Mike Marlar picked up his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season on Feb. 24 at Georgia’s Golden isles Speedway. The series will visit the Brownstown Speedway on March 23 for the Indiana Icebreaker, paying $15,000 to win.
Submitted photo
Mike Marlar picked up his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season on Feb. 24 at the Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Georgia, when he brought home the victory in the #Deuceswild. Marlar earned $20,000 out of the $80,000 feature purse to become the ninth different winner in 13 LOLMDS races in 2024.
Marlar led 48 of the 50 laps to earn his 22nd career win with the LOLMDS. The only other drivers to lead laps during the main event were Brandon Sheppard and Chris Madden, who finished second and third to round out the Big River Steel Podium. Brandon Overton was fourth, with Jonathan Davenport rounding out the top five drivers.
Marlar, the only driver to win the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals three times got his first win at Golden Isles by one second over Sheppard at the finish. Marlar’s last Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series win was last September at Brownstown Speedway, when he won the C.J. Rayburn Memorial Race. Brownstown will host the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on March 23 for the Indiana Icebreaker, paying $15,000 to win.
“It was no walk in the park. There was a whole lot more to it than that. These guys are really tough. Shep pretty well about had me passed at one end I guess, and I was lucky to get back by him. These are some of the best racers I feel like with the stiffest competition there are down here. I am happy to win against them that’s for sure,” the Winfield, Tennessee, native said.
There was track prep work done before the feature after a caution-free High Limit Sprint Car feature won by Jacob Allen and Marlar was asked about how it changed his strategy for the feature.
“It will mess with you a little bit you know, you made your changes, and you really don’t know what the track will do,” he said. “I am glad they worked on it because it really needed it. I was just confident in my set-up. I kind of stayed where I planned on being before the track prep and it worked out really good. Winning a race at this level is basically a night of all good decisions on the track and off the track.”
Sheppard, who won his first heat race during Speedweeks earlier in the night battled with Marlar as the two went back-and-forth just past the halfway mark. Sheppard was credited with leading Lap 28 before Marlar seized control of the top spot a lap later. Completing the top 10 were Garrett Alberson, Hudson O’Neal, Daulton Wilson, Kyle Larson and Wil Herrington.
Allen wins High Limit race
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Sprint Car fan, Late Model fan or NASCAR fan, you had to enjoy the Feb. 24 High Limit Racing A-Main at Golden Isles Speedway.
In a non-stop 25-lapper that took 6 minutes and 37 seconds, Jacob Allen outran Tyler Courtney and Justin Peck after multiple lead changes through lapped traffic to score a $20,000 payday in the Deuces Wild finale.
Starting from the pole and chasing his third-straight High Limit Racing win, many considered “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney to be the heavy favorite when the lineup dropped, but the dynamic quickly changed when the green flag flew as third-starting Allen and second-starting Peck both drove by him on Lap 1.
What ensued was a 25-lap game of cat and mouse as the trio of High Limit full-timers chases each other through traffic all while battling a technical 4/10-mile surface at Golden Isles Speedway. Officially, Allen led the opening 10 laps with Peck controlling Laps 11-19, and Allen getting back by him to lead Laps 20-25 as the Shark Racing pilot and son of National Sprint Car Hall of Famer, Bobby Allen, earned his first-career High Limit Racing victory to the tune of a cool $20,000. Fans at the track and at-home watching on FloRacing rejoiced as any Allen win is always a popular one.
Courtney’s hat trick fell one spot short as the Clauson-Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #7BC finished P2 at the checkered flag for an $8,000 runner-up. He’ll enjoy the month-off in March with an 18-point lead in the High Limit Racing championship.
After a rough go in the season-opening show at East Bay Raceway Park, Justin Peck recovered nicely with back-to-back podium finishes at Golden Isles Speedway. The Buch Motorsports #13 finished P3 both nights and has now found his way into the top-10 of the point standings.
Rico Abreu earned his season-best finish with a P4 result for the #24, while Spencer Bayston made it 4 for 4 top-10 runs and back-to-back top-five finishes for the CJB Motorsports #5.
Seavey to run late model
VG Performance is proud to announce a partnership with Logan Seavey and Chris Bragg Racing, a venture that’ll equip Seavey to run three upcoming Dirt Late Model events and potentially more races in the discipline down the road.
Seavey, who has an extensive open-wheel background and most recently won his second straight Chili Bowl Nationals in January, will be making his Dirt Late Model debut in a No. 51 Longhorn Chassis owned by Bragg on May 8 at Spoon River Speedway in Lewistown, Illinois, as part of Castrol FloRacing Night in America.
Additional races on May 9 at Lincoln (Illinois) Raceway and May 12 at Brownstown Speedway — both also with the Castrol FloRacing Series — are on Seavey’s initial Dirt Late Model schedule.
Professionally operating under the VG Performance brand as a consultant, Vinny Guliani is honored to provide engineering support to get Seavey up to speed. Braggs’ son Tyler will serve as crew chief.
Seavey’s first on-track action in the Longhorn and Bilstein-powered No. 51 will come during an April 2-3 test session at Rocket Raceway Park in Petty, Texas, a high-banked 3/8-mile oval nearby Braggs’ race shop in Springtown.
“We’re going to give him every possible opportunity to succeed,” Guliani said. “We’ll present to the racetrack the absolute fastest car we can build. We have the full support of the factories — Longhorn and Bilstein.”
Guliani has decades of experience in the Dirt Late Model industry, having worked with drivers Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton and more. This year, Guliani has had a hand in four total victories consulting for Devin Moran and Cade Dillard. Garrett Alberson, another VG Performance client, is also off to a formidable start on the Lucas Oil Series.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
