O'Neal drove his C.J. Rayburn Monte Carlo sponsored by Jay Dickens Racing Engines, A-1 Auto Salvage, Living Room Center, O'Neal Wood Products, All-Star Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires and Fast Graphix.  Francis of Ashland, KY, who started 12th in the main event charged through the field and was up to second place by lap five finished second in the Valvoline/Rocket Dodge Intrepid.  Third place at the finish line was Terry English of Benton, KY driving the Arizona Sport Shirts/C.J. Rayburn Race Cars entry.  Taking fourth was Steve Shaver of Vienna, WV piloting the Bill Bland owned/Richard Construction/Rocket Monte Carlo and rounding out the top five was Rick Eckert of York, Pa behind the wheel of the Raye Vest Excavating/Rocket Ford Taurus.  The first night of the Dirt Late Models Winternationals at East Bay set a new record car count as 116 drivers from 23 states ventured to the 1/3 mile track located near Tampa, FL.

O’Neal, who set the Oval Craft Racing Products Fast Time of 14.850 seconds started fourth in his heat race, won that race and drew the number one starting spot for the nine heat race winners as he would start from the pole position for the 30 lap main event.  O'Neal took the lead at the start of the race with Rick Eckert charging to second followed by Steve Shaver, Jason Montgomery and Terry English.  Steve Francis was the car on the move early in the race rocketing from 12th to the top five within a matter of two laps.  Francis picked off cars lap after lap going past English, then Eckert and eventually Shaver by the fifth circuit as he was now up to second place behind the leader, O'Neal.  O'Neal was setting a quick pace around a race track that two and three wide racing all night long.  O'Neal would see his lead shrink over the lead as Francis came after him in a hurry.  By the seventh lap the leaders had picked up the tail end of field with Francis right on O'Neal's heels in the race for the lead.  The first caution of the race would fly for Jackie Boggs on lap eight, the after two more restarts the field eventually got things together with O'Neal almost losing his lead to Francis before another caution would come out.  With the reprieve O'Neal kept his lead over Francis with English now up to third, Shaver fourth and Eckert running in fifth by the halfway mar of the race.

Things again heated up with O'Neal and Francis as Francis would pressure O'Neal looking for every angle around the racy track to pass him.  Francis took several shots at O'Neal, but every time O'Neal would fight him off.  Traffic again played a part in the race as by the 19th circuit O'Neal and Francis were right on the tail end of the back of the pack again.  With O’Neal and Francis still fighting tooth and nail the final caution of the race came out with six laps remaining in the race.  With a six lap to go restart O'Neal would again hold the advantage over Francis as the two raced to the checkered flag with O'Neal winning by two car lengths over Francis.  English drove a strong race to corral third at the pay window with Shaver and Eckert completing the top five finishers.

Rounding out the top ten were Jimmy Mars, Darrell Lanigan, Dennis Erb, Jr, Scott James and Billy Moyer.

In preliminary action the heat race winners were O'Neal, Tim McCreadie, Jackie Boggs, English, Shane Clanton, Jason Montgomery, Shaver and Davey Johnson.  The first B-Main was won by Earl Pearson, Jr with the 2nd B-Main going to Shannon Babb.  The other B-Mains went to Anthony Rushing and Shane Tankersley.  Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals were R.J. Conley and John Gill and the R.A.C.E. Point Fund and Contingency Provisionals were Billy Moyer and Dan Schlieper.

Action continues at East Bay on Tuesday Night, February 8 with night two of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with a full race program and a $5000 to win main event to top off the evening.  For more information please log on to www.eastbayracewaypark.com

Race Summary  Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series  Monday Night, February 7, 2005 East Bay Raceway Park

Fast Time:  Don O'Neal 14.850 seconds

First Heat: 1) Don O'Neal  2) Brady Smith  3) Scott Pounds  4) Garrett Durrett  5) Darren Miller  6) Rick Aukland  7) Greg Johnson  8) Ken Schaltenbrand  9) Dave Hess  10) Zach Carney  11) Gerald Davis  12) Jeff Gress  13) Skip Arp

Second Heat:  1) Tim McCreadie  2) Dennis Erb, Jr  3) Shannon Babb  4) Earl Pearson, Jr.  5) Michael Chilton  6) Brad Neat  7) Russ Scheffler  8) Greggie Oliver  9) Freddie Carpenter  10) Brent Robinson  11) Bill Cunningham  12) Russ Frohnapfel  13) Joe Morris

Third Heat:  1) Jackie Boggs  2) Steve Francis  3) Brian Birkhofer  4) Ken Schrader  5) Billy Drake  6) Michael England  7) Victor Lee  8) Trent Follmer  9) Jeff Choquette  10) Jason Flory  11) Anthony White  12) Marshall Austin  13) Rick Sowders

Fourth Heat:  1) Terry English  2) Steve Hillard  4) Billy Moyer  5) Darin Meierotto  6) John Kuchar 7)  Johnny Chastain  8) Barry Bragdon  9) Clint Coffman  10) Tim Prince  11) Jeff Matejka  12) Mike Hammerle  13) Marshall Green

Fifth Heat:  1) Shane Clanton  2) Scott James  3) R.J. Conley  4) Tim Dohm  5) Bo Feathers  6) John Mason  7) Keith Nosbisch  8) Jason Smith  9) Brian Shirley  10) Ronnie DeHaven, Jr.  11) Freddy Smith 12) Jon Krogstad  13) Mike Collins

Sixth Heat:  1) Rick Eckert  2) Rod Conley  3) Donnie Moran  4) Jayme Zidar  5) Mike Marlar  6) Wes Steidinger 7) Eddie Carrier, Jr.  8) Dan Stone  9) Joe Ramey  10) Patrick Sheltra  11) Kenny Pettyjohn  12) David Roberts  13) Scott Riggs

Seventh Heat:  1) Jason Montgomery  2) Matt Miller  3) Roy Deese, Jr.  4) Mark Voigt  5) Ray Cook  6) Robbie Blair  7) Shane Tankersley  8) Dan Schlieper  9) Caley Emerson  10) Tom Turner  11) Ronnie Smith  12) Kristin Flory  13) Donald Fannin

Eighth Heat:  1) Steve Shaver  2) Jimmy Mars  3) Anthony Rushing  4) Eric Jacobsen  5) Butch McGill  6) Mike Benedum  7) Pat Doar  8) Sonny Conley  9) Rick Combs  10) Corey Conley  11) Wayne Johnson  12) Matt Hubbard  13) Terry Casey

Ninth Heat:  1) Davey Johnson  2) Darrell Lanigan  3) Rohn Moon  4) John Gill  5) Ricky Elliott  6) John VanDenBerg  7) Mark Banal  8) Mike Mataragas  9) Mark Banal  10) Dennis Little  11) Jerry Fifield  12) Chris Conley

First B-Main:  1) Earl Pearson, Jr  2) R.J. Conley  3) Scott Pounds  4) Darren Miller  5) Brian Birkhofer  6) Billy Drake  7) Greg Johnson  8) Bo feathers  9) Brad Neat 10) Victor Lee  11) John Kuchar  12) Barry Bragdon  13) Tim Prince  14) Mike Hammerle  15) Clint Coffman  16) Brent Robinson  17) Freddie Carpenter  18) Skip Arp  19) Steve Lucas

Second B-Main:  1) Shannon Babb  2) Billy Moyer  3) Ken Schrader  4) Johnny Chastain  5) Russ Scheffler  6) Zach Carney  7) Darin Meierotto   8) Trent Follmer  9) Dave Hess  10) Jason Flory  11) Tim Dohm  12) Marshall Austin  13) Ken Schaltenbrand  14) Gerald Davis  15) Jeff Gress  16) Garrett Durrett  17) Jeff Choquette  18) Anthony White  19) Michael England  20) Rick Aukland  21) John Mason

Third B-Main:  1) Anthony Rushing  2) Donnie Moran  3) Eric Jacobsen  4) Wes Steidinger  5) Eddie Carrer, Jr.  6) Dan Schlieper  7) Jayme Zidar  8) Bucth McGill  9) Jason Smith  10) Wayne Johnson  11) Mike Benedum  12) Dennis Little  13) Mike Mataragas  14) Joe Ramey  15) Ronnie DeHaven, Jr.  16) Mike Marlar  17) Terry Casey  18) Jon Krogstad  19) Tom Turner  20) Kenny Pettyjohn

Fourth B-Main:  1) Shane Tankersley  2) John Gill  3) Ricky Elliott  4) ray Cook  5) Corey Conley  6) Matt Hubbard  7) Mike Collins  8) Freddy Smith  9) Caley Emerson  10) Rohn Moon  11) Donald Fannin  12) Roy Deese, Jr.  13) Robbie Blair  14) Mark Voigt  15) John VanDenBerg  16) Sonny Conley  17) Mark Banal  18) Brian Shirley  19) Dan Stone  20) Ronnie Smith  21) Jerry Fifield

Strawberry Dash:  1)  Mike Benedum  2) Matt Hubbard  3) Victor Lee  4) Scott Pounds  5) Darren Miller  6) Darin Meierotto  7) Mike  Collins  8) Wayne Johnson  9) Mike Marlar

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Main Event: (30 Laps) 1) Don O'Neal 2) Steve Francis  3) Terry English  4) Steve Shaver  5) Rick Eckert  6) Jimmy Mars  7) Darrell Lanigan  8) Dennis Erb, Jr.  9)  Scott James  10) Billy Moyer  11) Shannon Babb  12) Rod Conley  13) Brady Smith  14) Matt Miller  15) Anthony Rushing  16) John Gill  17) Earl Pearson, Jr.  18) Shane Tankersley  19) R.J. Conley  20) Shane Clanton  21) Tim McCreadie  22) Davey Johnson  23) Steve Hillard  24) Jackie Boggs  25) Jason Montgomery  26) Dan Schlieper

Hard Charger – Steve Francis