3/6/2022
Southern All Stars
Madden Manages Tires, Outlasts Competition to Take March Madness at Cherokee Speedway
Chris Madden took advantage of a fast hot rod and a little misfortune from his closest competition to win his fourth March Madness.
The 20th annual event at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., on Sunday, was dominated by Chris Ferguson with Madden in tow for nearly the entire duration, but with two laps remaining, Ferguson blew a right rear tire, ending his chances at victory.
Madden (Gray Court, S.C.) would manage a series of yellows at the end of the race, leading the final two laps for his 52nd career Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series win and a $10,000 payday at the 3/8th-mile clay oval.
“I knew it was gonna be tire management, and we wanted to be there to give Chris a run at the end,” Madden said in Victory Lane. “We turned up the heat a little bit there and made him run a little bit harder. He didn’t make it and we were able to get the win.”
Madden’s No. 44 and Ferguson’s No. 22 were the class of the field all day, with Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton and Mike Marlar all running inside the top-5 for the majority of the race. Ferguson had the field covered, though, until the incident. He would set sail on restarts and the only time Madden could muster a challenge was through lapped traffic on long runs.
Madden was there at the end when it counted, cementing himself as the all-time March Madness win leader.
“Today we had a great race car. We got a little behind in qualifying but was able to win our heat,” said Madden, who started third in the feature. “I hope I got a few more of these in me.”
The 23-car field was split into two groups for qualifying and Mt. Holly, N.C., native Ferguson would set quick time in Group A and overall quick time. Group B quick time belonged to three-time Lucas Oil champion Davenport.
Pole sitter Ferguson led the field to green, but on the break, he would slide up into Davenport’s No. 49 machine, causing significant left front damage Davenport would have to manage the rest of the race.
Eight total cautions would slow the field, which was working perfectly into Ferguson’s hands. On each green flag, Ferguson would build a one-second-or-more advantage. As the track rubbered in, Madden would chip away at Ferguson’s lead. The yellow would fly. Lather, rinse, repeat.
It wasn’t until the two-to-go signal was in the air that Ferguson showed a chink in the armor of that No. 22 Super Late Model. His right rear came apart, Madden got by, and that was that. The duo’s biggest challenger was Overton, who made his way to third place from his sixth-place starting spot.
But “Big Sexy” never got to make a move, as he had tire issues immediately after Ferguson. That advanced Marlar to second, but over the last two laps – and several restarts – he could do nothing with Madden.
Chris Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden, and Mike Marlar were heat races winners.
RESULTS
A Feature (50 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 4. 16W-Daulton Wilson[9]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[8]; 6. 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick[17]; 7. 88-Trent Ivey[14]; 8. 16-Ben Watkins[12]; 9. 79-Ross Bailes[10]; 10. 20H-Bryson Harper[20]; 11. (DNF) 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 12. (DNF) 22-Chris Ferguson[1]; 13. (DNF) 8-Kyle Strickler[7]; 14. (DNF) 97-Cody Overton[18]; 15. (DNF) 18-Matt Dooley[15]; 16. (DNF) 17-Tim Vance[22]; 17. (DNF) 55-Benji Hicks[11]; 18. (DNF) 69X-Carder Miller[5]; 19. (DNF) 5-Corey Gordon[19]; 20. (DNF) 1-Kenny Collins[21]; 21. (DNF) 2-Dennis Franklin[16]; 22. (DNF) 41-Jay Sessoms[23]; 23. (DNF) 11-David Duke[13]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Chris Ferguson[1]; 2. 69X-Carder Miller[3]; 3. 16W-Daulton Wilson[6]; 4. (DNF) 11-David Duke[5]; 5. (DNF) 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick[2]; 6. (DNF) 1-Kenny Collins[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 79-Ross Bailes[4]; 4. 88-Trent Ivey[3]; 5. 97-Cody Overton[5]; 6. 17-Tim Vance[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 2. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 3. 55-Benji Hicks[3]; 4. 18-Matt Dooley[6]; 5. 5-Corey Gordon[4]; 6. 41-Jay Sessoms[5]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 3. 16-Ben Watkins[3]; 4. 2-Dennis Franklin[4]; 5. 20H-Bryson Harper[5]
Qualifying 1: 1. 22-Chris Ferguson, 00:15.359[12]; 2. 44-Chris Madden, 00:15.583[3]; 3. 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick, 00:15.706[6]; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler, 00:15.792[2]; 5. 69X-Carder Miller, 00:15.825[7]; 6. 55-Benji Hicks, 00:15.837[8]; 7. 1-Kenny Collins, 00:15.882[9]; 8. 5-Corey Gordon, 00:16.097[10]; 9. 11-David Duke, 00:16.132[4]; 10. 41-Jay Sessoms, 00:16.252[5]; 11. 16W-Daulton Wilson, 00:16.281[1]; 12. 18-Matt Dooley, 00:16.379[11]
Qualifying 2: 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[6]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 5. 88-Trent Ivey[5]; 6. 16-Ben Watkins[7]; 7. 79-Ross Bailes[10]; 8. 2-Dennis Franklin[3]; 9. 97-Cody Overton[11]; 10. 20H-Bryson Harper[8]; 11. 17-Tim Vance[2]
Submitted By: Jackson Braun