Friday night at Cherokee Speedway was double the Features, double the fun with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models.
The 42-car field was split into two groups, running two 25-lap Feature events on night one of the Rock Gault Memorial doubleheader.
While the number of laps were equal, the two Features were anything but similar.
ACT ONE
The first Feature was a war of attrition with drivers working to manage their tires.
When the dust settled, Jimmy Owens won the war, picking up the $5,000 prize.
Chris Madden wasted no time using the track’s new configuration, rim-riding on the top side of the speedway in Turns 1 and 2. That’s where speedway officials added banking earlier in the week.
“Smokey” used that lane for the first 10 laps, until he started getting pressure from Kyle Strickler and Owens.
Strickler pulled a slide job on Madden in Turn 2, taking the lead for a few car lengths on Lap 9. But that’s when Owens, the “Newport Nightmare,” decided to strike. He took advantage of the open lane on the bottom of the speedway, powering past Strickler and Madden for the top spot.
Tire wear became an issue for some drivers in the final 10 laps, bringing out a few late cautions. That put all eyes on Owens with each restart.
Kyle Strickler chose the high side on the double-file re-start, pitting him in a side-by-side battle with Chris Madden.
“The High Side Tickler” was living up to his nickname, trying to power past Madden as Jonathan Davenport and Chris Ferguson raced wheel-to-wheel behind them. That’s when the bad luck bug hit Strickler, as his right rear tire went flat with six laps to go.
He wouldn’t be the only one with trouble, as the same problem would plague Chris Madden a few laps later, costing him a top-five finish.
The Grey Court, SC campaigner said damage early in the race led to the flat tire.
“I got run into, and it pushed the quarter panel into the tire,” Madden said. “After Lap 3, we were kind of just hanging on.”
Owens held on for the victory in the final two laps of the race, putting the Ramirez Motorsports car in victory lane.
“The track turned out pretty good,” Owens said. “I would’ve liked to run [Turn] 1 and 2 a little bit better because it was really dusty, but overall, it worked out for us.”
Davenport finish second, Trent Ivey was third, Tim McCreadie fourth, and Brent Larson fifth.
ACT TWO
In the second Feature, the outside lane became the main factor in the race’s outcome.
Dale McDowell took the lead early and began to pull away from the field in what looked to be a dominant victory.
But three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard pulled into second with 15 laps to go and started using the high lane to reel in McDowell.
Sheppard caught McDowell with two laps to go. He rocketed around the outside of him in Turn 3, using a slower car as a pick to get by.
“Towards the end we got to lap traffic, and luckily my tires must’ve been just right at the end, because I could roll the middle and top pretty good compared to early in the race,” Sheppard said.
It was a big win for the reigning champion, being his first of 2021 – however these special Features will not count as official Series wins for Owens or Sheppard.
“We’ve been on the struggle bus for most of the year, but I knew not to count ourselves out,” Sheppard said.
McDowell led the first 23 laps of the feature and said lap traffic wasn’t the only reason he lost the lead in the final two laps.
“I started losing grip in my right rear tire, I’m pretty sure [Sheppard] went with a harder tire. It was the right choice for 23 laps, but it is what it is,” McDowell said.
The Chickamauga, GA driver held on for second place, Brandon Overton finished third, Scott Bloomquist fourth, and Jeff Smith fifth.
UP NEXT:
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series is back in action on Saturday March 27, for night number two of the Rock Gault Memorial at Cherokee Speedway Gaffney SC. For Tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you’re unable to make it to the track can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.
Morton Buildings Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens [2][$5,000]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport [10][$2,500]; 3. 88-Trent Ivey [3][$1,750]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie [11][$1,500]; 5. B1-Brent Larson [6][$1,200]; 6. 79-Casey Roberts [9][$1,100]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb [13][$1,000]; 8. 22-Chris Ferguson [4][$950]; 9. 421-Anthony Sanders [15][$900]; 10. 57M-Zack Mitchell [14][$850]; 11. 58-Ross Bailes [8][$800]; 12. 20H-Bryson Harper [17][$750]; 13. 44-Chris Madden [1][$700]; 14. 1D-Brent Dixon [18][$650]; 15. 18D-Daulton Wilson [7][$600]; 16. 7-Ricky Weiss [16][$550]; 17. 8-Kyle Strickler [5][$525]; 18. 11-Austin Kirkpatrick [12][$500]; 19. 6JR-Parker Martin [20][$500]; 20. 42-Doug Sanders [19]; 21. 23-Ahnna Parkhurst [21][]; 22. 14-Josh Richards [22]; Hard Charger: 49-Jonathan Davenport[+8]
Morton Buildings Feature 2 (25 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [6][$5,000]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell [1][$2,500]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton [5][$1,750]; 4. O-Scott Bloomquist [2][$1,500]; 5. 70-Jeff Smith [3][$1,200]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening [8][$1,100]; 7. 18-Chase Junghans [7][$1,000]; 8. 6B-Dillon Brown [10][$950]; 9. 19R-Ryan Gustin [12][$900]; 10. 1P-Earl Pearson [13][$850]; 11. 29V-Darrell Lanigan [15][$800]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard [9][$750]; 13. 24D-Michael Brown [19][$700]; 14. 57-Adam Yarbrough [11][$650]; 15. 40B-Kyle Bronson [14][$600]; 16. 42K-Cla Knight [16][$550]; 17. 89-G.R. Smith [21][$525]; 18. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$500]; 19. 25-Shane Clanton [4][$500]; 20. 99B-Boom Briggs [18][$500]; 21. 54-David Breazeale [20]; Hard Charger : 24D-Michael Brown[+6]
Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 22-Chris Ferguson, 14.867; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens, 15.137; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 15.169; 4. 57M-Zack Mitchell, 15.229; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson, 15.256; 6. 88-Trent Ivey, 15.318; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler, 15.367; 8. B1-Brent Larson, 15.369; 9. 421-Anthony Sanders, 15.382; 10. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 15.397; 11. 79-Casey Roberts, 15.41; 12. 11-Austin Kirkpatrick, 15.42; 13. 28-Dennis Erb, 15.428; 14. 58-Ross Bailes, 15.434; 15. 39-Tim McCreadie, 15.45; 16. 1D-Brent Dixon, 15.603; 17. 20H-Bryson Harper, 15.61; 18. 7-Ricky Weiss, 15.639; 19. 42-Doug Sanders, 15.912; 20. 6JR-Parker Martin, 15.973; DNS. 23-Ahnna Parkhurst, NT; DNS. 14-Josh Richards, NT
Qualifying Flight-B: 1. O-Scott Bloomquist, 14.9; 2. 76-Brandon Overton, 15.103; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.237; 4. 25-Shane Clanton, 15.288; 5. 24D-Michael Brown, 15.332; 6. 54-David Breazeale, 15.402; 7. 18-Chase Junghans, 15.474; 8. 70-Jeff Smith, 15.486; 9. 97-Cade Dillard, 15.498; 10. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 15.568; 11. 17M-Dale McDowell, 15.57; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 15.679; 13. 89-G.R. Smith, 15.753; 14. 6B-Dillon Brown, 15.754; 15. 29V-Darrell Lanigan, 15.793; 16. 42K-Cla Knight, 15.809; 17. 57-Adam Yarbrough, 15.856; 18. 16-Tyler Bruening, 15.863; 19. 1P-Earl Pearson, 15.925; 20. 99B-Boom Briggs, 15.991; 21. 6-Blake Spencer, 16.152
