14 Winners In 17 Ultimate Southeast Late Model Series Keeps Fans Guessing

14 Winners In 17 Ultimate Southeast Late Model Series Keeps Fans Guessing

With 14 different winners in 17 races, it is anyone's guess as to who is going to take the checkers at Dublin Motor Speedway on October 7.

Sep 26, 2017 by Dan Beaver
14 Winners In 17 Ultimate Southeast Late Model Series Keeps Fans Guessing
So far in 2017, the Ultimate Southeast Series has run 17 races with 14 different winners gracing Victory Lane. Brandon Overton and Dale McDowell are the only drivers to win more than once as a deep pool of national touring talent flooded into the events on almost a weekly basis.

Scott Bloomquist, Shane Clanton, and Joey Coulter are just a few of the notable names that have already won in this series and there will be plenty of star power at Dublin Motor Speedway, which will steam LIVE on FloRacing.com.

Tyler Millwood is both the leading Rookie of the Year contender and series points leader, followed by Jason Welshan in second and Dennis Franklin in third.

March 4: North Georgia Speedway
Brandon Overton surged past pole sitter Welshan at the start and kept him at bay for the remainder of the race. Welshan crossed under the checkers second while current points' leader Millwood got off to a modest start to the season in ninth.

April 8: Virginia Motor Speedway
After two races were postponed, Overton returned to the Ultimate series and grabbed the $20,000 paycheck at VMS. He beat a star-studded field that included Dale McDowell in second, Mike Marlar in third, Jonathan Davenport in fourth, and Chris Madden fifth. Millwood's early season struggles continued with a 14th.

April 15: Modoc Raceway
Chris Ferguson took the lead after Brett Hamm experienced mechanical trouble on lap 18 to win the Jack Starrette Memorial. It was Ferguson's third consecutive win in the prestigious race and his 10th Ultimate career victory. Franklin finished fifth in the race to start his move up the points' ladder.

April 22: Senoia Raceway
It didn't take long for Shane Clanton to grab the lead. Starting third, he passed Zach Leonhardi on lap two and cruised to victory in a 40-lap, A-Main that went caution free. For the effort, he pocketed $4,000--not bad for 11 minutes of work. Well, not counting the thousands of hours of preparation.

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April 29: Dublin Motor Speedway
Big purses always attract some big names and Earl Pearson Jr. When rain washed out the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series, Pearson loaded up, headed to Dublin, North Carolina, and snatched the $10,000 paycheck from the Ultimate regulars.

May 7: Rome Speedway
The night prior to his victory at Rome, McDowell finished second to Overton in a Southern All-Stars event at the Talladega (AL) Short Track. He got a measure of revenge by winning this event by 7-10ths of a second over his rival. This was McDowell's first Ultimate win in four years. Deeper in the pack, Millwood finished sixth with Franklin 13th and Welshan 17th.

May 19: Carolina Speedway
Jeff Smith wasn't sure he would make it to the end of the race when his engine began overheating. After starting fifth, he found the lead at the halfway point before those mechanical woes began. Smith brought seventh-starting Hamm along with him, but held off the challenge to get his first Ultimate win.

May 29: Volunteer Speedway
After going four years between victories in this series, McDowell repeated quickly. In the Freedom Isn't Free 50, McDowell once again had to hold off a charge by Overton. This was McDowell's third win in three nights after taking a pair of Schaeffer Oil victories at Dixie and Rome. Franklin was the highest finishing driver among the current top three in Ultimate points.

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June 3: Virginia Motor Speedway
The top of the order featured some of the best late model racers in the country with Scott Bloomquist winning over Pearson and McDowell. But the real story of the night might well have been Millwood's fourth-place finish because he bested several other national touring series regulars as well as those challenging in the points.

June 16: Lavonia Speedway
In a 14-car field of mostly Ultimate regulars, Johnny Pursley beat Casey Roberts to pocket a $4,000 check. Franklin and Millwood also finished in the top five and pocketed some points for the championship race.

June 17: North Georgia Speedway
John Ownbey became the ninth different winner in the Ultimate series' last 10 races by outrunning 10th-starting Michael Page. His second career victory with the tour netted a payday of $4,000. Meanwhile, two of the points' contenders continued to have solid performances with a third-place finish for Welshan and a fourth for Millwood.

July 28: Lavonia Speedway
Casey Roberts found Victory Lane for the 20th time in Ultimate SE competition after first leading the field to green from the pole. Welshan was able to cut into Millwood's points' lead only marginally by finishing second. Millwood did not give up much, however, and crossed under the checkers fifth.

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July 29: Dixie Speedway
Michael Page led only one lap, but it was the most important one. He stalked pole sitter Jason Croft for 39 laps and executed the pass in turn two to score his first win of the season and second in his Ultimate career.

August 17: Volunteer Speedway
It wasn't as easy as it looked. McDowell earned his third win of the season after leading all 50 laps of the A-Main, but he had to hold off a determined charge from second-place finisher Ross Bailes before he could cash the $10,000 check. The current top three in points were scattered through the front half of the field with Franklin in fifth, Millwood eighth, and Welshan 11th

August 18: Crossville Speedway
Joey Coulter simply wanted it more than the competition. On lap one, he bonsaied the top three and executed a slide job that was not for the faint of heart. Coulter has been successful in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, numerous Crate Late Models divisions, and the Camping World Truck Series--but this was his first Ultimate win. Points' contenders Welshan and Millwood continued to run within sight of one another finishing sixth and eighth respectively.

August 25: Laurens County Speedway
Ross Bailes came up one position shy of winning at Crossville one week previous and made up for it at Laurens County. He led flag-to-flag and beat Dennis Franklin across the line by more than two seconds. This time around, Millwood got the best of the second-place points' contender by a fairly wide margin by finishing fifth to Welshan's 11th.

August 26: Senoia Raceway
Riley Hickman became the 14th different winner the Ultimate Southeast Late Model series and he made it look easy. Hickman led flag-to-flag and beat Ray Cook by more than two seconds in the Friends of the Dream 40. Welshan managed to shave a few points off the lead by finishing 10th to Millwood's 15th.