The caution flag certainly changed the course of the race for the 45-year-old Bloomquist, who built nearly a full straightaway edge after overtaking Stewart for the lead on lap 38. He didn't get away from Stewart on the restart, and he lost second to Owens shortly after his car's air cleaner blew off in turn one on lap 67.
But Bloomquist rallied to regain the runner-up spot from Stewart on lap 75 and stayed there to the finish, albeit without challenging Owens. The $20,000 outing continued a remarkable run of success in the Dream for Bloomquist, who since 2002 has three wins, two seconds and a third (plus one DNQ in '03).
Finishing in positions 7-10 was Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio, who ran as high as fifth; 17th-starter Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who was nearly lapped early in the distance but came on after the halfway point to salvage a top-10 finish; O'Neal, who led laps 1-9 off the outside pole; and Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., who started 24th after grabbing the final transfer spot in the B-Main with a last-lap pass of two-time and defending UMP DIRTcar national champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.
A field of 116 cars assembled at the venerable oval for Friday night's time-trial session.
Richards set fast time with a lap of 15.655 seconds. The 21-year-old went on to finish second in Saturday's first heat and earn the seventh starting spot for the Dream, but a tire problem caused him to lose nearly 10 spots on the first lap and ultimately lose a lap before his night ended when he brought out the race's lone caution flag.
Saturday's 15-lap heat winners were Mars, Bloomquist, Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., Moyer, O'Neal and Stewart. Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, captured the 15-lap C-Main and Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., won the 20-lap B-Main.
For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.
15h Annual Dirt Late Model Dream Official Finish (100 laps):
1. Jimmy Owens $100,000
2. Scott Bloomquist $20,000
3. Darrell Lanigan $10,000
4. Jimmy Mars $6,000
5. Brian Birkhofer $5,000
6. Tony Stewart $4,000
7. Matt Miller $3,500
8. Rick Eckert $3,000
9. Don O'Neal $2,500
10. Earl Pearson Jr. $2,200
11. Chris Madden $2,000
12. Steve Francis $1,900
13. Ray Cook $1,800
14. Billy Moyer $1,750
15. Jeep VanWormer $1,725
16. Jason Feger $1,700
17. Jonathan Davenport $1,675
18. Jared Landers $1,650
19. Chub Frank $1,625
20. Shannon Babb $1,600
21. Duane Chamberlain $1,575
22. Josh Richards $1,550
23. Dale McDowell $1,525
24. Randy Korte $1,500
Lap Leaders: O'Neal (1-9); Stewart (10-37); Bloomquist (38-60); Stewart (61-72); Owens (73-100)Fast-Time Provisional Starters: Owens, Landers
Heat 1 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Jimmy Mars, Josh Richards, Ray Cook, Dale McDowell, John Blankenship, Steve Casebolt, Bart Hartman, Aaron Scott, Chris Simpson, Shawn Toczek, Ricky Arms, Shannon Thornsberry, Chuck Roelle, Casey Roberts, Tim Dohm, Tim Isenberg, Brent Kreke, Scott Orr, Wayne Maffett Jr., Patrick Ferguson
Heat 2 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Chris Madden, Brian Birkhofer, Chris Ferguson, Earl Pearson Jr., Wendell Wallace, Clint Smith, Rusty Schlenk, Doug Drown, Casey Noonan, Scott James, Brad Neat, Will Vaught, Jeff Beyers, Jerry Rice, Andrew Reaume, April Farmer, Andrew McKay, Jordan Bland (DNS) Terry Casey
Heat 3 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Jason Feger, Jeep VanWormer, Darrell Lanigan, Jimmy Owens, Randy Korte, Brian Ruhlman, John Mason, Tim Fuller, Tommy Kerr, Eddie Carrier Jr., Curtis Deisenroth, Tyler Ivey, Bill Lewis, Gregg Satterlee, Randle Chupp, Jon Henry, Shanon Buckingham, Rod Conley (DNS) Ryan Vanderveen
Heat 4 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Billy Moyer, Chub Frank, Duane Chamberlain, Jonathan Davenport, R.J. Conley, Jared Landers, Mike Marlar, Eric Wells, Curt Spalding, David Gentry, D.J. Wells, Mike Mataragas, Curtis Roberts, Jill George, Mark Douglas (DNS) Jackie Boggs, Chris Ross, Jason Jameson, Bobby Carnes
Heat 5 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Don O'Neal, Shannon Babb, Rick Eckert, Delmas Conley, Dan Schlieper, Jerry Bowersock, Jay Johnson, Chad Mahder, Justin McNeil, Brian Shirley, Jason Riggs, Robby Hensley, Bill Williams, Jason Keltner, Shane Clanton, Ben Adkins, Shawn Negangard, Dustin Neat, Justin Labonte
Heat 6 Finish (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Tony Stewart, Matt Miller, Steve Francis, Dennis Erb Jr., Wayne Chinn, Chris Wall, Donnie Moran, Vic Hill, Chad Ruhlman, Brady Smith, Tim Manville, Matt Lux, Kevin Cole, Brett Wyatt, Lee Davasier, Brandon Thirlby, Davey Johnson, Brandon Perkins (DNS) Steve Shaver
C-Main Finish (15 laps - Top 6 Transfer to B-Main): Bart Hartman, Tim Fuller, Clint Smith, Jay Johnson, Donnie Moran, Aaron Scott, Eric Wells, Brady Smith, Vic Hill, Brian Shirley, Chris Simpson, Chad Mahder, Tommy Kerr, Chad Ruhlman, Doug Drown, Justin McNeill, David Gentry, Casey Noonan, D.J. Wells, Curt Spalding, Rusty Schlenk, Eddie Carrier Jr., Shawn Toczek, Curtis Deisenroth
B-Main Finish (20 laps - Top 4 Transfer to Dream): Dale McDowell, Randy Korte, Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson Jr., Dennis Erb Jr., Tim Fuller, Delmas Conley, John Blankenship, Brian Ruhlman, Chris Wall, Mike Marlar, Bart Hartman, Dan Schlieper, R.J. Conley, Wayne Chinn, Aaron Scott, Jerry Bowersock, Clint Smith, Jay Johnson, Donnie Moran, John Mason, Chris Ferguson, Steve Casebolt, Wendell Wallace
 Delmas Conley (71) and Earl...  Delmas Conley (71) and Earl Pearson Jr. (44) race for position in the B Main to get into the 100 lap main event. |  There was plenty of tight...  There was plenty of tight racing all night long. Here, Shane Clanton (25), Shannon Babb (18), and Ben Adkins (B7) battle for position in their heat race. |  Clanton's night ended prematurely...  Clanton's night ended prematurely after he and Delmas Conley made contact in turn three. |