Brandon Overton won yet another feature at Eldora
Thursday night brought the first of two runnings of Dirt Late Model racing’s premier event at the Eldora Speedway. The top drivers and cars in the sport hit the Rossburg, Ohio track to contest the 51st annual World 100. At the end of a night of skillful racing by the top drivers in the sport on a slick race track, it was Brandon Overton who claimed the coveted Globe Trophy and wrote his name into the dirt racing history books. The Longhorn Chassis driver from Evans, Georgia earned $54,000 and immeasurable prestige for his victory.
A total of 80 cars were initially signed in for competition. Lineups for the heat races were determined by results from Wednesday night’s preliminary action.
Please consider also reading “Johnny Scott claims Wednesday night Group A win at Eldora“
Please consider also reading “Tim McCreadie tops Wednesday night Group B feature at Eldora“
Gregg Satterlee topped Chris Ferguson and Darrell Lanigan in the first heat race of the night while Kyle Bronson beat out Jimmy Owens and Kyle Larson in the second preliminary.
Dale McDowell bested Devin Moran and Ryan Gustin in the third heat of the evening then Brandon Overton won the fourth heat defeating Ashton Winger and Brandon Sheppard.
Ricky Thornton Jr. outran Brian Shirley and Jonathan Davenport in the fifth heat race just before Kyle Strickler was victorious in the sixth and final heat race ahead of Shane Clanton and Chris Madden.
Joseph Joiner, Michael Chilton and Mason Zeigler moved to the feature out of the first B-main then Ryan King won a Scramble to earn a starting position in the World 100.
Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Erb and Nick Hoffman earned starting positions in the main event out of the second B-main then Frank Hecknast Jr. won a Scramble that gave him the final starting position in the World 100.
Tim McCreadie and Hudson O’Neal started the main event by virtue of the points they earned on Wednesday night.
At the start of the 100-lap feature, it was Thornton who went to the lead with Strickler, Overton, McDowell and Bronson lined up behind him. Satterlee moved into the top-5 on the second circuit. The top-5 then spaced out and began to click off laps in the early going until a lap 10 caution for a flat tire on the Owens machine.
Overton went to second and McDowell drove to third as both of those passed by Strickler shortly after green flag racing resumed. However, a caution for a spin by Ferguson after contact with Winger slowed the action on lap 14.
Thornton continued to lead after the lap 14 restart with Overton and McDowell keeping him in their sights. Further back, Strickler and Moran battled side-by-side for fourth.
Overton moved around Thornton to take the lead on lap 24 while McDowell took second by also passing Thornton. O’Neal charged from his 20th starting position into the top-5 by the quarter mark of the race. Then on lap 33, O’Neal took third away from Thornton then set off after Overton and McDowell as the lead duo battled slower traffic.
Three-time World 100 winner Davenport had made his way into the top-5 by lap 40 and then entered into a fight with Thornton for fourth. The No. 49 machine then took that position on lap 42.
As the race approached the halfway mark, McDowell stayed within striking distance of Overton in traffic while O’Neal and Davenport began to close from third and fourth. As the race continued under green flag conditions on lap 55 Davenport went to third as he passed O’Neal. The top-4 of Overton, McDowell, Davenport and O’Neal ran in tight formation.
A lap 58 yellow flag waved to briefly slow the action for a flat tire on Tyler Erb. McDowell took the lead on the ensuing restart with O’Neal taking third from Davenport at the same time but Davenport would take that spot back on lap 62.
With a clear track in front of him, McDowell began to pull away from Overton, Davenport, O’Neal and McCreadie. However, when traffic became a factor Overton, Davenport, O’Neal, McCreadie and Moran closed back in.
Overton reclaimed the lead on lap 71 when he passed McDowell. At the same time, McCreadie moved to third after he took advantage of an O’Neal slip. McCreadie took advantage of a bobble by McDowell to move into the runner-up position as Overton began to pull away.
Overton built an advantage of more than three seconds after he put slower traffic between himself and the McCreadie- McDowell battle. McCreadie closed in on Overton as the laps counted down but Overton would go on to add a World 100 win to the two Dirt Late Model Dream paychecks he earned back in June.
Feature Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Dale McDowell, 4. Hudson O’Neal, 5. Jonathan Davenport, 6. Devin Moran, 7. Chris Ferguson, 8. Ricky Thornton Jr., 9. Gregg Satterlee, 10. Kyle Strickler, 11. Jimmy Owens, 12. Nick Hoffman, 13. Kyle Larson, 14. Darrell Lanigan, 15. Chris Madden, 16. Ashton Winger, 17. Scott Bloomquist, 18. Brandon Sheppard, 19. Shane Clanton, 20. Tyler Erb, 21. Joseph Joiner, 22. Frank Heckenast Jr., 23. Michael Chilton, 24. Ryan King, 25. Brian Shrley, 26. Mason Zeigler, 27. Ryan Gustin, 28. Kyle Bronson
