CONCORD, N.C. — Brandon Overton answered the call Wednesday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte as the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series kicked off the Last Call weekend at the four-tenths-mile dirt track.
Overton charged from eighth on the grid and took the lead on lap 18 en route to his sixth World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series triumph of the season and his 25th overall dirt late model victory of the campaign.
“I’ve got the best car owners, and they believe in me,” Overton said. “This is a great car, we’ve got great sponsors, I’ve got an amazing family, my fiancé, everyone that keeps me digging. My little brother plus everyone here Steve, Kent, Mitch, Big Dave, Eric… What an amazing year, man.”
Overton banked $12,000 for his 13th career series victory in a race that was plagued by numerous yellow flags caused by flat tires for his competitors.
Overton easily pulled away from the field, including runner-up Dennis Erb Jr., who started ninth and chased Overton through the second half of the race, on restart after restart.
“We had a good car there at the end,” Erb explained. “I went a little softer on the tire and I was able to get up there toward the end. Hopefully, we get another good, strong run tomorrow night.”
Tim McCreadie started on the pole and finished third. He said tire choice was the story of the race.
“I shouldn’t be allowed to pick these tires, that’s two weeks in a row I’ve been wrong,” McCreadie said. “We got flat beat by two guys that had different rubber on; that’s kind of mind numbing a little bit. Hats off to Brandon and them, it takes a big move to make that decision as hard as a step that tire is.”
Kyle Strickler started outside the front row and led until Overton came calling on lap 18. Four laps later Strickler cut a right-rear tire. Brandon Sheppard also pitted and replaced right-side tires.
He fought his way through the field to finish fifth.
Ten-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz started 10th and steadily moved forward to finish fourth. Schatz will run all four races this weekend — two for late models and two for sprint cars.
Also, doing double duty this weekend is Kyle Larson, who set a track record during qualifying with a lap of 14.305 seconds. Larson, however, faded during the feature and pulled off on lap 22.
The finish:
Brandon Overton, Dennis Erb Jr., Tim McCreadie, Donny Schatz, Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan Davenport, Dale McDowell, Cade Dillard, Rick Eckert, Ricky Weiss, Chris Madden Boom Briggs, Daulton Wilson, Tyler Millwood, Chase Junghans, Ryan King, Chris Ferguson, Ashton Winger, Josh Richards, Kyle Strickler, Parker Martin, Jimmy Owens, Kyle Larson, Ross Bailes, Cla Knight, Brent Larson.