SPRING VALLEY, Minn. — Brandon Overton fought off two challengers early in Saturday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Deer Creek Speedway, and the Evans, Ga., driver feared that he couldn’t fight off a third challenger on a restart with three laps remaining.

“You ever heard the phrase sitting duck?” Overton said. “That’s what I felt like out there.”

But Overton summoned the speed to turn back bonus-chasing Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., in the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher State 50, giving Overton a season-high $50,000 payday and his third Lucas Oil Series victory of the 2022 campaign.

Madden’s dramatic runner-up finish in the long-distance race — a 75-lapper despite the race's name — came from the 12th starting spot. Thursday's preliminary feature winner from Gray Court, S.C., was scheduled to start second, but he gave up a front-row spot — as did Friday's preliminary winner Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. — to chase a $25,000 bonus from TraLo Trailers and Speedwerx for winning from the sixth row.

Madden grabbed second from Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., on the 72nd lap and continued his outside move for the lead against the leading Overton, but a caution for Kolby Vandenbergh’s left-rear flat tire — apparently caused by contact with Madden as he tried to battle past the lapped competitor on the backstretch — stymied his charge and brought out the last of three cautions. Overton said he “got lucky” in being able to keep Madden in second after the lap-73 restart.

“I know Madden had come from way back,” Overton said. “I tried not to slip the tires … man, he’s been awfully good. Just an unbelievable feeling to get us one at Deer Creek. Happy as we can be.”

Madden settled for a $20,000 runner-up finish, a half-second behind Overton at the checkers, while McCreadie, who led laps 1-12 and 14-16 while battling Overton, was third. Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who edged past Overton to lead laps 21-22 after an early restart, was fourth with Ricky Weiss of Headingley, Manitoba, rounding out the top five. Davenport, unable to contend in his chase for the bonus, finished ninth.

McCreadie jumped into the lead from outside the front row and took command early with Overton giving chase, and when Overton slipped ahead on the 13th lap, McCreadie was able to answer the move as the frontrunners battled traffic. But Overton went ahead again on lap 17, repelled Marlar’s challenge after a lap-20 restart, and mostly cruised the rest of the way, building up a lead of more than three seconds at the lap-50 mark.

Madden made a sixth-to-third move on a lap-56 restart and began tracking the first- and second-running cars of Overton and McCreadie, eventually jumping into the high groove in the final laps. He went around McCreadie, and, as he closed in on Overton, made slight contact with Vandenbergh’s slower car on the backstretch. Vandenbergh’s flat tire forced the face’s final caution and Overton’s charge fell short.

Madden said that “we had the $75,000 won and we had a lapped car there that’s three laps down that's switching lanes down the back straightaway and gets in the right-front (corner of Madden’s car),” he said. “But, you know, without that, we're celebrating and winning $75,000. We had the best car and we come from 12th and put on a heck of a show for these fans.”

Not regretting his bid for the bonus instead of starting on the front row, Madden added that “we did our best and come up one spot short, but congratulations to Brandon and Timmy and all these guys.”

McCreadie wasn’t making up ground on Overton late, but after he was overtaken by Madden he thought he might be seeing a driver collect $75,000.

“I tried my hardest, but at that point, once Chris got by me, he did such a good job, and knowing where he started … believe me, I was trying as hard as I could, but I just kind of had a catbird's seat to see what those two were going to do at the end,” said McCreadie, whose third-place run coupled with Brandon Sheppard’s 20th-place finish moved him past Sheppard and into the series points lead. “When Chris passed me, I thought he's gonna get it, and he come up on short but no reason to hang our heads. Our team’s happy and I hope they’re happy, too.”

Besides the late caution for Vandenbergh, other yellow flags appeared on 21st lap for a slowing Ryan Gustin and on the 55th circuit for a flat right-rear tire of Jimmy Owens, who had run as high as second and was in the top five when the tire began deflating.

Notes: Overton registered his 13th career Lucas Oil Series victory. ... The 12th-running Hudson O’Neal lost his power steering during the lap-20 caution; crew members couldn’t make repairs and O’Neal soldiered to an 11th-place finish. … Twenty drivers completed 75 laps. ... The weekend purse exceeded $200,000. ... The charity event co-promoted by the Blooming Prairie Lions Club began 43 years ago and has been held at three tracks, shifting to Deer Creek in 2005. … Deer Creek drew its biggest-ever crowd … Three-time race winner Scott Bloomquist was among drivers who failed to crack the starting lineup. … Next season’s Gopher 50 is scheduled for July 6-8, 2023.

Feature lineup

(75 laps)

Row 1: Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie
Row 2: Mike Marlar, Johnny Scott
Row 3: Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Weiss
Row 4: Jimmy Owens, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 5: Tyler Erb, Brent Larson
Row 6: Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden
Row 7: Earl Pearson Jr., Kyle Strickler
Row 8: Tyler Bruening, Hudson O'Neal
Row 9: Stormy Scott, Garrett Alberson
Row 10: Shane Clanton, Chad Simpson
Row 11: Ryan Gustin, Spencer Hughes
Row 12: Daulton Wilson, Ross Robinson
Row 13: Kolby Vandenbergh, Daniel Hilsabeck
Row 14: Steve Stultz

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Stormy Scott, Shane Clanton, Ryan Gustin, Jared Hawkins, Kyle Bronson, Chase Junghans, Jake Timm, Kolby Vandenbergh, Chad Mahder, Lance Matthees, Daniel Hilsabeck.

Second consolation: Garrett Alberson, Chad Simpson, Spencer Hughes, Daulton Wilson, Cade Dillard, Jesse Glenz, Scott Bloomquist, Ross Robinson, Blair Nothdurft, Paul Parker, Larry Grube, Steve Stultz.

Consolation race lineups

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation
Row 1: Ryan Gustin, Stormy Scott
Row 2: Shane Clanton, Jared Hawkins
Row 3: Chris Simpson, Kyle Bronson
Row 4: Chase Junghans, Jake Timm
Row 5: Kolby Vandenbergh, Lance Matthees
Row 6: Daniel Hilsabeck, Chad Mahder
Row 7: Dustin Sorenson
Second consolation
Row 1: Chad Simpson, Garrett Alberson
Row 2: Spencer Hughes, Daulton Wilson
Row 3: Cade Dillard, Jesse Glenz
Row 4: Scott Bloomquist, Blair Nothdurft
Row 5: Steve Stultz, Paul Parker
Row 6: Ross Robinson, Larry Grube