Jamaica, VA – Cody Overton of Evans, GA took over the lead in the Steel Block Bandit Dirt Late Model Challenge sanctioned Commonwealth Clash at Virginia Motor Speedway on lap 7, he would have to hold off a hard charging Tyler Bare of Rockbridge Baths, VA over the final 9 laps to take home the $5000 victory.
“My car was really good tonight< I knew if I stayed out front and paced myself I would be alright. I started seeing them early and said to myself they are going to have to slide job me to wreck me, and one of them about slid me. I don’t know what it was about here but it was about the roughest racing I’ve ever done in a long time, and I’m from the South,” commented Cody Overton in Virginia Is For Racing Lovers victory lane.
Dustin Mitchell and Cody Overton led the 24-car field to green with Mitchell taking the lead out of turn 2. Behind the two leader Derick Quade and Michael Batten battled for third, with Quade gaining control of the spot. A yellow on lap 6 closed the filed back up. On the restart Overton rocketed around the outside of Mitchell to grab the lead.
On the lap 23 restart Overton pulled away with Jamie Lathroum getting under Quade for second in turn 2 dragging Tyler Bare to third. Two corners later Bare got inside Lathroum for second. Two laps later Bare would bring out a caution with a flat right rear tire.
On the lap 25 restart Russell Erwin came close to completing a slide job on Overton heading into turn 2, but Overton would hold on to the lead. The yellow would come back out for a big wreck in turn 4 that included Walker Arthur, Matt Glanden, Sam Archer, Samuel Bryant, and David Williams.
On a lap 26 restart Overton bobbled allowing Lathroum to get to his inside along with Eric Erwin. Erwin would almost spin in turn 2 but would save it losing multiple positions. Another Caution would fly. On the restart Overton would get inside Lathroum and the two would race side-by-side until Lathroum’s car would wash up in turn 4 bringing out another caution. On the restart Overton would get out to the lead but another caution would fly for a wreck in turn 4.
On the next restart Overton grabbed the lead with Bare grabbing second from Tyler Arrington in turn 2. Another caution closed the field up, on the restart Bare put a slide job on Overton in turn 1 but couldn’t hold it as Overton crossed over to maintain the lead. Overton would turn up the wick and put two car lengths between himself and Bare, going on to take the $5000 win. Rounding out the top five were Tyler Bare, Tyler Arrington, Brent Robinson, and Derick Quade.
Heat race wins went to Dustin Mitchell, Cody Overton, and Robbie Emory. B Main wins went to Jeff Parsons, and David Williams.
In the Truckin Thunder Sportsman 25 lap feature Adam Breeden and Hunter Wright led the field to green with Breeden taking the lead out of turn 2. Breeden would hold the lead until lap 5 when Brett Adkins would take the lead away on the outside. Following Adkins into second was point leader Tim Shelton. It would take a couple of laps for Shelton to get inside Adkins, he did it heading to the line. He would take the lead by inches as the two headed into turn 1. The two got together with Shelton flipping and Adkins climbing over the top in a huge crash. Hunter Wright would inherit on the restart and would pull away while Matt Meads and Breeden battled for the runner-up spot. Wright would go on to score his career first win in the division. Rounding out the top five were Matt Meads, Adam Breeden, Steve Causey, and Tony Breeden.
In the Budweiser Modified 25 lap feature fourth starting Chase Butler of Mechanicsville, VA took the lead on the opening lap by a few inches over Rick Hulson. That was as close as it would get for anything of the other drivers as Butler would lead all 25 laps to score his second victory of the 2023 season. With Butler and Hulson in control of the top two spots, Bret Hamilton and Jeff Solinger raced side-by-side for much of the race battling for third. Hamilton would finish in third, with Solinger, and Brent Bordeaux rounding out the top five.
In the Collision One Limited Stock 20 lap feature Ryan Hutchens of New Kent, VA took the lead on lap 9 after leader Trent Clemans would spin in turn 4. Hutchens would go on to score a very emotional win over Cory Bradley, Jacob Buie Jr, Kevin Fletcher, and Johnny Brooks.
Virginia Motor Speedway will return to racing next Saturday, June 10th and will host a night of Dirt Series Championship weekly racing featuring the Victory Lap Pro Late Model, Truckin Thunder Sportsman, Budweiser Modified, and Collision One Limited Stock divisions.
Divisions scheduled to race on Saturday, June 10th will be the Victory Pro Late Models (30 Laps), Budweiser Modifieds (25 Laps), Truckin Thunder Sportsman (25 laps), and the Collision One Limited Stock Cars (20 laps). All divisions will run Hot Lap Time Trials and Features.
Admission price for Adults is $15, seniors (60+) / military (active/retired w/ proper I.D.) $12, students 13 – 17 years old $10, and children 12 and under admitted free. Pit passes will be $25.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA, and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland, and the Hampton Roads area.
Race fans can go to www.vamotorspeedway.com to view the complete schedule Virginia Motor Speedway’s 2023 season, find detailed event information, get the latest news, and get complete ticket and camping information. In addition, fans can get social with Virginia Motor Speedway by following @vamotorspeedway on Twitter, clicking “Like” at www.facebook.com/VaMotorSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/VaMotorSpeedway.
MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223
RACE RESULTS FOR STEEL BLOCK BANDITS DIRT LATE MODEL CHALLENGE, COMMONWEALTH CLASH, SATURDAY JUNE 3, 2023:
Steel Block Bandits A Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 15-Cody Overton[2]; 2. B8-Tyler Bare[11]; 3. 002-Tyler Arrington[8]; 4. 3-Brent Robinson[7]; 5. 74-Derick Quade[3]; 6. P1-Jeff Parsons[17]; 7. 16-Brad Lowe[24]; 8. 6-Jamie Lathroum[6]; 9. 32-Dustin Mitchell[1]; 10. 51-Samuel Bryant[19]; 11. 36-Sam Archer[14]; 12. 08-Michael Alderman[23]; 13. 72-Derrick Rankin[12]; 14. 22-Russell Erwin[15]; 15. 49-Kyle Lear[10]; 16. 7-Dan Breuer[13]; 17. 87-Walker Arthur[21]; 18. 21-Michael Batten[5]; 19. 23W-David Williams[18]; 20. 01-Matt Glanden[9]; 21. 7A-Corey Almond[22]; 22. 09-Brad Rigdon[20]; 23. 9E-Robbie Emory[4]; 24. 23-Josh Canipe[16]
B Main 1 (8 Laps) – 1. P1-Jeff Parsons[2]; 2. 51-Samuel Bryant[1]; 3. 87-Walker Arthur[5]; 4. 16-Brad Lowe[4]; 5. 46-Sherman Underwood[10]; 6. 71-Davis Lipscombe[8]; 7. 81-Daniel Garrett[7]; 8. 19L-Brandon Long[3]; 9. 43H-Josh Harris[6]; 10. 90-Larry Ramsey[9]; 11. 4-Cory Higgs[11]
B Main 2 (8 Laps) – 1. 23W-David Williams[2]; 2. 09-Brad Rigdon[1]; 3. 7A-Corey Almond[7]; 4. 11-Cody Wright[3]; 5. B1-Billy Tucker[11]; 6. 29-Dale Moore[5]; 7. KB-Kerry King[4]; 8. 10-Matt Ashworth[9]; 9. 08-Michael Alderman[6]; 10. 8-Joe Leavell[8]; 11. 23G-Gerald Wolfe Jr[10]
Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. 32-Dustin Mitchell[1]; 2. 21-Michael Batten[2]; 3. 01-Matt Glanden[3]; 4. 7-Dan Breuer[4]; 5. 51-Samuel Bryant[6]; 6. 19L-Brandon Long[7]; 7. 87-Walker Arthur[5]; 8. 81-Daniel Garrett[8]; 9. 90-Larry Ramsey[9]; 10. 4-Cory Higgs[10]
Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. 74-Derick Quade[2]; 2. 3-Brent Robinson[1]; 3. B8-Tyler Bare[3]; 4. 22-Russell Erwin[5]; 5. P1-Jeff Parsons[6]; 6. 16-Brad Lowe[4]; 7. 43H-Josh Harris[7]; 8. 71-Davis Lipscombe[8]; 9. 46-Sherman Underwood[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Cody Overton[2]; 2. 6-Jamie Lathroum[1]; 3. 49-Kyle Lear[4]; 4. 36-Sam Archer[8]; 5. 09-Brad Rigdon[7]; 6. 11-Cody Wright[3]; 7. 29-Dale Moore[6]; 8. 7A-Corey Almond[5]; 9. 10-Matt Ashworth[9]; 10. B1-Billy Tucker[10]
Heat 4 (8 Laps) – 1. 9E-Robbie Emory[2]; 2. 002-Tyler Arrington[1]; 3. 72-Derrick Rankin[4]; 4. 23-Josh Canipe[3]; 5. 23W-David Williams[7]; 6. KB-Kerry King[5]; 7. 08-Michael Alderman[9]; 8. 8-Joe Leavell[8]; 9. 23G-Gerald Wolfe Jr[6]
Overall Fast Qualifier: Dustin Mitchell – 18.110 seconds
Truckin Thunder Sportsman (25 laps): 1. 00-Hunter Wright[2]; 2. 23-Matt Meads[3]; 3. 01X-Adam Breeden[1]; 4. 9-Steve Causey[5]; 5. 101-Tony Breeden[6]; 6. 26-Stephanie Johnston[7]; 7. 16-Brett Adkins[4]; 8. 55-Tim Shelton[8]; 9. 11-Marty Dempsey[9]
Fast Qualifier: Tim Shelton – 20.935 seconds
Budweiser Modified (25 laps): 1. 11-Chase Butler[4]; 2. 18-Rick Hulson[2]; 3. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[3]; 4. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[5]; 5. 40-Brent Bordeaux[1]; 6. 55-Page Harrison[7]; 7. 44-Stephen Bryant[8]; 8. 36-Ryan Huff[9]; 9. 4-Doug Penny[6]
Fast Qualifier: Chase Butler – 19.680 seconds
Collision One Limited Stock Car (2 laps): 1. 14H-Ryan Hutchens[4]; 2. 41-Cory Bradley[1]; 3. 21-Jacob Buie[6]; 4. 25-Kevin Fletcher[9]; 5. 7-Johnny Brooks[8]; 6. 10-Ernie Dettbarn[7]; 7. 55-Raymond Harper[5]; 8. 12-Randy Hutchens[3]; 9. 6-Zac Elliott[10]; 10. 18-John Hankins Jr[13]; 11. 99-Hilton Pickeral[11]; 12. 59-Jason Speelman[14]; 13. 85-WL Johnston[12]; 14. 37-Mike Harris[15]; 15. 9-Justin Pullen[16]; 16. (DQ) 01-Trent Clemans[2]
Fast Qualifier: Johnny Brooks – 22.153 seconds