Cody Overton earned his first Super Late Model win at Lavonia
Cody Overton came into Friday night’s Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series event at Lavonia Speedway but left that facility with a winner’s trophy. The brother of Dirt Late Model superstar Brandon Overton led all the way on his way to victory.
Weather and scheduling conflicts had kept the winter mini-series off track since December but the racing action heated up on this the first of two nights at the 3/8 mile clay oval located in Lavonia, Georgia facility. Overton who pilots a Rocket Chassis hails from Evans, Georgia. He earned $5,000 for his efforts in a race shown live by DirtVision.com.
A total 22 cars were signed in for competition.
Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Watkins(16.201), 2. Dalton Cook, 3. Payton Freeman, 4. Carson Ferguson, 5. Brent Dixon, 6. Pearson Lee Williams, 7. John Henderson, 8. Daulton Wilson, 9. Adam Yarbrough, 10. Ross Bailes
Heat 1 Finish(All transfer): 1. Carson Ferguson, 2. Ben Watkins, 3. Ross Bailes, 4. John Henderson, 5. Kenny Collins, 6. Corey Roulette, 7. David Yandle, 8. Jordy Nipper
Heat 2 Finish: 1. Dalton Cook, 2. Cody Overton, 3. Daulton Wilson, 4. Brent Dixon, 5. Cory Lawler, 6. Ethan Wilson, 7. Will Harris
Heat 3 Finish: 1. Pearson Lee Williams, 2. Payton Freeman, 3. Adam Yarbrough, 4. Anthony Sanders, 5. Cla Knight, 6. Eli Beets, 7. Tim Vance
Xtreme DIRTcar Redraw: 1. Cook, 2. Overton, 3. Freeman, 4. Ferguson, 5. Williams, 6. Watkins
Feature Account: When the 40-lap feature took the green flag it was Overton who shot to the lead with Cook, Watkins, Freeman and Ferguson trailing. The top-2 of Overton and Cook broke away from a tight battle for positions 3-5 involving Watkins, Freeman and Ferguson.
Ferguson moved around Freeman for fourth on the lap 4. Soon after, the top-5 of Overton, Cook, Watkins, Ferguson and Freeman fell into single-file formation. The leaders began to encounter slower traffic on lap 18 in a race that ran its first half caution free.
Ferguson began to offer a challenge to Watkins for the third spot as the cars raced in traffic just after halfway the No. 16 was able to hold the No. 93 off. Up front, Overton was able to pick his way through the slower cars and maintain separation between himself and Cook.
As the laps clicked away, Cook and Watkins closed in on the race leader. The three machines ran in tight formation free of lapped traffic. Watkins got inside of Cook for second with two laps remaining but was unable to take the position.
But in the end, it was Cody Overton who would sail under the checkered flag to claim his first career Super Late Model victory.
“The is is awesome,” Overton declared in his victory lane interview with DirtVision.com. “I’ve dreamed of winning a Super race, especially at a place I’ve raced at a long time. Man, I love this place. I don’t really know what to say. I feel like I had this whole place on my side tonight and that’s what it takes.”
The younger Overton then paid tribute to his brother.
“I went to SpeedWeeks and I was really doubting myself,” the driver admitted. “I thought I don’t have it in me. I watch my brother do this every weekend and he kills them. He’s just good the way he is. It’s tough, racing with all these guys. None of these guys here are slouches. I believe any one of them can win right now. This is really hard to get, right here.”
Feature Finish: 1. Cody Overton, 2. Dalton Cook, 3. Ben Watkins, 4. Carson Ferguson, 5. Payton Freeman, 6. Pearson Lee Williams, 7. Daulton Wilson, 8. Ross Bailes, 9. John Henderson, 10. Kenny Collins, 11. Brent Dixon, 12. Anthony Sanders, 13. Ethan Wilson, 14. Cla Knight, 15. Adam Yarbrough, 16. Cory Lawler, 17. Will Harris, 18. Corey Roulette, 19. Tim Vance, 20. Jordy Nipper, 21. David Yandle, 22. Eli Beets
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