Odom Breaks Through with Diamondback Victory

By Mark Chisum

Brandon Odom has been a fixture in the Viper Series at South Alabama Speedway. He’s run up front, led laps, and finished high in the points each year. One thing was missing, however - a trip to Victory Lane. Saturday night, everything fell Odom’s way, and he dominated the Diamondback 100, leading from green to checkered, to take his first long distance race.

Qualifying was tight with Hunter Robbins turning the fastest lap with a time of 15.519, just .001 faster than Augie Grill. Odom was fourth fastest, just .085 seconds off of Robbins pace. However, the inversion put Odom on the outside pole beside Korey Ruble. Odom got a good start and took the lead on the first lap. Odom stretched his lead over Ruble in the early going. On lap seven, Grill and Dakota Stroup got past Ruble to move into second and third. Ruble continued to slide back as Robbins, Bubba Pollard, and Josh Hamner passed him. Up front, Odom was still holding Grill and Stroup at bay. Grill pitted on a lap 42 caution period, moving Stroup to second. Pollard got past Robbins for third. At the halfway point, Odom led Stroup, Pollard, Robbins, and Ruble.

Stroup chased Odom for the next thirty laps, but couldn’t find a way past the leader.  As the laps wore on, Odom began to ease away from the field. On lap 81, Pollard moved into second and began to erase Odom’s lead. With Odom having trouble getting past Sam Smith, Pollard pulled alongside of the leader. With ten laps to go, Smith spun, bringing out the caution and setting up a 10-lap shootout between Odom and Pollard. Two laps after the restart, Pollard began to fade with deflating tire. Odom held off Stroup to take the win. Ruble rebounded to finish third. Logan Boyett had an up and down race, but finished on a high note, crossing the line fourth. Pollard’s tire issue resulted in a fifth place finish.

In the Rattler Modified Feature, originally scheduled for March 5, Donald Crocker led all 50 laps to take the win. Crocker set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 15.899. Starting from the pole, Crocker pulled away from Korey Ruble and was never challenged. Ruble and Bubba Pollard had a tight battle for second for a while, but Ruble eased away from Pollard. When the checkers flew, Crocker led Ruble by half a straightaway. Pollard was third, followed by Augie Grill and Mike Daniels.

In the Street Stock Feature, Chris Lucas took the lead on lap 13 and went on to pick up his second straight win. Craig Harrison led the field to the green and led the first lap before Brandon Odom took over. Odom led the next 11 laps before Lucas got inside of him to take the lead. Once out front, Lucas pulled away to win by nine car lengths. Johnny Otto was third with Chris Salter fourth and Billy Maxie fifth.

Kim Bishop took the lead on lap 12 and went on to capture another Roadrunner Feature win. Chris Yeakos took the early lead from the pole and led until Bishop took over. Yeakos kept Bishop close, but could never mount another challenge for the front spot. Mike Wolfe came from the seventh starting spot to finish third. Bobby Rhodes and Rick Thompson rounded out the top five.

In the Coyote Feature, Lee Rogers led just one lap, the final one, to take the win. Joseph Chandler took the lead from the pole and led the first 24 laps. While Chandler built a sizable lead, Rogers was making his way from the eighth starting spot. Rogers moved into the second spot on lap 13 and began to reel in Chandler. He caught the leader as the laps ran down and went to the outside on the final lap. Rogers charged off turn four with Chandler on the inside. Chandler tried to block Rogers path, but came up short as Rogers beat him to the stripe.  Rusty Locklar was third with Adam Salter fourth and Dylan Wolfe fifth.

Greg Adams picked up another CupLite Feature win. Rick Northey led the first five laps before Adams came to the front. Adams, started seventh, but quickly moved through the field. He got help with Larry Crutchfield and Waylon Spivey, running second and third, got together, bringing out the caution and moving Adams to second. Adams took the lead two laps after the restart and eased away with the win. Northey was second, followed by Spivey. Karl Williams was fourth with Carroll Williams fifth.

In the Mini Sportsman Feature, Jason Cannon led all 20 laps to take the win. Eddy Hinson moved into second on lap four, but couldn’t catch the leader. Dale McLendon was third, followed by Jeremy Geddings and Donnie Howell.

South Alabama Speedway will be closed Memorial Weekend, but will reopen on June 4 with features in all eight local classes. It will be Fan Appreciation Night with grandstand admission only $2.00 for ages 6-60. All other ages will be free admission. For more information, contact the track at (334) 565-3539, or visit the track’s web site at www.southalabamaspeedway.com.

Results

Pro Late Model Viper Series

Diamondback 100

1.        Brandon Odom

2.       Dakota Stroup

3.       Korey Ruble

4.       Logan Boyett

5.       Bubba Pollard

6.       Mike Garvey

7.       Augie Grill

8.       Mason Massey

9.       Josh Hamner

10.   Sam Smith

11.   Ricky Brooks

12.   Jacob Wallace

13.   Tyler Speer

14.   Hunter Robbins

15.   Anderson Bowen

16.   David Capps

17.   Tom Schuette

18.   Will Mack

19.   Russell Fleeman

Modified

1.        Donald Crocker

2.       Korey Ruble

3.       Bubba Pollard

4.       Augie Grill

5.       Mike Daniels

6.       Heath Mills

7.       Kevin Peel

8.       Scooter Grice

9.       Mario Lupi

10.   Jake Moore

11.   Cameron Henderson

12.   Lance Blacker

Street Stock

1.       Chris Lucas

2.       Brandon Odom

3.       Johnny Otto

4.       Chris Salter

5.       Billy Maxie

6.       Darrell Cawley

7.       Tony Tidwell

8.       Craig Harrison

Roadrunner

1.       Kim Bishop

2.       Chris Yeakos

3.       Mike Wolfe

4.       Bobby Rhodes

5.       Rick Thompson

6.       Danny Monaghan

7.       Nick Petrie

8.       Robert Berry

9.       Ricky Strickland

Coyote

1.        Lee Rogers

2.       Joseph Chandler

3.       Rusty Locklar

4.       Adam Salter

5.       Dylan Wolfe

6.       Jason Monaghan

7.       Cameron Grissett

8.       #51

9.       James Harris

10.   Wade Burger

11.   Chris Johnson

CupLite

1.        Greg Adams

2.       Rick Northey

3.       Waylon Spivey

4.       Karl Williams

5.       Carroll Williams

6.       Jack Whittle

7.       Larry Crutchfield

Mini Sportsman

1.        Jason Cannon

2.       Eddy Hinson

3.       Dale McLendon

4.       Jeremy Geddings

5.       Donnie Howell

6.       Karen Williams

7.       #20

8.       Kenny Younce

9.       Lon Howell