For the sixth consecutive year, Portsmouth Raceway Park was the host site for The Rhino Ag Dirt Track World Championship presented by Optima Batteries

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PRP Press Release

 

For the sixth consecutive year, Portsmouth Raceway Park was the host site for The Rhino Ag Dirt Track World Championship presented by Optima Batteries.

Shinnston, WV’s Josh Richards took the checkers in Saturday’s $100,000-to-win, 37th annual DTWC, which again served as the season finale for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Car Series.

Richards’ first-ever DTWC victory, coupled with Tim McCreadie’s run of bad luck, enabled the Best Performance Motorsports driver to also claim the 2017 Lucas Oil title.  In total, Richards pocketed $175,000 for winning both the race and the championship.

Parkersburg, WV’s K.C. Burdette took the Modified portion of the program, and Steve Duderstadt won the Ohio Valley Roofers Legends Car Series Feature.

The weekend brought in 72 Late Model drivers, 86 Modified drivers, and 20 Ohio Valley Roofers Legends Car racers totaling 178 race teams.

Over 700 RVs filled the PRP camping area, and Portsmouth Raceway Park personnel estimated that the enormous attendance for Saturday alone, made Day Three of the DTWC the largest attended event in the 27-year history of the Coleman-family owned race track.

Fans were treated to some great racing all weekend long starting Thursday with Night One presented locally by Pro-Active Immediate Care in Wheelersburg as well as The Scioto Ribber and Portsmouth Brewing Company both in Portsmouth.  The evening featured Modified heats, B-mains, and a Non-Qualifiers Race.

The Lucas Oil Late Models joined the party Friday with each driver participating in a pair of heat races.  Fans were witness to 16 heats, which were divided into two rounds of eight with passing points implemented forcing every driver to race hard for every spot in order to get a good starting position for Saturday’s A-Main or B-Mains.

Also Friday were two Ohio Valley Roofers Legends Car Series Heats and a Feature.

On Saturday, there were three Late Model B-Mains, the Modified Feature, The Jim Dunn Memorial Late Model Non-Qualifiers Race, and the 100-lap Late Model Feature itself.

The Late Model A-Main witnessed four different lead changes and had four different leaders.  Jonathan Davenport started on the pole and jumped out to the early lead.  He and Jimmy Owens would go side by side for the first five laps before Owens grabbed the lead on lap 6.  Davenport would take it back on lap 7 and would set the pace until lap 35 when two-time DTWC winner Brandon Sheppard went to the front.

The New Berlin, IL racer would show the way until Richards went to the point on lap 47.  Richards would eventually catch and be slowed by cars at the tail of the lead lap, and on lap 83, Richards was seriously challenged by Mooresburg, TN driver Scott Bloomquist.  However, just as it appeared Bloomquist was preparing to pounce, a caution came out.

Sheppard would get past Bloomquist on the following restart and would follow Richards to the finish.

Bloomquist, who entered the final race of the Lucas season within striking distance of the championship, would have a flat with eight to go and would finish 12th.

He was not the only championship contender to suffer misfortunes.  Tim McCreadie entered the race in the points lead and would start eighth.  However, his luck went south on lap 16 when he was caught up in a wreck.  The Watertown, NY driver restarted near the rear of the 28-car field and would work his way all the way up to fifth before having a late-race flat tire and finishing 17th.

Earl Pearson, Jr. also sniffed the front of the field but  would experience car trouble on lap 45 while running second.  The Jacksonville, FL native finished 23rd.

Placing behind Richards were Sheppard, Davenport, Mike Marlar, and Jared Hawkins.  Making up the rest of the top 10 were Zack Dohm, Chub Frank, Brandon Overton, Darrell Lanigan, and Dennis Erb, Jr.

The highest finishing local driver was Wheelersburg’s Rod Conley, who placed 13th.

One of the more thrilling moments of the weekend for local fans occurred Friday when Rod’s 75-year-old father, Delmas Conley, won a heat race.

Grayson, KY’s Jackie Boggs prevailed in the Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Late Model Feature and opted to forgo $3,000 in winnings and tag the tail of the Late Model Feature, which earned him $2,000 to start but gave him the opportunity to race for $100,000.

In the Modifieds, K.C. Burdette grabbed the lead from Danville’s Nathon Loney on lap 14 and led the rest of the way.   Tony DeHart from Franklin Furnace started 14th and fought his way up to third.  Pedro’s Brian Skaggs placed fourth, and Jackson’s Aaron Pendleton rounded out the top five.  Shon Flanary, Travis Dickson, Ervin Vance, Tanner Wilson, and Seth Daniels made up the rest of the top 10.

Of all the Modified races of the weekend, one of the more impressive ones saw Nathan Loney come from the tail to win.

It was announced that Carl Short’s DTWC will return to Portsmouth Raceway Park in 2018.

 

Late Model A-Feature

  1. 1R-Josh Richards [5]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard [4]; 3. F1-Jonathan Davenport [1]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar [9]; 5. 11H-Jared Hawkins [14]; 6. 17D-Zack Dohm [15]; 7. 1*-Chub Frank [16]; 8. 116-Brandon Overton [11]; 9. 14-Darrell Lanigan [23]; 10. 26-Dennis Erb, Jr. [21]; 11. 28C-Tyler Carpenter [20]; 12. 18-Scott Bloomquist [6]; 13. 71R-Rod Conley [10]; 14. 71-Hudson O’Neal [24]; 15. B1-Josh Bocook [28]; 16. 18E-Eric Wells [22]; 17. 39-Tim McCreadie; 18. 81F-Brandon Fouts; 19. 22F-Chris Ferguson; 20. 71-Don O’Neal; 21. C9-Steve Casebolt [13]; 22. 20-Jimmy Owens [2]; 23. 28-Earl Pearson, Jr. [3]; 24. 6T-Tim Dohm [17]; 25. 15-Steve Francis [26]; 26. 22-Greg Satterlee [25]; 27. 1G-Devin Gilpin [19]; 28. 240-Doug Drown [12]; 29. 4B-Jackie Boggs [29]

Modified A-Feature

  1. 44B-K.C. Burdette [6]; 2. 10L-Nathon Loney [4]; 3. 35-Tony DeHart [14]; 4. 20S-Brian Skaggs [3]; 5. 1Y-Aaron Pendleton [8]; 6. 98-Shon Flanary [2]; 7. 16-Travis Dickson [20]; 8. P20-Ervin Vance [5]; 9. 28-Tanner Wilson [1]; 10. S21-Seth Daniels [12]; 11. 101-Jesse Wisecarver [9]; 12. 42-James Grigsby [26]; 13. 12R-Jeremy Rayburn [21]; 14. 5H-Jess Hartman [24]; 15. J3-Jody Puckett [11]; 16. 0-Mark Dickson [13]; 17. D4-David Jamison [15]; 18. 1J-John Brady, Jr. [17]; 19. 9F-Brian Sammons, Jr. [23]; 20. 12A-Rick Aukland [7]; 21. 41-Doug Drown [19]; 22. 52-Brian Whiteman [10]; 23. 13H-Jacob Hawkins [16]; 24. 53-Ben Adkins [25]; 25. 4D-John Burdette [22]; 26. 95-Jerry Bowersock [18]
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