Chris Madden
Earns Redeeming Tennessee Tipoff Win!
By Mike Warren
(March
6, 2021) Everything in racing can be going right until
the unexpected creates heartbreak. Flashback to one year ago,
when Chris “Smokey” Madden was leading at Smoky Mountain
Speedway. That’s when power steering issues sidelined him
for the night on Lap 25. One year later, he got his redemption,
leading every lap of Saturday night’s Tennessee Tipoff en
route to his 29th World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Feature win,
and second at Smoky Mountain. (MRM
Racing Photos)
The win makes Madden only the second driver in World of Outlaws
history to win multiple Feature events at the track. While leading
all 50 laps seemed like a dominant performance, Madden held off
challenges from last year’s winner Mike Marlar, and Jonathan
Davenport in heavy lap traffic, to take home the $12,000 prize.
Madden got the jump at the initial green flag, powering to the
number one spot outside of Davenport in Turn 2. He would hold
that position easily through the only two cautions of the race,
the first for debris on Lap 5, the other for a collision between
Cade Dillard and Sam Seawright on Lap 7.
After the final re-start, Madden had to fight through a long
green flag run and heavy lap traffic. The driver of the Drydene
#44 machine caught the tail end of the field on Lap 16, and five
laps later, he’d face his first challenge from Marlar. The
2018 Series champion consistently got a run on Madden into the
corner and poked his nose under him each corner. That’s
when Madden made a switch to the bottom of the racetrack, blocking
Marlar’s runs low line runs.
“We got in lap traffic there at the end and I knew he (Marlar)
was closing up on me, and I had to try to get some lap cars in
between me and him, so I made a move to get a couple in front
of him, and I did what I had to do to win the race,” Madden
said.
Even after making that move, Madden knew patience would be the
key in the closing laps of the event. “I knew I had to be
patient, not miss my marks, and not overcharge the corners,”
Madden said.
The win keeps Madden’s momentum rolling, coming off his
second consecutive Drydene Xtreme Dirtcar Series Championship
last weekend. He also picked up a Drydene Heat Race win earlier
in the night. One of the things he’s been happy with to
start the season is the help from two new team members.
“I got two new guys, Ricky and Steven, they’re working
extremely hard, and learning fast, and just doing an outstanding
job for me, and I’m proud to have them,” the Court
Grey, SC campaigner said.
Madden’s biggest challenger throughout the night was Marlar,
of Winfield, TN. He kept the pressure on Madden throughout the
night but couldn’t get a good enough run to win his second
consecutive World of Outlaws race at the track.
“Chris (Madden) did a really good job getting in the right
lane at the right time, I almost got him and then he knew to move
down, and kind of hit a sweet spot in the bottom of the track,”
Marlar said.
Overall, the 2020 winner of the Tennessee Tip-Off was happy with
a second-place finish, after starting in the fifth spot.
“Racing’s a humbling sport, I’m never going
to complain about second,” Marlar added.
While Marlar was trying to put the pressure on Madden, he had
even more pressure from Davenport all 50 laps. The two drivers
swapped second and third on multiple occasions. One of those occurred
during the first 10 laps, as Davenport pulled a slide job on Marlar
just as the caution came out on Lap 7.
“That second caution came out right at the worst time,”
Davenport said. “It was right before it (the track) started
taking rubber, and I got the top going pretty good, and was going
to slide Mikey (Marlar) right there.”
The two battled again in the final 10 laps, when the Blairsville,
GA campaigner snuck by Marlar on the bottom on Lap 44, before
drifting high while trying to get by a slower car, allowing Marlar
to get the spot back two laps later. Hudson O’Neal finished
fourth, while Tim McCreadie crossed the line in fifth. Rounding
out the top-10 were Jimmy Owens, Chris Ferguson, Brandon Sheppard,
Darrell Lanigan, and Josh Richards.
Points leader Kyle Strickler finished 15th, holding on to a 66-point
lead over three-time defending champion Brandon Sheppard, whose
seventh-place finish vaults him into the number two spot in the
standings.
8th Annual Tennessee Tipoff
Saturday, March 6th
WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES
1. Chris Madden # 44
2. Mike Marlar # 157
3. Jonathan Davenport # 49
4. Hudson O'Neal # 71
5. Tim McCreadie # 39
6. Jimmy Owens # 20
7. Chris Ferguson # 22
8. Brandon Sheppard # 1
9. Darrell Lanigan # 29v
10. Josh Richards # 14
11. Brandon Overton # 76
12. Dale McDowell # 17m
13. Ricky Thornton, Jr. # 20rt
14. Cory Hedgecock # 23
15. Kyle Strickler # 8
16. Jensen Ford # 83
17. Ricky Weiss # 7
18. Tyler Bruening # 16
19. Chase Junghans # 18
20. Ross Bailes # 58
21. David Breazeale # 54
22. Kyle Bronson # 40b
23. Scott Bloomquist # 0
24. Ryan Gustin # 19r
25. Boom Briggs # 99b
26. Christian Hanger # 29
27. Dennis Erb, Jr. # 28
28. Brent Larson # B1
29. Tony Jackson, Jr. # 56
30. Stacy Boles # 11b
31. Cade Dillard # 97
32. Sam Seawright # 16
DID NOT QUALIFY: Ryan Scott (0), Dalton Polston (00), Steve Smith
(3), Bo Eaton (3x), Tommy Kerr (4t), Clay Coghlan (6), Parker
Martin (6jr), Blake Spencer (6), Donald McIntosh (7m), David Payne
(8), Colton Proffitt (17), Tim Vance (17v), Robby Moses (21),
Dakotah Knuckles (21k), Will Roland (22), Shane Clanton (25),
Jay Scott (J27), Stewart Friesen (44), Daulton Wilson (79)
604 LATE MODELS
1. Cameron Weaver # 16
2. Zach Sise # 9
3. Logan Roberson # 17
4. Carson Ferguson # 00
5. Matt Henderson # 17
6. Eli Beets # 109
7. Trevor Sise # 73
8. Bradley Lewelling # 10b
9. Jesse Lowe # D2
10. Jed Emert # 98
11. Tyler Arrington # 002
12. Josh Henry # B00
13. Jake Whitehead # 116
14. Carder Miller # 69
15. Logan Palmer # 14
16. Greg Martin # 24
17. Tyler Price # 7t
18. Austin Langley # 4
19. Aaron Guinn # 97
20. Chris McKeehan # 21m
21. Rusty Ballenger # 29
22. Mack McCarter # 51
23. Ross White # 61
24. Jake Teague # 117
DID NOT QUALIFY: Ruben Mayfield (00), Oscar McCown (1), Terry
Poore (2), Curtis Thomas (5), Adam Ahl (7), Jason George (9),
Brandon Urban (U24), Jim Gray (47), Shannon Emery (52), Anthony
Conley (87), Teddy Tate (99)
KAJUN MINI STOCKS
1. Derik Duggan # 5
2. Tim Ladd # 39
3. Shannon Ethridge # 21e
4. John Smartt # S1
5. Hayston Collett # 21
6. Larry Housley # 30
7. Walter Walsh # 72
8. Eric Hill # 61
9. Dustin Stephens # 12
10. Daniel Moody # 17
11. Brannon Knight # B7
12. Brad Hamilton # 51
13. Cody Keith # 51k
14. Austin Lankford # 47
15. Damien Holt # H18
16. Dan Duggan # 20
17. Josh Cody # 11
18. James Bridenbaker # 18
DID NOT START: Chris Friis (13)
NEXT EVENT:
Saturday, April 17th
Rockin' with the Stars
Southern All Stars Super Late Models - $5,000 to win
Steel Block Bandits Limited Late Models - $5,000 to win
Sportsman Late Models
Front Wheel Drives
