There have been two Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals features contested so far in the 2020 version of the midsummer mini-series, and to the surprise of very few, those two races have been won by Chris Madden and Brandon Overton. This is not to say that there aren’t other drivers on this series who are capable of winning races and even the championship, but these two racers are each former champions and both rank highly among the all-time winners in SoNats competition.
With two drivers who, over the past 12 months, have spent time at or near the top of the DirtonDirt.com Top-25 rankings starting off the twelve-race tour first and second in the standings, the prospect of a showdown seems both likely and intriguing.
Chris Madden in the Millwood Motorsports Rocket
The 45-year-old Madden entered the Southern Nationals with a new ride as he has just taken the reins of a Rocket Chassis provided by Millwood Motorsports after having recently parted ways with Scott Bloomquist Racing. It was in the second half of the 2019 season when he went on a tear that placed him at the top of the rankings and the top of the Dirt Late Model racing world.
The 29-year-old Overton has won ten features so far in 2020 while driving a Longhorn Chassis for Wells Motorsports. As a result of those early season victories, he has been rated among the top-four drivers in the country virtually all season. In 2019, he won the Southern Nationals title while piloting the Rum Runner Racing car owned by former NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck series driver Joey Coulter.
Brandon Overton in his Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis
Madden earned $10,053 for winning the first Southern Nationals event of the 16-day span on Friday night when he beat the pack to the finish line in Maryville, Tenn. at the Smoky Mountain Speedway. After starting fifth, the Gray Court, SC driver put his No. 44 machine on the point with a lap 9 pass of Ross Bailes then held the top spot for the remainder of the feature to score the win.
Overton did not fare well in his heat race at Smoky Mountain and had to start 17th after winning a B-main. However, the No. 76 went on a determined charge that eventually ended in a fourth place finish.
After winning his heat race on Saturday night at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, VA, Madden went to the early lead in the race and stayed there for the first 20 laps of the 53-lap affair. At that point, however, Overton charged forward from his fifth starting spot to grab the lead away. From there, the Evans, GA driver would go on to claim the $10,053 win although Madden was able to briefly pull alongside as the cars raced through the final turn on their way to the checkered flag.
After a day off on Sunday, the series heads into the grind of weekday racing and travel over the course of the next several days with events slated for Tennessee’s Volunteer Speedway and I-75 Raceway then on to Georgia for events at Senoia Raceway and Needmore Speedway.
Perhaps those upcoming events will determine if this potential showdown between these two highly skilled and competitive racers will come to fruition. Or, can another competitor emerge to challenge the leading duo?
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