Brandon Overton threw out some shade (though with a smile on his face). Jonathan Davenport wasn’t very happy either.

Yes, an especially rough-and-tumble first 20-lap semifeature during Friday’s Freedom 60 weekend opener at Muskingum County Speedway near Zanesville, Ohio, left both superstars a bit agitated.

The two standouts recorded solid finishes — Overton was second and Davenport placed third in the first of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event’s three semis won by Tim McCreadie — but the pinball action they experienced on their way to the checkered put them in foul moods despite locking into Saturday’s $30,000-to-win finale.

Overton, 32, of Evans, Ga., was the first to express his displeasure during his postrace interview with pit reporter Dustin Jarrett.

“Honestly, I just got out of the damn …,” Overton began, his voice trailing off for a moment before he continued: “Dude, I swear, I know I love everybody, but hey, some of these (competitors) don’t even need a driver’s license,” using an expletive instead of competitors. “Like, that’s terrible.”

It was a physical advance forward from the sixth starting spot for Overton, who was shuffled back to early in the 10-car race and didn’t reach second place until the white flag lap.

“My car wasn’t bad at the beginning, but I every time I’d let off the gas and go in there, somebody would door-blast me,” Overton said. “They run me off the damn track one time, so …

“Oh well, it is what it is,” he added. “It was fun, I guess. Once I got back up there with J.D. and McCreadie I felt like my car was just as good as theirs. I didn’t do a good job qualifying (timing 16th out of 32 entries). I did the wrong things to it again and just buried us, so that’s what you get. That’s what I get.”

Blairsville, Ga.’s 39-year-old Davenport, meanwhile, started fourth and experienced his primary frustration during the prelim’s early stages. He went back-and-forth for position with 19-year-old Garrett Smith of Eatonton, Ga., trading paint multiple times before breaking free of the tussle to ultimately finish third while Smith placed fifth.

“He pushed really bad down here (turn four) and took out the left-front (of Davenport’s car), so I pushed really bad (shortly thereafter) and hit his left-front,” Davenport said.

The three-time Lucas Oil Series champion mourned the beat-up state of his Lance Landers-owned Longhorn car after the short sprint but, like Overton, accepted some blame for putting himself in the position in which he ended up.

“I hope you all enjoyed that, because my guys are gonna have to work their ass off on this thing,” Davenport said. “I think every body panel on that thing’s bent, the front end’s knocked out … I don’t know, it probably cost us about $3,500 right there.

“Maybe it’ll be better for (Saturday) if it don’t rain, but just like Brandon said, we done it to ourself. We had a mechanical failure in qualifying that put us back in that mess (after timing 10th-fastest).”

Ricky Thornton Jr. Keeps Rolling

And the beat goes on for Ricky Thornton Jr.

The 32-year-old native of Chandler, Ariz., simply continued his prolific checkered-flag pace in Friday’s second semifeature, flashing his unquestioned strength behind the wheel of the SSI Motorsports Longhorn by powering past race-long pacesetter Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., heading to the white flag to snatch the $3,000 triumph.

For much of the distance it appeared that Wilson had Thornton’s number, but, when RTJ decided to turn up the wick, DirtonDirt.com’s No. 1-ranked driver proved unstoppable. Thornton shot ahead of Wilson racing down the backstretch to seize command.

“I felt like I was running too hard to try and stay with him,” Thornton said. “I thought, Man, maybe if I slow down for about five laps and cool my stuff off, then maybe the last five laps I’d have a good run, and that’s kinda how it worked.

“It was weird — that’s when the line actually moved down about a half-car (length). (Wilson) was just barely too high on (corner) exit and I was able to get to him, then I was like, ‘Man, I don’t even know once I get to him if I’ll be able to do anything,’ but it worked out for us.

“I was good enough off turn two, and I had been working it, kind of running in on the bottom and then would exit down through the middle and I could get a good launch,” he added. “I knew if I could race him into one and make him drive hard off of two I’d at least have a shot to get next to him.”

Thornton, who also captured a Freedom 60 prelim at the 3/8-mile oval last year, recorded his 16th overall Dirt Late Model victory this season. He’s now won at least one feature for five straight weekends — a streak that would be seven consecutive if he hadn’t lost his apparent Show-Me 100 triumph on May 27 to a deck-height penalty — and has claimed a $50,000 winner’s check in each of the past two weekends.

The 25-year-old Wilson, meanwhile, remarked that leading the race put him in a tough place during the closing circuits.

“I noticed the racetrack really changed a lot there about five to go down in three and four, but I didn’t really know what to do,” Wilson said. “He found the line and he obviously took off there pretty good.

“Maybe we’ll finish the deal for these guys before too long,” he added, noting that he’s chasing a Lucas Oil Series victory (in full- or split-field action) midway through his second season driving for Rattliff Racing. “We’re building our program. You gotta keep finishing up here and the wins will come, so hopefully that’s the case.”

Tim McCreadie Credits Crew

After winning a Lucas Oil Series semifeature for the second consecutive weekend, Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., gave his Scott Fegter-led crew a huge pat on the back.

“I gotta thank all the guys who do this, these three (crew) guys back here,” McCreadie said following his $3,000 triumph in the first 20-lap prelim. “This is the (Longhorn) car I tore it up at Eldora (Speedway in a June 10 Dream XXIX heat) and everybody at the chassis shop at Longhorn (in China Grove, N.C.) went to work and fixed it, and then it broke a motor in it last week in hot laps before the heat races on Saturday (during the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.) and then they had to pull the backup car out and and I broke a jackshaft in that one (during the feature).

“I was fortunate I got to go home (after Lernerville) and try to figure out what I need to be faster. The car was back at Longhorn and everybody at Longhorn jumps on it and the guys in the assembly shop actually helped assemble a new car for us because I’ve been tearing too much stuff up. Once I get my job where I do a little to let these (crew) guys catch up, we’ll find some speed.”

The 49-year-old, two-time Lucas Oil Series champion led the 20-lapper from start-to-finish after outgunning polesitter Spencer Hughes at the initial green flag, but it wasn’t a simple cruise to the $3,000 top prize. McCreadie had to battle through some difficult conditions.

“The track is just, it’s just really dirty, and not really run all the way in yet,” said McCreadie, who is still searching for his first full-field win of 2023 on the Lucas Oil Series. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we had probably (enough) cars, or just whatever they did (to the surface) … it was just really kinda one-lane and that’s why we could pull them sliders early because, you know, you’re just gonna fly through the slop more than anything.

“But we knew that being in the first heat. The first heat is always a tough one when we run this races here at this place.”

Spencer Hughes Gets Hot

A night that started so well ended in dismal fashion for Spencer Hughes.

The 22-year-old driver from Meridian, Miss., was the fastest qualifier of 32 entries during Friday’s Freedom 60 preliminary program, but despite starting on the pole of the first 20-lap semifeature he never led a circuit and ultimately retired from the race while running fourth with two laps remaining due to a spectacular flareup under the hood of his PCC Motorsports Longhorn car.

“Right there through (turns) one and two, when (Brandon) Overton got by me (for third), it kind of lost fuel pressure and I was trying to figure out what went on and it just caught on fire,” Hughes said.

The sophomore Lucas Oil Series driver slowed his car to a stop on the outside of turn four as flames were visibly shooting up through the hood’s opening for the air cleaner. He quickly climbed out of the cockpit without injury as safety crews responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.

Hughes, who was credited with a seventh-place finish and as a result must run a B-main on Saturday, later said something — perhaps a rock or mud clod — hit the main fuel line at the front of the car, breaking it and causing fuel to ignite. He added that the flames were put out quickly enough that the engine was not hurt and he will be able to use it on Saturday after making some repairs.

Odds And Ends

Hudson O’Neal’s march to victory in the second semifeature was nearly dive-bombed when he struck a large clump of clay with his Rocket Chassis house car during his initial attempts to pass Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., for the lead. “There’s just huge chunks (of mud) laying everywhere, and I tried to get up and come back down the racetrack to cross (Blair) over, and it’s just kinda dirty and you can’t see it,” he said. “I nailed (the dirt chunk), I centered it up and I really thought it folded our nose under or something, but we were able to hang on.” … Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, tallied a runner-up finish to O’Neal at the track operated by his father Donnie. “It’s wild. Dad’s got some character in it tonight,” Devin said of Friday’s track conditions. He also noted that contact he made with Blair late in the race was inadvertent. “I got smoked with a clunk of mud off of four and next thing I know I rammed Max. I didn’t even see him until after it happened so I apologize to him,” he said. … Todd Brennan of Zanesville, Ohio, smiled broadly after registering a third-place finish in the final semi to lock into the big show. “I’m just excited,” he said. “I know this is just a podium, but to me, if front of the hometown crowd, it’s like a win with Lucas Oil.” … Ross Robinson of Georgetown, Del., was another happy third-place finisher following the second semi as he continues to learn the new Kenny and Tracy Adams-owned Rocket Chassis he debuted two weeks ago. “Just baby steps and confidence,” he said. “If we can start getting stuff like this and get me believing in myself again, the rest will take care of itself.” … Lucas Oil Series announcer James Essex had a special guest join him in the booth as a color commentator for each semifeature — Donnie Moran (first race), Tim McCreadie (second) and Hudson O’Neal (third) — to provide some added insight for fans at the track and those watching the FloRacing broadcast. … With a threat of rain in Saturday’s forecast, Lucas Oil and track officials reminded racers and fans to keep an eye on social media channels on Saturday afternoon to learn of any adjustments to the program’s schedule that might be made in an effort to beat the weather.