Dirt on Dirt - Four-wide pass lifts Cody Overton to win $5,000

July 9

Montpelier Speedway,

Montpelier, IN

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Bryan Ault, series and track reports (last updated July 10, 1:07 pm)

Four-wide pass lifts Cody Overton to win $5,000

Cody Overton
Trey Mills
Jason Feger
Tristan Chamberlain
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Tyler Erb
Mark Whitener
Devin Shiels
Rod Conley
Rusty Schlenk
Chad Finley
Colin Shipley
Christian Hanger
Tyler Millwood
Dillon McCowan
Thomas Hunziker
Jacob Stuhr
Brody Smith
Zack Mitchell
Rylee Knoll
Jerry Bowersock
Clayton Bryant
Brenden Smith

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Jim DenHamer

Cody Overton celebrates at Montpelier Motor Speedway.

What won the race: Storming to the lead after race-long leader Tyler Erb tangled with a lapped car, Cody Overton of Evans, Ga., charged from sixth on a lap-24 restart and paced the final seven laps for his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory. Overton beat Trey Mills to the checkers by 1.530 seconds for the $5,000 payday.

Quotable: "I wasn't too worried about the restarts because I knew I could probably get back out front, but it was just a matter of time and they could start circling and getting their hard tires back good," said Overton, who used softer tires. "I don't know. I’ll take it. I mean sometimes you just gotta be lucky."

Key notes: Overton's victory marks the first time two Georgia drivers have won on the Summer Nationals in the same season; Kingston's Tyler Millwood won July 3 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway. ... Overton's last win came March 1 at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway, worth $10,053 on the Schaeffer's Spring Nationals. ... Tyler Erb led the opening 23 laps before Jacob Stuhr spun and collected the leader exiting turn four; Erb was deemed to blend in ninth in the running order; he finished sixth. ... Jason Feger momentarily took the lead on the lap-24 restart, halting Zack Mitchell's momentum, allowing Trey Mills and Cody Overton to make progress on the low line; Overton completed the winning pass entering turn three, racing under Mills, Feger and Mitchell. ... Mitchell, the previous night's winner at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind., appeared poised to take control after Erb's misfortune, but slipped to fourth on the lap-24 restart, then saw his night end after slapping the fronstretch wall a couple laps later following contact with Mark Whitener, who finished seventh. ... Tristan Chamberlain rode the high line in the closing laps to finish fourth. ... Devin Shiels improved 10 spots to finish eighth. ... The race was slowed by three cautions including the lap-24 Erb-Stuhr tangle. The first came on lap 13 when Millwood spun out of 12th. ... The final stoppage came on lap 27 when Dillon McCowan spun on the frontstretch. He continued to a 15th-place result. … The 30-lapper lasted 19 minutes with 18 starters completing the distance.

On the move: Tristan Chamberlain of Richmond, Ind., started 14th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Overton’s Tri-Star Motorsports Longhorn Chassis carries sponsorship from Budweiser, Shaw Trucking, Tribble Electric, The Morley Companies, Supply Chain Management, Coltman Farms Racing, Big Dog Stump & Tree, Buffalo Bar & Grill, Bilstein Shocks, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Boswell Oil and Convenient Lube.

Points chase: Week 5 after Montpelier: 1. Trey Mills (149); 2. Jason Feger (120); T3. Zack Mitchell (116); T3. Rusty Schlenk (116); T5. Cody Overton (107); T5. Mark Whitener (107). Overall after Montpelier: 1. Jason Feger (1,457); 2. Tyler Erb (1,377); 3. Dillon McCowan (1,169); 4. Mark Whitener (1,149); 5. Trey Mills (1,091).

Current weather: Clear, 79°F

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Tyler Erb

Time: 14.169 seconds

Polesitter: Tyler Erb

Heat race winners: Tyler Erb, Rusty Schlenk, Zack Mitchell, Rod Conley

Provisional starters: Brenden Smith, Rylee Knoll, Jerry Bowersock, Thomas Hunziker, Clayton Bryant

Next series race: July 10, Butler Motor Speedway (Quincy, MI) $5,000

Editor's note: Adds note about third caution (sted two); adds Jerry Bowersock as a provisional starter.

From staff reports

MONTPELIER, Ind. — Updates and results from Wednesday’s 24th round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Montpelier Speedway, an event highlighted by a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Storming to the lead after race-long leader Tyler Erb tangled with a lapped car, Cody Overton of Evans, Ga., charged from sixth on a lap-24 restart and paced the final seven laps for his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory. Overton beat Trey Mills to the checkers by 1.530 seconds for the $5,000 payday.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Tyler Erb, Zack Mitchell
Row 2: Rod Conley, Rusty Schlenk
Row 3: Cody Overton, Trey Mills
Row 4: Christian Hanger, Mark Whitener
Row 5: Jason Feger, Colin Shipley
Row 6: Frank Heckenast Jr., Dillon McCowan
Row 7: Tyler Millwood, Tristan Chamberlain
Row 8: Jacob Stuhr, Chad Finley
Row 9: Brody Smith, Devin Shiels
Row 10: Brenden Smith, Rylee Knoll
Row 11: Jerry Bowersock, Thomas Hunziker
Row 12: Clayton Bryant

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

B-main: Brody Smith, Devin Shiels, Jerry Bowersock, Clayton Bryant, Thomas Hunziker, Carter Schlenk, Eli Johnson, Bob Mayer, Rylee Knoll, Brayden Shiels, Ken Hahn, Jason Ferguson, Mike Vandermark, Jake Rendel. Scratched: Brenden Smith, Devin Gilpin.

Heat race recap

Tyler Erb fended off a mid-race challenge from Cody Overton to lead the entire distance of the first heat race, winning by 0.461 of a second over the fourth-starting Overton. Jason Feger started and finished third, while fifth-starting Tyler Millwood grabbed the fourth and final transfer spot into Wednesday’s 30-lap main event. … Second-starting Rusty Schlenk used a last-corner, last-lap pass and nipped race-long leader Christian Hanger at the line by 0.131 of a second to win the second heat. Frank Heckenast Jr. held serve in third, while seventh-starting Jacob Stuhr improved to round out the top-four finishers. … Zack Mitchell cruised to win heat three, leading the entire way and winning by 0.516 of a second over third-starting Trey Mills. Fourth-starting Colin Shipley grabbed third, while second-starting Tristan Chamberlain held on for the fourth and final transfer position into the $5,000-to-win feature. … Fifth-starting Rod Conley slipped by Dillon McCowan on the fourth lap and led the final four circuits to win the fourth and final heat race by 0.681 of a second over Mark Whitener, who grabbed the runner-up spot from McCowan on the final lap. McCowan settled for third, while sixth-starting Chad Finley finished fourth. … The four prelims combined to last just shy of 10 minutes.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Tyler Erb, Cody Overton, Jason Feger, Tyler Millwood, Brenden Smith, Mike Vandermark, Jason Ferguson, Bob Mayer.

Second heat: Rusty Schlenk, Christian Hanger, Frank Heckenast Jr., Jacob Stuhr, Jerry Bowersock, Carter Schlenk, Thomas Hunziker, Ken Hahn.

Third heat: Zack Mitchell, Trey Mills, Colin Shipley, Tristan Chamberlain, Brody Smith, Clayton Bryant, Brayden Shiels, Devin Shiels, Devin Gilpin.

Fourth heat: Rod Conley, Mark Whitener, Dillon McCowan, Chad Finley, Devin Shiels, Eli Johnson, Rylee Knoll, Jake Rendel.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 14.169
2. Christian Hanger (29), Winchester, Tenn., 14.329
3. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 14.355
4. Rusty Schlenk (91), McClure, Ohio, 14.573
5. Jason Feger (25F), Bloomington, Ill., 14.631
6. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 14.752
7. Cody Overton (2), Evans, Ga., 14.798
8. Jerry Bowersock (95J), Wapakoneta, Ohio, 15.128
9. Tyler Millwood (31m), Kingston, Ga., 15.198
10. Carter Schlenk (lil91), McClure, Ohio, 15.218
11. Mike Vandermark (41), Cedar Springs, Mich., 15.292
12. Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 15.735
13. Jason Ferguson (79), Fairmount, Ind., 15.787
14. Jacob Stuhr (18), Harrison, Mich., 15.975
15. Bob Mayer (42*), Holland, Ohio, 16.744
16. Ken Hahn (27H), Gibsonburg, Ohio, 17.085
Group B
1. Zack Mitchell (57), Enoree, S.C., 14.653
2. Dillon McCowan (75), Urbana, Mo., 14.841
3. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., 14.883
4. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 14.946
5. Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 14.993
6. Brayden Shiels (51B), Britton, Mich., 15.040
7. Colin Shipley (46), Weston, Ohio, 15.057
8. Rylee Knoll (07), Lake, Mich., 15.129
9. Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 15.207
10. Rod Conley (71R), Wheelersburg, Ohio, 15.333
11. Clayton Bryant (114), Yoder, Ind., 15.357
12. Chad Finley (42), St. Johns, Mich., 15.603
13. Brody Smith (17sr), Dade City, Fla., 15.653
14. Jake Rendel (06), Adrian, Mich., 15.819
15. Devin Shiels (51), Britton, Mich., 15.991
16. Eli Johnson (55), Clewiston, Fla., 15.993

Wednesday’s schedule

(All times local)
3 p.m. - Pits open
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Street stock group qualifying
- Hornet group qualifying
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Street stock heats (8 laps)
- Hornet heats (8 laps)
- Late Model C-main (8 laps)
- Modified consolation (8 laps)
- Late Model B-main (10 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model feature (30 laps)
- Modified feature (25 laps)
- Street stock feature (15 laps)
- Hornet feature (15 laps)