PHENIX CITY, Ala. (Oct. 29) — The biggest problem Chris Madden had Sunday at East Alabama Motor Speedway came before the 49th annual National 100 feature even began.

With 10-minute clock to line up for the weekend-ending event clicking down, Madden and his crew were scrambling to finish up some unexpected repairs on his brand-new Longhorn Chassis. They were able to complete the work and get the 48-year-old star from Gray Court, S.C., in line to keep his outside pole starting spot and then dominate the entire distance for a race-record $49,000 victory, but there were some anxious moments.

“We just had a major issue right there before time to go,” Madden said. “A fitting came loose inside the fuel cell, so we had to take the fuel cell out of the car and try to fix that and get it back in before it was time to go.”

Madden hailed his crew — led by Ricky Arnold and Stephen Eldridge — for their usual “great job” in the pits, which made possible his flawless wire-to-wire romp. He was never seriously challenged despite facing 11 caution flags and having two-time National 100 winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., chasing him for the final 62 circuits.

Owens, who overtook Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., for the runner-up position on a lap-38 restart, couldn’t get his Koehler Motorsports Rocket Chassis close to Madden en route to finishing 1.342 seconds behind the victor.

Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., shot from fifth to third on a lap-70 restart and remained in the final podium spot to the finish. He turned back a late challenge from Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., who finished fourth in his first-ever attempt at the National 100, while Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, completed the top five after placing second in his two previous National 100 starts (2019, ’22).

Overton, who was bidding for a third straight National 100 victory, ran as high as second before a flat right-rear tire forced him to relinquish fourth place during a lap-91 caution period. He pitted and returned to finish 10th, the next-to-last driver on the lead lap at the checkered flag.

Polesitter Richie Stephens of Phenix City, Ala., ran in the top five for the race’s first 37 laps before fading steadily and retiring on lap 66. The EAMS standout making just his sixth career Super Late Model start won a heat on Saturday driving a Team Zero car purchased by a backer from Hall of Famer Scott Bloomquist, who spent the weekend providing Stephens technical assistance.

Madden’s triumph was the third of his career in the 3/8-mile oval’s marquee event, backing up victories in 2007 and ’19. It was his first National 100 appearance since his ’19 checkered flag but his 14th feature start overall in a race in which he owns nine top-five finishes and just a single result worse than ninth (20th in 2011).

For Madden, the most notable aspect of his latest National 100 success was that it marked his first victory in more than two months. He was winless since recording his seventh score of 2023 in a $6,000 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series feature on Aug. 4 at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.

Sunday was also Madden’s first triumph driving a Longhorn machine, the brand he began running in late August after an extended stint campaigning Rocket Chassis.

“All the guys at Longhorn done an outstanding job,” Madden said. “It feels great to get back in the winner’s circle.”

Madden seemed to have his No. 44 on a rail throughout the distance, cruising around EAMS’s shiny surface with little trouble.

“We had a great race car,” Madden said. “From the bottom to the middle to the top, I couldn’t have had a better car. My guys gave me an outstanding race car tonight so it was my job to get it done for them and not screw it up.”

Owens, 51, advanced from the fourth starting spot to register his bridesmaid finish.

“We could fire off real good (on restarts), especially when the tires cooled down,” said Owens, who won the National 100 in 2012 and ’15. “Once we got to going and got a few laps in our brakes started getting pretty hot and all that stuff and I just got tighter and tighter as the race went on.

“Chris was the class of the field tonight,” he added. “He could just rotate through the center of the corner so much better than me.”

The 33-year-old Bronson joked afterward that he felt a sense of accomplishment in finishing behind Madden and Owens because the veterans have turned so many laps at EAMS that “they’re on social security here.”

“I love racing with these guys, and they’re really good in this type of stuff, banked racetracks, black stuff,” said Bronson, who started ninth driving a brand-new Longhorn car. “It’s hard to outrun these guys, but we’re learning, we’re gaining on it. I felt like I was driving down the middle not as easy as I needed to but not as hard as I could’ve, so it was OK … we made it to the end.”

Eleven cautions flags slowed the feature, including nine before the halfway point.

J.R. Moseley was involved in the first two cautions, going over the banking in turns one and two on lap one and then sustained race-ending damage in a tangle with Joseph Joiner on the ensuing restart. Josh Putnam stopped on the homestretch on lap three while Wil Herrington spun off the track in turns three and four while bidding for sixth on lap five.

Donald McIntosh brought out cautions on lap 35 (turn-four spin) and 91 (slowed on homestretch) with other yellows flying for debris (lap 36), Dalton Cook (laps 36 and 38), Bo Slay (lap 49) and Austin Horton (lap 70).

The event was sanctioned by the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series, but it was not a points race for the first-year tour that completed its season three weeks ago. The HTF staff handled all officiating of the race.

49th annual National 100
Pos. Driver, hometown
1. Chris Madden, Gray Court, S.C., $49,000
2. Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn.
3. Kyle Bronson, Brandon, Fla.
4. Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz.
5. Tyler Erb, New Waverly, Texas
6. Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, Ill.
7. Sam Seawright, Rainsville, Ala.
8. Cody Overton, Evans, Ga.
9. Spencer Hughes, Meridian, Miss.
10. Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga.
11. Austin Horton, Whitesburg, Ga.
12. Dalton Cook, Smiths Station, Ala.
13. Donald McIntosh, Dawsonville, Ga.
14. Richie Stephens, Phenix City, Ala.
15. Bo Slay, Milton, Fla.
16. Ashton Winger, Hampton, Ga.
17. Tyler Millwood, Kingston, Ga.
18. Joseph Joiner, Milton, Fla.
19. Steven Roberts, Jesup, Ga.
20. Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, Wis.
21. Wil Herrington, Hawkinsville, Ga.
22. Josh Putnam, Florence, Ala.
23. J.R. Moseley, Columbus, Ga.
24. Dylan Knowles, Lanett, Ala.
Lap leader: Madden 1-100
Fast qualifier (among 40 cars): Madden, 14.354 seconds
Heat race winners: Madden, Stephens, B. Overton, Owens
Consolation winners: Horton, C. Overton
Provisional starter: Joiner

National 100 lineup

(100 laps)

Row 1: Richie Stephens, Chris Madden
Row 2: Brandon Overton, Jimmy Owens
Row 3: Ricky Thornton Jr., Wil Herrington
Row 4: Dalton Cook, Ashton Winger
Row 5: Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 6: Tyler Erb, J.R. Moseley
Row 7: Sam Seawright, Spencer Hughes
Row 8: Josh Putnam, Bo Slay
Row 9: Austin Horton, Cody Overton
Row 10: Donald McIntosh, Brent Larson
Row 11: Dylan Knowles, Tyler Millwood
Row 12: Joseph Joiner, Steve Roberts

Consolation results

(10 laps)

First consolation finish (top four transfer): Austin Horton, Donald McIntosh, Dylan Knowles, Steven Roberts, Booger Brooks, Joseph Joiner, Ray Cook, Mitch Fulford, Terrance Nowell, Kenny Collins. Scratched: Jeremy Pate, Colby Darda.

Second consolation finish (top three transfer): Cody Overton, Brent Larson, Tyler Millwood, Mark Whitener, Matthew Taylor, Dennis Hale, Rucker Orr, Allen Styck, Chad Wallace. Scratched: Stephen Brantley, Parker Martin, David Townsend.

Consolation race lineups

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation
Row 1: Donald McIntosh, Austin Horton
Row 2: Dylan Knowles, Terrance Nowell
Row 3: Joseph Joiner, Steven Roberts
Row 4: Booger Brooks, Kenny Collins
Row 5: Mitch Fulford, Ray Cook
Row 6: Jeremy Pate, Colby Darda
Second consolation
Row 1: Cody Overton, Tyler Millwood
Row 2: Chad Wallace, Dennis Hale
Row 3: Allen Styck, Mark Whitener
Row 4: Brent Larson, Stephen Brantley
Row 5: Parker Martin, Rucker Orr
Row 6: Matthew Taylor, David Townsend

Heat race recap

Moving around early leader Kyle Bronson, pole-starting Chris Madden led the final five laps to win the first heat race by 0.576 of a second over sixth-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. Bronson settled for third after leading the first five laps, while fifth-starting Sam Seawright grabbed the final transfer spot. … Driving Scott Bloomquist’s Team Zero Race Car, Richie Stephens led all 10 laps to win heat two by 1.291 seconds over fourth-starting Wil Herrington. Dennis Erb Jr. and Spencer Hughes took the other two transfer positions. … Pole-starting Brandon Overton powered around the outside of Dalton Cook on lap seven and paced the final four circuits to win heat three; Cook finished 1.366 seconds back after leading the first six laps. Sixth-starting Tyler Erb and Josh Putnam finished third and fourth. The first caution flew on the opening start for a multicar incident involving Putnam, Cody Overton, Brent Larson, Parker Martin and Matthew Taylor; Martin and Taylor were unable to continue while Larson continued but broke a left-front suspension on lap four and required a tow back to the pits; Cody Overton finished fifth. Chad Wallace spun on the ensuing restart to bring out the second yellow. … Second-starting Jimmy Owens led green-to-checkered to win the four and final heat race by 3.370 seconds over Ashton Winger. J.R. Moseley finished third, with Bo Slay in fourth.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Chris Madden, Ricky Thornton Jr., Kyle Bronson, Sam Seawright, Donald McIntosh, Dylan Knowles, Joseph Joiner, Booger Brooks, Mitch Fulford, Jeremy Pate.

Second heat: Richie Stephens, Wil Herrington, Dennis Erb Jr., Spencer Hughes, Austin Horton, Terrance Nowell, Steven Roberts, Kenny Collins, Ray Cook. Scratched: Colby Darda

Third heat: Brandon Overton, Dalton Cook, Tyler Erb, Josh Putnam, Cody Overton, Chad Wallace, Allen Styck, Brent Larson, Parker Martin, Matthew Taylor.

Fourth heat: Jimmy Owens, Ashton Winger, J.R. Moseley, Bo Slay, Tyler Millwood, Dennis Hale, Mark Whitener, Stephen Brantley, Rucker Orr. Scratched: David Townsend

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
Group A
1. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 14.354
2. Richie Stephens (0), Phenix City, Ala., 14.566
3. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 14.691
4. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 14.692
5. Joseph Joiner (10), Milton, Fla., 14.726
6. Spencer Hughes (19m), Meridian, Miss., 14.733
7. Donald McIntosh (79), Dawsonville, Ga., 14.800
8. Wil Herrington (14), Hawkinsville, Ga., 14.803
9. Sam Seawright (16), Rainsville, Ala., 14.833
10. Austin Horton (16H), Whitesburg, Ga., 14.837
11. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 14.846
12. Terrance Nowell (27), Phenix City, Ala., 14.895
13. Mitch Fulford (15), Montrose, Ga., 14.953
14. Kenny Collins (1c), Colbert, Ga., 15.050
15. Booger Brooks (60), Chattanooga, Tenn., 15.056
16. Steven Roberts (111), Sylvester, Ga., 15.070
17. Dylan Knowles (66k), Lanett, Ala., 15.165
18. Ray Cook (27c), Brasstown, N.C., 15.233
19. Jeremy Pate (22p), Pensacola, Fla., 15.956
20. Colby Darda (91), LaGrange, Ga., no time
Group B
1. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 14.570
2. Ashton Winger (12), Hampton, Ga., 14.646
3. Allen Styck (11), Americus, Ga., 14.668
4. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 14.686
5. Josh Putnam (212), Florence, Ala., 14.709
6. J.R. Moseley (99jr), Columbus, Ga., 14.872
7. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 14.876
8. Tyler Millwood (31), Kingston, Ga., 14.977
9. Dalton Cook (44D), Columbus, Ga., 15.049
10. Bo Slay (2), Milton, Fla., 15.050
11. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 15.076
12. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 15.098
13. Parker Martin (6jr), Miledgeville, Ga., 15.194
14. Dennis Hale (888), LaGrange, Ga., 15.204
15. Chad Wallace (26), LaGrange, Ga., 15.210
16. Stephen Brantley (02), Monroeville, Ala., 15.601
17. Matthew Taylor (38T), Fort Valley, Ga., 15.637
18. Rucker Orr (99), Newnan, Ga., no time
19. Cody Overton (15k), Evans, Ga., no time
20. David Townsend (2T), Savannah, Ga., no time

Sunday’s schedule

8 a.m. - Pits open
9 a.m. - Grandstands open
10 a.m. - On-track activity begins
- Sportsman consolation (10 laps)
- Hobby consolation (8 laps)
- Crate Late Model consolation (10 laps)
- Road warrior consolation (8 laps)
- Limited Late Model consolation (10 laps)
Feature events
- Sportsman (40 laps)
- Road warrior (25 laps)
- Crate Late Model (40 laps)
- Hobby (25 laps)
- Limited Late Model (40 laps)
Track prep/Driver autograph session (grandstands)
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Super Late Model consolations (10 laps)
- 49th annual National 100 (100 laps)