GIBSONTON, Fla. (Feb. 8) — Updates and results from Thursday’s third round of the 48th annual Wieland Winternationals highlighted by a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Lucas Oil Series-sanctioned Super Late Model feature (results unofficial):
Feature
Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., wrested the early lead away from Garrett Smith and led 30 of 40 laps to claim Thursday's third round of the 48th annual Wieland Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park, his first win at the third-mile oval since 2013. Owens edged Jonathan Davenport by 0.314 seconds for the $10,000 payday.
Owens took control from the pole-starting Smith with 13 laps to go to position himself for his first full-field Lucas Oil Series win since March 20 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Feature lineup
(40 laps)
Row 1: Garrett Smith, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Mark Whitener, Clay Harris
Row 3: Garrett Alberson, Jonathan Davenport
Row 4: Wil Herrington, Devin Moran
Row 5: R.J. Conley, Blair Nothdurft
Row 6: Ricky Thornton Jr., Spencer Hughes
Row 7: Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O'Neal
Row 8: Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson
Row 9: Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Overton
Row 10: Mike Marlar, Tyler Erb
Row 11: Daulton Wilson, Max Blair
Row 12: Tanner English, Boom Briggs
Row 13: Ross Robinson, Brian Shirley
Row 14: Drake Troutman, Ethan Dotson
Row 15: Cory Lawler, Bob Gardner
Consolation results
(10 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation: Mike Marlar, Max Blair, Todd Brennan, Bob Gardner, Tony Jackson Jr., Ethan Dotson, Jason Milam, Brennon Willard, Kenny Howell, Jason Jack, Jason Riggs, Jensen Ford. DNS: Logan Zarin, Jake Little, Dennis Erb Jr., Ashton Winger, Parker Martin, Larry Grube, Blake McClain.
Second consolation: Tyler Erb, Tanner English, Drake Troutman, Matt Cosner, Ross Bailes, Tim Dohm, Ryan Gustin, Tyler Millwood, Michael Lake, Dean Carpenter, Trevor Collins, Daniel Adam, Brandon Thirlby, Seth Daniels, Tre Martin. DNS: Ryan Payne, Jeff Mathews, Jack Riggs, Terry Casey.
Third consolation: Daulton Wilson, Boom Briggs, Chase Junghans, Ross Robinson, Brian Shirley, Cody Overton, David McCoy, Dillon McCowan, Brenden Smith, Rod Conley, Brandon Weigle, Levi Yetter, Cory Lawler, Danny Snyder, Jeff Mathews, Carson Ferguson, Logan Hitt. DNS: Mike Benedum, Tim Lance.
Heat race results
(Eight laps; top three transfer)
First heat: Garrett Smith, Wil Herrington, Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar, Max Blair, Ethan Dotson, Todd Brennan, Dennis Erb Jr., Brennon Willard, Ashton Winger, Parker Martin, Kenny Howell, Blake McClain.
Second heat: Mark Whitener, R.J. Conley, Tim McCreadie, Logan Zarin, Bob Gardner, Jason Milam, Jake Little, Tony Jackson Jr., Jensen Ford, Jason Riggs, Larry Grube, Jason Jack.
Third heat: Garrett Alberson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Earl Pearson Jr., Tyler Erb, Drake Troutman, Tim Dohm, Tyler Millwood, Michael Lake, Dean Carpenter, Jeff Mathews, Jack Riggs, Brandon Thirlby.
Four heat: Jimmy Owens, Devin Moran, Hudson O'Neal, Tanner English, Matt Cosner, Ross Bailes, Ryan Gustin, Trevor Collins, Ryan Payne, Daniel Adam, Seth Daniels, Tre Martin, Terry Casey.
Fifth heat: Clay Harris, Blair Nothdurft, Kyle Bronson, Chase Junghans, Brian Shirley, Boom Briggs, Ross Robinson, Dillon McCowan, David McCoy, Mike Benedum, Cory Lawler, Rod Conley.
Sixth heat: Jonathan Davenport, Spencer Hughes, Brandon Overton, Daulton Wilson, Logan Hitt, Cody Overton, Brandon Weigle, Levi Yetter, Brenden Smith, Carson Ferguson, Danny Snyder, Tim Lance.
Pre-race notes
The weather continues to grow warmer with each passing day: Thursday’s high temperature reached the mid-70s under sunny skies. … Thursday’s 74-car field includes first starts of the week for Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., Carson Ferguson of Lincolnton, N.C., and Parker Martin of Milledgeville, Ga. … Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., said after Wednesday night’s feature that his car — the much-discussed machine that sports no brand logo and he called an “experiment” — sustained significant front-end damage in a lap-17 restart accident and he would be heading home. He’s still in East Bay’s pit area, however, because his younger brother Cody brokered a deal earlier this afternoon for Brandon to drive a Rocket Chassis from Floridian Jeff Mathews’s stable. Mathews, who fielded cars for Cody last year, will drive a brand-new Rocket in tonight’s while Brandon pilots the vehicle that Mathews crashed on Tuesday and raced on Wednesday. … Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., who absorbed a hard hit to his Roberts Motorsports No. 58’s left side from Brandon Overton when he slid sideways in turn one while running fifth on the lap-17 restart of Wednesday’s feature, has entered the same car in Thursday’s action. The primary damage was a broken left-rear shock and a dented left-side door. … Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., is returning to competition with a fresh bullet under his car’s hood after a broken valve during Wednesday’s time trials sidelined him for the evening. … Spencer Hughes of Meridian, Miss., and his JCM Motorsports crew put in some late-night work to drop a fresh engine in his car for Thursday’s program. Team owner Colten Miller arrived in the pit area with an Andy Durham-built engine around 2 a.m. and the crew finished buttoning it in the machine about 4:30 a.m. … Jensen Ford of Johnson City, Tenn., saw his promising run in Wednesday’s feature end on lap 30 when he was running just outside the top five because his Bruce Kane-owned Rocket car’s crank trigger was knocked off apparently by mud that packed the underside of the machine. His solid outing included a group fast time and heat victory. “We were a little too soft on the right-rear for the feature,” Ford said, “but I think we had a good shot at a top-five.”
Time trials
Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A
Garrett Smith (10), Eatonton, Ga., 14.164
Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 14.362
Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 14.466
Parker Martin (6jr), Milledgeville, Ga., 14.498
Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 14.508
Logan Zarin (1z), Hookstown, Pa., 14.508
Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 14.510
Jensen Ford (15K), Johnson City, Tenn., 14.510
Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.519
Wil Herrington (14x), Hawkinsville, Ga., 14.619
Tony Jackson Jr. (25), Lebanon, Mo., 14.654
Earl Pearson Jr. (46), Jacksonville, Fla., 14.655
Ashton Winger (12), Hampton, Ga., 14.680
R.J. Conley (71C), Wheelersburg, Ohio, 14.704
Drake Troutman (7T), Hyndman, Pa., 14.732
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 14.752
Jason Riggs (81r), College Grove, Tenn., 14.767
Jack Riggs (81J), Nolensville, Tenn., 14.789
Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 14.809
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 14.832
Brandon Thirlby (69), Buckley, Mich., 14.834
Todd Brennan (20), Zanesville, Ohio, 14.862
Larry Grube (29), Cresco, Iowa, 14.889
Tim Dohm (6T), Cross Lanes, W.Va., 14.935
Blake McCain (15), Coldwater, Miss., 14.937
Jason Jack (32), Tampa, Fla., 14.988
Michael Lake (27), Uniontown, Pa., 15.116
Ethan Dotson (174), Bakersfield, Calif., 15.172
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 15.191
Tyler Millwood (31), Kingston, Ga., 15.205
Brennon Willard (3w), Lebanon, Mo., 15.249
Jason Milam (82B), Guntown, Miss., 15.328
Jeff Mathews (33), Brandon, Fla., 15.379
Kenny Howell (21), Inez, Ky., 15.498
Jake Little (81L), Springfield, Ill., 15.509
Dean Carpenter (51), Coldwater, Miss., 15.594
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 18.369
Group B
Hudson O’Neal (1), Martinsville, Ind., 14.323
Blair Nothdurft (76), Renner, S.D., 14.327
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 14.390
Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 14.424
Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 14.453
Brandon Overton (33x), Evans, Ga., 14.466
Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 14.477
Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., 14.486
Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 14.517
Seth Daniels (S21), Jackson, Ohio, 14.550
Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 14.556
Spencer Hughes (11), Meridian, Miss., 14.561
Tanner English (96v), Benton, Ky., 14.569
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 14.571
Levi Yetter (9), Saxonburg, Pa., 14.576
Ryan Gustin (30), Marshalltown, Iowa, 14.584
Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 14.611
Brandon Weigle (47W), Middlebourne, W.Va., 14.622
Matt Cosner (66), Ridgeley, W.Va., 14.654
Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 14.703
Logan Hitt (2*), Buckhannon, W.Va., 14.719
Daniel Adam (75), Wade, N.C., 14.739
David McCoy (187), Franklin, N.C., 14.746
Carson Ferguson (00), Lincolnton N.C., 14.770
Terry Casey (942), New London, Wis., 14.824
Cory Lawler (93), Glenville, Pa., 14.839
Cody Overton (97), Evans, Ga., 14.877
Ryan Payne (12R), Pennsboro, W.Va., 14.921
Mike Benedum (25), Salem, W.Va., 14.997
Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 15.058
Trevor Collins (11C), Seaford, Del., 15.085
Rod Conley (71R), Wheelersburg, Ohio, 15.197
Tim Lance (48), Brimfield, Ill., 15.224
Ross Bailes (6H), Clover, S.C., 15.233
Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 15.285
Danny Snyder (4), Green Lane, Pa., 15.731
Tre Martin (21M), Sissonville, W.Va., 15.893
Thursday’s schedule
(All times local)
1:30 p.m. - Pits cleared
2 p.m. - Pits open
2-4:45 p.m. - Tech and registration
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model qualifying (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (40 laps)
Postponed from Monday, Feb. 5
- Late Model feature (25 laps)