DAWN OF DEVIN: Moran finds redemption with DIRTcar Nationals win

Victory flirted with Devin Moran throughout the week, only to keep him wondering if love was ever really there.

The biggest tease was on Wednesday night – during the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model’s DIRTcar Nationals opener at Volusia Speedway Park – when Moran made a charge to the front and saw his date with Victory Lane laps away. Then, his driveshaft broke.

On Thursday night – into Friday morning – after a rain shower halted racing action for a couple of hours, Moran was no longer for playing games. He was confident. He was taking his shot.

From the fifth starting position, Moran charged his way to the front past the likes of Chris Madden and Dale McDowell to finally secure his date with Victory Lane during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals – his fifth World of Outlaws victory, tying him for 25th on the all-time wins list with his dad, Donnie Moran.

“This is awesome,” an out of breath Moran said in Victory Lane. “We’ve had just a fast race car all week and we haven’t been able to quite get there. I was bummed when I got that pill draw (to start fifth) but congrats to the track crew. They did an awesome job. We got rain and I honestly didn’t think we were going to race. Everyone back there was complaining, not wanting to race, but we’re here to race. So, that’s what we were going to do. They did an awesome job, and this is probably the raciest it’s been all week.

“It’s awesome to finally get a gator (trophy). We didn’t think we were going to come here, but it’s all happening and it’s pretty cool.”

At the start of the 40-lap Feature, on Friday morning, McDowell launched ahead of the field to lead the first lap with Madden following his tire tracks in second. By Lap 3 Madden sucked the right-side stickers off McDowell’s car as he rocketed past him off Turn 4 to claim the lead. McDowell fought back and the two raced side by side for a lap before Madden got into a rhythm and pulled away.

The second caution of the night came out with 31 laps to go and allowed Moran, in third, to line up next to McDowell on the restart. The young Dresden, OH native showed the night before that he’s not afraid to throw the holiest of Hail Mary slide jobs into the corner for a pass, too. However, he didn’t need it.

Moran bested McDowell on the restart and secured the runner-up spot by the first corner. He then began his pursuit of Madden.

With 19 laps to go and a run down the backstretch, he threw his #9 machine to the bottom of Turn 3, underneath Madden, and allowed the momentum to send his car up the track in front of his new rival. Madden was ready for the move, though, and cranked his steering wheel to the left by the center of the corner to turn underneath Moran. They went side by side down the front stretch before Madden cleared him for the lead by the flag stand.

Moran wasn’t done, yet. This was the time to shoot his shot. He pulled even with Madden down the backstretch and tried another slide job attempt into Turn 3. This time to perfection. Madden didn’t have the grip to hang with Moran off the corner and had to watch the 26-year-old drive away.

While Moran was on his way to holding hands with victory, a new challenger emerged in the late stage of the race. From the ninth starting position, Bobby Pierce navigated his way to second with nine laps to go.

He put the pressure on Moran in the closing laps, but it wasn’t enough to hinder his confidence. Moran held a steady wheel to win his first-ever DIRTcar Nationals win – and increased his points lead over Pierce for the Big Gator championship with two races remaining.

Pierce was only supposed to run the first two DIRTcar Late Model races of Late Model week during the DIRTcar Nationals, but after a win on Tuesday, he decided to stay. The decision has paid off, so far, with him still in contention for the Big Gator.

“Last night (when he blew a tire) was a heartbreaker,” Pierce said. “We’d have so many good finishes if it wasn’t for that. Congrats to Devin on the win there. I think he snookered us on tires. That explains why he was pulling away there pretty good. The car is really good. I was driving my butt off to catch him. I guess we needed so green flag runs to catch him.”

McDowell worked his way back by Madden with five laps to go to round out the podium.

“We’ve been working and been right there,” McDowell said. “Just have to drive harder in these conditions. Just out of my wheelhouse.”

Three-time defending champion Brandon Sheppard earned the hard charger award with his run from 23rd to sixth. That helped move him from ninth to third in the championship standings. He’s currently 70 points behind points leader and rookie contender, Kyle Strickler – who earned his fourth top-four finish in a row with the Series.

For Moran, he’s already thinking of beating his dad’s win record when the Series returns to action Friday night at Volusia.

“I want to say thank you to him so much. He was supposed to come out tonight but with all of the rain tonight he stayed at the hotel,” Moran said. “I texted him and said, ‘Hey, we’re racing.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m not coming out tonight but go win that bitch. So, we did.”

UP NEXT

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, on Friday, Feb. 12, returns to Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals for round three of four. Get tickets by clicking HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision

RESULTS

Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 9-Devin Moran [5][$10,000]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [9][$6,000]; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell [1][$3,500]; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler [7][$2,800]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb [21][$2,500]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard [23][$2,300]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [17][$2,200]; 8. 44-Chris Madden [4][$2,100]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening [2][$2,050]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton [18][$2,000]; 11. 54-David Breazeale [15][$1,600]; 12. 58-Ross Bailes [28][$400]; 13. O-Scott Bloomquist [13][$1,200]; 14. 33-Jeff Mathews [22][$1,100]; 15. B1-Brent Larson [8][$1,050]; 16. 18-Chase Junghans [19][$1,000]; 17. 56-Tony Jackson [24][$1,000]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs [27][$1,000]; 19. 40B-Kyle Bronson [3][$1,000]; 20. OE-Rick Eckert [25][$1,000]; 21. 20-Jimmy Owens [11][$1,000]; 22. 6JR-Parker Martin [30][$110]; 23. OS-Ryan Scott [31][$110]; 24. 6-Blake Spencer [29][$110]; 25. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$1,000]; 26. 20RT-Ricky Thornton [10][$1,000]; 27. 29V-Darrell Lanigan [12][$1,000]; 28. 14-Josh Richards [14][$1,000]; 29. 42-Chad Finley [16][$1,000]; 30. 76-Brandon Overton [20][$1,000]; Hard Charger Award: 1-Brandon Sheppard[+17]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 9-Devin Moran, 16.054; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce, 16.089; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens, 16.158; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler, 16.199; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie, 16.287; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 16.318; 7. O-Scott Bloomquist, 16.368; 8. 44-Chris Madden, 16.401; 9. 7-Ricky Weiss, 16.426; 10. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 16.453; 11. 54-David Breazeale, 16.501; 12. 6JR-Parker Martin, 16.577; 13. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 16.607; 14. 31-Tyler Millwood, 16.639; 15. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 16.651; 16. 89-G.R. Smith, 16.721; 17. 18-Chase Junghans, 16.778; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs, 16.837; 19. 33-Jeff Mathews, 16.902; 20. 6-Blake Spencer, 17.166; 21. 3-Mike Collins, 17.331; 22. 7F-Jason Fitzgerald, 17.431; 23. OE-Rick Eckert, 17.805; 24. 2-Dan Stone, NT; 25. 12-Ashton Winger, NT

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 76-Brandon Overton, 16.146; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.332; 3. 14G-Joe Godsey, 16.339; 4. B1-Brent Larson, 16.34; 5. 42-Chad Finley, 16.406; 6. 17M-Dale McDowell, 16.427; 7. 97-Cade Dillard, 16.483; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 16.483; 9. 29V-Darrell Lanigan, 16.506; 10. 21-Billy Moyer, 16.515; 11. 72-Mike Norris, 16.52; 12. 25-Shane Clanton, 16.543; 13. 3S-Brian Shirley, 16.549; 14. 28-Dennis Erb, 16.57; 15. 56-Tony Jackson, 16.628; 16. 14-Josh Richards, 16.633; 17. 76N-Blair Nothdurft, 16.699; 18. 385-Mark Whitener, 16.706; 19. 14M-Trevor Gundaker, 16.719; 20. 7R-Ross Robinson, 16.724; 21. 58-Ross Bailes, 16.869; 22. 14B-John Baker, 16.923; 23. 1st-Johnny Scott, 16.998; 24. 3W-Brennon Willard, 17.011; 25. OS-Ryan Scott, 17.622

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DIRTcar Nationals
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Volusia Speedway Park
1500 East State Road 40
Barberville, Florida 32130 

Event Description
The biggest event in DIRTcar racing kicks off the season at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile!

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

Support Divisions
Super DIRTcar Series

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Event Schedule
10:00 a.m. — Pit gates open
11:00 a.m. — Transporter parking
1:00 p.m. — Pit Pass sales begin (noon on Feb. 2 & 8, 10am on Feb 7) & Will Call opens
3:00 p.m. — Pit areas secured, credentials & Pit Passes required
5:00 p.m. — Grandstand gates open & Fan Pit Pass booth opens in Midway
5:15 p.m. — Hot Laps followed by Qualifying
6:50 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies
7:00 p.m. — Racing

SUNDAY FEB 7 TIMES HAVE MOVED UP SO THAT FANS CAN WATCH THE SUPER BOWL:

7:00 a.m. — Pit gates open & transporter parking resumes
10:00 a.m. — Pit Pass sales begin & Will Call opens
10:45 a.m. — Pit areas secured, credentials & Pit Passes required
1:00 p.m. — Grandstand gates open & Fan Pit Pass booth opens in Midway
2:00 p.m. — Hot Laps followed by Qualifying
3:00 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies, followed by Racing


*All times Eastern

Event Hashtag
#FLinFeb

Options And Prices
$39 GA
$45 Reserved
$49 Premium Reserved
Tickets

Grandstand Type
Bleachers, Chairbacks

Reserved Seating
Reserved seating offers the best and highest seats in the house.

Handicapped Seating Location
All Handicap seating is the first rows of each section

Pit Pass Price
Daily pit passes are $35 for DIRTcar members and $40 for non-members. Three-day pit pass packages are available. Package prices are $100 for DIRTcar members and $120 for non-members. Dates of the packages are Feb. 2-4, Feb. 5-7, Feb. 8-10 and Feb. 11-13.

Pit Age Requirement
There is no age restriction in the pits. Anyone 17 years of age or younger will need to fill out a minor waiver form and be accompanied by an adult.

Pit Gate Location
East or West side of the Track.

Parking Cost
General Parking Free

Handicapped Parking Location
Handicap parking spots available. All spots are first come first serve.

Camping Availability
Electric Hookup, Non-Electric, Onsite, Sanitary Facility, Showers

Camping Cost
Single Day Dry Camp $30
Single Day Water/Electric $75 (Special Event $80)
Single Day Full Hook Up $100
Weekend Dry Camp $60
Weekend Electric/Water $150
Weekend Full Hook Up $200

Support Divisions
Super DIRTcar Series

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Reserved Seating
Reserved seating offers the best and highest seats in the house.

Type of Grandstand
Bleachers, Chairbacks

Stadium Seating
Stadium seats are allowed as long as they don't conflict with the aisle behind you.

Handicapped Seating
All Handicap seating is the first rows of each section

Handicapped Parking
Handicap parking spots available. All spots are first come first serve.

Pit Age Limit
There is no age restriction in the pits. Anyone 17 years of age or younger will need to fill out a minor waiver form and be accompanied by an adult.

Pit Gate Location
East or West side of the Track.

Personal Coolers
Six-pack maximum cooler size. No alcohol. No glass.

ATMs
1

Alcohol Sales
Beer is available for purchase at the track.

Smoking Policy
No smoking in the Grandstands.


Parking Cost
General Parking Free

Camping Availability
Electric Hookup, Non-Electric, Onsite, Sanitary Facility, Showers

Camping Cost
Single Day Dry Camp $30
Single Day Water/Electric $75 (Special Event $80)
Single Day Full Hook Up $100
Weekend Dry Camp $60
Weekend Electric/Water $150
Weekend Full Hook Up $200

Volusia Speedway Park
1500 East State Road 40
Barberville, Florida 32130 

Track Phone
(386) 985-4402

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Size
0.482

Track Type
D-shaped oval

Sprint Car Track Record
12.569s by Paul McMahan on 2-10-11; 360 Sprint Car: 14.160 sec. by Brenham Crouch on Jan. 27, 2023; Non-Wing: 16.362s by Thomas Meseraull on Feb. 14, 2023

Late Model Track Record
Super: 15.100 sec. by Bobby Pierce on Jan. 19, 2024

Closest Airport
Daytona International Airport

Other Airport
Orlando Sanford

Pit Gate Location
East or West side of the Track.

Track Map

Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Competitor Info
UMP Modified Competitor Notes

UMP Modified Entry Form

Late Model Competitor Notes

Late Model Entry Form

World of Outlaws Late Model Registration

Super DIRTcar Series Competitor Notes