Jimmy Owens Surged During The Fall To Secure 43rd In The Flo 50
Jimmy Owens Surged During The Fall To Secure 43rd In The Flo 50
A season that began inauspiciously for Jimmy Owners ended on a high note that propelled the Late Model veteran into the Flo 50 at 43rd.
A season that began inauspiciously for Jimmy Owens ended on a high note that propelled the Late Model veteran into the Flo 50 at No. 43 overall. Eight of his 25 top fives for the year were earned in the last 10 races, giving Owens momentum heading into the winter months.
In his first few outings of 2017, starting position was critical for Owens. He kicked the season off with a third-place finish on night one of the Super Bowl of Racing at Golden Isles Speedway in Waynesville, GA, in no small part because he started the A-Main fifth. Night two did not go as well with a 16th-place finish on the heels of a 16th-place start, and he slipped rapidly in the coming days. In the first night of the Winter Nationals, he struggled start to finish in the mid-20s. On night two, he fell back to 24th after starting ninth, which set the tone for his spring.
Even his first win of the season failed to break him out of his funk. Owens won the Toyota Knoxville 50 at Tazewell (TN) Speedway in May, but he was unable to string more than two top 10s together in the next 10 races. It was not until his second win of the season — also in his native Tennessee — that Owens began to turn his fortune around.
Once he won the Mountain Moonshine Classic at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Marysville, TN, Owens began to climb up the percentage points rankings. He still had too many results outside the top 10, but when the team hit on the right setup, he was getting consistent top fives and that gave the team a better set of notes from which to work.
Owens' biggest push was made in the final 10 races of the season. After a dismal start to the Late Model Nationals, Owens finished fifth on night three. He followed that with a win at Brownstown (IN) Speedway, and he swept the top five in the rest of his starts except for a pair of unfortunate results at Rome (GA) Speedway and Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park in the Dirt Track World Championships.
The late-season surge not only vaulted him into the Flo 50 in the 43rd spot, but it also gave the veteran driver momentum to carry with him as the team prepares cars for 2018.
Flo 50
| Rank | Driver | % Points | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Jimmy Owens | 76.95 | 3 | 25 | 34 |
| 44 | Shane Stewart | 76.65 | 8 | 28 | 55 |
| 45 | Brian Brown | 75.30 | 3 | 22 | 28 |
| 46 | Rick Eckert | 75.25 | 3 | 17 | 30 |
| 47 | Freddie Rahmer, Jr. | 75.11 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| 48 | Ryan Smith | 75.01 | 3 | 13 | 32 |
| 49 | Bobby Pierce | 74.99 | 1 | 7 | 17 |
| 50 | Lucas Wolfe | 74.20 | | 11 | 22 |
*Percentage points utilize the baseline belief that a win is a win in the major series covered. One hundred points is awarded to first and the points decrement below that as a percentage of the field. For example, in a 25-car field, each position behind the winner is worth four fewer points. In races with incredibly large fields, the points decrement to a less extreme degree. A 50-car field decrements two points per position, and drivers earn points even if they fail to make the A-main.