InsideDirtRacing.com will be providing live updates from the Southern All-Stars-sanctioned Ginger Owens Memorial March Madness $20,000-to-win event at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC on Sunday, March 5, 2023. These updates will be provided by Richard Allen(@RichardAllenIDR on Twitter and @RichardAllenIDR on Instagram).
Weather Forecast: Highs in the 60s and with no chance for rain.
Time: Hot laps are set for 12:45pm.
Feature Payout: $20,000-to-win(50 laps)
Track Description: 4/10 mile mile clay oval
Other Classes: 604 Late Models, Street Stocks, Sportsman, Thunder Bomber
Live Stream: raceXR.plus
Pre-race Notes:
The purse for this race has been increased from its usual $10,000-to-win to $20,000.
Chris Madden won this race in 2022.
Ross Bailes won the Southern All-Stars opener at Screven Motor Speedway.
12:30- Drivers meeting about to begin.
12:45- Hot laps for all classes will begin soon.
2:10- Opening ceremonies are complete. Qualifying will be up soon.
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Live Updates:
Car Count: 29 cars
Drivers Here: B00- Josh Henry, 2- Dennis Franklin, 2k- Austin Kirkpatrick, 2x- John Henderson, P4- John Price, 6- Dillon Brown, 8. Kyle Strickler, 17- Billy Franklin, 18D- Daulton Wilson, 19R- Ryan Gustin, 20- Jimmy Owens, 20H- Bryson Harper, 22- Chris Ferguson, 24D- Michael Brown, 42- Cla Knight, 44- Chris Madden, 55- Benji Hicks, 57- Zack Mitchell, 70- Jeff Smith, x75- Dan Cox, 76- Brandon Overton, 79- Ross Bailes, 88- Trent Ivey, 89- Logan Roberson, 93- Carson Ferguson, 157- Mike Marlar, 174- Ethan Dotson, 421- Anthony Sanders, XJR- Caleb Gay
*Driver list is incomplete and unofficial until after the drivers meeting.
Qualifying Results: There will be two qualifying groups. The top-4 will transfer to the feature.
Group A Results- 1. Michael Brown(15.994), 2. Brandon Overton, 3. Chris Ferguson, 4. Chris Madden, 5. Kyle Strickler, 6. Carson Ferguson, 7. John Henderson, 8. Jeff Smith
Group B Results – 1. Mike Marlar(15.703), 2. Zack Mitchell, 3. Dillon Brown, 4. Trent Ivey, 5. Logan Roberson, 6. Jimmy Owens, 7. Austin Kirkpatrick, 8. Cla Knight
Heat Race Results: There will be four heat races with the top-4 from each transferring to the feature.
Heat 1 Lineup – 1. M Brown, 2. Ch Ferguson, 3. Strickler, 4. Henderson, 5. Harper, 6. Dotson, 7. Gustin, 8. Gay
Heat 1 Finish– 1. M Brown, 2. Ch Ferguson, 3. Strickler, 4. Dotson… Harper, Henderson, Gay, Gustin
Heat 2 Lineup- 1. Marlar, 2. D Brown, 3. Roberson, 4. Kirkpatrick, 5. Bailes, 6. B Franklin, 7. Cox
Heat 2 Finish– 1. Marlar, 2. Roberson, 3. Kirkpatrick, 4. D Brown… Bailes, B Franklin, Cox
Heat 3 Lineup- Overton, 2. Madden, 3. Ca Ferguson, 4. Smith, 5. Sanders, 6. Henry, 7. D Franklin
Heat 3 Finish– 1. Madden, 2. Overton, 3. Ca Ferguson, 4. J Smith… Sanders, Henry, D Franklin
Heat 4 Lineup- 1. Mitchell, 2. Ivey, 3. Owens, 4. Knight, 5. Hicks, 6. Wilson, 7. Price
Heat 4 Finish– 1. Ivey, 2. Mitchell, 3. Knight, 4. Owens… Hicks, Wilson, Price
B-main Results: There will be no B-main. All 29 cars will start the feature.
Feature Notes:
Feature Lineup – 1. M Brown, 2. Marlar, 3. Madden, 4. Ivey, 5. Ch Ferguson, 6. Roberson, 7. Overton, 8. Mitchell, 9. Strickler, 10. Kirkpatrick, 11. Ca Ferguson, 12. Knight, 13. Dotson, 14. D Brown, 15. J Smith, 16. Owens, 17. Harper, 18. Bailes, 19. Sanders, 20. Hicks, 21. Henderson, 22. B Franklin, 23. Henry, 24. Wilson, 25. Gay, 26. Cox, 27. D Franklin, 28. Price, 29. Gustin
5:35- A little track prep then the $20,000-to-win Southern All Stars feature.
5:50- Feature rolling out. 50 laps for $20,000.
5:56- Four wide!
5:59- Green flag!
Lap 10- Marlar leads Brown, Madden, Ivey, Ch Ferguson, Overton
Lap 12 caution – Price has a flat tire. Marlar leads M Brown, Madden, Ivey, Ch Ferguson, Overton, Mitchell, Roberson, Strickler, Dotson
Lap 13 caution for slowing Benji Hicks. Running order same as above except Owens is now 10th.
Southern All Stars uses true double file restarts rather than Delaware double file.
Halfway – Marlar leads M Brown, Madden, Ferguson, Overton. Top-3 are tight.
Lap 29 caution for Henry. Had been a good battle between Marlar, M Brown and Madden at the front. Ch Ferguson, Overton, Ivey, Mitchell, Strickler, Roberson and Ca Ferguson are 4-10.
Lap 33 caution for flat tire on Jeff Smith. Still Marlar leads M Brown, Madden, Overton, Ferguson, Ivey.
Tires are always a factor at Cherokee.
Lap 34 caution for Dotson
Lap 35 caution for flat tire on Mitchell. Marlar leads M Brown, Madden, Overton, Ch Ferguson, Ivey, Strickler, Ca Ferguson
Ivey crashes on the lap 35 restart. He pulls away but will retire from the race.
Correction – Ivey puts his helmet back on and rejoins the field.
Strickler has a flat under caution.
On the restart Madden and Overton came together. Both cars damaged enough to leave the race. They then went to the outside pit area and got into a tussle.
Leader Marlar has a flat under caution. He exits the race. M Brown now leads Ch Ferguson, Ca Ferguson and Bailes.
Leader M Brown has a flat on the restart. Ch Ferguson leads Ca Ferguson and Bailes.
10 to go- Ch Ferguson leads Ca Ferguson, Wilson, Bailes, Knight
Lap 47 caution for the 5th running car of Knight. Ch Ferguson leads Ca Ferguson, Wilson, Bailes
4th running Bailes comes to the pit area under caution.
Hard crash involving Roberson and Wilson. Both drivers appear to be okay.
Feature Results: 1. Chris Ferguson, 2. Carson Ferguson, 3. Caleb Gay, 4. Dillon Brown, 5. Ryan Gustin, 6. Kyle Strickler, 7. Logan Roberson, 8. Trent Ivey, 9. John Henderson, 10. Ross Bailes, 11. Michael Brown, 12. Bryson Harper, 13. Billy Franklin, 14. Benji Hicks, 15. Daulton Wilson, 16. Cla Knight, 17. Jimmy Owens, 18. Mike Marlar, 19. Chris Madden, 20. Brandon Overton
Chris Madden is always a contender at Cherokee
