Story By: BEN SHELTON / SHANE MCDOWELL RACING – MOORESBURG, TN – Dale McDowell broke out the broom and swept the Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial program at Tazewell Speedway on Monday night aboard his Shane McDowell Racing / E-Z-GO No. 17m Cometic Gaskets / Klotz Synthetic Lubricants / Connected Strategy Advisors / Team Zero Race Cars / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.
McDowell’s fifth win of the year was worth $23,100 after the Georgia native claimed the $2,100 qualifying top prize honors along with the $21,000 feature winner check. He had to endure multiple close calls in lap traffic to record the victory.
“We did have some close calls out there, but when you got Jimmy (Owens), Ricky (Weiss), and you got those guys behind ‘ya, you gotta make quick choices,” McDowell said in Victory Lane. “Shane (McDowell) and Landon (Hayes) did an awesome job adjusting on the car, made my job a little easier. I just had to make decisions out there that I wasn’t quite ready for, but it all turned out.
“I used to watch Lil’ Bill Corum when I was a kid, so I’m very honored to win this race; when I was a kid, I’d come to Atomic (Speedway) and here and just watch him kick their ass, so, to have this race in his honor, I’m very honored to win it.”
Dale McDowell entered a single event over the Independence Day weekend with a visit to Tazewell Speedway (Tazewell, Tenn.) on Tuesday afternoon to pilot E-Z-GO No. 17m Late Model for the third annual Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial.
With 20 Late Models entered for the event co-sanctioned by the Valvoline Iron-Man Southern Series and the Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals, Dale claimed the $2,100 fast time honors before placing first in his heat race.
Leading flag-to-flag in the 75-lap feature, McDowell rolled to his fifth win of the season and 17th-career triumph with the Spring Nationals. He banked a $21,000 payday ahead of Jimmy Owens, Ricky Weiss, Donald McIntosh, and Brandon Williams.
The team will be idle this weekend before entering the first two rounds of the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series at Beckley (W.Va.) Motor Speedway and Wythe Raceway (Rural Retreat, Va.) on Friday and Saturday, July 14 – 15. Each program posts a $10,053 top prize.