Login |
forgot?
Watch LIVE at | Events | FAQ | Archives
Sponsor 930
Sponsor 717

DirtonDirt.com

All Late Models. All the Time.

Your soruce for dirt late model news, photos and video

  • Join us on Twitter Join us on Facebook
Sponsor 525

Daily Dirt 03/29/2024 08:14:38

Sponsor 743
September 30
Duck River Raceway Park,
Wheel, TN
Sanction: Unsanctioned special events (Deep Fried 75) - $14,000
Information provided by: Robert Holman (last updated October 2, 3:52 pm)
Overton leaves Duck River foes extra crispy
Deep Fried 75
  1. Brandon Overton
  2. Tyler Erb
  3. Dane Dacus
  4. Jason Jameson
  5. Frank Heckenast Jr.
  6. Riley Hickman
  7. Billy Moyer Jr.
  8. Jadon Frame
  9. Vic Hill
  10. Brent Larson
  11. Joey Coulter
  12. Brad Skinner
  13. Jay Scott
  14. Hunter Rasdon
  15. J.T. Seawright
  16. Christian Hanger
  17. Mitch Thornton
  18. Scott Cook
  19. Eric Hickerson
  20. Josh Putnam
  21. David Seibers
  22. Oakley Johns
  23. Clint Nichols
  24. Daniel Miller
presented by
Connie Putnam/photobyconnie.com
Brandon Overton picked up a $14,000 check at Duck River.
What won the race: Leading flag-to-flag, Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., dominated the sixth annual Deep Fried 75. Overton took the checkers 1.303 seconds ahead of runner up Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas. Polesitter Dane Dacus of Lakeland, Tenn., finished third. Overton earned $14,000 for the win.
Key notes: Seventeen of the 24 starters finished the race, with nine completing all 75 circuits. ... Overton is the sixth different winner of the event. Previous winners include Vic Hill, Josh Putnam, Riley Hickman, Frank Heckenast Jr. and Moyer Moyer. ... Sam Seawright of Fort Payne, Ala., outran Riley Hickman of Ooltewah, Tenn., to win Friday's Crate Late Model race. Seawright earned $1,200. ... Christian Hanger of Winchester, Tenn., won Saturday’s Limited Late Model feature, collecting $1,200.
On the move: Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., started 14th and finished fifth.
Winner's sponsors: Overton’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by an Andy Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Outlaw Racing Southeast, Stone Land Clearing and Excavating, A.F. Stone Professional Medical Services, Mission Transport, CrossFit Overton, JRi Shocks and The Bailey Company.
Points chase: David Seibers of Chapel Hill, Tenn., is the 2017 track champion.
Car count: 30
Fast qualifier: Dane Dacus
Time: 11.902 seconds
Polesitter: Dane Dacus
Heat race winners: Dane Dacus, Brandon Overton, Riley Hickman
Consolation race winners: Christian Hanger
Editor's note: Fixes spelling of Jason Jameson's last name.
By Robert Holman
DirtonDirt.com weekend editor

WHEEL, Tenn. (Sept. 30) — On paper, starting on the front row and leading all 75 laps for a flag-to-flag victory may seem a little easier than having to use a daring slide job late in a race to grab a win after starting on the eighth row.

It even sounds easier. But when comparing the two, Brandon Overton is quick to point out the difference, and that leading-the-full-distance isn’t quite as easy as it may seem. Of course, after thoroughly whipping his fellow competitors at Duck River Raceway Park for his second straight five-figure payday, he may have a hard time convincing anyone.

Overton, of Evans, Ga., dominated Saturday’s Deep Fried 75. Clearly the class of the field, Overton sailed around the quarter-mile bullring with ease, lapping over half the field before the lone caution appeared on lap 39. Overton finished 1.303 seconds ahead of eighth-starting Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, while polesitter Dane Dacus of Lakeland, Tenn., finished third. Fifth-starting Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and 2015 race winner Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., who started 14th, completed the top five.

“They told us up there at the drivers' meeting no signals, no sticks, none of that stuff, so I didn’t know if I was far ahead or not,” Overton said. “When I seen the caution, at least I could tell. You know the car felt good, but sometimes you don’t ever know. You don’t know who’s on the top, who’s on the bottom. At least when the caution come out, I knew I was OK.”

Overton’s $14,000 winner’s haul comes on the heels of his $20,000 windfall at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., just a week earlier. At Magnolia, however, Overton raced his way into the lead after starting 16th, a feat he said isn’t always as difficult as leading every lap.

“It’s definitely harder being out front because you don’t know how hard to push it, especially when they don’t let you have no signals or nothing,” he said. “That’s really nerve-wracking in there. At Magnolia, I could judge off everybody. I was sitting there watching people. I was reeling them in and I wasn’t driving (hard) so I knew I was in the clear there. That’s way easier. You can sit there and judge the car in front of you.

“But when you ain’t got nobody to judge and all you’re judging off of is the lapped traffic, that don’t really tell you anything. Especially when I kept looking at that (scoreboard) and I could see everybody else swapping around from second on back. I could see Dacus fell back to fourth or fifth maybe one time, so I knew they were still racing, so I didn’t know how far (ahead) I was or where they were at. So it’s definitely way easier to be behind than it is to be out front just setting a pace.”

Overton made it look easy nonetheless. Blasting into the lead from outside of the front row, he pulled ahead of Dacus and held a two car length advantage by the time they reached turn three. Reaching lapped traffic on the ninth circuit, Overton continued to put distance between himself and Dacus, while Riley Hickman, Billy Moyer Jr. and Jameson battled behind them. Erb meanwhile began working his way forward from the fourth row, picking off one car at a time as he rotated around the hub.

“I didn’t just charge in there real hard the first couple of laps. I just slowly eased down to the bottom,” said Erb. “One lap I was right behind Vic (Hill) and I was pretty good on him, but everybody ahead of us was leaving us. Well, I ran in too hard once and turned underneath him in (turn) one and got like all four tires almost in the infield it felt like. Then I pulled up beside him and he kinda chopped me and I was like, well in the next corner I’ll do that again.

"I just moved down in (turns) one and two and I didn’t have to push my car really, really hard, but I could make up so much ground in turns one and two almost in the infield, right up against the skidder tires and I could pull even with them guys down the back straightaway. As long as they didn’t chop down too hard I could run in there enough to make spots.”

Erb said finding the extremely low line before those in front of him was the key to his runner-up finish.

“They would charge in so hard trying to get under these lapped cars, when they would slide out I would just slow down and park it as close to them tires as I could and I eased past them,” said Erb. “Then I looked up at the board when we got to second and it was only like lap 30. So I was like, 'This is pretty good,' but then I couldn’t even see Overton. He was three-quarters of a track ahead.”

Erb finally got his chance to see the back of Overton’s Randy Weaver-prepared Longhorn chassis when Brent Larson spun on the front stretch as Overton zipped by.

“On the restart I thought maybe I could drive up under Overton in turn one and two, but he was just better than I was,” said Erb. “He could use the whole race track and for like 50 laps I had to charge, squirt, stop, and my tires were killed. Starting eighth, I think it was pretty good, because I don’t think it was a whole lot of passing.”

Passing became even more difficult after the halfway mark. Overton pulled ahead of Erb by more than three seconds and quickly caught the tail of the field again, but rather than push the issue he opted to fall in line and ride out the final 15 laps.

“As soon as I got to that pack of cars, when I got behind (Brad) Skinner, I missed that rubber strip just a little bit. I just opened my entry just a little bit and he drug me,” said Overton. “He put like a car length or two on me. So I knew if I missed it just that little bit, if somebody tried to get a whole car width out of it, they wouldn’t be able to pass me. They had me worried at the end there because they started slowing up real bad getting in, but like I said, it would’ve been hard for somebody to (pass). Somebody would’ve had to have been up against the fence digging to drive around us.”

Deep Fried 75 lineup

Row 1: Dane Dacus, Brandon Overton
Row 2: Riley Hickman, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 3: Jason Jamison, Hunter Rasdon
Row 4: Vic Hill, Tyler Erb
Row 5: Eric Hickerson, Jadon Frame
Row 6: Brent Larson, Scott Cook
Row 7: J.T. Seawright, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 8: Josh Putnam, Brad Skinner
Row 9: Joey Coulter, Mitch Thornton
Row 10: Christian Hanger, David Seibers
Row 11: Jay Scott, Oakley Johns
Row 12: Daniel Miller, Clint Nichols

Pre-race notes

Polesitter Dane Dacus of Lakeland, Tenn., admitted he wasn’t sure what to expect when he took the track for his heat on Friday. “We were a little worried about (the track) after hot laps when they started working it right before qualifying, but it turned out really good,” Dacus said. “Bob’s crew did a good job so far. Hey, hopefully it continues to be this racy.” … Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., will start the A-main from the front row after winning the second heat. Overton said the main event could come down to car management. “Seventy-five laps is just a long time (at) a little short race track like this,” Overton said. “I guess just keep all the fenders on it and see what we’ve got there at the end. If we don’t win another race from here on out, it’s been a damn good year.” … Riley Hickman of Ooltewah, Tenn., the 2014 Deep Fried 75 winner, was happy with his Capitol Race Car after his heat victory Friday. “We’ve got a pretty good piece,” said Hickman. “Marshall (Green) and them guys over there have give us a really good race car here lately.” … After finishing fifth in the B-main, Daniel Miller of Lynchburg, Tenn., was happy to be in the main event considering the trouble he had during Friday’s prelims. A bracket on his front bumper broke during qualifying and folded the nose under his car. He then experienced steering problems in his heat, relegating the former track champ to a ninth starting spot in the B-main. … Jay Scott of Fayetteville, Tenn., had trouble in prelims on Friday as well, as he hooked a rut and hit the wall during qualifying. With no qualifying time, Scott started 10th in his heat and finished seventh, one spot short of transferring. He grabbed a starting spot in the feature after finishing third in the B-main in Anthony Bruce’s Black Diamond Chassis. … Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., and Kasey Hall of Geraldine, Ala., didn’t return on Saturday.

Consolation results

(Top six transfer): Christian Hanger, David Seibers, Jay Scott, Oakley Johns, Daniel Miller, Clint Nichols, Allen Murray, Justin Taylor, Greg Love, Donald Johns. Scratched: Billy Ogle Jr., Kasey Hall.

Saturday’s consolation lineup

(Top six transfer)
Row 1: Christian Hanger, David Seibers
Row 2: Jay Scott, Billy Ogle Jr.
Row 3: Oakley Johns, Clint Nichols
Row 4: Allen Murray, Donald Johns
Row 5: Daniel Miller, Justin Taylor
Row 6: Kasey Hall, Greg Love

Heat race results

First heat (top six transfer): Dane Dacus, Billy Moyer Jr., Vic Hill, Jadon Frame, J.T. Seawright, Brad Skinner, Christian Hanger, Billy Ogle Jr., Allen Murray, Justin Taylor.

Second heat (top six transfer): Brandon Overton, Jason Jameson, Tyler Erb, Brent Larson, Frank Heckenast Jr., Joey Coulter, David Seibers, Oakley Johns, Donald Johns. Scratched: Kasey Hall.

Third heat (top six transfer): Riley Hickman, Hunter Rasdon, Eric Hickerson, Scott Cook, Josh Putnam, Mitch Thornton, Jay Scott, Clint Nichols, Daniel Miller, Greg Love.

Heat race lineups

(12 laps; top six transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Dane Dacus, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 2: Vic Hill, Jadon Frame
Row 3: J.T. Seawright, Brad Skinner
Row 4: Allen Murray, Billy Ogle Jr.
Row 5: Christian Hanger, Justin Taylor
Second heat
Row 1: Brandon Overton, Tyler Erb
Row 2: Frank Heckenast Jr., Jason Jameson
Row 3: Brent Larson, Joey Coulter
Row 4: David Seibers, Oakley Johns
Row 5: Donald Johns, Kasey Hall
Third heat
Row 1: Riley Hickman, Scott Cook
Row 2: Eric Hickerson, Hunter Rasdon
Row 3: Josh Putnam, Clint Nichols
Row 4: Mitch Thornton, Greg Love
Row 5: Daniel Miller, Jay Scott

Qualifying results

Driver (car no.), hometown, time

  1. Dane Dacus (54), Lakeland, Tenn., 11.902
  2. Brandon Overton (116), Evans, Ga., 12.150
  3. Riley Hickman (1R), Ooltewah, Tenn., 12.160
  4. Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark., 12.183
  5. Tyler Erb (91), New Waverly, Texas, 12.232
  6. Scott Cook (13), Shelbyville, Tenn., 12.237
  7. Vic Hill (1), Morristown, Tenn., 12.242
  8. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99), Frankfort, Ill., 12.304
  9. Eric Hickerson (98), Linden, Tenn., 12.339
  10. Jadon Frame (8), Winchester, Tenn., 12.400
  11. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 12.402
  12. Hunter Rasdon (5R), Jonesboro, Ark., 12.417
  13. J.T. Seawright (1), Fort Payne, Ala., 12.476
  14. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 12.488
  15. Josh Putnam (212), Ala., 12.521
  16. Brad Skinner (17), Spring Hill, Tenn., 12.539
  17. Joey Coulter (2), Miami Springs, Fla., 12.554
  18. Clint Nichols (7), Shelbyville, Tenn., 12.573
  19. Allen Murray (2), San Antonio, Texas, 12.675
  20. David Seibers (18), Chapel Hill, Tenn., 12.709
  21. Mitch Thornton (85), Columbia, Tenn., 12.734
  22. Billy Ogle Jr. (201), Knoxville, Tenn., 12.844
  23. Oakley Johns (6c), Summertown, Tenn., 12.969
  24. Greg Love (1), Culleoka, Tenn., 13.704
  25. Christian Hanger (29), Winchester, Tenn., 13.127
  26. Donald Johns (66c), Summertown, Tenn., 13.152
  27. Daniel Miller (16), Lynchburg, Tenn., 13.529
  28. Justin Taylor (33JT), College Grove, Tenn., 13.656
  29. Kasey Hall (42), Geraldine, Ala., N/T
  30. Jay Scott (J27), Fayetteville, Tenn., N/T

Feature lineup:

Row 1: Dacus, Overton
Row 2: Hickman, Moyer Jr.
Row 3: Jameson, Rasdon
Row 4: Hill, Erb
Row 5: Hickerson, Frame
Row 6: Larson, Cook
Row 7: Seawright, Heckenast Jr.
Row 8: Putnam, Skinner
Row 9: Coulter, Thornton
Row 10: Hanger, Seibers
Row 11: Scott, O. Johns
Row 12: Miller, Nichols

advertisement
Sponsor 263
 
Sponsor 1249
 
Sponsor 728
©2006-Present FloSports, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Cookie Preferences / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information