BRISTOL, Tenn. — Veteran racer Dale McDowell earned the $50,000 payday Saturday night for winning the 50-lap XR Super Series Late Models feature to close out two strong weeks of racing during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
The night’s other big winner didn’t take a checkered flag but he took home the biggest check. Second-place super late model finisher Chris Madden claimed the $100,000 XR Super Late Model Series bonus for earning the most points during the four-race, two-weekend event.
With his two victories, runner-up finish, 12th-place finish and the series bonus it brings Madden’s total two-week earnings to more than $230,000.
Madden won his heat race but was penalized two spots for an infraction that was discovered during post-race inspection. He started 12th in the feature and had to work his way to the front to secure the $100,000.
“It’s pretty awesome, we overcame a mountain tonight and we came back and did what we had to do to get the bonus,” Madden said. “We had to take a two-spot knock and start 12th and it says a lot about my team and how we can bounce back. Our car was good enough to get us back in it and it says a lot for our team. I never doubted us being able to do it. Our car, our team is in a great position to be able to win some races and get some things done.”
It was McDowell’s second Bristol victory as he won in 2000, the first time BMS was converted to a dirt track.
“It’s unbelievable, we’ve had a really good year,” McDowell said. “I can’t thank the guys who work on this thing enough because they made my job easier. This one is for the old guys. It’s awesome to be back here at Bristol 22 years later. We had a little misfortune and had to change front pinons while the B Main was going on. I’ve got to thank the good Lord above for making all this possible.”
Chris Ferguson finished third, Scott Bloomquist was fourth and Jimmy Owens finished fifth. NASCAR Cup champ Kyle Larson won his heat race and qualified well but had a problem at the start of the feature and posted a 21st-place finish.
Kyle Strickler set a track record during his heat race victory with a best lap time of 14.879 seconds at a speed of 128.96 mph, but fell to 14th in the feature.
The finish:
Dale McDowell, Chris Madden, Chris Ferguson, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Darrell Lanigan, Ross Bailes, Garrett Smith, Ricky Weiss, Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Bronson, Mark Whitener, Kyle Strickler, Ricky Thornton Jr., Dakotah Knuckles, Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Joseph Joiner, Jason Papich, Kyle Larson, Brandon Overton, Shane Clanton, Mike Marlar.