LAKE CITY, Fla. — Defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Presented by FloRacing champion Devin Moran delivered a dominant performance Friday night, leading all 50 laps to win the Wieland Winter Nationals at All-Tech Raceway.
Moran’s first series victory of the season came in a caution-free main event that lasted just over 17 minutes. The Dresden, Ohio, native was so strong that he lapped up to the eighth-place car by the time he took the checkered flag.
Clay Harris matched his career-best series finish with a runner-up effort after starting eighth, while Brandon Overton rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Brandon Sheppard finished fourth, with Hudson O’Neal completing the top five.
Moran secured the 25th Lucas Oil Victory Lane appearance of his career. He held a lead of more than five seconds at one point and ultimately crossed the finish line 1.944 seconds ahead of Harris.
“We have been just working and working,” Moran said. “I feel like we made the right changes — we just didn’t know because we’re doing some things that are a little unknown to us — and it was really, really good. This Longhorn Chassis… we showed up with this car last week at Volusia, and we just had to work on it. It wasn’t the car’s fault — it was just something we needed to figure out.
“I looked at the scoreboard and it still said 26 laps to go, and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ I could maneuver really well. They were throwing those crumbs off the bottom, and I could run that middle really well. This place is so tricky. With the way the dirt is, if you get too sideways, you feel like you’re going to spin out — you’ve just got to drive it like you’re on asphalt. It’s Florida, baby — I love it.”
Harris rebounded from Thursday night’s disappointment – when a potential second-place finish slipped away after contact with the Turn 2 wall – to secure his runner-up finish on Friday.
“I didn’t quite send it in as hard as yesterday. I was a little more patient tonight,” Harris said. “Those last five laps I was driving as hard as I could on the bottom. I ran him (Moran) down a little bit, but those lapped cars were hard to get by. The off-season really helped us because it gave us more time to be prepared. We have all the motors we need for this year, I believe.”
Overton, who led 15 laps on Thursday night, advanced from the 10th starting position to finish third.
“I just knew what not to do after my heat race,” Overton said. “I guess I turned the knobs the wrong way or something. I’m not quite as good as I need to be, but at least we’re going forward. This is All-Tech — it’s just the craziest place. Congrats to Clay and Devin; they do a heck of a job.”
The finish:
Wieland Winter Nationals Feature Finish (50 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 1 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $12,000
2 – 8 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $6,000
3 – 10 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $3,500
4 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,900
5 – 12 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,500
6 – 4 – 5 – Mark Whitener – Middleburg, FL – $2,300
7 – 18 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,200
8 – 5 – 79 – Cory Hedgecock – Loudon, TN – $2,100
9 – 11 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,050
10 – 25 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $1,100
11 – 13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,600
12 – 14 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $1,400
13 – 6 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,200
14 – 23 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $1,100
15 – 15 – 15K – Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – $1,050
16 – 7 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $1,000
17 – 26 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $100
18 – 19 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,000
19 – 17 – 388 – Jackson Hise – Ocala, FL – $1,000
20 – 20 – 81F – Jadon Frame – Winchester, TN – $1,000
21 – 2 – 44 – Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – $1,000
22 – 9 – 24 – Tyler Wyant – Oil City, PA – $1,000
23 – 16 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $1,000
24 – 21 – 77 – Preston Luckman – Coos Bay, OR – $1,000
25 – 22 – 31 – Tyler Millwood – Kingston, GA – $1,000
26 – 24 – 93L – Cory Lawler – – Hanover, PA – $1,000
