PORT ROYAL, Pa. — Chris Madden swept through Port Royal Speedway Friday night to win the Huey Wilcoxon Memorial in dominant fashion.
Madden set fast time, won his heat and claimed the $10,000 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series feature.
It’s his second straight World of Outlaws win and his third victory of the season — more than any other driver. It’s also the 31st victory of his career.
Madden led all 40 laps, but it wasn’t smooth sailing. “Smokey” made one mistake he felt almost cost him the race.
“I got in lapped traffic one time and kind of got myself in trouble,” Madden said. “I caught [the cars] at the wrong spot, I committed to a line I didn’t think the other guys would take.
“I had to get hard on the brakes, and I got real loose. That’s when I thought I was going to give the race away.”
Madden’s consistency has been a key to his success this season. His team has his Rocket Chassis dialed in no matter what track they go to.
“We got [the car] to where it’s really good right now, and it fits me,” Madden said. “Obviously, we’ve found something here. We just have to stay on top of our game, doing the right things, and making the right calls.”
While Madden dealt with traffic, Brandon Overton tried to chase him down. He closed within three car lengths when Madden made his mistake, but “Big Sexy” would have to settle for second.
Even though Overton had a good car, he struggled on one part of the track.
“I couldn’t get off of [turn four] very good, I feel like [Madden] beat me there” Overton said. “He shines in that condition anyway, when it gets slick, he’s really good.”
Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard crossed the line third — his seventh podium of 2021.
“We’re always good when we come here,” Sheppard said. “We’ve only won one race, but we’ve been on the podium almost every time. We definitely want to get a few spots better [Saturday], and I think we’re close and heading in the right direction”
Even though he finished in the top-three, he never posed a threat to either Madden or Overton.
“We kind of got lined out at the beginning of the race, and them guys got away from me in lap traffic,” Sheppard said.
Rick Eckert, the 2011 series champion, finished fourth, and rookie-of-the-year contender Tyler Bruening crossed the line fifth.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps)- 1. 44-Chris Madden [1][$10,000]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton [2][$6,000]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$3,500]; 4. OE-Rick Eckert [4][$2,800]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening [6][$2,500]; 6. 22-Chris Ferguson [10][$2,300]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [5][$2,200]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin [11][$2,100]; 9. 7R-Ross Robinson [8][$2,050]; 10. 2-Dan Stone [22][$2,000]; 11. 55L-Donald Lingo [7][$1,600]; 12. 72-Jason Covert [16][$1,400]; 13. 97-Cade Dillard [17][$1,200]; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs [12][$1,100]; 15. 48-Colton Flinner [19][$1,050]; 16. 45-Kyle Hardy [21][$1,000]; 17. 24-Dylan Yoder [25][$1,000]; 18. B1-Brent Larson [18][$1,000]; 19. 28-Dennis Erb [23][$1,000]; 20. 43A-Tyler Bare [26][$1,000]; 21. 8-Kyle Strickler [14][$1,000]; 22. 9-Hayes Mattern [24][$1,000]; 23. 25Z-Mason Zeigler [9][$1,000]; 24. 2J-Jeff Rine [15][$1,000]; 25. 4-Gary Stuhler [13][$1,000]; 26. D19-Dillon Stake [20][$1,000] Hard Charger: 2-Dan Stone[+12]