SENOIA, Ga. - Brandon Overton made his move on lap 16 to sneak past Joseph Joiner and then sped away to win the 23rd Annual Michael Head, Jr. Memorial race at Georgia’s Senoia Raceway on Saturday night.
Overton, of Evans, Georgia, has been one of the hottest dirt late model drivers in the nation winning his 20th race of the season pocketing the top prize of $4,054 and one of the most unique trophies in motorsports. The winner’s trophy is a replica pedal car honoring the late Michael Head, Jr.
“I saw the trophy on line earlier in the week,” said Overton in victory lane. “I told my guys we were going to Senoia Raceway to win that trophy.”
Joiner was poised to win his first at Senoia. He bolted to several early leads that evaporated each time the race was slowed for cautions. Several accidents took its toll on the field, including an early crash that left Todd Morrow upside down. Morrow’s misfortune also collected race favorite Michael Page.
A slight mistake on lap 16 allowed Overton to shoot past Joiner. He would lead the rest of the way, maneuvering around lapped traffic and finding ways to avoid holes in the track that had developed due to the excessive amount of moisture dumped on the facility over the past couple of weeks.
“We had to figure out where we could put the car and try and stay ahead of Joseph,” said Overton. “He gave us one chance and I had to go.”
Joiner challenged Overton on several occasions and even got past him on lap 41, but a caution gave the lead back to Overton due to the rule of returning to the last completed lap for the restart. Overton had clear sailing the final 13 circuits and won by nearly two and half second over Joiner.
Austin Horton finished in third, with Sam Seawright fourth and Clint Smith in fifth.
Larry Harrod, Jason Croft, Shane Riner Josh Richeson and Chad Wallace rounded out the top 10.
In other action, Dylan Knowles won his ninth Crate Late Model feature of the season. The victory places him third overall in career wins since 2010 when the track returned to a dirt surface. Only Clint Smith (64) and Clifton Moran (56) have more wins in that span of racing.
Jake Traylor finished in second, followed by Kyler Haygood in third, Austin Horton in fourth, and Wayne Harbin in fifth.
Morgan Alexander recorded the win in the Late Model Sportsman feature, with Baxtin Barber in second, Brandon McDaniel in third, Jamie Nicholson, Jr. in fourth and Mark Page in fifth.
Cody Lively scored his first Charger division feature race of the season, leading flag-to-flag to the win ahead of Tony Yawn. Andrew Moody finished third, with Jack Smith fourth and David Martin fifth.
Chaz Haskins won the Bomber feature while James Swanger was victorious in the Hobby feature. Dan Bennett claimed the checkers for the Mini Stock and Michael Goins was the Hot Shot feature winner.
For more information on Senoia Raceway, visit SenoiaRaceway.com.
Senoia Raceway – Senoia, GA
Michael Head, Jr. Memorial – September 26, 2020
Super Late Models
1. Brandon Overton
2. Joseph Joiner
3. Austin Horton
4. Sam Seawright
5. Clint Smith
6. Larry Harrod
7. Jason Croft
8. Shane Riner
9. Josh Richeson
10. Chad Wallace
11. T.J. Reaid
12. Matthew Turner
13. Cla Knight
14. Dalton Cook
15. Billy Franklin
16. John Henderson
17. Dalton Poston
18. Jay Scott
19. Austin Smith
20. Mark Dodson
21. Heath Hindman
22. Jason Hiett
23. Todd Morrow
24. Michael Page
DNS: Marty Lunsford
DNS: Jacques Daniel
DNS: Lamar Haygood
DNS: Glenn Morris
DNS: Payton Freeman
DNS: Aubrey Merritt
Crate Late Models
1. Dylan Knowles
2. Jake Traylor
3. Kyler Haygood
4. Austin Horton
5. Wayne Harbin
6. Marty Massey
7. Tanner Collins
8. Rodney Martin
9. Ty Ellis
10. Jordan Benefield
11. Tina Johnson
12. Brian Womack
13. Randall Powell
14. McKenna Nelms
15. Daniel Casteel
16. Jamie Maurice
Late Model Sportsman
1. Morgan Alexander
2. Braxtin Barber
3. Brandon McDaniel
4. Jamie Nicholson, Jr.
5. Mark Page
6. Jack Mills
7. Ricky Payton
8. Payton Stevenson
9. Scott Land
10. John Strickland
11. Dalton Benefield
12. Jamie Godbee
13. Lark Haskins
14. Steve Brannon
15. Jason Turner
16. Chris McKeehan
17. Jason Williams
18. Royce Bray
19. Connor Younginer
20. Trae Kirk
21. Ryan King
DNS: Daniel Doster
DNS: Wiley McDaniel
DNS: Dana Eiland
Chargers
1. Cody Lively
2. Tony Yawn
3. Andrew Moody
4. Jack Smith
5. David Martin
6. Richard Dale
7. Jonathan Flourney
8. Nathan Farrow
9. Brant Hardin
10. Shaun Heath
11. Kelly Donnell
12. Johnny Stinchcomb
13. Justin Clark
14. Josh Scott
15. Dawson Martin
Hobby
1. James Swanger
2. Blake Harmon
3. T.J. Joiner
4. Ben Wells
5. Joe Hillman
6. Tim Harmon
7. Chris Arnett
8. Michael Couch
9. Michael Thomas
10. Landon DeGraff
DNS: Keith West
Bomber
1. Chaz Haskins
2. Dustin Smith
3. Tyler Sanders
4. Craig Boozer
5. Chad Foster
6. Robbie Burt
7. Jim Jackson
8. Lee Hutchinson
9. Morgan Pittman
Mini Stock
1. Dan Bennett
2. Tommy Faulkner
3. Joshua Till
4. Jeremy Millsaps
5. Jamie Pritchett
6. David Brackett
7. Justin Brackett
8. Bobby Faulkner
9. Stephen Chunn
Hot Shots
1. Michael Goins
2. Rick Ricks
3. Cory Greene
4. Kirby Smith
5. Andrew Barnes
6. Jonathan Nelson
7. Tommy Smith
8. Timmy Boseley
9. Steve Clinton
10. Stacey Henderson
11. Phillip Henry
12. Jason Newman
