Contact: Kevin Kovac

World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Director/DIRTcar Racing PR

kkovac@dirtcar.com | 704-254-7929

 

Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Defends Home Turf On Opening Night Of DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit At Volusia Speedway Park

 

Florida Driver Turns Back National Stars For $7,000 DIRTcar Late Model Triumph

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 17, 2014 – Ivedent Lloyd Jr. did his home state proud on Monday night at Volusia Speedway Park.

The 47-year-old veteran from Ocala, Fla., authored one of the drives of his career, turning back a field filled with national stars to win the 30-lap DIRTcar Late Model A-Main that opened the full-fender portion of the 43rd DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment.

An accomplished Sunshine State racer who has won often in local and regional competition at the half-mile oval, Lloyd became the first driver from Florida to capture a dirt Late Model feature during the DIRTcar Nationals by Summit since Jacksonville’s Earl Pearson Jr. topped a DIRTcar-sanctioned event on Feb. 10, 2009. He earned $7,000 for his efforts.

“This is the biggest win,” said Lloyd, who has driven Late Models on both dirt and asphalt for three decades. “There’s races that pay more money, but this is by far the career-topper, to win this. To have all these guys here and race these guys, it’s neat.”

Lloyd started from the outside pole and led every circuit but was chased throughout the distance by Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., who drew within a couple car lengths of the leader several times in the closing laps before settling for second place.

Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., finished third after starting from the pole position, giving him a career-best performance at Volusia. Fifth-starter John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., slid into fourth place on lap 14 and finished there and Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., slipped backward from the third starting spot to finish fifth.

Lloyd’s victory was his first-ever during the DIRTcar Nationals by Summit, an ultra-competitive mid-winter meet that he doesn’t annually enter.

“We usually shy away from here during Speedweeks strictly because I can race for two months on the abuse you put on a motor here in a week,” admitted Lloyd, who operates a machine shop in his hometown of Ocala, about 50 miles west of VSP. “But with the new motor (his partner, J.B. Harris, obtained a Race Engine Design powerplant for the 2014 season) we wanted to come over here and race some.”

The decision to make an assault on Volusia paid off – after Lloyd stuck to his guns on tire choice, of course.

Lloyd’s strategy for the A-Main? “Just not get beat on tires like I have been all weekend,” he said, referring to his runs the previous three nights in World of Outlaws Late Model Series events at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. “We made our decision after the heat race was over based on what happened to us the last three nights. We decided to stay with (the tires) we were on and just go at it and live or die by it.”

Perching his Snow Brothers-built car on the outside of the fast D-shaped track, Lloyd kept the field at bay from start to finish. Smith was well within striking distance over the final 10 laps, but Lloyd didn’t flinch.

“We know this track well as far as where to drive around the track,” said Lloyd. “J.B. was giving me signals, so I knew I had a little bit of room and just tried to make good laps. That’s all you could do – make good laps and not hit a hole wrong and get yourself up in the cushion.”

Smith, 36, was satisfied to continue his stretch of strong Speedweeks results, adding a runner-up finish to his first-, second- and third-place runs over the previous three nights at Bubba Raceway Park.

“We certainly didn’t change much (for the A-Main), but we made our car just a little bit too tight,” Smith, who started fourth, said of his Rocket machine. “I didn’t expect the conditions to stay this fast either, so maybe we misjudged the racetrack too.

“I could see (Lloyd) was getting tighter down (in turns three and four) and I thought that’s where I might be able to make my move. But the time when he made the biggest mistake I also made a mistake, so we had to settle for second.”

Just one caution flag slowed the event, on lap seven when Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., stopped in turn four with mechanical trouble.

With 40 cars signed in for action, group qualifying was utilized to set the starting lineups for four heat races in the first of three DIRTcar Late Model programs during the DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit.

Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., registered the fastest overall qualifying lap at 15.352 seconds.Other group fast-timers were Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla. (15.597), Clanton (15.517) and Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa (15.819).

Heat winners were Wells, Lloyd, Clanton and Smith. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., and Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., captured the B-Mains.

The DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit continues on Tuesday night (Feb. 18) with another DIRTcar Late Model program topped by a 30-lap A-Main. The UMP Modifieds will also compete in triple features to close out the division’s week-long meet.

Race time is 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

For more information on the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, log on to www.DIRTcarNationals.com.

DIRTcar Late Model 30-Lap A-Main Finish (Finish Pos./Start Pos./Driver/Laps Completed):

1. (2) Ivedent Lloyd Jr./30

2. (4) Brady Smith/30

3. (1) Eric Wells/30

4. (5) John Blankenship/30

5. (3) Shane Clanton/30

6. (10) Scott Bloomquist/30

7. (9) Darrell Lanigan/30

8. (6) Gregg Satterlee/30

9. (12) Brandon Sheppard/30

10. (8) Morgan Bagley/30

11. (16) Brian Shirley/30

12. (20) Frankie Heckenast Jr./30

13. (17) Rick Eckert/30

14. (13) Bobby Pierce/30

15. (19) Kenny Pettyjohn/30

16. (15) Eric Jacobsen/29

17. (24) Tim McCreadie/17

18. (21) Billy Moyer/16

19. (18) Jack Sullivan/16

20. (11) Casey Roberts/14

21. (7) Mike Marlar/7

22. (23) Chase Junghans/7

23. (14) Dan Stone/7

24. (22) John Garvin Jr./4

Heat No. 1 (8 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Eric Wells, 2. John Blankenship, 3. Darrell Lanigan, 4. Bobby Pierce, 5. Kenny Pettyjohn, 6. Kyle Bronson, 7. Chase Junghans, 8. Jason Fitzgerald, 9. Jeff Beyers, 10. Chad White

Heat No. 2 (8 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Ivedent Lloyd Jr., 2. Gregg Satterlee, 3. Scott Bloomquist, 4. Dan Stone, 5. Rick Eckert, 6. Billy Moyer, 7. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs, 8. Vic Coffey, 9. Chad Hollenbeck, 10. Chuck Julien

Heat No. 3 (8 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Shane Clanton, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Brian Shirley, 5. Jack Sullivan, 6. Stacy Boles, 7. Jeff Babcock, 8. Tim McCreadie, 9. John Winge, 10. David Gibson Jr.

Heat No. 4 (8 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Brady Smith, 2. Morgan Bagley, 3. Casey Roberts, 4. Eric Jacobsen, 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Frankie Heckenast Jr., 7. Chub Frank, 8. John Garvin Jr., 9. Dennis Erb Jr., 10. Mike Hammerle

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Kenny Pettyjohn, 3. Billy Moyer, 4. Chase Junghans, 5. Vic Coffey, 6. Chad Hollenbeck, 7. Jason Fitzgerald, 8. Jeff Beyers, 9. Chad White, 10. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs

B-Main No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Jack Sullivan, 2. Frankie Heckenast Jr., 3. John Garvin Jr., 4. Tim McCreadie, 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Jeff Babcock, 7. Stacy Boles, 8. David Gibson Jr., 9. Mike Hammerle, 10. John Winge

Contact: Chris Dolack
DIRTcar Nationals PR
704-795-7223 | cdolack@dirtcar.com

Ty Dillon’s DIRTcar Nationals Domination Continues with Gator Championship Win at Volusia Speedway Park

Florida’s Ivedent Lloyd Jr. powers to DIRTcar Late Model victory

BARBERVILLE, Fla. - Feb. 17, 2014 - Ty Dillon has dominated the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment this year, and on Monday night at Volusia Speedway Park he earned his biggest victory of the week when he led wire-to-wire in the Gator Championship for DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.

DIRTcar Late Models also helped kick off the second week of action at the DIRTcar Nationals with Florida late model hero Ivedent Lloyd Jr. holding off Wisconsin's Brady Smith for the victory.

Monday was Dillon's night, though. He drew the outside pole for the 30-lapper alongside Kenny Wallace and quickly jumped in front. Dillon methodically edged away lap-after-lap until a mid-race caution bunched the field. Ty Dillon charged back to green with Nick Hoffman, Wallace and Matt Westfall in tow. Austin Dillon, Ty's brother who won the Daytona 500 pole and was seeking his second win in as many nights, quickly picked off Westfall and Wallace and set his sights on Hoffman as he tried to catch his brother in front.

Then, a restart with three to go changed everything. As Ty Dillon powered back to the green flag, the left rear wheel of second-place-running Hoffman's car came off, sending him into a spin that collected Austin Dillon, Wallace, Westfall and several others right under the flagstand on the frontstretch. Everyone walked away from the incident and Ty Dillon eventually raced the final three laps holding off two-time national DIRTcar UMP Modified champion Devin Gilpin to the checkered flag for his third consecutive win.
"I'm glad everybody's OK," said Ty Dillon, who will compete in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway. "I'm happy it turned out that we got the win. Three in row for me, four in a row for Team Dillon Racing at the DIRTcar Nationals. It's been a great week."

In late model action, Lloyd put on a clinic about how to race at Volusia. The Ocala native has turned a few laps at high-speed half-mile Volusia and was smooth and consistent throughout his victory in the 30-lap feature. Smith was second with Eric Wells rounding out the podium.

"This is great, this is the biggest win," Lloyd said. "I've won races that have paid more money, but this by far is the career topper here to win this, this is cool. … Going down the back straightaway after the checkered flag you're smiling pretty big, beating the hell out of the steering wheel. It's definitely a neat deal."

DIRTcar UMP Modifieds finish off their portion of the DIRTcar Nationals on Tuesday night with Triple 20s while the DIRTcar Late Models return for their second of six nights of action. The Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds roll into Volusia on Wednesday.

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. 17, 2014; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.

DIRTcar UMP Modified "Gator Championship"
A-Main (30 Laps): 1. (41) Ty Dillon ($5,000), 2. (1G) Devin Gilpin, 3. (9M) Dale Mathison, 4. (7B) Jeff Babcock, 5. (8) Kyle Strickler, 6. (85) Kent Robinson, 7. (49) Brian Ruhlman, 8. (10) Austin Arneson, 9. (35) David Stremme, 10. (9) Kenny Schrader, 11. (1) Dwight Niehoff, 12. (20) Kody Weisner, 13. (4) Cody Bauman, 14. (5B) Steven Brooks, 15. (2) Nick Hoffman, 16. (3) Austin Dillon, 17. (36) Kenny Wallace, 18. (54) Matt Westfall, 19. (25) Tyler Nicely, 20. (K9) Will Krup, 21. (64JR) Billy Workman Jr, 22. (51) Justin Allgaier, 23. (OJ) Bryce Jewell, 24. (40B) Kyle Bronson, 25. (36H) Jacob Poel, 26. (O5) Dave Wiethholder, 27. (47) Collin Thirlby, 28. (2G) Troy Girolamo.

Last Chance Showdown #1 (10 laps, top four transfer): 1. (O5) Dave Wiethholder, 2. (5B) Steven Brooks, 3. (90) Jason Beaulieu, 4. (26) Bobby Gierke, 5. (17JE) Jack Steilder, 6. (4) Cody Bauman, 7. (67) Garret Stewart, 8. (O1) Mitch O'Patik, 9. (33) Jeff Mathews, 10. (52) Jordan Bailey, 11. (O7) Jeff Thomas, 12. (88) Matt Crafton, DNS. (O8) Jake Griffin

Last Chance Showdown #2 (10 laps, top four transfer): 1. (2G) Troy Girolamo, 2. (1) Dwight Niehoff, 3. (51) Justin Allgaier, 4. (47) Collin Thirlby, 5. (54B) Larry Burkins, 6. (28) Paul Miles, 7. (20) Kody Weisner, 8. (D4) Dave Jamison, 9. (66) Justin Marks, 10. (O1X) Joel Ortberg, 11. (79) Nick Kurtz, 12. ( (24JR) Jeffrey Lien Jr.

DIRTcar Late Models
A-Main - (30 Laps): 1. (21L) Ivedent Lloyd Jr. ($7,000), 2. (2) Brady Smith, 3. (18W) Eric Wells, 4. (23) John Blankenship, 5. (25) Shane Clanton, 6. (0) Scott Bloomquist, 7. (29) Darrell Lanigan, 8. (22) Gregg Satterlee, 9. (1) Brandon Sheppard, 10. (14M) Morgan Bagley, 11. (81) Brian Shirley, 12. (99JR) Frankie Heckenast Jr., 13. (24) Rick Eckert, 14. (32) Bobby Pierce, 15. (38) Kenny Pettyjohn, 16. (5) Eric Jacobsen, 17. (39) Tim McCreadie, 18. (21) Billy Moyer, 19. (18x) Jack Sullivan, 20. (101) Casey Roberts, 21. (157) Mike Marlar, 22. (18c) Chase Junghans, 23. (2) Dan Stone, 24. (J4) John Garvin Jr.

Heat No. 1 (8 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Eric Wells, 2. John Blankenship, 3. Darrell Lanigan, 4. Bobby Pierce, 5. Kenny Pettyjohn, 6. Kyle Bronson, 7. Chase Junghans, 8. Jason Fitzgerald, 9. Jeff Beyers, 10. Chad White
Heat No. 2 (8 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Ivedent Lloyd Jr., 2. Gregg Satterlee, 3. Scott Bloomquist, 4. Dan Stone, 5. Rick Eckert, 6. Billy Moyer, 7. Rick 'Boom' Briggs, 8. Vic Coffey, 9. Chad Hollenbeck, 10. Chuck Julien
Heat No. 3 (8 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Shane Clanton, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Brian Shirley, 5. Jack Sullivan, 6. Stacy Boles, 7. Jeff Babcock, 8. Tim McCreadie, 9. John Winge, 10. David Gibson Jr.
Heat No. 4 (8 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Brady Smith, 2. Morgan Bagley, 3. Casey Roberts, 4. Eric Jacobsen, 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Frankie Heckenast Jr., 7. Chub Frank, 8. John Garvin Jr., 9. Dennis Erb Jr., 10. Mike Hammerle

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Kenny Pettyjohn, 3. Billy Moyer, 4. Chase Junghans, 5. Vic Coffey, 6. Chad Hollenbeck, 7. Jason Fitzgerald, 8. Jeff Beyers, 9. Chad White, 10. Rick 'Boom' Briggs

B-Main No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): 1. Jack Sullivan, 2. Frankie Heckenast Jr., 3. John Garvin Jr., 4. Tim McCreadie, 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Jeff Babcock, 7. Stacy Boles, 8. David Gibson Jr., 9. Mike Hammerle, 10. John Winge