BIG SEXY STRIKES AGAIN: Overton nets Mike Duvall Memorial at Cherokee

Brandon Overton found himself in a unique position Friday night. The Evans, GA driver, lost the lead to Daulton Wilson on Lap 1, forcing him to step back, regroup, and calculate his next move.

A caution on Lap 14 gave Overton another shot at Wilson—one he wouldn’t let slip away. “Big Sexy” used a lap car as a pick to thunder around the North Carolina driver, en route to winning the 3rd annual Mike Duvall Memorial at Cherokee Speedway.

Overton had to search to find his best option on the racetrack before he could make another attempt at the lead.

“[Wilson] was good; I just kind of got back there to see where I’m better, or I’m worse,” Overton said. “He was just slidin’ up and kind of blocking my momentum, so I couldn’t really roll past him. So, I told myself just slow down and maintain.

“I think I seen [Brandon] Sheppard underneath me one time, and I was just like if I don’t go, he’s going to pass me, and I didn’t want him to get by me if the caution come out.”

Seeing Sheppard was the catalyst of Overton’s ascension to the lead, but it wouldn’t be the last time he’d deal with lap traffic.

Sheppard started to reel in Overton during the Feature’s closing stages, but Overton’s experience at Cherokee helped him prevail for his fifth World of Outlaws win of 2021 and 18th of his career.

“I tried to pass them on the bottom a couple times, and they go in there and slide up, so I didn’t want to hang wide, so I just made sure that I didn’t make a mistake,” Overton said. “Like if I wanted to go past them, I needed to pass them or, I needed to box [Sheppard] in.”

Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished second, his 32nd top-five of the season.

The New Berlin, IL driver, finished on the podium for the 24th time in 2021—a trend he hopes to keep alive through the end of the season.

“We had a pretty good car there; it’s just super hard to pass, especially that 76 car he’s been good all year,” Sheppard said. “We’ve ran second at this place quite a few times in seems like so we’re definitely itching to get a win here. But like I said, our car is really good, so hopefully, we can finish off the year strong and with a good head of steam going into next year.”

Sheppard’s runner-up finish means he’s mathematically secured his third consecutive Series championship and fourth overall, tying Josh Richards for the most all-time. He’ll officially claim that title at the NGK NTK World Finals November 4-6 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Early race leader Daulton Wilson finished third, his best finish with World of Outlaws. The Fayetteville, NC driver is confident that running up front means he’s knocking on the door for a Series win.

“I got out front and led some laps, and it’s not a matter of if it’s when here when you get into the lap traffic, and you’re the leader,” Wilson said. “You can’t get off the bottom, you know it’s coming, but to get outrun by the top two drivers in the country it says a lot for us and our program, and we’re just going to keep building on it and hopefully next time we come out on top.”

Chris Ferguson crossed the line fourth, and South Carolina driver Chris Madden rounded out the top five.

Brandon Overton’s ability to calculate his next move in the face of adversity is one of the reasons he continues to be a factor in every race he enters. It shows will take a second chance and run with it to Victory Lane.

Up Next: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet visit Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA on Saturday, October 2.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.

Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 76-Brandon Overton [1][$10,000]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [4][$6,000]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson [2][$3,500]; 4. 22-Chris Ferguson [5][$2,800]; 5. 44-Chris Madden [14][$2,500]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin [7][$2,300]; 7. 16W-Ben Watkins [3][$2,200]; 8. 79-Ross Bailes [8][$2,100]; 9. 24D-Michael Brown [12][$2,050]; 10. 88-Trent Ivey [10][$2,000]; 11. 1D-Brent Dixon [6][$1,600]; 12. 6-Dillon Brown [15][$1,400]; 13. 16-Tyler Bruening [13][$1,200]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb [17][$1,100]; 15. 17B-David Breazeale [11][$1,050]; 16. 421-Anthony Sanders [18][$1,000]; 17. 7-Ricky Weiss [21][$1,000]; 18. 78-Thomas Robinson [16][$1,000]; 19. 2-Dennis Franklin [22][$1,000]; 20. 91-Dan Breuer [20][$1,000]; 21. B1-Brent Larson [23][$1,000]; 22. 8-Kyle Strickler [9][$1,000]; 23. 42-Doug Sanders [24][$1,000]; 24. 99B-Boom Briggs [19][$1,000] Hard Charger : 44-Chris Madden[+9]

Qualifying Flight-A -1. 22-Chris Ferguson, 14.697; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 14.749; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson, 14.849; 4. 16W-Ben Watkins, 14.948; 5. 8-Kyle Strickler, 15.095; 6. 6-Dillon Brown, 15.141; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening, 15.207; 8. 17B-David Breazeale, 15.22; 9. 7-Ricky Weiss, 15.287; 10. 70-Jeff Smith, 15.316; 11. 28-Dennis Erb, 15.357; 12. B1-Brent Larson, 15.387; 13. 57-Adam Yarbrough, 15.391; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs, 15.443; 15. 17-Tim Vance, 15.767

Qualifying Flight-B-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.868; 2. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.985; 3. 79-Ross Bailes, 15.092; 4. 1D-Brent Dixon, 15.107; 5. 88-Trent Ivey, 15.114; 6. 24D-Michael Brown, 15.167; 7. 44-Chris Madden, 15.196; 8. 78-Thomas Robinson, 15.287; 9. 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick, 15.327; 10. 91-Dan Breuer, 15.466; 11. 421-Anthony Sanders, 15.498; 12. 2-Dennis Franklin, 15.644; 13. 42-Doug Sanders, 16.091; 14. 10-Garrett Smith, 16.157

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Mike Duvall Memorial
Friday, October 01, 2021
Cherokee Speedway
153 Speedway Rd
Gaffney, South Carolina 29341 

Event Description
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models make their final stop of the season at the "The Place Your Mama warned you about."

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

Support Divisions
Street Stocks, Thunder Bombers

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Event Schedule
2PM Pit Gates open
5PM Grandstand Gates open
6PM Hot Laps
7:30PM Racing
*All times Eastern

Grandstand Type
Concrete

Family Section Location
Flagstand to turn 4

Handicapped Seating Location
Top Row of frontstrech

Pit Age Requirement
NO age restriction for pits. 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian.

Pit Gate Location
Turn 1 side of the facility

Handicapped Parking Location
25 spots up in front parking

Camping Availability
non-electric, onsite

Camping Cost
free

Support Divisions
Street Stocks, Thunder Bombers

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Type of Grandstand
Concrete

Stadium Seating
Stadium seats are allowed

Handicapped Seating
Top Row of frontstrech

Handicapped Parking
25 spots up in front parking

Pit Age Limit
NO age restriction for pits. 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian.

Pit Gate Location
Turn 1 side of the facility

Personal Coolers
Yes, Coolers are permitted

Alcohol Sales
Yes - No glass bottles

Smoking Policy
No

Family Section
Flagstand to turn 4

Camping Availability
non-electric, onsite

Camping Cost
free

Cherokee Speedway
153 Speedway Rd
Gaffney, South Carolina 29341 

Track Phone
(864) 489-1969

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Type
0.375;

Late Model Track Record
14.411 seconds by Daulton Wilson on 11/2/21

Closest Airport
Greenville/Spartanburg

Other Airport
Charlotte

Pit Gate Location
Turn 1 side of the facility

Track Map

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

Competitor Info
Event Format:
1-20 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Two Heats | All Cars Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw
21-24 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Three Heats | All Cars Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw
25-27 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Three Heats | Top 6 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw | One LCS | Top 4 Transfer
28-31 Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Four Heats | Top 4 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw |One LCS | Top 6 Transfer
32-47 Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Four Heats | Top 4 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw |Two LCS | Top 3 Transfer
48+ Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Six Heats | Top 3 Transfer | Heat Race Winner Redraws | Three LCS | Top 2 Transfer

Event Payout: 40 Laps
1. $10,000; 2. $6,000; 3. $3,500; 4. $2,800; 5. $2,500; 6. $2,300; 7. $2,200; 8. $2,100; 9. $2,050; 10. $2,000; 11.$1,600; 12. $1,400; 13. $1,200; 14. $1,100; 15. $1,050; 16. $1,000; 17. $1,000; 18. $1,000; 19. $1,000; 20. $1,000; 21. $1,000; 22. $1,000; 23. $1,000; 24. $1,000 Tow Money: $110 - MUST start LCS in order to receive Tow Money

Technical & Safety Rules:
GENERAL RULES: Under the guidelines of Chapter 1
TECHNICAL & SAFETY RULES: Under the guidelines of Chapter 3
Weight Rule is 2350. Pound per lap burn off in the Feature event ONLY

Tire Rules:
ALL FOUR (4) CORNERS: TBA
RIGHT REAR OPTION: TBA
GROOVING AND SIPING IS ALLOWED