Overton Wins Mountain Moonshine Classic at Smoky Mountain Speedway

MARYVILLE, TN (June 13, 2020) - Brandon Overton held off several challenges in a furious finish to win the Mountain Moonshine Classic on Saturday Night at Smoky Mountain Speedway. He earned the $15,000 payday for his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season in front of a record-setting crowd. Overton also became the sixth different winner in the six appearances by the series at Smoky Mountain Speedway.

Overton had to hold off Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, and Josh Richards in the closing laps to win the 60-lap event. Earl Pearson Jr. completed the top five drivers.

Sheppard took the early lead of the race and held the point until Overton was able to mount a charge and catch him. Overton briefly cleared Sheppard heading down the backstretch, but Sheppard was able to get by Overton at the start-finish line. Overton was not finished, he squeezed by on the bottom to take the lead on lap 27. Meanwhile, Owens caught up to Sheppard and the two drivers ran side-by-side for the second spot. The last 30 laps were spectacular as Richards started making up distance on the top three. Overton began battling heavy traffic and things got interesting for the top position late in the race. As the laps wound down, Owens yielded the second spot to Sheppard who cut dramatically into Overton’s lead with five laps to go. Overton was able to work enough distance between himself, Sheppard, and Owens to come home with the win.

In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the third time in four races, Overton was happy the race was over. “I just wanted the race to be done. I didn’t know where they were at. I saw so many people on that backstretch some were saying go high or go low and I did not know where to go. I could see him [Sheppard] on the bottom, but I am just fortunate to drive for an awesome group of people. We have had a lot of bad luck, and we have got a fast race car. Thank you to all the fans for coming out tonight. I was excited to see all these people here especially on the backstretch, it’s awesome to come here and see all of these fans. If I am going to win one it’s great do this in front this crowd. If the fans don’t come see us then we don’t have a job.” 

Sheppard was in the hunt the entire distance at Smoky Mountain and came home in second. “That was a lot of fun out there. It was a good race between Brandon and Jimmy and me. Overton came out on top tonight. He [Overton] did a really good job and Jimmy did too. I hate leading that early in a race. We were really good on the bottom and then I caught lapped traffic and at some point I knew they would move up the track. The track got to be pretty even across the surface, and it made for some great racing.”

Owens completed the weekend with another podium finish and maintains the top spot in the championship point standings, “That was a heck of show! I enjoyed being a part of it.  I wish we had been like a car length up further. Everybody got to swapping the lead back-and-forth a little bit. These guys will race you clean and that’s the way it should be.”

The winner’s Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and is sponsored by Allstar Concrete, Crossfit Overton, Big Dog Stump and Tree, Penske Shocks,  Dirt Mafia, E-Z Go, R.W. Powell Construction, Sunoco Race Fuels, Convenient Lube, and Top Notch Graphics.

The rest of the top ten finishers were Dale McDowell, Rick Weiss, Cory Hedgecock, Tyler Erb, and Kyle Hardy.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Mountain Moonshine Classic
Sunday, June 13th, 2020
Smoky Mountain Speedway – Maryville, TN

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 16.459 seconds 
Fast Time Group B:Jimmy Owens / 16.418 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 23H-Cory Hedgecock[3]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 5. 4T-Tommy Kerr[5]; 6. 88M-Skylar Marlar[8]; 7. 26JR-Jimmy Sharpe[6]; 8. 21M-Robby Moses[7]; 9. 7B-Brian Smith[9]; 10. (DNS) 1V-Vic Hill

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 7M-Donald McIntosh[5]; 3. 7W-Ricky Weiss[2]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[7]; 5. J27-Jay Scott[6]; 6. C5-David Crabtree[8]; 7. 9-Devin Moran[10]; 8. 329-Travis Fultz[9]; 9. 1G-Ryan King[4]; 10. 17-Logan Roberson[3]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 3. 8-Kyle Strickler[5]; 4. 79-Kyle Hardy[2]; 5. 50-Shanon Buckingham[6]; 6. 25-Shane Clanton[7]; 7. 23-John Blankenship[9]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 9. 2S-Stormy Scott[8]; 10. 17E-Kurt English[10]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell[5]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[8]; 4. 71-Hudson O'Neal[3]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[6]; 7. 2H-Nick Hoffman[7]; 8. 22F-Chris Ferguson[2]; 9. 31-Tyler Millwood[9]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 4T-Tommy Kerr[1]; 2. J27-Jay Scott[2]; 3. 21M-Robby Moses[7]; 4. 88M-Skylar Marlar[3]; 5. 17-Logan Roberson[12]; 6. 26JR-Jimmy Sharpe[5]; 7. 329-Travis Fultz[8]; 8. 7B-Brian Smith[9]; 9. C5-David Crabtree[4]; 10. (DNS) 9-Devin Moran; 11. (DNS) 1G-Ryan King; 12. (DNS) 1V-Vic Hill

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 50-Shanon Buckingham[1]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[7]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[9]; 6. 2H-Nick Hoffman[6]; 7. 31-Tyler Millwood[10]; 8. 23-John Blankenship[5]; 9. 22F-Chris Ferguson[8]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 11. 17E-Kurt English[11]

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (60 Laps): 

Race Statistics
Entrants: 39
Lap Leaders: Brandon Sheppard (Laps 1 – 26); Brandon Overton (Laps 27 – 50)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Brandon Overton
Margin of Victory: 1.039 seconds
Cautions: Tim McCreadie (Lap 7); Tanner English (Lap 7); Shane Clanton (Lap 29)
Series Provisionals: Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Series Emergency Provisionals: Shane Clanton, Stormy Scott
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Overton, Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Advanced 10 Positions) 
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jimmy Owens
Allstar Performance Most Laps Led: Brandon Overton (34 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon Overton
Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Tanner English
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Kent Fegter (Brandon Overton)
Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr. (Lap #11 – 17.261 seconds)
STEEL-IT Tough Break of the Race: Hudson O’Neal
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard
Time of Race: 28 minutes 03 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

*Results are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*

For the latest breaking news concerning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2020 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Official Sponsors Include:

ARP - The Official Fastener of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Arizona Sport Shirts - The Original Racing Shirt
Big River Steel - A leading Steel Mill in the flat-rolled steel industry
Brandon Ford - "The Official Pace Truck" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Dirt Draft - "The Official Fantasy Sports Provider" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
DirtonDirt.com - All Late Models. All The Time.
Dixie Chopper - "The Official Mower" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
E3 Spark Plugs - "The Official Spark Plug" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
GEICO - Saving People Money on More than Just Car Insurance
General Tire - Anywhere is Possible
Holmatro - Mastering Power
Hoosier Tire - Tires Designed for Champions
K&N Engineering - "Make your Move" to K&N Performance Filters
Lucas Oil Products - Made in America, SOLD to the World
Lucas Oil Racing TV - GRAB IT AND HOLD ON TIGHT
MAVTV Motorsports Network - MAVTV is Motorsports
Miller Welders - WE BUILD With You
Nitro-Bee PLUS - "The Official Race Receiver" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Optima Batteries - The Ultimate Power Source
ProtectTheHarvest.com - Standing up for America's Farmers, Hunters, and Animal Owners
Rugged Radios - “The Official Communications” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
SRI Performance - Your One Stop Shop for All Things Racing
STEEL-IT - Stainless Steel Coating in a Can
Sunoco Race Fuels - "The Official Fuel" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Super Clean - Super Easy, Super Fast!
Wrisco Industries, Inc. - 100 Years of Industry Experience

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners Include:

Advanced Powder Coating, Allstar Performance, Automotive Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Black Diamond Chassis, Boyd Bilt Fabrication, Brodix, Capital Race Cars, Cornett Racing Engines, CP Carrillo Pistons, Dirty Girl Racewear, Durham Racing Engines, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Heath Lawson Photography, Keyser Manufacturing, Longhorn Chassis, MasterSbilt Race Cars, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Midwest Sheet Metal, MSD Performance, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Öhlins Shocks, Outerwears, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies, PFC Brakes, Pro Power Racing Engines, Rocket Chassis, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Slicker Graphics, Swift Springs, Thermo-Tec Automotive Products, Tiger Rear Ends, Vic Hil Race Engines, Xcelydne Valvetrain, 5150 Race Trailers

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the nation’s premier dirt late model sanctioning organization.  In 2020, the LOLMDS will sanction 57 events in 18 states.  The series is owned by the parent company Lucas Oil Products Inc. and receives national exposure through a TV package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios.  LOLMDS events will be broadcast on four TV Networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.  For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com. 

About Lucas Oil Racing TV

The Future of Motorsports is HERE! Get Lucas Oil Racing TV and experience racing excitement like you've never seen! Lucas Oil Racing TV is the online app for all your favorite devices like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android Devices and more! No matter where you are or when you want to watch, you can stream the best and most exciting motor racing on the planet!

Lucas Oil Racing TV has all your favorite motorsports - from grass roots to international competition, as well as exclusive LIVE EVENTS and behind the scenes interviews and footage that you won't see anywhere else! But that's just the beginning! Lucas Oil Racing TV brings you some of motorsports greatest broadcasters and build specialists... from Dave Despain to the mechanics of Two Guys Garage, as well as all the latest news, reviews, and interviews from every genre of racing.

Lucas Oil Racing TV is the Exclusive, Unlimited, 24/7 All-Access Motorsports App and it's available NOW! For more information or to sign up, go to: www.LucasOilRacing.TV.

About MAVTV Motorsports Network

Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV is a television network with its roots deep in the automotive world. MAVTV offers an unparalleled line-up of exclusive motorsports, that includes prestigious events such as the Chili Bowl, The AMA Pro Motocross series, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and NHRA Drag Racing. But MAVTV goes far beyond the national mainstream events and also covers multitudes of grassroots series' from across the globe: Drag boats, sprint boats, drag racing, pro pulling, rally racing, drifting, dirt racing, ice racing and everything in between.

MAVTV also knows you don't have to be a race fan to be an automotive enthusiast, which is why we have developed a package of automotive reality and custom build shows that is truly second to none. If it has a motor, it's on MAVTV...MAVTV is THE motorsports network. To learn more about MAVTV go to: www.MAVTV.com.

About Lucas Oil Products

Founded in 1989 by Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, Lucas Oil Products, Inc. has established itself as one of the fastest-growing lubrication product lines in the consumer automotive aftermarket, featuring a line of engine oils, greases, gear lubes, problem-solving additives, and car-care products.  Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil has established itself as a worldwide leader in the lubrication industry.  Motorsports has always been part of the Lucas Oil culture and the cornerstone of the company's marketing strategy.  Such passion for motorsports has inspired Lucas Oil to sponsor many race teams, events and series at all levels, including, NHRA, IRL, ASCS, NASCAR, IHRA and many more.  Lucas Oil has also taken ownership and operational control of a number of high profile racing properties, such as: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, and the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.

In 2007 Lucas Oil founded its own production house, Lucas Oil Production Studios, dedicated to producing high action motorsports television.  Currently Lucas Oil Production Studios produces over 300 hours of original programming for networks such as CBS, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and MAVTV.  More information about Lucas Oil Products, Inc. visit the company website at:  www.LucasOil.com.