LOCUST GROVE, Ark. — Jimmy Owens, the reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion, picked up his first victory of the season on Friday night at Batesville Motor Speedway.
Owens claimed the 30-lap preliminary night feature to kick off the 29th annual COMP Cams Topless 100 – presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions.
Owens took the lead at the drop of the green flag and led the entire distance for his 76th career series victory. The event was co-sanctioned with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series – presented by Lucas Oil.
Tim McCreadie came from the fifth-starting spot to take second with Nick Hoffman, Brandon Overton and Ricky Thornton Jr. rounding out the top five finishers.
In a race slowed by only one caution flag, the 49-year-old Tennessee native raced through traffic at a consistent rate to keep McCreadie at bay. McCreadie and Overton closed slightly on Owens in traffic, but neither could get close enough to challenge for the top spot.
Overton, the Sunoco North-South 100 winner a week ago at Florence Speedway, ran as high as second before crossing the finish line in fourth with left front suspension damage.
Hoffman started fourth but faded several positions in the early part of the race before recovering to claim the final podium spot.
Owens has climbed to sixth in the championship points standings, after leaving Florida Speedweeks in 15th, looks forward to defending his COMP Cams Topless 100 title tomorrow night.
“This was 30 laps tonight, there wasn’t any sense in taking it easy until the end of the race,” Owens said. “The car was good. It’s been good all night long. I want to thank the guys for busting their tails. It’s been a long road to get back up here. The car was flawless tonight, maybe we can carry it into tomorrow.”
McCreadie will enter tomorrow night’s $40,000-to-win event with a good starting spot as well after coming in second Friday.
“The car wasn’t the greatest at the beginning, but that’s what you’re hoping for at the end to get a little better as the race goes on,” McCreadie said. “We will see if we can make it better for tomorrow night. We had a little luck on our side to run second tonight. We have run second this year in a lot of big races. This is a tough series to be in. We have been the most consistent here lately.”
The finish:
Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, Nick Hoffman, Brandon Overton, Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Erb, Jonathan Davenport, Billy Moyer Jr., Josh Richards, Cade Dillard, Mike Marlar, Scott Crigler, Stormy Scott, Timothy Culp, Brian Rickman, Wendell Wallace, Kyle Bronson, Billy Moyer, Kyle Beard, Kylan Garner, Terry Phillips, Morgan Bagley, Shane Clanton.