FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
RINGGOLD, GA (March 31, 2017) - Earl Pearson Jr. led all 50 laps on Friday night at Boyd's Speedway to win his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race since May of 2015. The results will show Pearson led all 50 laps but the win never came easy as he had several challengers up front.  

Current Lucas Oil point leader, Josh Richards charged from the 14th starting position to finish second in the Best Performance Motorsports, Dargie Racing Engines, Rocket. Jimmy Owens - in the Ramirez Motorsports, E3 Spark Plugs, Rocket - ran in the top three the entire race to finish in the third position. Thirteenth starting Tim McCreadie - in the Sweeteners Plus, Pro Power Racing Engines, Longhorn - finished fourth. Fifteenth place starter Darrell Lanigan - in the I-Racing, Clint Bowyer Racing, Club 29 - completed the top five.

Pearson made his way to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 31st time in his career and was elated afterwards, "I saw McIntosh early on, it looked like he could run anywhere on the track. Jimmy [Owens] was good tonight and Josh, [Richards] I know he came from deep in the pack. I was worried about him when he came to the leader board."

"I just kept my line from the middle to the top. They weren't going to pass me with the line I was running, except maybe on the bottom. This is a brand-new Longhorn Chassis. Everybody has been working their rear ends off and it's been a long-time coming to get back to Lucas Oil Victory Lane. I would also like to thank Carlton and Kemp Lamm for giving me the opportunity to drive their car and Dunn-Benson Ford, Lucas Oil Racing TV, MAVTV, Penske Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuel, and Larry Wallace Racing Engines."

Richards made his first ever appearance at Boyd's Speedway and charged to a second place finish. "Earl and those guys did a great job tonight, congrats to them on the win. I had never seen this track until I got here today. I had seen maybe 20 seconds of highlights. I felt like I struggled for the whole race, we must have missed about 14 wrecks out there to get a good finish."

Owens had another solid finish - coming home in third place. "I tried to keep my tires warm under those cautions and that was probably a bad idea. McIntosh had a good car and I could see him spinning his tires and they were sealing over and Earl's weren't. Hats-off to Earl for a great job and to Josh for coming from the back."

Completing the top ten were Scott Bloomquist, Dale McDowell, Donald McIntosh, Jonathan Davenport and Brandon Overton.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, March 31, 2017
Boyd's Speedway - Ringgold, GA

Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Earl Pearson Jr. / 13.981 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Donald McIntosh / 13.947 seconds

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Michael Page, Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie, Shanon Buckingham, Steve Francis, Boom Briggs, Colton Flinner

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Derek Ellis, Darrell Lanigan, Bob Gardner, Billy Ogle Jr., Jason Croft, Riley Hickman

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Donald McIntosh, Scott Bloomquist, Jason Hiett, Josh Richards, David Breazeale, Robby Moses, Dennis Erb, Jr., GR Smith

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Don O'Neal, Mike Marlar, Brandon Overton, Hudson O'Neal, Gregg Satterlee, Jason Fitzgerald, Timothy Culp, Austin Arnold

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shanon Buckingham, Steve Francis, Boom Briggs, Bob Gardner, Billy Ogle Jr., Jason Croft, Colton Flinner, Riley Hickman

Fast Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Gregg Satterlee, David Breazeale, Timothy Culp, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jason Fitzgerald, Austin Arnold, Robby Moses, GR Smith

Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race Statistics  
Entrants: 32
Lap Leaders: Earl Pearson Jr. (Laps 1 - 50)
Cautions: Derek Ellis (Lap 1); Mike Marlar (Lap 1); Jason Hiett (Lap 19); Jonathan Davenport, Shanon Buckingham, Don O'Neal, Mike Marlar (Lap 19); Jason Hiett (Lap 30); Michael Page (Lap 33); Hudson O'Neal (Lap 39)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Dennis Erb Jr., Colton Flinner
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Josh Richards
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Josh Richards (Started: 14th; Finished: 2nd; Advanced 12 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Josh Richards
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: David Breazeale
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: n/a
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Larry Wallace Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Taylon Center (Earl Pearson Jr.)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Jimmy Owens (Lap #3 - 14.925 seconds)
Safecraft Most Laps Led: Earl Pearson Jr. (50 Laps)
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Earl Pearson Jr.
Time of Race: 41 minutes 59 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings: