Second Annual Peach State Classic Up Next on Nov. 11-12
SEYMOUR, Tenn. (October 11, 2022) — Is eight enough? Probably not, knowing the proficiency of Jimmy Owens at 411 Motor Speedway.
Continuing a remarkable stretch of racing at the 3/8-mile oval just an hour from his hometown of Newport, Tenn., Owens absolutely dominated Tuesday’s 50-lap Castrol® FloRacing Night in America event to capture his eighth consecutive visit to the Mitch McCarter-promoted oval.
Launching into the lead from outside the front row and never looking back in the caution-free event, Owens took the checkers 3.467 seconds ahead of runner-up Chris Madden with pole-starting Mike Marlar in third.
“He was plumb out of sight,” Madden rightly surmised of the victorious driver whose streak started with a 2019 victories followed by three victories in 2020, two last season (including in Castrol tour action) and two in the current campaign.
Why is Owens so good at 411 Motor Speedway? “It likes me,” Owens said. “I like it.”
Owens lapped all but 10 competitors in grabbing his second career Castrol tour victory with Madden and Marlar on the podium. Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, Tenn., advanced four positions to finish fourth and 10th-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., rounded out the top five in his 411 debut.
Owen wasn’t sure he had winning car in hot laps, but he settled in during time trials and when he earned an outside front-row starting spot for the third heat he was feeling pretty good.
“I felt like the track would come to us, and it did. So we took off,” Owens said. “I had the perfect spot in the heat race to take off from and same in the feature. Things just played out in our favor.”
Building leads of more than four seconds while Marlar and then Madden gave chase from the second spot, Owens found himself getting a little greedy late in the race as he mowed through slower traffic, including last week’s Castrol FloRacing Night in America winner at Tri-County Racetrack in Brasstown, N.C., Dale McDowell.
“When I got to Dale, I really wanted to lap Dale, because he runs good here, too. I felt good about that. But I got those guys and kind of fizzled out,” Owens said. “My tires started sealing up on me and stuff, and then I was trying to see where the other guys was up (behind) me and I thought, ‘Well, I’m lapping these cars, that’s pretty good.’ But then I looked to the infield and see they’re all pulling in, and I thought ‘Well, that ain’t no fair.’ “But it was a fun race. A lot of stiff cars here. Chris Madden, you know to beat him, he’s been awesome this year, him and (non-entry Jonathan Davenport). And Mikey (Marlar) has been really, really good. And so there’s a lot of good cars here (at 411) and we’re proud to have a win.”
Madden notched his fifth consecutive top-five finish overall but he’s looking for his first victory since Aug. 9 during a 14-victory season.
“We had excellent race car. Me and Mikey, we raced hard and raced for a long time out there. Jimmy was able to get out — he was plumb out of sight. But we was able to go back to him, you know, decently there at the end, but I felt really good about what we had tonight,” Madden said, crediting McCarter for providing an “excellent racetrack” for the midweek end. “We’ve been working hard at home, a lot of time and a lot of late nights. We found a few things that was just overlooked and we’ve got him back right now and feel really good about our package again.”
Marlar had a tight battle with Madden but knew one of them was going to settle for the runner-up spot with Owens far ahead.
“If Jimmy would’ve stayed at the house, me and Chris would’ve put on a show there, I believe,” Marlar quipped.
“The last three or four (Castrol events) have been rough on us, but it’s nice to get (on the podium) tonight,” Marlar added. “The McCarters have an awesome facility and racetrack here. It was really fun racing out there. Congratulations to Jimmy, he really had an awesome night, and Chris. Fun race, fun night, glad to get this thing back in the top three and quit having having those gremlins.”
Next on tap for the Castrol FloRacing Night in America is a season-ending doubleheader at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway during the second annual Peach State Classic weekend on November 11-12. Both nights will be series points nights.
The event on Friday, November 11 is headlined by a complete $20,000-to-win / $1,000-to-start program, while Saturday’s event features a $53,053-to-win / $1,053-to-start finale.
The Super Late Model online entry form for the weekend is officially live for the second annual Peach State Classic at https://senoiaraceway.wufoo.com/forms/q1syevod0yy4zt8/ .
Drivers have until Wednesday, October 19 to register and take advantage of the discounted Early Bird Entry Fee of $200 ($50 savings). After that date the entry fee is $100 for Friday, November 11 and $150 for Saturday, November 12.
Castrol® FloRacing Night in America Purse
Senoia Raceway (Friday, November 11)
1)$20,000 2)$10,000 3)$5,000 4)$4,500 5)$3,500 6)$3,000 7)$2,500 8)$2,000 9)$1,900 10)$1,800 11)$1,600 12)$1,400 13)$1,300 14)$1,200 15)$1,100 16)$1,050 17-24)$1,000
TOTAL – $69,850
Friday Non-Qualifier Money: $50
Early Weekend Entry Fee: $200 | Late Entry (Friday Only): $100
Castrol® FloRacing Night in America Purse
Senoia Raceway (Saturday, November 12)
1)$53,053 2)$20,053 3)$10,053 4)$8,053 5)$7,053 6)$6,053 7)$5,053 8)$4,053 9)$3,053 10)$2,053 11)$1,953 12)$1,853 13)$1,763 14)$1,653 15)$1,553 $16)$1,453 17)$1,353 18)$1,253 19)$1,153 20-24)$1,053
TOTAL – $137,782
Saturday Non-Qualifier Money: $50
Early Weekend Entry Fee: $200 | Late Entry (Saturday Only): $150
In 2021 at the inaugural Peach State Classic, Kyle Bronson bagged a $10,000 check for a win on Friday night, while Chris Madden claimed a whopping $52,052 winner’s prize on Saturday night.
Full event details will be release in the coming days. For more information on Senoia Raceway, please visit www.SenoiaRaceway1969.com .
For more information on Castrol® FloRacing Night in America sponsors, visit the company websites at www.castrol.com; www.renegaderacefuel.com; www.integrashocksandsprings.com; www.pitstopusa.com; www.k1racegear.com; www.buzzeracing.com; www.hokertrucking.com; www.rocketchassis.com; www.dirtdraft.com; www.hoosiertire.com; and www.fkrodends.com.
For complete Castrol® FloRacing Night in America details, visit the brand-new series website at www.FloSeries.com. For other questions, contact general manager Ben Shelton at msrmafia@gmail.com or 901-335-3037.
Castrol® FloRacing Night in America
411 Motor Speedway (Seymour, Tenn.)
October 11, 2022 Feature Results
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[4]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 4. 23-Cory Hedgecock[8]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[10]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 7. 83-Jensen Ford[6]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 9. 7W-Ricky Weiss[12]; 10. 17M-Dale McDowell[7]; 11. 71-Hudson O’Neal[11]; 12. 6-Kyle Larson[9]; 13. 58-Garrett Alberson[16]; 14. 7M-Donald McIntosh[18]; 15. 6L-Victor Lee[19]; 16. 90-John Llewellyn[13]; 17. (DNF) 11-Spencer Hughes[15]; 18. (DNF) 109-Eli Beets[20]; 19. (DNF) 22D-Dustin Linville[14]; 20. (DNF) 116-Cameron Weaver[22]; 21. (DNF) 6C-Clay Coghlan[17]; 22. (DNF) C5-David Crabtree[21]
DNS: Parker Martin, Will Roland, Noah Phillips, Cla Knight, Barrett Lowe, John Minon, Joe Denby, Charles Devine, Cameron Marlar, Brodie Sharp, Mike Bargo, Ruben Mayfield, Ellery Leake, Jason Playter Jr., Kane Newby
Entries: 37
Renegade Race Fuels Group A Fast Qualifier: Brandon Sheppard (13.738 seconds)
Renegade Race Fuels Group B Fast Qualifier (and overall): Jensen Ford (13.617 seconds)
Integra Racing Shocks Heat Race #1 Winner: Mike Marlar
Pit Stop USA Heat Race #2 Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr.
K1 Race Gear Heat Race #3 Winner: Jimmy Owens
Buzze Racing Heat Race #4: Chris Madden
Hoker Trucking B-Main #1 Winner: Clay Coghlan
Hoosier Tire B-Main #2 Winner: Donald McIntosh
Series Provisional: NA
Hoosier Tire Drawing Winners: Garrett Alberson, David Crabtree
$150 Cash Drawing Winners: Jensen Ford, Dale McDowell
Castrol FloRacing Night in America Points (After 10/11/22)
1)Brandon Sheppard – 636 points
2)Bobby Pierce – 536 points
3)Ricky Thornton Jr. – 483 points
4)Mike Marlar – 449 points
5)Tyler Erb – 423 points
6)Garrett Alberson – 390 points
7)Hudson O’Neal – 366 points
8)Brandon Overton – 288 points
9)Kyle Larson – 255 points
10)Devin Moran – 240 points