Brandon Overton won his third straight Dirt Late Model Dream race at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway on Wednesday.
Submitted photo
Brandon Overton thought he was destined to finish second Wednesday night during the 28th Dirt Late Model Dream at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, after waiting more than two months to finish the postponed race.
As Lap 90 clicked off the scoreboard in “The Dream,” he was running out of time to catch Chris Madden. However, his fortune changed when a caution brought the field together on Lap 91.
The Evans, Georgia driver, seized his opportunity on the restart, charging past Madden and holding on to earn his third consecutive Dirt Late Model Dream — this one worth $128,000.
Overton stated that without the yellow, Madden would’ve won the race. However, he used a lesson from his past at Eldora to gain the upper hand on the restart.
“I shouldn’t have won that race,” Overton said. “I probably had a second-place car, but I got a couple of guardian angels riding on this thing with me.
“All I was thinking is, I forgot which one it was when I was leading, and I chose the bottom, and he blew around me on the top. So, when he chose the bottom, I was kind of grinning, and I didn’t want to jinx it, and I drove it down in there and knew I had him clear, so I just let ‘er rip.”
Overton is now the second driver to win “The Dream” more than twice, joining eight-time winner Scott Bloomquist on that list. He remained just as satisfied with his third “Dream” win as he was with his first once he learned of the statistic in Victory Lane.
“Like I said the first time I won, if I don’t ever win another one, I did more than I’d thought I’d do,” Overton said. “It’s a good start to the week; let’s keep it rolling.”
The race resumed on Lap 15 Wednesday after being postponed due to rain, with 14 laps completed in June. Madden led all 14 laps at the beginning of the event and had to wait 88 days to see the green flag again at “The House that Earl Built.”
He settled for second, again falling short of his first Eldora crown jewel triumph.
Madden, who also finished second in the Eldora Million, said he knew his lead was in jeopardy when the caution for Bobby Pierce and Devin Moran came out with nine laps left.
“We were fine as long as we didn’t have a caution,” Madden said. “I knew if we had a caution, we were in trouble. We were down a cylinder. We had a plug wire fall off with probably 25 (laps) to go, and we were just on seven cylinders putt-putting around.”
Tim McCreadie finished third, his sixth top five in “The Dream.” Eldora Million winner Jonathan Davenport finished fourth after restarting 20th.
Davenport charged into the top five and stated if he got around Brandon Sheppard sooner, it might have changed the race’s outcome.
Sheppard, the 2019 Dirt Late Model Dream winner, rounded out the top five. He charged from 14th but said his tires were too hot when he tried to pass McCreadie.
Before the conclusion of “The Dream,” drivers who hadn’t won a race at Eldora had their chance to reach the iconic Victory Lane stage for the first time.
Ryan Gustin, Mike Marlar, and Daulton Wilson each scored $5,000 “Chasing the Dream” victories, giving them momentum for the 52nd World 100.
Tonight at Eldora will be the 52nd Annual World 100 for late models, paying $55,000 to win. For ticket information, go to eldoraspeedway.com. The racing action will be live on FloRacing.
Brownstown rained out
The races scheduled for Sept. 3 at Brownstown Speedway were rained out. The track will idle tonight. The next scheduled race will be Sept. 17 with the pro late models, super stocks, pure
stocks, hornets and crown vics. For more info, visit brownstownspeedway.com
Lawrenceburg rained out
The Dick Gaines Memorial that was re-scheduled for Sept. 3 at Lawrenceburg Speedway was rained out again. The track will be off tonight. The next race at Lawrenceburg is set for Sept. 17.
Columbus go-karts rained out
The events scheduled for Sept. 3 at Tony Stewart Speedway for the Columbus Speedway Go-Kart Racing were rained out. The next scheduled event is for Friday at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.
The current points leaders in their respective divisions are Bentley McCann (rookies), Jake Hudak (junior 1), Jacob Chadd (junior 2), Blake Robertson (junior 3), Grant Hiler (medium and heavy), Mike Sullivan (super heavy) and Troy Cowan (pred).
Former racer passes away
Woody Smith of Little York a former late model racer at Brownstown Speedway, passed away on Aug. 20. He was 87.
Smith started his racing career in the mid 1950s, but sat out several years before returning to the cockpit in 1972, racing almost exclusively at Brownstown. Smith had one of the fastest cars of his era, but he never won a feature race at Brownstown. He finished second on four different occasions (three times to Jim Curry and once to Don Hobbs) during his career. His best points standings finish was in 1973, when he finished in third place.
Smith drove a 1964 Chevelle with a 454-cubic-inch motor that after the 1974 season he sold to Paul Crockett. The car became one of the winningest in Brownstown Speedway history, with Crockett winning 18 features alone at Brownstown in 1975 and 1976 capturing the track championships both years in the same car. The car was later totaled in an accident at Bloomington Speedway in late 1976.
Smith returned briefly during the 1983 season, but retired from driving soon after. His son-in-law Tommy Fleenor and grandson Dalton Fleenor both race at Brownstown in the pure stock and super stock divisions respectfully.
This week in racing history
From 50 years ago this weekend at Brownstown, Ira Bastin won the late model feature over Jim Curry and Kenny Simpson.
Also from this weekend in 1972 at Twin Cities, Mike Stewart won the feature race over Leo Boner, Bill Smith, Ron Clark and Dee Kramer.
From 50 years ago at Haubstadt, Mike Johnson won the sprint car feature over Snooky Bullock, Tony Solomito, Jim Hirsch and Leon Thickstun. Jack Owens won the late model feature over Ira Bastin, W.T. Harris, Don Turpen and Charlie Mounce.
Also from 1972 at Paragon, Bobby Black won the sprint car feature over Rex Mitchell, Mike Johnson, Don Baker and Chet Johnson. Slim Simpson won the stock car feature over Henry Landcaster, Clyde Harris, Horace Lake and Paul Hobbs.
From 40 years ago in 1982 at Twin Cities, Lee Fleetwood won the limited late model feature over Steve Boley, Gregg Lyle, Chuck Gilpin and Ronnie Sipes. Bill Franks won the street stock main event over Bob Johnson, Don Walp, Phil Fultz and R.C. Calton.
From 30 years ago in 1992 at Bloomington, Kevin Thomas won the Sheldon Kinser Memorial for sprint cars over Tray House, Jon Stanbrough and Dave Darland. Scott Patman won the street stock feature over Adam Sasser, Danny Carmichael and Cale Kern.
Also from 1992, Ray Godsey won the late model feature at the Martin County Speedway in Loogootee over Dan Sturgeon, Brad Cummings, David Hill and Barry Gerkin. Denny Campbell won the street stock feature over Joe Lucas, Albert Webb Jr., Wally Moses and Danny Carmichael. Dwayne Klem won the bomber feature over Todd Kempf, Randy Wininger, Rick McCormick and Danny Ashby.
From 20 years ago in 2002 at Twin Cities Mark Frazier won the UMRA Midget feature over Travis Stickels, Terry Goff, Mike Smith and Gregg Cory.
Also from 2002 at Lawrenceburg, Troy Link won the sprint car feature over Jason Knoke, J.D. Turner, Brandon Petty, and Kevin Briscoe. Mike Marlar won the modified special over Randy Petro, Tim Littrell, Joey Kramer and John DeMoss.
From 2002 at Brownstown, Jimmy Owens won the modified special over Mike Marlar, Earl Plessinger, Matt Boknecht and Brad Erwin. Mike Fields took the super stock special over Jay Deckard, Tim Clark, Lee Hobbs and Keith Deppe.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
