by Bobby Kimbrough on February 10, 2011

An unlikely victor emerged from East Bay Raceway Park on Wednesday night as the California Kid Tyler Reddick finished the last eight laps of the feature in front of the biggest names in dirt late model racing.  Reddick, at 15 years of age, isn’t even old enough to legally drive a car on the street.  He surely doesn’t have the experience of Scott Bloomquist, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens or any of the others racers on the track that evening, yet he wrestled the lead from Dan Schlieper and held off the Bloomquist and O’Neal for the win.

Reddick and Bloomquist after the race. (All photos by R.E. Wing)

The official Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Press release below details Reddick’s victory:

Tyler Reddick Takes First Career Win on Wednesday Night at East Bay
by James Essex, Public Relations Coordinator, jessex@lucasdirt.com
TAMPA, FL (February 9, 2011)-The “California Kid”, 15-year-old, Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA grabbed the lead from Dan Schlieper of Oak Creek, WI with eight laps remaining and then he went on to win his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Wednesday Night at East Bay Raceway Park during the 35th Annual DART Winternationals Presented by Magnaflow Exhaust. Reddick, who started third, tracked Schlieper for the first 21laps of the 30 lap main event. He grabbed the lead heading into turn number three. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN finished second followed by Steve Francis of Ashland, KY, Schlieper and Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN.