Brandon Overton led all 53 laps on Friday night
Racing close to home proved to be a profitable venture for Brandon Overton as he drove to a convincing victory on Friday night at the Swainsboro(GA) Raceway in the Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals feature race.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Evans, Georgia collected $10,053 for his victory in a race shown live by FloRacing.com. This was the 2022 season opener for the Spring Nationals. The second event for this tour will be held on Saturday night at the Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia.
A total of 22 cars were signed in for competition.
Qualifying Results: 1. Brandon Overton(15.282), 2. Pearson Lee Williams, 3. Payton Freeman, 4. Michael Page, 5. Jimmy Sharpe Jr., 6. Brian Nuttal Jr., 7. Jensen Ford, 8. Cla Knight, 9. Dalton Cook, 10. Carson Ferguson
Heat 1 Finish(All transfer): 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Michael Page, 3. Carson Ferguson, 4. Ashton Winger, 5. Jenson Ford, 6. Wil Herrington, 7. Brent Dixon
Heat 2 Finish: 1. Pearson Lee Williams, 2. Jimmy Sharpe Jr., 3. Cla Knight, 4. Mark Whitener, 5. John Henderson, 6. Jamie Oliver, 7. J.R. Moseley
Heat 3 Finish: 1. Payton Freeman, 2. Dalton Cook, 3. Trey Mills, 4. Cody Overton, 5. Brian Nuttal Jr., 6. Benjamin Cranford, 7. Will Harris, 7. Ryan Rackley
Feature Account: When the 53-lap feature took the green flag it was Brandon Overton who powered to the early lead with Page, Freeman, Williams and Sharpe trailing. By the third circuit, the No. 76 car had already built a lead of more than two seconds but that advantage would quickly be erased as a yellow flag was shown to the field when Ford spun on lap 3.
Freeman moved to second on the lap 3 restart while Sharpe jumped to fourth. But one lap later, Page would regain the runner-up position. Once again, Overton drove away from his pursuers until a caution flag again waved on lap 7 when Rackley spun.
Everyone held station on the lap 7 restart as Overton continued to show the way convincingly. The race leader began to encounter slower traffic on lap 14 but the driver who had an outstanding season in 2021 picked his way through cleanly until a lap 22 caution flag waved when Freeman spun from the third position after contact with Sharpe.
The new running order following the lap 22 restart was Overton leading with Page, Cook, Williams, and Sharpe in his tire tracks. Williams and Cook exchanged third on a couple of occasions with Cook emerging with the position when Williams slowed to bring out another yellow flag on lap 29.
Whitener climbed to third on the lap 29 restart behind Overton and Page with Cook and Winger rounding out the top-5. As had been the case all night, Overton pulled away from the pack by lap 40 with Page continuing to hold down the second spot.
The domination by Overton was competed as the final laps clicked away. Eventually, the driver known as ‘Big Sexy’ scored the fifth Spring Nationals win of his career.
“I was just joking with Ray(Cook),” Overton said in his victory lane interview with FloRacing.com. “I said I wish I could make it drive like that all the time. It’s cool to be back. I cut my teeth racing around here. I’ve got my whole family with me and it’s cool to come back here and see everybody. I try to do my best for you when I’m out on the road.”
Feature Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Michael Page, 3. Mark Whitener, 4. Dalton Cook, 5. Ashton Winger, 6. Carson Ferguson, 7. John Henderson, 8. Jensen Ford, 9. Cla Knight, 10. Jimmy Sharpe Jr., 11. Benjamin Cranford, 12. Payton Freeman, 13. Jamie Oliver, 14. Cody Overton, 15. Will Harris, 16. Ryan Rackley, 17. Trey Mills, 18. Pearson Lee Williams, 19. Brian Nuttal Jr., 20. Wil Herrington, 22. J.R. Moseley, 22. Brent Dixon
Top notch field headed for Smoky Mountain’s Tennessee Tip-Off
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