Brandon Overton picked up his first win of 2023
So what if it was the first outing of the 2023 season for Brandon Overton and his Wells Motorsports team. The No. 76 machine came roaring out of the starting gate in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season opener at Golden Isles Speedway to win a heat race, start from the pole position, and then lead all 40 laps on the way to victory.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Evans, Georgia earned $10,000 for his efforts at the track located near Brunswick, Georgia.
A total of 50 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A Results- 1. Hudson O’Neal (14.921), 2. Ricky ThorntonJr. , 3. Mason Zeigler, 4. Brandon Overton, 5. Daulton Wilson, 6. Brandon Sheppard, 7. G.R. Smith, 8. Tyler Bruening, 9. Carson Ferguson, 10. Max Blair
Group B Results- 1. Devin Moran (15.131), 2. Brian Shirley, 3. Jonathan Davenport, 4. Logan Roberson, 5. Tim McCreadie, 6. Garrett Smith, 7. Earl Pearson Jr., 8. Wil Herrington, 9. Jimmy Owens, 10. Ryan Gustin
Heat 1 Results: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Hudson O’Neal, 3. Tyler Bruening
Heat 2 Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Daulton Wilson, 3. Carson Ferguson
Heat 3 Results: 1. Mason Zeigler, 2. Kyle Bronson, 3. G.R. Smith
Heat 4 Results: 1. Devin Moran, 2. Ryan Gustin, 3. Logan Roberson
Heat 5 Results: 1. Brian Shirley, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Wil Herrington
Heat 6 Results: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Garrett Smith, 3. Jimmy Owens
B-main 1 Finish: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Tyler Erb
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Earl Pearson Jr., 2. Ross Robinson
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 40-lap feature Overton jetted to the early lead with Moran, Thornton, Davenport and O’Neal in his tire tracks. However, a caution for the slowing car of G.R. Smith just after the completion of the first circuit re-set the field.
On the restart, Thornton moved into second while O’Neal came up to third and Wilson grabbed fourth. Moran fell back to fifth. O’Neal wasted little time as he closed in and began to issue a challenge on Thornton for second as Overton looked to be slipping away from the field.
Davenport took on Wilson for fourth just after getting around Moran on lap 6 which preceded a move by O’Neal into the second position. At the same time, a fast closing McCreadie also joined the fray from his 10th starting position. On the 10th lap, McCreadie moved around Davenport to assume the fifth position.
Overton began to encounter slower traffic on lap 11 which allowed his pursuers to keep pace. McCreadie continued to climb as he took fourth away from Wilson on lap 12 and then grabbed third from Thornton on lap 13.
McCreadie moved all the way to second leaving O’Neal, Davenport and Thornton to battle behind him. Davenport closed rapidly on O’Neal and tagged the back of O’Neal’s car sending both drivers for a spin. Both had to restart following the lap 30 caution from the tail.
During the waning laps of the race, McCreadie kept close tabs on Overton as the two raced for the top spot. But in the end, it would be Overton who would sail under the checkered flag to claim victory.
Feature Results: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Ricky ThorntonJr., 4. Devin Moran, 5. Daulton Wilson, 6. Ryan Gustin, 7. Tyler Bruening, 8. Brian Shirley, 9. Brandon Sheppard, 10. Kyle Bronson, 11. Carson Ferguson, 12. Wil Herrington, 13. Tanner English, 14. Jimmy Owens, 15. Tyler Erb, 16. Jonathan Davenport, 17. Mason Zeigler, 18. Logan Roberson, 19. Hudson O’Neal, 20. Ross Robinson, 21. Spencer Hughes, 22. Earl Pearson Jr., 23. Garrett Smith, 24. Jordan Koehler, 25. Garrett Alberson, 26. G.R. Smith
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