Barberville,FL — BARBERVILLE, FL – February 8, 2010 – Jared Landers started dead last and charged all the way through the 28-car field to win the Gator Championship for DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on Monday night during the 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.
“I’ve been off here the first three nights,” lamented Landers, who collected the $5,000 top prize. “I don’t know what to say, I just have to thank all the guys in the pits who have stuck with me.”
Landers, of Batesville, Ark., had been quiet in this DIRTcar Nationals campaign after capturing 5 of 7 features in 2009, but he slowly crept forward after UMP Regional Director Sam Driggers relegated Landers to the tail of the field for being late to staging. By lap 25, Landers had caught leader Stormy Scott, of Las Cruces, N.M., and stormed past on the outside for the lead.
“I’m out of breath, but I want to thank Sam for making me go to the back and work my way back up here, because I knew I could do it,” Landers said. “He made me do what I had to do.”
Landers would go on to lead the final five laps unchallenged on his way to his second ‘The Gator Championship’ in as many years.
Scott, 20, settled for second, the second time he had been overtaken in the closing laps during the DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH to finish as a runner-up.
“The DIRTcar UMP tires, we don’t get to race on those but once a year and this car was pretty well new when we got down here,” Scott said. “We’re still really happy with our performance.”
Scott outdistanced previous night winner Austin Dillon, of Welcome, N.C., who fought off challenges from fourth finishing Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va.
“It was a good run for us even though we weren’t as good as we wanted to be,” said Dillon, who is NASCAR car owner Richard Childress’ grandson. “It was a cool race.”
Hawkins and Ken Schrader rounded out the top five in a field that also included former UMP National Champion Denny Schwartz and NASCAR stars Kenny Wallace and Clint Bowyer.
Four last chance B-Mains preceded The Gator Championship in which only winners transferred into the main event. Jason Hughes, of Westville, Okla., would claim the first of four while Dale Mathison, of Clearwater, Minn., turned back Clint Bowyer’s last ditch effort to earn a spot in ‘The Gator’ during B-Main 2. Ty Dillon, of Welcome, N.C., along with Peyton Taylor, of Batesville, Ark., would go on to claim the final two spots of ‘The Gator’ field.
DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio; DIRTcar UMP Modifieds; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 8, 2010
B-Main 1 – 1. Jason Hughes, 2. Scott Martin, 3. Jason Gross, 4. Jeremy Kerzman, 5. Jeremy Newberry, 6. Charlie Phillips, 7. Jim Ransom, 8. Devin Gilpin, 9. Jeff Babcock.
B-Main 2 – 1. Dale Mathison, 2. Clint Bowyer, 3. Denny Schwartz, 4. Dave Wietholder, 5. Matt Goulden, 6. Bob Gierke, 7. Joe Carr., 8. Scotty Kincaid, 9. Schuyler Nahre, 10. Scotty Owens.
B-Main 3 – 1. Ty Dillon, 2. Ben Adkins, 3. Scott Green, 4. Jason Wheatley, 5. Curt Myers, 6. Rob Penny, 7. Kent Corbin, 8. Darrell George, 9. Todd Sherman, 10. Randle Sweeney.
B-Main 4 – 1. Peyton Taylor, 2. Buzzie Reutimann, 3. Tommy Seets, 4. J.E. Stalder, 5. Tony Anderson, 6. Chad Evans, 7. Rob Underwood, 8. Jeff Thomas, 9. Todd Neiheiser.
A-Main – 1. Jared Landers, 2. Stormy Scott, 3. Austin Dillon, 4. Jared Hawkins, 5. Kenny Schrader, 6. Denny Schwartz, 7. Ty Dillon., 8. David McWilliams, 9. Dave Hess Jr, 10. Peyton Taylor, 11. Jacob Hawkins, 12. Jammie Wilson, 13. Tommy Seets, 14. Steven Pfeifer, 15. Jason Schill, 16. Mike Spatola, 17. Jason Hughes, 18. Devin Gilpin, 19. Dale Mathison, 20. Bob Broking, 21. Kenny Wallace, 22. Paul Miles, 23. Stephen Schnapf, 24. Jesse Stovall, 25. Jeff Leka, 26. Jeff Babcock, 27. Clint Bowyer, 28. Rob Underwood.
The 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals is brought to fans by the University of Northwestern Ohio. The University of Northwestern Ohio is the Official Education Provider of DIRTcar Racing. UNOH can deliver strong progressive academics, with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. The choice of a university at which to study is a major decision. Your future as a productive professional and a responsible citizen can be greatly enhanced by that decision. Students at UHOH will become critical thinkers, will become communicators, will have the most current technology and will experience small class sizes taught by knowledgeable faculty with real working experience. For more information visit UNOH at http://www.unoh.edu
