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Larson scores a 13th-place finish at Screven, while Leach finishes 21st

From series reports

SYLVANIA, GA (February 7) - Brandon Overton completed an impressive sweep of the “Winter Freeze XVI” weekend at Screven Motor Speedway on Saturday evening, as the Evans, Georgia superstar led all but two circuits during the 50-lap headliner to bag a hefty $25,000 windfall

Overton, who timed in second quickest overall, won his heat race in preliminary action and later rolled off from the outside of the front row in the feature. After leading the first six circuits, “Big Sexy” powered back around Daulton Wilson to grab the point for good on the ninth lap.

At the checkered flag Overton picked up his third straight win overall by besting Wilson by 0.848 of a second. Wilson had a strong runner-up performance, while fast-timer Ryan Gustin rounded out the podium in third, despite suffering spoiler damage during the race. Payton Freeman flexed his muscle to finish in fourth, while Benji Hicks charged past 15 competitors to nab the final position inside of the top five.

“I was so darn nervous because I knew my daughter was here tonight,” said Overton. “That is more pressure than anybody could put on me. I just wanted to win one for her. Thanks to all of these great fans that packed out the stands and a huge thanks to (track promoter) Redd for putting this show on. It’s awesome to win here close to the house — I just love racing here at Screven.”

The second event of the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series season drew a 29-car field to Screven Motor Speedway. D

A total of seven caution flags slowed the 50-lap grand finale. Tucker Anderson, who had climbed to as high as second in the running order, slowed to bring out the first yellow on lap 15. Casey Roberts then slowed on lap 19 prior to a multi-car incident on the ensuing restart. Debris on the track was the reason for the fourth caution on lap 31, before Tucker Anderson drew his second yellow flag on lap 36. Dillon Daves then went for a spin on the subsequent restart and former WISSOTA competitor and Lake Shore, Minnesota’s Dan Ebert got the worst out of the final incident of the evening on lap 39.

Two other drivers who have previously raced in WISSOTA-sanctioned action were on hand. Matthew Larson, of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, started 19th on the grid and improved six spots to 13th at the finish, while Michael Leach of Sun River, MT was scored 21st.

SUMMARY

Super Late Models:

A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 2. 58V-Daulton Wilson[5]; 3. 19G-Ryan Gustin[7]; 4. F1-Payton Freeman[6]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[20]; 6. 16-Ross Bailes[15]; 7. 10-Garrett Smith[9]; 8. 11-Austin Smith[11]; 9. 2X-John Henderson[10]; 10. 35-Dillon Daves[22]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 12. 24-Payton Stevenson[23]; 13. 8-Matthew Larson[19]; 14. 17F-Billy Franklin[18]; 15. 60-Dan Ebert[1]; 16. 22-Tucker Anderson[4]; 17. 44D-Dalton Cook[13]; 18. 77-Preston Luckman[17]; 19. 101-Casey Roberts[12]; 20. 23-Beckham Malone[14]; 21. 09-Michael Leach[16]; 22. 97-Cody Overton[8]; 23. 17-Chris Woods[21]; 24. 317-Kendall Franklin[24]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 2. 22-Tucker Anderson[3]; 3. 19G-Ryan Gustin[1]; 4. 2X-John Henderson[4]; 5. 44D-Dalton Cook[5]; 6. 09-Michael Leach[8]; 7. J1-Jake Jackson[6]; 8. 55-Benji Hicks[10]; 9. 24-Payton Stevenson[7]; 10. 9B-Broughton Boatright[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 58V-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 97-Cody Overton[7]; 4. 11-Austin Smith[2]; 5. 23-Beckham Malone[5]; 6. 77-Preston Luckman[8]; 7. 8-Matthew Larson[9]; 8. 38-Jamie Oliver[6]; 9. (DNS) 317-Kendall Franklin

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 2. F1-Payton Freeman[2]; 3. 10-Garrett Smith[1]; 4. 101-Casey Roberts[4]; 5. 16-Ross Bailes[5]; 6. 17F-Billy Franklin[8]; 7. 17-Chris Woods[7]; 8. 11S-Allen Styck[6]; 9. 35-Dillon Daves[9]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 8-Matthew Larson[2]; 2. 55-Benji Hicks[4]; 3. 17-Chris Woods[3]; 4. 35-Dillon Daves[8]; 5. 24-Payton Stevenson[6]; 6. 11S-Allen Styck[5]; 7. 9B-Broughton Boatright[9]; 8. 317-Kendall Franklin[7]; 9. J1-Jake Jackson[1]