Brandon Overton set Allstar Performance overall fast time, won his heat, and took the win at Florence Speedway for the Sunoco North-South Shootout Presented by Lucas Oil on Thursday Night for his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2021.
Overton passed race leader Ricky Thornton Jr. on lap 14 after Thornton had led the first 13 laps of the 50-lap main event. With lightning in the area for most of the night, Overton raced to the checkers 2.235 seconds ahead of Thornton.
Current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship point leader, Tim McCreadie, came home in third followed by Jimmy Owens and Jonathan Davenport, who came from 23rd to finish fifth.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 10th time in his career Overton started the week off right with the $10,000 victory, but has his eyes set on the $50,000 pay day on Saturday Night. “I guess I don’t drive hard enough in those first couple of laps. It was actually good for me because I got to move around there to see where I was good at. I was way too tight, and the car started shoving there at the end, but we got it done.”
Overton started on the outside of the front row but fell to fourth at the start of the race. He climbed to third on lap 12, then to second a lap before his charge to the lead around Thornton. “It’s all about confidence, it just keeps rolling over and rolling over,” said the 30-year-old Georgian. “To win here Saturday Night would mean a lot to David and the whole Wells Family, to get us one here in Kentucky. I told them I would try my best and do all I can do.”
Thornton, the Eibach Springs top rookie in the series, came home in second. “We had a really good car tonight. I want to thank Anthony Burroughs and everybody that helps us, they have been working their tails off. I feel like we have gotten a lot better here in the last week or so, hopefully we can keep this up.”
The defending Sunoco Race Fuels North-South 100 winner, Tim McCreadie, ran third on Thursday Night. “We are just not good enough right now. I was running the cushion early on, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I didn’t get the attitude to do what I needed it too do. It’s a good start to the weekend. A little disappointing just because we should be better. Good job to the Lucas Oil and track officials for hurrying us along to get this in tonight.”
The winner’s Wells and Sons Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Allstar Concrete, Crossfit Overton, ATC Site Construction, Garnto Southern, Big Dog Stump and Tree, R.W. Powell Construction, Clean Way Clearing and Grading, EZS-GO, Dirt Mafia, and Hurst Construction.
Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Kyle Bronson, Hudson O’Neal, Spencer Hughes, and Zack Dohm.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Sunoco North South Shootout – Presented by Lucas Oil
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Florence Speedway – Florence, KY
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton Jr / 15.839 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Overton / 15.712 seconds (overall)
Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 17D-Zack Dohm[2]; 3. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 5. 17M-Dale McDowell[5]; 6. 15-James Rice[7]; 7. 11B-Tommy Bailey[6]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[11]; 9. 49-Jonathan Davenport[8]; 10. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[9]; 11. 49G-Billy Green[10]; 12. 8A-Curt Addison[12]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 11R-Josh Rice[2]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 4. 1ST-Johnny Scott[4]; 5. 16-Justin Rattliff[7]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 7. 20B-Todd Brennan[9]; 8. 18L-Trevor Landrum[8]; 9. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[6]; 10. 23T-Ethan Toedter[10]; 11. 17C-Jeremy Creech[11]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 11H-Spencer Hughes[3]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan[8]; 5. D8-Dustin Linville[4]; 6. 22-Gregg Satterlee[7]; 7. 7R-Kent Robinson[6]; 8. 8-Kyle Strickler[11]; 9. 12J-Jason Jameson[9]; 10. 13W-David Webb[10]; 11. 13-Vern Lefevers[12]; 12. 0H-Nick Hoffman[2]
Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 4. 83-Scott James[3]; 5. 25-Shane Clanton[5]; 6. 97-Michael Chilton[6]; 7. 33-Jesse Lay[7]; 8. 75-Terry Phillips[8]; 9. 4G-Kody Evans[9]; 10. 21H-Robby Hensley[10]; 11. 1GK-Grant Garrison[11]
LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 15-James Rice[3]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 3. 16-Justin Rattliff[2]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[9]; 5. 18L-Trevor Landrum[8]; 6. 11B-Tommy Bailey[5]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[10]; 9. 23T-Ethan Toedter[12]; 10. 17C-Jeremy Creech[14]; 11. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[6]; 13. 8A-Curt Addison[15]; 14. (DNS) 20C-Duane Chamberlain; 15. (DNS) 49G-Billy Green
UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25-Shane Clanton[2]; 2. 22-Gregg Satterlee[3]; 3. D8-Dustin Linville[1]; 4. 7R-Kent Robinson[5]; 5. 21H-Robby Hensley[12]; 6. 75-Terry Phillips[8]; 7. 97-Michael Chilton[4]; 8. 8-Kyle Strickler[7]; 9. 4G-Kody Evans[10]; 10. 33-Jesse Lay[6]; 11. 1GK-Grant Garrison[14]; 12. 13-Vern Lefevers[13]; 13. 12J-Jason Jameson[9]; 14. (DNS) 13W-David Webb; 15. (DNS) 0H-Nick Hoffman
Sunoco North South Shootout Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| Pos | Start | Car # | Competitor | Hometown | Pay |
| 1 | 2 | 76 | Brandon Overton | Evans, GA | $10,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 20RT | Ricky Thornton Jr. | Adel, IA | $5,600 |
| 3 | 4 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $3,500 |
| 4 | 13 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $2,700 |
| 5 | 23 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $2,500 |
| 6 | 3 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $2,300 |
| 7 | 19 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $2,200 |
| 8 | 12 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $2,100 |
| 9 | 6 | 11H | Spencer Hughes | Meridian, MS | $2,050 |
| 10 | 5 | 17D | Zack Dohm | Cross Lanes, WV | $2,000 |
| 11 | 8 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $1,600 |
| 12 | 21 | 16 | Justin Rattliff | Campbellsville, KY | $1,400 |
| 13 | 15 | 1ST | Johnny Scott | Las Cruces, NM | $1,200 |
| 14 | 18 | 25 | Shane Clanton | Zebulon, GA | $1,000 |
| 15 | 11 | 1 | Earl Pearson Jr | Jacksonville, FL | $950 |
| 16 | 10 | 2S | Stormy Scott | Las Cruces, NM | $925 |
| 17 | 17 | 15 | James Rice | Verona, KY | $900 |
| 18 | 20 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Indiana, PA | $875 |
| 19 | 14 | 29 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $850 |
| 20 | 16 | 83 | Scott James | Lawrenceburg, IN | $825 |
| 21 | 9 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $800 |
| 22 | 24 | 7R | Kent Robinson | Bloomington, IN | $800 |
| 23 | 7 | 11R | Josh Rice | Verona, KY | $800 |
| 24 | 25 | 8A | Curt Addison | Florence, KY | $800 |
| 25 | 22 | D8 | Dustin Linville | Lancaster, KY | $800 |
