BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Chris Madden knew he couldn’t play it safe Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park.
Madden ran fourth during the first 10 laps before taking a risk that led to reward. He thundered to the top of the half-mile oval, picking off Mike Marlar and Max Blair to get to second. That’s when he set his sights on leader Dale McDowell.
As McDowell moved to the middle to pass a slower car, “Smokey” dealt his final blow. Madden switched lanes through turns three and four, powering under McDowell to take control of the lead en route to winning the DIRTcar Nationals finale, while Devin Moran won the Big Gator Championship.
The choice to go to the outside was crucial in Madden’s 33rd career World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models triumph.
“It was very important,” Madden said. “I thought we messed up with an adjustment, and when they dropped the green flag, I couldn’t keep up, and I was like, oh boy, I’m in trouble.
“The race track finally slowed down enough to where we were pretty good and [McDowell], and they caught lap traffic, so I had nothing to lose but step out there, and we found the groove and happened to get by right in time.”
Madden’s second career DIRTcar Nationals victory is the culmination of a consistent week for him and his team. He’s now at the top of the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models point standings — 16 points ahead of McDowell.
“We’ve had a great car all week,” Madden said. “I’ve made some bad calls on restarts, picking the wrong line, and took myself out of a couple of wins this week. Overall, we’ve had a great week, my guys worked their tail off doing a great job, and I appreciate them.”
Mike Marlar finished second after passing Max Blair on the final lap.
“I had a good car; I just couldn’t do much about it there,” Marlar said. “[Blair] was just in my line. I kind of waited until I thought I could pass on tires, and the last couple of laps, I just drove it a lot harder and got him. But I probably never would’ve gotten Madden.”
McDowell finished third after leading early in the race.
“I didn’t know where to go, and I went to the middle,” McDowell said. “That’s where I should’ve been, but [lap cars] moved out a little bit so [Madden] and them shot by me. Some days are your days, and some days aren’t.”
While Madden did everything possible to win the Big Gator title, Moran took it home for the second straight year, besting Madden by one point.
It’s pretty cool,” Moran said. “We wanted to win so bad here this week and I felt we had the car too.
“To come out here and get the big gator two years in a row after not racing a whole lot is a lot of fun. I can’t thank Wylie [Moran’s brother and crew chief] enough.”
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 4. 111V-Max Blair[2]; 5. 45-Kyle Hammer[7]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler[4]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 9. 39-Tim McCreadie[11]; 10. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 11. 16-Tyler Bruening[17]; 12. 9-Devin Moran[20]; 13. 76-Brandon Overton[14]; 14. 11H-Spencer Hughes[12]; 15. 81E-Tanner English[22]; 16. 130-Chase Osterhoff[19]; 17. 97-Cade Dillard[23]; 18. 1-Brandon Sheppard[25]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[24]; 20. 40B-Kyle Bronson[13]; 21. 11-Gordy Gundaker[29]; 22. 99B-Boom Briggs[28]; 23. 1T-Tyler Erb[21]; 24. 1R-Josh Richards[27]; 25. 89-Ashton Winger[18]; 26. 33M-Michael Norris[16]; 27. 19R-Ryan Gustin[26]; 28. 32-Chris Simpson[10]; 29. 3S-Brian Shirley[15]