With the help of a Florida couple, Moran made the trip to Florida for a career weekCONCORD, N.C. – A trip to Volusia Speedway Park for the 50th DIRTcar Nationals wasn’t initially on Devin Moran’s 2021 itinerary. His new gator-wide smile signified his joy of that change.Moran, 26, of Dresden, OH, claimed his first DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator championship on Saturday after an impressive display of consistency through the five rounds of Late Model races. If it wasn’t for a broken driveshaft on Wednesday, he could’ve finished on the podium in each event – he had finishes of third, second, 31st, first (his first Volusia win) and second.“It’s pretty cool,” Moran said about claiming his first Big Gator title. “It’s pretty unexpected, to be honest. At the start of the week, we weren’t even planning on coming down here. Then to run top three even night, except for that one DNF, which I think we had a shot to win, it just gives us a lot of confidence… To start out the year the way we have, it’s been a lot of fun and like I said, it gives us a lot of confidence.”If it wasn’t for Florida-residents Terry and Marry Ann Wright – who have been friends with Moran’s car owner for a while – Moran and his team would’ve skipped the prestigious event. They’ve been trying to get the team to come down for a couple of years and this year helped make it affordable for them, Moran said.“I’m glad they did because it definitely paid off,” he added.Bobby Pierce was his closest competitor in the championship hunt going into the final race – before Saturday’s event was canceled due to rain. He entered the night only nine points behind Moran and was on track to cut into that lead after setting Slick Woody’s Quick Time and starting on the outside pole of the Feature.However, as fate would have it, he suffered a motor issue and the team was unable to get a new one in before the Feature started. Pierce hoped in Reid Millard’s car for the Feature but pulled in early and was unable to finish, unofficially handing the Big Gator championship to Moran who finished second that night. He earned his first golden gator trophy the night before.Defending Big Gator champion and three-time defending World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished second in over Big Gator points.“Like I said, it’s so unexpected,” Moran said. “First of all, with us not coming and then winning the whole week. It sucks with what happened with Bobby that he had to change motors and couldn’t… It’s a bummer that he couldn’t race. But we had a really consistent fast car all week. It’s a special thing to take home this gator with as unexpected as it was.”UP NEXT The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, on Friday, March 5, will return to Duck River Raceway Park in Lewisburg, TN.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision. FULL BIG GATOR POINTSplace#Fullname8-Feb9-Feb10-Feb11-Feb12-FebTOTAL19Devin Moran7075258075325232Bobby Pierce608026752826931Brandon Sheppard5565365545256440BKyle Bronson654241377025558Kyle Strickler 44806555244676Brandon Overton53552426802387OERick Eckert4947433660235816Tyler Bruening4730554951232958Ross Bailes44405344412221028Dennis Erb Jr3141356053220117Ricky Weiss29534953342181229VDarrell Lanigan43603729492181344Chris Madden30432151652101414Josh Richards513247284720515OScott Bloomquist2645454335194165Mark Whitener7536192538193173SBrian Shirley45386020271901897Cade Dillard41293831441831918Chase Junghans42283240391812020RTRicky Thornton Jr28517030 1792117MDale McDowell3234 70421782299BBoom Briggs37234238361762325Shane Clanton31333147321742456Tony Jackson Jr22314439371732539Tim McCreadie80492320 1722620Jimmy Owens40296535 1692771Hudson O’Neal 707523 16828B1Brent Larson27372041401652972Mike Norris39273321431633054David Breazeale34232845301603119RRyan Gustin31205124331593233Jeff Mathews30262242261463314BJohn Baker2539342423145346Blake Spencer2424303231141357RRoss Robinson29254022241403676NBlair Nothdurft28351820261273731Tyler Millwood2728222127125382Dan Stone38243922 1233914GJoe Godsey2627201925117406JRParker Martin35271834 11441OSRyan Scott25 2733291144289G.R. Smith25211922231104312Ashton Winger30212919 994421Billy Moyer Jr33222221 984542Chad Finley23261927 95463WBrennon Willard24252123 93473Mike Collins27241723 91487FJason Fitzgerald2625 25 764911Josh Rice282918 755025CDonnie Chappell292816 735114MReid Millard2423 2572521stJohnny Scott 2424485311HSpencer Hughes 2620 465414Gordy Gundecker 2125 46558Nick Allen2320 43567MMMichael Maresca36 36576HClay Harris 17 17 |
| The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (automotive Racing products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |