“To be able to start that far back at the Dream and drive our way through there, that was very gratifying,” McDowell said of being patient and saving the tires for his run in the later laps. “As the general rule that’s what you have to do here in the 100 lappers. To be honest, I was hoping for a top five or six. The car was good and we were able to work our way up to the lead.”
In case it’s not McDowell, the defending Dream champion had some words of advice for the eventual winner of the 21st Dirt Late Model Dream.
“Just cherish the moment,” McDowell said. “When you have an accomplishment like that, slow down and cherish the moment. It doesn’t happen often.”
How did McDowell celebrate that $100,000 payday?
“I actually ended up at the water park at Kings Island with my kids. They wanted to celebrate by doing that,” he said. “It was a big night for us.”
'Flying Buckeye' sets fast time: Pleasant Hill's Matt Westfall ripped off the fastest qualifying lap around Eldora's half-mile during Friday's racing, topping the field of 81 cars with is time of 15.374 seconds (117 mph).
“When I went out I was going to try and be smooth,” said Westfall, who drives the No. 54 Best Performance late model for Eric Brock of St. Marys. “It ended up being a pretty good lap. Yeah, I surprised myself when I saw the board.”
Hometown ties: Should West Virginia's Josh Richards win the Dream tonight, he'll have to be careful calling it his most memorable moment in Ohio.
Richards married Bradford native Andrea Cleveland last August at the Orrmont Estate in Piqua.
“We wanted to get married somewhere in the area and decided to go there,” said Richards, one of the country’s top late model drivers. “It was beautiful.”
Richards said the families kept the ceremony low key and no race fans crashed the party. He wouldn’t care if a few helped him celebrate following a win tonight.
“This is one of the races you always want to win,” Richards said. “(I love coming to Eldora) because it’s such a challenge, and I hate coming to Eldora because it’s such a challenge. It’s a place that gets you down real quick.”
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