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Bristol Thursday notes

BRISTOL, TN - Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN passed Freddy Smith of Knoxville, TN less than 100 feet from the finish line to win Round 1 of the Battle of Bristol Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway -which has been covered with dirt for this ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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BRISTOL, TN - Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN passed Freddy Smith of Knoxville, TN less than 100 feet from the finish line to win Round 1 of the Battle of Bristol Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway -which has been covered with dirt for this United Dirt Track Racing Association (UDTRA) Pro DirtCar Series event.

Smith had passed pole-sitter Bloomquist in turn one of the first lap and held the lead for 29 laps before Bloomquist made a daring high-side pass coming off the final turn. Bloomquist's Ford Mustang beat Smith's Chevrolet Monte Carlo by less than a car length at the checkered flag.

"When he moved low, I went for broke," Bloomquist said. "I moved up high and kept my foot in it and got a good run off the corner. If he had moved up, I couldn't have gotten by him in time. I got a little bit of a break there and it was all I needed. That's a good win for us and sets the stage for a great week."

It was 79th career victory for the four-time UDTRA champion, but only second this in 18 races this season.

"I lost my rear brakes five laps from the end, and I was having to pump my brakes on the straightaways," Smith said. "I wound up second, and almost held him off, but he slipped past me there at the finish. But we haven't changed a thing on the car since we got here, so the rest of the week looks pretty good."

Dale McDowell of Rossville, GA, was third and Scott Sexton of Pigeon Forge, TN, was fourth. Steve Francis of Ashland, KY, finished fifth. Rick Eckert of York, PA, retained his points lead with a 10th place finish.

It was the first of three points-paying races that makes up the Battle of Bristol presented by Free Service Tire and Advance Auto Parts. Friday's schedule includes another 30-lap feature paying $10,000 to win, with Saturday's 60-lap main event paying $25,000 to win.

-UDTRA

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