Brandon Overton earned $12,000 for his victory
The Lucas Oil Late Model Late Model Dirt Series returned to the Golden Isles Speedway on Friday night for the second event of their three-race weekend set for that track. When all was said and done at the facility located near Brunswick, Georgia it was Brandon Overton who claimed the victory after a night of intense action. The Longhorn by Wells Chassis driver from Evans, Georgia earned $12,000 for for his efforts.
It proved to be a night of redemption to some degree for Overton after he missed the Thursday night feature due to a post-qualifying tech failure that buried him deep in a heat race and left him with little chance of advancing.
A total of 47 cars were signed in for competition.
Thursday night winner Devin Moran led the way in Group A qualifying with a mark of 14.906 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval to better Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Kyle Bronson.
Brandon Sheppard proved to be the fastest in Group B time-trials by posting a time of 14.903 seconds to top Brandon Overton, Kyle Larson, Earl Pearson Jr. and Tim McCreadie.
Devin Moran earned the pole position for the feature by winning the first heat race of the night ahead of Dennis Erb Jr. and Tyler Bruening then Hudson O’Neal topped Kyle Bronson and Daulton Wilson in the second preliminary.
Jonathan Davenport was the victor in the third heat over Jimmy Owens and Mike Marlar.
Earl Pearson Jr. would start the feature from the outside of the front row by virtue of his triumph in the fourth heat ahead of Brandon Sheppard and Mark Whitener while Brandon Overton took the win in the fifth heat by outrunning Tyler Erb and Tim McCreadie.
Chris Madden won the sixth and final heat topping Kyle Larson and Chase Junghans in the process.
Ricky Thornton Jr. and Kyle Strickler won the two B-main races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
At the start of the 50-lap feature it was Moran who bolted to the early lead ahead of Pearson, Overton, Davenport and Madden. Overton began to move forward immediately as he took second from Pearson on the second circuit as Moran began to slip away from the pack.
A lap 12 caution for a spin by Whitener pulled the field back together and freed the leader from slower traffic. On the ensuing restart, Pearson regained second by passing Overton. Further back, Madden moved into the fourth position when he got around Davenport.
Overton took second back away from Pearson on lap 22 and set his sights on the lead car of Moran who was being hampered by slower traffic. On lap 26, the No. 76 powered by the No. 9 machine to claim the race lead. However, Moran remained determined and kept Overton in his sights.
Just behind the leaders, a fierce battle was taking place as Pearson, a fast rising O’Neal and Davenport were among the combatants for positions 3-5. O’Neal would eventually grab third and begin closing in on the leaders while Davenport fell back into a fight with the likes of Dennis Erb Jr., Bruening, Madden and Sheppard.
But in the end, Overton was able to hold back Moran and O’Neal to drive under the checkered flag for the win.
Click the play button below to hear post-race comments from Brandon Overton.
Feature Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Devin Moran, 3. Hudson O’Neal, 4. Earl Pearson Jr., 5. Tyler Bruening, 6. Dennis Erb Jr., 7. Chris Madden, 8. Jonathan Davenport, 9. Brandon Sheppard, 10. Tim McCreadie, 11. Kyle Bronson, 12. Ross Robinson, 13. Chase Junghans, 14. Ashton Winger, 15. Mike Marlar, 16. Ricky Thornton Jr., 17. Stormy Scott, 18. Tyler Erb, 19. Kyle Strickler, 20. Shane Clanton, 21. Ross Bailes, 22. Jimmy Owens, 23. Mark Whitener, 24. Garrett Alberson, 25. Daulton Wilson, 26. Kyle Larson, 27. Josh Richards
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