{"id":3693,"date":"2022-02-17T03:23:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T07:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/volusiaspeedwaypark.com\/?p=3693"},"modified":"2022-09-26T14:54:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T18:54:13","slug":"sexy-survival-overton-holds-on-for-second-career-dirtcar-nationals-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/volusiaspeedwaypark.com\/events\/dirtcar-nationals\/sexy-survival-overton-holds-on-for-second-career-dirtcar-nationals-win\/","title":{"rendered":"SEXY SURVIVAL: Overton Holds on for Second Career DIRTcar Nationals win"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Evans, GA driver passed Dale McDowell on a restart en route to his 19th career World of Outlaws Win<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Brandon Overton\u2019s clock was ticking Wednesday night.<\/p>\n As the laps wound down at Volusia Speedway Park, so did the life of the engine inside his Longhorn Chassis.<\/p>\n Luckily for \u201cBig Sexy,\u201d his clock didn\u2019t strike midnight. The engine held up long enough to take the checkered flag for his second career DIRTcar Nationals win.<\/p>\n Overton wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d make it to the end in the last few laps\u2014holding his breath and hoping the engine stayed together. All of this while Devin Moran lurked behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cI was looking, and I could see it smoking, and I knew it\u2019s got to be over pretty soon,\u201d Overton said. \u201cI was just getting it so tight down there I was just holding it to the floor. I could tell it was dying; it was just muffling out.<\/p>\n \u201cHell, there ain\u2019t nothing you can do; it\u2019s already done its damage.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the engine started to blow, Overton’s car came to life in the second half of the race. The Evans, GA driver, took advantage of a caution for then race-leader Kyle Strickler and powered around Dale McDowell for the top spot.<\/p>\n Overton put the car anywhere he wanted to, thanks to wholesale changes made to his Late Model throughout the week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve changed everything on this thing every single night, every single Feature we\u2019ve ran,\u201d Overton said. \u201cThe new body rules and stuff kind of has us in a little box, and we just got to figure it out.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a pretty good package with the way everything was, and it changed a little bit. We just have to keep working; that\u2019s what makes this fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The DIRTcar Nationals win is Overton\u2019s 19th World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series triumph\u2014tying him with Jimmy Owens. It\u2019s a win that may not have happened without Kyle Strickler\u2019s lousy luck.<\/p>\n The Mooresville, NC driver dropped out while leading with 25 laps to go. He stated it was a problem his team found on Tuesday\u2014one they hoped to fix before the Feature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had drivetrain issues [Tuesday],\u201d Strickler said. \u201cThe yoke pulled off the rear end, but everything felt good today. I thought we had a really good car and broke a lower jackshaft in the rear-end.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if it had to do with last night or not, but the car was good and it\u2019s just part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Devin Moran continued his hot streak to start the season, scoring his third trip to the DIRTcar Nationals podium with a second-place finish.<\/p>\n The Dresden, OH driver stated he thought he had a shot at winning before he saw Overton\u2019s engine start to expire.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like I was catching him before that,\u201d Moran said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because his engine was getting worse and worse.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to slide him in Turns 3 and 4 because I knew I was too far back. But I wanted to at least run a different line if he did blow up.\u201d<\/p>\n Moran\u2019s consistency puts him on a path toward his second straight \u201cBig Gator\u201d trophy\u2014as he leads the week-long standings on the strength of three podiums.<\/p>\n Reigning Series Champion Brandon Sheppard passed more cars than anyone Wednesday, earning the Fox Factory Hard Charger award. \u201cThe Rocket Shepp\u201d crossed the line third after switching to a backup car and starting 25th.<\/p>\n After he didn\u2019t qualify through his Heat Race, the Rocket1 Racing team decided to switch cars\u2014one that paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cMy team just comes thru in tough times like we had today,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cIt was really just a mutual agreement to switch cars, and it worked out. All of our cars are good. We were just missing something on that other one.\u201d<\/p>\n Hudson O\u2019Neal finished fourth, his second top-five finish of the season. Three-time Series champion Darrell Lanigan rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n Brandon Overton didn\u2019t only win a \u201cGator,\u201d but a race against time. It shows the clock hasn\u2019t struck midnight on Overton\u2019s success against the best Dirt Late Model racing has to offer.<\/p>\n UP NEXT:<\/strong> The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series returns to Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17 for their second night of DIRTcar Nationals, along with the Super DIRTcar Series. For tickets to the event: CLICK HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make it to the track, watch all the action live on\u00a0DIRTVision \u2013 either online on with the DIRTVision App<\/a>.<\/p>\n CASE Construction Feature (40 Laps):<\/strong> 1. 76-Brandon Overton[8]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[9]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[25]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 5. 29-Darrell Lanigan[4]; 6. 44-Chris Madden[2]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[13]; 8. 1R-Josh Richards[27]; 9. 81E-Tanner English[18]; 10. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 11. 1T-Tyler Erb[23]; 12. 44B-Colten Burdette[15]; 13. 111V-Max Blair[20]; 14. 16-Tyler Bruening[21]; 15. B1-Brent Larson[12]; 16. 6S-Blake Spencer[22]; 17. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[28]; 19. 14M-Morgan Bagley[29]; 20. 39-Tim McCreadie[11]; 21. 17M-Dale McDowell[5]; 22. 10-Garrett Smith[10]; 23. 45-Kyle Hammer[30]; 24. 89-Ashton Winger[16]; 25. 3S-Brian Shirley[17]; 26. 8-Kyle Strickler[1]; 27. 25-Shane Clanton[24]; 28. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 29. 97-Cade Dillard[19]; 30. 19R-Ryan Gustin[26] Fox Factory Hard Charger Award<\/strong>: Brandon Sheppard [+22}.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Evans, GA driver passed Dale McDowell on a restart en route to his 19th career World of Outlaws Win Brandon Overton\u2019s clock was ticking Wednesday night. As the laps wound down at Volusia Speedway Park, so did the life of the engine inside his Longhorn Chassis. Luckily for \u201cBig Sexy,\u201d his clock didn\u2019t strike … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":3694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,198,135,40],"tags":[286,214,75,221,137,3,220,116,48,6],"class_list":["post-3693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dirtcar-nationals","category-late-models","category-recap","category-recaps","tag-286","tag-brandon-overton","tag-brandon-sheppard","tag-darrell-lanigan","tag-devin-moran","tag-dirtcar-nationals","tag-hudson-oneal","tag-kyle-strickler","tag-volusia-speedway-park","tag-world-of-outlaws-late-model-series"],"yoast_head":"\n