Rain, accidents, exploding tires, and mechanical failures whittled an entry list of 36 cars down to six when the checkers waved over the National 100 — and yet Dale McDowell still had to withstand a determined last-lap charge to win at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL, on Sunday night.

No one got away without some sort of trouble. Even the race winner McDowell and second-place Scott Bloomquist spent time off track.

McDowell drove off course on lap 68 — allowing Bloomquist and Dennis Erb Jr. to slip past. McDowell reclaimed the top spot 16 laps later when Bloomquist was forced into the pits to replace a battery on lap 84. As it turned out, Bloomquist was going to need at least 17 laps to get back around McDowell — not that he didn’t make a determined charge.

The excess moisture made the track slippery and slimy — which contributed to 12 cautions. The final one waved just for the exploding tire of Brent Larson just as Bloomquist made the decision to replace a stuttering battery. With renewed life, the driver of the No. 0 made a race out of the war of attrition.

The carnage was so great that during the lap-68 slowdown, only two cars remained on track. McDowell paced Erb, while everyone else was in the work area.

Bloomquist dropped to the back of the field in fifth — the last car on the lead lap and used the final 16 laps to chase down McDowell. At the finish line, he closed to within 0.145 seconds — or the length of a nose to the stalwart fans that waited out the four-hour rain delay.

Erb was the only driver who managed to keep his car completely intact, but he was not able to hold off the determined Bloomquist. Erb finished third.

Ross Bailes was shaking down his late model in preparation for this weekend’s Georgia State Outlaw Championships — which will stream LIVE on FloRacing. He crossed under the checkers fourth, with Tim McCreadie completing the top five.

Jimmy Owens won both preliminary nights of the National 100 weekend before finishing 12th.

Top 10 Finishers 
1. Dale McDowell
2. Scott Bloomquist
3. Dennis Erb Jr.
4. Ross Bailes
5. Tim McCreadie
6. Brent Larson
7. Ryan Crane
8. Kyle Bronson
9. Brandon Overton
10. Dana Eiland