While the toll of a grueling 11-race tour set over the span of 15 days might have taken its toll on the car count of the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals tour, it didn’t hurt the crowd congregated at the Crossville Speedway, as it was jam-packed on Thursday night for, arguably, the biggest race of the year at the Crossville Speedway.
Brandon Overton set the bar high from the get-go in the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series race as the series points leader started on the pole with a 12.287 lap as Donald McIntosh started on the outside pole with a 12.512 lap. Current Southern Nationals points leader Shanon Buckingham won the lone heat race of the evening to start fifth to set the stage for the feature race. Overton, however, continued his break-out season, going wire to wire in dominant fashion to expand his points lead in what was a home-track race for his Randy Weaver-owned late model team. McIntosh had to settle for second with Australian driver Craig Vosbergen in third. Closing out the top five were Buckingham and another Aussie in Ben Nicastri. Matt Henderson, Billy Ogle Jr., Ryan King, Heath Hindman, and Kenny Collins rounded out the top ten with Oregon’s Rob Mayea, Farrel Skelton, Jason Walker, Australia’s David Doherty, and Cory Hedgecock closing out the field in the caution-free affair.
In the $1,000-to win Steelhead Late Model race, Ryan King put the Warrior Chassis #1G house car on the pole with a 13.107 time. Cory Hedgecock was on his outside with a 13.163 lap. The feature, however, saw Hedgecock take the point on the opening lap and withstand the unrelenting pressure applied by Ryan King and Chase King for the $1,000 pay-day. Ryan King had to settle for second with Chase King in third. Josh Henry and Layne Clifton rounded out the top five with Drew Kennedy, Jason Deal, Ronnie Choate, Jeff Cotterman, Perry Delaney, and Ruben Mayfield rounding out the field.
A 14.16 lap by Dustin Diden put him on the point for the Open Wheel Modified feature. Diden led the first nineteen laps and had victory within his grasp when an untimely spin coming out of turn three with Jeff Watson in dogged pursuit gave Watson the win. Joey Cotterman rebounded from an earlier flat tire to finish a strong second as Wayne James, Chad Crain, and Diden closed out the field with Courtney Smith rounding out the field after making an early exit.
The Dwarf feature was hotly contested as Jonathan Allen and Todd Clark won their respective heats. Jonathan led the first seven laps until father Dwayne took the lead at lap eight and withstood his son’s valiant attempts to retake the top spot for the win. Jonathan Allen had to settle for second. Austin Burton came home a strong third with Rodney Hall and Chris Flatt rounding out the top five. Steve Norris, Jarrett McGuire, Taylor Brown, Cletus Bumbalough, Todd Clark, and Jack Jenkins closed out the field.
In the final feature of the evening, Scott Brown and Jeff Proffitt led the field to the green flag with Brown leading the opening three laps, but Lamar Hughes was on a rail as he sped past on lap four to take the lead and not look back en route to the win. Jeff Proffitt was second as Scott Brown, Andrew Rice, Nathan Adams, and Mike Selby rounded out the field.
Racing resumes at Crossville Speedway on Friday, August 4 with all classes in action and a $600 to win race in the super stocks.
| Schaeffer’s Oil Southern National |
| Super Late Models: |
| 1. Brandon Overton #116 |
| 2. Donald McIntosh #7m |
| 3. Craig Vosbergen #8 |
| 4. Shanin Buckingham #50 |
| 5. Ben Nicastri #399 |
| 6. Matt Henderson #17 |
| 7. Billy Ogle Jr #201 |
| 8. Ryan King #1G |
| 9. Heath Hindman #91 |
| 10. Kenny Collins #1C |
| 11. Rob Mayea #37 |
| 12. Farrel Shelton #0F |
| 13. Jason Walker #83 |
| 14. David Doherty #25 |
| 15. Cory Hedgecock #23 |
| Steel-Head Late Models: |
| 1. Cory Hedgecock #23 |
| 2. Ryan King #1G |
| 3. Chase King #44 |
| 4. Josh Henry #B00 |
| 5. Layne Clifton #23C |
| 6. Drew Kennedy #K37 |
| 7. Jason Deal #7 |
| 8. Ronnie Choat #8P |
| 9. Jeff Cotterman #28C |
| 10. Perry Delaney #77 |
| 11. Ruben Mayfield #00 |
| Open Wheel Modified: |
| 1. Jeff Watson #11 |
| 2. Joey Cotterman #29C |
| 3. Wayne James #4 |
| 4. Chad Crain #271 |
| 5. Dustin Diden #112 |
| 6. Courtney Smith #52 |
| Dwarfs: |
| 1. Dwayne Allen #21 |
| 2. Johnathan Allen #22 |
| 3. Austin Burton #15 |
| 4. Rodney Hall #01 |
| 5. Chris Flatt #3 |
| 6. Steve Morris #9 |
| 7. Jarret McGuire #17 |
| 8. Taylor Brown #11B |
| 9. Cledaus Bumbalough |
| 10. Todd Clark #C17 |
| 11. Jack Jenkins #7 |
| Super Stock: |
| 1. Lamar Hughes #10 |
| 2. Jeff Proffitt #31 |
| 3. Scott Brown #319 |
| 4. Andrew Rice #0 |
| 5. Nathan Adams #5 |