Brandon Overton
Sometimes things that seem like a disaster at first work out to eventually be a good thing. After Randy Weaver experienced a serious concussion during a rollover crash at the East Alabama Motor Speedway last year, his career as a race car driver came to a sudden and unexpected halt. However, the Crossville, Tenn. native has quickly regained his winning form as a car owner.
Teamed with businessman Chip Stone, Weaver still maintains his famed No. 116 Longhorn Chassis. But since his departure from behind the steering wheel, Weaver has tapped Evans, GA racer Brandon Overton as his team’s driver.
The move has quickly proven to be a fortunate one for both driver and team. Overton scored a $10,000 victory in ‘The Gobbler’ last November at Boyd’s Speedway to end the 2016 season then opened this year’s campaign with a $10,000 win in the season opening Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Georgia.
Did the 25-year-old driver foresee this kind of success so soon with his new team?
“Not to sound overconfident or nothing but I knew they had a good team and I know what I could do with my own stuff,” Overton said. “When I came over here and saw what all they’ve got and the technology, I didn’t know we were going to win a Lucas race right off the bat, but I knew we were going to be competitive everywhere we went. Randy and Chip have done a good job and they’ve got a bunch of good guys working on this thing. They work so hard so I just have to get in this thing and wheel it around. They make my job way easier. It’s just a joy to drive it right now.”
Winning a LOLMDS race is not something to be taken lightly. And Overton points out that anyone, Lucas regular or otherwise, who competes at the top level of the sport must be regarded as a serious threat to visit victory lane.
“I try not to even think about all that,” Overton explained regarding the level of competition he beat to win at Golden Isles. “I mean I know they’re good, but any one of us can win if we get the car right. Everybody in these pits could probably win these races. It’s just having a good team and everybody gelling and working hard. You’ve just got to keep after it, keep digging. Everybody has their time. It comes in swings and you’ve just got to take advantage of it while you’ve got it.”
Overton believes that much of his immediate success is due to the crew he works with.
“All these guys here are just so easy to get along with,” he declared. “We’re all here to do the same thing. We all want to win and that’s the biggest thing. Every one of us from the time we get up we just eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff. At the end of the day, if everybody’s working hard and trying to accomplish the same goal it shows out there on the race track.”
Overton will drive the famed No. 116 Longhorn in 2017
As of now, the Crossville based team has no plan in terms of following a particular series.
“I’ve been asked that a million times, I don’t know,” Overton answered. “I think we’re just going to race. We’re going to have fun. We’ve got good stuff, we’ve got good people around us, and we’re all excited to race.”
Overton believes he and his team will be able to adjust to any new tracks and track conditions they may race on this season. And the team proved that by winning in a place their driver had never raced on before. The former World of Outlaws Late Models racer says that his experience from running that series is already benefiting his new team.
“This was the first time I’ve ever raced here even though I only live three hours from here,” Overton said of Golden Isles. “I’ve raced in Canada and everywhere else on that Outlaw deal. Like I said, when you’re running up and down that road you see pretty much every kind of track condition and everything there is. That’s one good thing about me running that series the last two years then getting in this car. I can help and put my two cents in and it really speeds everything up.”
