BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Devin Moran wasted no time proving his new venture with Double Down Motorsports is a winning combination.
In his first race driving for car owner Roger Sellers, the Dresden, Ohio, driver thundered to the lead past Tim McCreadie on lap 20 and held on to win the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment season opener Thursday night at Volusia Speedway Park.
However, Sunshine Nationals wasn’t only the debut of Moran’s new team but also his return to the No. 99 — a number his dad drove throughout his late model career.
“All smiles tonight,” Moran said. “The 99 is back. I really hope this is going to be a long-term thing with me and Roger.”
McCreadie stormed to the lead when the 25-lap CASE Construction Equipment Feature began, quickly pulling away from outside pole-sitter Chris Madden.
McCreadie built more than a half-straightaway lead before the caution flew for Jordan Koehler on lap nine.
That’s when Moran’s climb to the lead began, as he powered past Nick Hoffman and Madden to pull into second on lap 10, setting his sights on McCreadie.
As “T-Mac” worked through slower traffic, he got loose in turn four on lap 19, allowing Moran to close within inches of his spoiler.
From there, Moran’s momentum propelled his Longhorn Chassis underneath McCreadie in turn one, as he slid in front of McCreadie’s nose to take the lead for good in turn two on lap 20.
Moran held on for the final six laps to score his 10th career World of Outlaws triumph — one worth $8,000.
“This track was just really tricky tonight,” Moran said. “I just went in there and did what I thought I could do to get by [McCreadie]. I felt like I was pretty clear. I don’t know if I was or not.
“But Timmy is a really good racer, and I drove hard when I got by him because I was sure he was on my heels.”
McCreadie crossed the line second after leading the first 19 laps. He said tire choice played a factor in the handling of his car later in the race.
“We just got super tight in,” McCreadie said. “We had different tire combos than those guys ran. I kind of thought that was maybe the direction to go, but I thought, man, we should be OK. We ran the same right rear as we did in the Heat Race, but as the track kind of got a little shinier and broke open, I just got super tight.”
Chris Madden finished third — his second straight podium at Volusia Speedway Park.
“We tightened up a little bit too much tonight,” Madden said. “Just learning these tires here, I’d have done a little different tire combination, I think. I feel like we had a good long-run race car, but for a short 20 laps, we weren’t where we needed to be, and those guys were just a tick better.”
Ryan Gustin, from Marshalltown, IA, crossed the line fourth after starting 10th. Ricky Thornton Jr. rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[2]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[13]; 6. 8-Brian Shirley[9]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[19]; 8. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 9. 1-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 10. B5-Brandon Sheppard[23]; 11. 111-Max Blair[8]; 12. 22*-Payton Freeman[20]; 13. 96V-Tanner English[24]; 14. 5-Mark Whitener[17]; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[5]; 16. 97-Cade Dillard[22]; 17. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 19. 20-Jimmy Owens[18]; 20. 1ST-Johnny Scott[21]; 21. 99B-Boom Briggs[25]; 22. 25-Shane Clanton[12]; 23. 11-Gordy Gundaker[26]; 24. 22-Will Roland[14]; 25. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 26. 114-Jordan Koehler[11]