2021 Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway

6 Best Finishes From Dirt Late Model Dream History At Eldora

The best finishes in Eldora Speedway Dirt Late Model Dream history.

Apr 2, 2020 by Tim Truex

6 Best Finishes From Dirt Late Model Dream History At Eldora

Big money moments. It's Todd Turner's list of the best finishes in the history of the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora. What was the closest finish in Dream history? Find out below!

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1997

Jimmy Mars of Elk Mound, Wis., repeatedly fought off challenges from Steve Barnett over the final 31 laps for a career-making payday in a dazzling finish that co-headlined the night's Scott Bloomquist-Bill Frye lap-29 tangle. Frye was disqualified and Bloomquist broke on lap 70, setting up the finish. "I was just hoping I didn't screw up," Mars said. "I've been known to do that a few times." Barnett, who nearly got into Mars on lap 79, drove the winner as clean as he could. "You can't run into a guy like that — any race you can't just run into people — it costs you a lot of money not to run into him, but you just can't do that," Barnett said.

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2002

Battling an ill-handling car late, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., held off a charging Billy Moyer in the final laps for his second $100,000 payday at Eldora. The crowd cheered on the Battle of the Titans in the final laps, but the 13th-starting Moyer's turn-one struggles on a rough patch help Bloomquist escape. "It's always good when Billy Moyer runs second, because that means there was no gift," said Bloomquist who took the lead from third-place finish Don O'Neal on the 17th lap. "When I saw there was only five laps to go, I knew I was running out of time," said Moyer, who charged from the tail after pitting to replace an oil-pump belt on lap 13. "I hit the hole in turn one near the end, and that really cost me."

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2007

Managing his nerves and his race car on a restart with two laps remaining, Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., scored a Cinderella victory by repelling Eldora superstar Scott Bloomquist for a career-making triumph. The 28-year-old Casebolt, who took the lead on lap 21, held on to repel Bloomquist. “I’ve raced with these guys a long time,” Casebolt said. “I don’t really get all that nervous. I just try to stay focused.” Bloomquist, who restart behind Casebolt on laps 79 and 98, didn't want to see the yellows. "I pretty much had already set up in my mind where I was going by him. I was sure I was going to, and then that last caution ended it," the runner-up said.

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2011

Earning his first crown jewel victory, 12th-starting Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., clawed past Billy Moyer on lap 87 and erased years of frustration in major events. “What a long time coming," the MasterSbilt Race Cars house car driver said. "I drove the wheels off this thing for 100 laps and finally we got it done.” Moyer wasn't happy with contact O'Neal made in making the decisive pass. “We were down in crunch time and he’s won these things several times and I haven’t,” O’Neal said. “He probably should understand. ... It was hard, close racing.”

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2016

Fighting back to regain the lead on three different occasions, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., led the final 11 laps and survived a last-second yellow flag to outrun Josh Richards. Erb became the first major-race Eldora winner from Illinois with his green-white-checkered finish 1.120 seconds ahead of Richards. “My heart dropped coming to that checkered flag coming out of that corner," Erb said. "I didn’t know what was going to happen after that." Even with his last-ditch chance to win, Richards figured his fate was sealed after the lap-99 tangle with Jared Landers. “I knew it was going to be a long shot," he said. "We had a lot of damage."

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2019

Barely fending off a charging Dale McDowell at the checkers, 15th-starting Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., gave car owner Mark Richards his first Eldora crown jewel victory after leading the final 28 laps. With McDowell hugging the bottom and Sheppard buzzing what little cushion remained around the outside, the two met on the front straightaway heading to the flagstand. Slight contact left McDowell’s car spinning on the frontstretch as his furious rally over the final three laps fell short by a mere 0.056 of a second. "It was definitely close there at the end," Sheppard said.