Brandon Overton
Brandon Overton has just completed one of the most remarkable feats in the history of Dirt Late Model racing. In an unprecedented move, the Eldora Speedway hosted its most lucrative event twice within the space of four days. Following the postponement of the 2020 version of the Dirt Late Model Dream because of the coronavirus pandemic, the famed track opted to host both the 26th and the 27th running of that race over that short span of time.
Overton went on an amazing tear that saw him win one of the $10,000 preliminary features on Wednesday night then follow that up with a $127,000 victory on Thursday in what was considered the 27th Dirt Late Model Dream. The Evans, GA native then repeated the process by winning another $10,000 feature on Friday and then what was labeled as the 26th DLM Dream on Saturday.
However, the results of Saturday’s race will not be counted as official until sometime around noon on Sunday.
During the drivers meeting on Friday, DIRTcar officials(who oversee the major events at Eldora) announced that they would impound the top-3 cars following Saturday’s event and would do a thorough teardown that could take hours to complete. The teardown will be overseen by World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series official Kenny Kenneda.
Complete post-race teardowns are somewhat rare in Dirt Late Model racing. Often times, weighing of the car and perhaps taking a tire sample to be sent to a laboratory in search of unapproved additives being applied to the rubber typically constitutes the technical inspection process of winning cars in this form of racing. However, with rumors regarding the use of traction control being used by some teams circulating through the Eldora pit area, officials decided to make the move.
That then begs the question of, what if Overton’s race winning car is found to be outside the rules?
The first and most obvious answer would be that Overton and his Wells Motorsports team would have to be disqualified from their Saturday night win. But that leads to the next question of, would the No. 76 continue to be listed as the winner of Thursday’s feature since no inspection was done at that time?
Perhaps a bigger question could be that of what becomes of the story of this race. As stated earlier, Overton’s complete sweep of the week might very well be the biggest story ever in the history of this Dirt Late Model racing. What damage would be done if that story is replaced by the narrative of a dominating team cheating?
Does the sport really need its biggest story of the season, or for that matter several seasons, to be replaced by a cheating scandal? That is not to say that officials shouldn’t do their job and that teams shouldn’t play by the rules. It is more to say that such a story would cause an unneeded black eye.
In some ways the impound procedure imitates that of pavement Super Late Model racing’s biggest event – the Snowball Derby. That race is held each year at the Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL. That track is known for its infamous ‘Room of Doom’ in which race winners such as Stephen Nasse in 2019 have been disqualified following the race. As a matter of fact, three apparent Snowball Derby winners have been disqualified over the past 12 years.
And while a similar scenario may not be one welcomed by many Dirt Late Model fans, there would be the knowledge by all competitors going forward that the rules are to be taken seriously, particularly in the crown jewel events.
On the other hand, if Overton’s car is found to be within the rules, it would provide the reassurance to officials, competitors, and fans alike that the remarkable wins were legitimate.
With a full day of warning, it would seem logical to think that teams would not be so careless as to use something they know is going to looked for in a thorough post-race inspection. Overton said as much in his interview following the historic victory.
“I wanted to win that race because I’m ready for them to tear this thing down,” the victor insisted. “I want them to find that traction control so we can get paid,” he added with a bit of sarcasm.
As stated earlier, a huge story is going to come out of this weekend at Eldora. It will either be that one driver completed the most remarkable four-day run in the history of the sport legally. Or, it will be that the winner of the most lucrative pair of races ever run on the same weekend was disqualified.
And possibly, it could set off a new way of conducting post-race business at the major races.
Either way, InsideDirtRacing.com will be following the outcome and will report it here.
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