Gustin Takes Opening Night Win at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals

They say if you don’t win the show, be the show. But if you’re Ryan Gustin at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, you do both.

Moments after “The Reaper” crossed the line at Volusia Speedway Park to claim the 11th World of Outlaws Late Models win of his career, the engine under the hood of the No. 19R machine started to turn sour. With smoke billowing out from every corner of the car, Gustin crossed the scales to officially become the first winner of the new season.

“It was obviously running hot,” Gustin said in Victory Lane. “Smoke was pouring out on the backstretch and they said keep going, so we burned her down and it paid off. I’m glad there weren’t many more laps, I don’t know how many laps the old girl had left in her.”

Earlier in the night, Gustin claimed the Simpson Quick Time Award and won his Heat Race to make the Redraw, where he pulled the outside of the front row to start next to Bilstein Pole Award winner Nick Hoffman.

A brilliant start gave Gustin the early lead, but a multi-car pileup on the backstretch quickly erased his advantage. On the following restart, Hoffman nailed the first set of corners to grab the lead back and went to work on building a gap.

Hoffman maintained the top spot for the next 15 laps until he jumped the cushion in Turn 2, letting Gustin get to his inside. That kicked off a back-and-forth tussle for the lead, with both drivers taking their turns at sliders through slower traffic.

It all came to an end for Hoffman just past halfway though, as he squeezed his No. 9 under Gustin entering Turn 1, lost the back end and went around to bring the caution out.

When the race went back green, Gustin found Ethan Dotson and Jonathan Davenport on his tail in second and third. A perfect restart allowed Gustin to extend a sizeable advantage over both of them with the laps ticking down.

Davenport got within four tenths of Gustin in the closing stages, but slid up over the cushion exiting Turn 4 which gave Gustin the opportunity he needed to drive away to the win.

Friday’s event marked Gustin’s first World of Outlaws start with new crew chief Cody Mallory on the wrenches, and they’ve already proven themselves to be a lethal duo capable of beating dirt Late Model racing’s best.

“Cody came on here and he’s completely redone this thing,” Gustin said. “Whole different unit than what we’ve had. This thing is just in the racetrack, fun to drive.”

In the final run to the checkers, Davenport got close enough to notice the trouble brewing under Gustin’s hood, but wasn’t able to pull off the winning move for his first Volusia win in seven years.

“Congratulations to Ryan there, they did a great job,” Davenport said. “Saw his motor was running hot and I was pulling up beside him like ‘man, don’t burn that thing down, go ahead and give us one here.’ But anyway, it just wasn’t our day.”

Rounding out the podium was Cody Overton with a career-best third-place finish. It certainly didn’t come easy, as the second-year Outlaw drove up from his 23rd starting spot to take home the Fox Factory Hard Charger as well.

“I was kind of doubting myself after Qualifying, I was like ‘maybe I just can’t drive,” Overton said. “My car owner [Dave Steine] has a lot of faith in me, he has spent tons and tons of money and I’m super thankful for him. This is a new car to me, my notebook has got one page in it. We’re going to take these notes and grow from there.”

Ethan Dotson kicked off his bid for the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award by finishing fourth, good enough for Friday’s Rookie of the Race honors. Tim McCreadie completed the top five in his first World of Outlaws start in the Boom Briggs-owned No. 9M.

The World of Outlaws Late Models return to Volusia on Saturday night for the $20,000-to-win DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals finale. Get tickets in advance by clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 2-Cody Overton[23]; 4. 74X-Ethan Dotson[5]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie[17]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[13]; 7. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[25]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[16]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 13. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 14. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 15. 16-Tyler Bruening[21]; 16. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[24]; 17. 17SS-Brenden Smith[18]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[27]; 21. 14W-Dustin Walker[28]; 22. 1T-Tyler Erb[14]; 23. 8-Dillon McCowan[29]; 24. 157-Mike Marlar[20]; 25. 11-Austin Smith[30]; 26. 09-Michael Leach[19]; 27. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 28. 111-Max Blair[9]; 29. 60-Dan Ebert[15]; 30. 71-Hudson O’Neal[22]

Wednesday, January 22nd to Saturday, January 25th

Volusia Speedway Park

1500 East State Road 40

Barberville, FL, 32130

Event Schedule

SATURDAY
12:00 p.m. - Pit Gates Open / Pit Pass Sales Begin (Turn 4 Gate & Turn 1 Gate)

1:00 p.m. - Registration Opens (World of Outalws Command Center)

3:00 p.m. - Front Gate Opens / Ticket Sales Begin

All Registration Closes

3:15 p.m. - Drivers Meeting - World of Outlaws Late Models (Command Center)

3:30 p.m. - Drivers Meeting - 602 Late Models & 604 Late Models (Turn 2 Grandstands)

4:00 p.m.
World of Outlaws Late Models Hot Laps

602 Late Models Hot Lap/Qualifying - 5 Cars/2 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Qualifying - 3 Cars/2 Laps

Pro (604) Late Models Hot Lap/Qualifying - 5 Cars/2 Laps

Opening Ceremonies

602 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 1 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes

602 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 2 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 1 - 8 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 2 - 8 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 3 - 8 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 4 - 8 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 5 - 8 Laps (if needed)

World of Outlaws Late Models Heat 6 - 8 Laps (if needed)

604 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 1 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes

604 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 2 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes

604 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 3 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes (if needed)

604 Late Models Last Chance Showdown 4 - 10 Laps or 10 Minutes (if needed)

Track Prep (if needed)

602 Late Models Redraw (Top 1-8 & 9-16)

World of Outlaws Late Models Redraw

604 Late Models Redraw (Top 1-8 & 9-16)

World of Outlaws Late Models Last Chance Showdown 1 - 10 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Last Chance Showdown 2 - 10 Laps

World of Outlaws Late Models Last Chance Showdown 3 - 10 Laps (if needed)

602 Late Models Feature - 20 Laps or 20 Minutes

Victory Lane Celebration

World of Outlaws Late Models Feature - 50 Laps

Victory Lane Celebration - 50/50 Drawing

604 Late Models Feature - 30 Laps or 30 Minutes

Victory Lane Celebration

*All times Eastern

Volusia Speedway Park

1500 East State Road 40

Barberville, FL, 32130