Brandon Overton took the lead just past halfway
The Ray Cook-promoted Spring Nationals mini-series entered into its final weekend of 2017 by taking to the Boyd’s Speedway on Friday night for a $4,000-to-win feature race. Brandon Overton entered the night with a narrow lead over defending series champion Donald McIntosh and extended that lead by beating his closest rival to the finish line on the Ringgold, GA track.
Shanon Buckingham began the night’s action by setting fast time in Group A qualifying and overall as he toured the third-mile clay oval in 14.921 seconds. Vic Hill joined Buckingham in being locked into the feature from that group.
Brandon Kinzer led the way in Group B time-trials with a lap of 15.034 seconds to edge out Jason Croft. Both of those drivers would also be locked into the feature based on their qualifying efforts.
Donald McIntosh won out in the first heat race of the evening as he beat Michael Page, Robby Moses and Kenny Collins to the finish line. Overton bested Heath Hindman, Austin Horton and J.T. Seawright to take the second preliminary of the night.
John Ownbey outran David Payne, Dusty Carver and Jake Knowles to the checkered flag in the third head while Ricky Weiss beat Riley Hickman, Will Roland and Ryan King in the final heat.
Buckingham immediately took the lead when the green flag waved over the main event with Hill, Page, McIntosh and Ownbey trailing after the initial circuit. Hill made a bid for the top spot during the second lap but was held back by Buckingham. Meanwhile, McIntosh moved forward quickly as he bolted from his fifth starting position to take third on lap three.
Just behind the top-5 runners, Weiss looked to carry the momentum from his recent Spring National win in Crossville forward as he began working on Ownbey for fifth on the fourth lap with Overton lurking just behind that battle.
The first caution flag of the race came out on lap 10 when Hickman spun in turn four. On that ensuing restart, McIntosh claimed the runner-up spot as he bolted around Hill. Overton also continued his move forward as he slid past Ownbey and Weiss to take fourth.
Overton was not finished at that point. He slipped by Hill to take third on lap 12 then closed in on the lead duo of Buckingham and McIntosh. Those three cars ran in tight formation as each searched for the line on the track that suit his car best. At times, the cars looked to be three abreast as each found a slightly different groove.
At the race’s halfway point, Overton moved by McIntosh to grab second then set his sight on the lead machine of Buckngham, who had very noticeable damage to the right rear of his car after an early brush with the wall. Just one lap seizing second, Overton went after Buckingham for the race lead and got it.
Two laps later, McIntosh would get around Buckingham for second. However, the move came too late as Overton had already opened up an advantage of three or four car lengths in a race that would not see another yellow flag wave.
Behind the front runners there was still plenty left to be settled. Page took the fourth position away from Hill on lap 27 and then moved by Buckingham for third on lap 30. However, Page’s night would be ruined as he suffered mechanical issues on the final lap that allowed several cars to move by. Weiss continued his march forward as well when he passed Hill for fourth on lap 34.
But in the end, it was Overton who would celebrate in victory lane with his crew.
Feature Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Donald McIntosh, 3. Shanon Buckingham, 4. Ricky Weiss, 5. David Payne, 6. John Ownbey, 7. Vic Hill, 8 Jason Croft. 9. Michael Page, 10. Brandon Kinzer, 11. Will Roland, 12. Ryan King, 13. Kenny Collins, 14. Heath Hindman, 15 Dusty Carver, 16. Robby Moses, 17. J.T. Seawright, 18. Michael Chilton, 19. Austin Horton, 20. Billy Ogle, Jr., 21. Riley Hickman, 22. Jake Knowles
Overton and crew in victory lane
