Ross Bailes and Brandon Overton both made trips to victory lane in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action over the weekend.
Bailes was the winner on Friday night at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina, while Bailes scored the victory on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee.
On Friday night, Bailes battled with Overton throughout the 22nd annual Grassy Smith Memorial at Cherokee Speedway. Bailes took the lead on the final lap when Overton suffered a flat tire on the final lap. The Clover, South Carolina racer went on to score his second career series victory.
Brandon Sheppard and Jimmy Owens dueled back-and-forth during the last half of the race to come home second and third. Chris Ferguson rounded out the top five.
“Man, this is unbelievable. We have been through a lot this year,” Bailes said in victory lane. “I am so excited to win this in front of my home crowd. I mean it can’t get any better than that.”
“The car was better than the driver,” said the 30-year-old racer. “I just didn’t know what to do in lapped traffic and he (Overton) had the advantage of being behind me and seeing where he needed to go. Overton had a good car too, he probably has the best car in the country right now and we were right there with him. I hate what happened to Brandon, but luckily I was on the good end of that one at the finish.
On Saturday night, Brandon Overton held off several challenges in a furious finish to win the Mountain Moonshine Classic at Smoky Mountain Speedway.
The Evans, Georgia speedster earned a $15,000 payday for his third series win of the season. 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 for the win, with Jimmy Owens in third, Josh Richards in fourth and Earl Pearson, Jr. in fifth.
“I just wanted the race to be done. I didn’t know where they were at,” said Overton. “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.
For more information on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Cherokee Speedway – Gaffney, SC
Grassy Smith Memorial – June 12, 2020
| Pos | Start | Car # | Competitor | Hometown | Pay |
| 1 | 1 | 58 | Ross Bailes | Clover, SC | $12,000 |
| 2 | 6 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $5,500 |
| 3 | 5 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $4,300 |
| 4 | 3 | 76 | Brandon Overton | Evans, GA | $2,750 |
| 5 | 2 | 10 | Chris Ferguson | Mt. Holly, NC | $2,250 |
| 6 | 11 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $2,600 |
| 7 | 8 | 57 | Zack Mitchell | Enoree, SC | $1,500 |
| 8 | 17 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $2,000 |
| 9 | 15 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $2,200 |
| 10 | 12 | 1 | Earl Pearson Jr | Jacksonville, FL | $1,900 |
| 11 | 14 | 16 | Tyler Bruening | Decorah, IA | $1,075 |
| 12 | 16 | 21 | Billy Moyer Jr | Batesville, AR | $1,750 |
| 13 | 19 | 79 | Kyle Hardy | Stephens City, VA | $1,025 |
| 14 | 25 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $100 |
| 15 | 23 | 9 | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $1,700 |
| 16 | 13 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $1,700 |
| 17 | 24 | 81E | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $1,800 |
| 18 | 10 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,700 |
| 19 | 7 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $1,800 |
| 20 | 9 | 25 | Shane Clanton | Zebulon, GA | $1,700 |
| 21 | 26 | 2S | Stormy Scott | Las Cruces, NM | $100 |
| 22 | 22 | 89 | G.R. Smith | Statesville, NC | $1,000 |
| 23 | 21 | 24d | Michael Brown | Lancaster, SC | $1,000 |
| 24 | 20 | 1c | Kenny Collins | Colbert, GA | $1,000 |
| 25 | 4 | 8 | Kyle Strickler | Mooresville, NC | $1,000 |
| 26 | 18 | 6 | Christian Thomas | Wake Forest, NC | $1,000 |
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Smoky Mountain Speedway – Maryville, TN
Mountain Moonshine Classic – June 13, 2020
| Pos | Start | Car # | Competitor | Hometown | Pay |
| 1 | 3 | 76 | Brandon Overton | Evans, GA | $15,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $6,500 |
| 3 | 2 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $4,400 |
| 4 | 5 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $3,800 |
| 5 | 6 | 1 | Earl Pearson Jr | Jacksonville, FL | $3,300 |
| 6 | 8 | 17m | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga, GA | $1,900 |
| 7 | 11 | 7w | Ricky Weiss | Headingley, MB | $1,700 |
| 8 | 9 | 23H | Cory Hedgecock | Loudon, TN | $1,600 |
| 9 | 18 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $2,250 |
| 10 | 14 | 79 | Kyle Hardy | Stephens City, VA | $1,500 |
| 11 | 20 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $1,450 |
| 12 | 4 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,100 |
| 13 | 23 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $2,350 |
| 14 | 7 | 7M | Donald McIntosh | Dawsonville, GA | $1,300 |
| 15 | 13 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $1,900 |
| 16 | 15 | 21 | Billy Moyer Jr | Batesville, AR | $1,800 |
| 17 | 10 | 8 | Kyle Strickler | Mooresville, NC | $1,000 |
| 18 | 12 | 81E | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $1,800 |
| 19 | 22 | 16 | Tyler Bruening | Decorah, IA | $1,000 |
| 20 | 26 | 2S | Stormy Scott | Las Cruces, NM | $100 |
| 21 | 25 | 25 | Shane Clanton | Zebulon, GA | $800 |
| 22 | 17 | 4T | Tommy Kerr | Maryville, TN | $1,000 |
| 23 | 24 | 9 | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $1,700 |
| 24 | 19 | J27 | Jay Scott | Taft, TN | $1,000 |
| 25 | 21 | 21M | Robby Moses | Maryville, TN | $1,000 |
| 26 | 16 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,700 |
