TOPLESS 100

Francis outguns fast foes

Greenbrier’s Jack Sullivan finished 15th in the Comp Cams Topless 100 on Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway.
Greenbrier’s Jack Sullivan finished 15th in the Comp Cams Topless 100 on Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway.

— In victory lane after Saturday night’s Comp Cams Topless 100, Batesville Motor Speedway promoter Mooney Starr was beaming.

“It won’t look like it on paper,” Starr said, “but that was a heck of a race.”

Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., started from the pole and led every lap to win his first Topless 100. The rest of the field was swapping positions behind him.

“What a race car tonight,” said Francis, who collected $40,000 with the victory. “Wow, was that thing unreal.We could move around and do whatever we needed to do on the racetrack. It was just an honor to drive that thing tonight. Most fun I’ve had in a race car in a really long time.”

At least 11 drivers battled for the four spots behind Francis during the 100-lap race.

Batesville’s Jared Landers, the 2010 winner, was in second place for all but a handful of laps - relinquishing it to Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., for nine laps just past the midway point and to Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., for a single lap with less than 30 to go. He also spent time defending the spot against Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., and Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky.

“I didn’t know where I wanted to be [on restarts],” said Landers, who finished second. “The inside worked for me good. But then that Shannon Babb, he fired off in there one lap. I thought I had him cleared, but then I looked and, ‘I better not move up because he is going to run clean over me.’ ”

Francis pulled out to a large lead at the start and after each restart following the race’s nine caution periods. The only serious challenge he faced was a brief one from Owens, the 2009 winner who also won the Bad Boy 98 at Batesville in the spring.

Owens moved from fifth to second on a lap-62 restart and was tucked on Francis’ bumper following a caution on the 72nd lap. He put a fender under Francis exiting turn 4 before the drivers banged wheels, sending Owens spinning in front of the rest of the field. Amazingly, Owens looped his car without making contact with another driver. But he spun and stopped in the next turn with a flat tire.

“It was just a racing deal,” Owens said. “He [Francis] had been running up there on the high side, and I think he diamonded the corner off. We just met in the middle when he zigged, and I wasn’t expecting it.”

Francis’ victory was his first in one of late model racing’s crown jewel events since taking the Colossal at Charlotte, N.C., in 2008.

“I never even knew Jimmy was there,” Francis said. “I had been doing that for like the first three laps after a restart, kind of driving off the top and leaving across the bottom off of 4. Had I known he had that kind of run, I’d just ran across the top because I felt confident enough in our car.”

Landers held on for second. Wells, who advanced to the main event through a B-Main qualifier and started 17th, was third, a career-best Topless finish. Bloomquist, the four-time and defending champion, was fourth and Owens rebounded to take fifth.

Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind. - who started fourth, went to the rear early after pitting with a flat, raced back to the top five, only to return to the rear after another flat - returned to finish sixth. Jesse Stovall of Galena, Mo., was seventh and Madden took eighth. Babb and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., rounded out the top 10.

Of the race’s nine cautions, two were for serious incidents - the second of which ended a miserable weekend for 16-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif.

Topless 100

LOCUST GROVE - Saturday night’s results from the 20th annual Comp Cams Topless 100 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Batesville Motor Speedway with finishing position, driver, hometown, starting position in parentheses, laps completed and earnings:1. Steve Francis, Ashland, Ky. (1), 100, $40,000 2. Jared Landers, Batesville (3), 100, $20,000 3. Eric Wells, Hazard, Ky. (17), 100, $10,000 4. S. Bloomquist, Mooresburg, Tenn. (5), 100, $6,000 5. Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn. (8), 100, $5,000 6. Don O’Neal, Martinsville, Ind. (4), 100, $4,500 7. Jesse Stovall, Galena, Mo. (12), 100, $4,000 8. Chris Madden, Gray Court, S.C. (2), 100, $3,500 9. Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, Ill. (6), 100, $3,000 10. John Blankenship, Williamson, W.Va. (11), 100, $2,800 11. Earl Pearson Jr., Jacksonville, Fla. (20), 99, $2,600 12. Robbie Stuart, Deridder, La. (21), 99, $2,500 13. Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, Ga. (22), 99, $2,450 14. Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas (15), 99,$2,400 15. Jack Sullivan, Greenbrier (16), 51, $2,350 16. Brandon Smith, Floral (18), 51, $2,300 17. Klint Byars, Carrollton, Miss. (19), 35, $2,250 18. Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, Ga. (7), 24, $2,200 19. Tyler Reddick, Corning, Calif. (23), 24, $2,175 20. Todd Hall, Charleston, Mo. (13), 23, $2,150 21. Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas (24), 12, $2,100 22. Billy Moyer, Batesville (9), 8, $2,075 23. Will Vaught, Crane, Mo. (10), 6, $2,050 24. Wendell Wallace, Batesville (14), 6, $2,000 Lap leaders - Francis 1-100. Cautions - 10.

LAST-CHANCE QUALIFIERS (top three advanced to feature) FIRST LAST-CHANCE RACE 1, Wells; 2, Byars; 3, Stuart; 4, Chris Wall; 5, Shawn Knuckles.

SECOND LAST-CHANCE RACE 1, Smith; 2, Pearson; 3, Davenport; 4, Robert Baker; 5, B.J. Robinson.

Sports, Pages 13 on 08/20/2012

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