Chris Madden drove to his first win of 2022
The Gator Nationals came to a close on Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park after a week of racing. Chris Madden took the lead with a daring outside move during the early stages of the race then controlled the pace for the rest of the way to score his first win of the season on the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series.
The Rocket Chassis driver from Gray Court, SC earned $10,000 for the win on the half-mile Barberville, Florida track in a race shown live by DirtVision.com. This was the final event of Georgia-Florida SpeedWeeks for Dirt Late Model competitors.
Ever consistent Devin Moran claimed the Big Gator Trophy as the week-long champion at Volusia.
A total of 57 cars were signed in for competition.
Group A Qualifying Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr.(16.958), 2. Garrett Smith, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Kyle Hammer, 5. Dennis Erb Jr., 6. Tim McCreadie, 7. Blair Nothdurft, 8. Chris Madden, 9. Tyler Bruening, 10. Tyler Millwood
Group B Qualifying Results: 1, Shane Clanton(16.922), 2. Kyle Strickler, 3. Dale McDowell, 4. Devin Moran, 5. Chris Simpson, 6. Spencer Hughes, 7. Max Blair, 8. Michael Norris, 9. Brandon Sheppard, 10. Brandon Overton
Heat 1 Finish(Top-3 transfer): 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Kyle Hammer, 3. Kyle Bronson
Heat 2 Finish: 1. Chris Madden, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Brian Shirley
Heat 3 Finish: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Tyler Bruening
Heat 4 Finish: 1. Max Blair, 2. Earl Pearson, Jr., 3. Brandon Overton
Heat 5 Finish: 1. Kyle Strickler, 2. Chris Simpson, 3. Michael Norris
Heat 6 Finish: 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Spencer Hughes, 3. Ashton Winger
Last Chance Showdown 1 Finish(Top-2 transfer): 1. Chase Osterhoff, 2. Tanner English
Last Chance Showdown 2 Finish: 1. Devin Moran, 2. Cade Dillard
Last Chance Showdown 3 Finish: 1. Tyler Erb, 2. Brent Larson
WoO Late Models Redraw: 1. McDowell, 2. Blair 3. Madden, 4. Strickler, 5. Marlar, 6. Thornton
Feature Account: McDowell immediately went to the front when the green flag waved over the 40-lap feature with Blair, Madden, Marlar and Strickler trailing. The field quickly strung out around the track with most everyone clinging to the bottom groove. Thornton was able to get around Strickler for fifth in the early laps.
Madden was the first driver to take to the high side just before the completion of the tenth lap which moved him around Marlar for third then Blair for second. On lap 13, Madden got by McDowell for the race lead which also opened the door for Blair to pass by McDowell for the runner-up position.
The first caution flag of the event waved on lap 17 when Shirley slowed and eventually retired from the race. On the restart, Marlar charged to third pushing McDowell to fourth. Strickler also gained a spot as he took fifth from Thornton. However, that gain was given back quickly when the No. 8 slipped high and fell back two positions.
Madden continued to lead as the race entered its second half but Marlar began to gain speed as he closed in on Blair for second until a yellow flag was displayed to the field when Chris Simpson slowed. With the track locked down on the bottom, WoO officials opted to employ single-file restarts for the remainder of the feature.
Another caution came out on lap 31 when Gustin slowed with Madden leading Blair, Marlar, McDowell and Hammer.
Over the closing laps, Madden pulled away from his pursuers and ultimately cruised to the checkered flag to claim the 33rd WoO Late Models victory of his career.
“It was very important,” Madden said when asked by DirtVision.com about the move that gained him the lead. “I thought we had messed up there. We made an adjustment and when they dropped the green flag I couldn’t keep up. The race track finally slowed down enough to where we were pretty good. Dale and them caught lapped traffic. We had nothing to lose by stepping out there and we found a groove nd got by right in time before it started rubbering. It was a big deal to do the move at that point.”
Feature Finish: 1. Chris Madden, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Dale McDowell, 4. Max Blair, 5. Kyle Hammer, 6. Ricky Thornton Jr., 7. Kyle Strickler, 8. Dennis Erb Jr., 9. Tim McCreadie, 10. Earl Pearson Jr., 11. Tyler Bruening, 12. Devin Moran, 13. Brandon Overton, 14. Spencer Hughes, 15. Tanner English, 16. Chase Osterhoff, 17. Cade Dillard, 18. Brandon Sheppard, 19. Brent Larson, 20. Kyle Bronson, 21. Gordy Gundaker, 22. Boom Briggs, 23. Tyler Erb, 24. Josh Richards, 25. Ashton Winger, 26. Michael Norris, 27. Ryan Gustin, 28. Chris Simpson, 29. Brian Shirley
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