Here is what drivers had to say following Friday night’s World of Outlaws Late Models race at Modoc Speedway:

Cody Overton — Winner: “I kept telling myself [Bobby Pierce’s] going to have to kill me to come through here. Anybody that tries to was because I’m telling you I was driving my heart out. This has been a long time. It’s honestly special that you’re back too. I’m glad I won tonight. Because we’ve always talked about it. I said, ‘If I win one we’re all going to party down there Matty, everybody.’ Nobody understands how hard it is to win one of these. This is a dream come true! It is.

I can’t thank James [Trantina enough]. I know it’s not a lot of money, but these are the hardest races to win and no one gets it, but I got one.

I can’t thank my car owner James [enough]. He’s been a blessing. The Good Lord has also helped me a lot lately. I owe it all to him. I really do. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without him.

I got a lot of awesome people I want to thank and I do not want to miss anybody because this is special for me, for everyone. Troy and Cindy Dixon, Granite; Boswell, Chad Tuten, Bowell Oil; Michael Smith. He’s actually one of my good friends. He’s from here. Smith & Johnson; CSRA Drywall, Chris Newsome; Cameron Tribble; Alan Murray, man, he’s definitely been a big help to me and long-time supporter; Doug and Cathy Varnadore, I don’t know if they’re here. Man, I don’t want to miss anyone. My car owner James; Chad Kicklighter; John Kicklighter; My car owner, his wife, his kids, just everybody. This is awesome. Logan, Ben, my crew Ty, Chapman, just everybody that helps us. Man, it’s awesome!

We got one more to win. I’d like to get two of them. That’d be awesome!”

Bobby Pierce — Finished 2nd: “Starting 20th it’s either checkers or wreckers at that point in time because I knew I had to get the move on and make something happen. The heat races I was just really trying to figure things out and qualifying. The track really widened out there in the feature. That raced, in my opinion, like Senoia when Senoia has a bottom, a middle, a top. And it was a lot of fun.

When I got to like top 10 there I was pretty happy and then it just got better from there. Made a move on that restart to get to second. I told Cody’s stick guy, ‘Congrats on moving him up there. You definitely did a good job.’ Cody ran a heckuva race. Congrats to him. 

May guys, man, we were busting our butts back there all night. Started when we couldn’t get the car off the lift, but then we got that figured out. We had something wrong with our battery. That was for hot laps. I just knew right there it was going to be a long night. We were struggling trying to figure the setup out. Went down and talked to Rumley a little bit and that helped out. And just, my dad, and Justin, Kong, Darien, everyone. Leka showed up today. Like I said my crew was busting their butts back there. I mean we were changing every single thing, every single time. 

Thanks to these fans for coming out watching. I got to thank my sponsors on this car: Collins Brothers Towing, Rio Grande Waste Services, Low Voltage Solutions, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Churchill Transport, Carnaghi Towing, Fort Knox Safes & Vaults. On the spoiler, we’ve got Brights Heating & Air. We had Flowers of Rome at Volunteer yesterday. JT’s Trackside Catering. Winning Edge Carburetors. Shout out to Hank. Put that thing on for the feature and it ran way better. Vic Hill Engines, Ohlins, Longhorn Dynamics, VP Fuels, American Racing Wheels, Pontiac RV, Steidinger Construction. It’s been awhile since I’ve thanked my sponsors. Performance Bodies & Parts. Just everybody. Thank you.

Jonathan Davenport — Finished 3rd: “It was okay, I guess. It’s a really weird track. There at the end I think we had a tire going down. I got really tight around the top. Other than that I just kept moving around, like you said, and I kept battling other people. I would slip up or they would slip up and we was having a good race there. 

I never felt like I was really in the top like I needed to be, but I still have a spoiler left so that’s probably the reason. I just wasn’t up there far enough. 

Thanks to my guys, they done an excellent job trying to give me the best race car they could so I could go ahead and put on a show for all these fans. Grateful to have my family here. So that’s awesome. It’s been awhile since they’ve been to a track and this is pry the closest I’ve race to my house in a really long time. So it’s awesome.

Like I said before Ronnie done an excellent job. Him and his staff with this race track.

Can’t wait for tomorrow. Just got to thank Ace Doran, ASC Warranty, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Longhorn Chassis, Longhorn Dynamics, Bilstein Shocks, everybody else on this thing and everybody behind the scenes that makes this thing go fast.

Chris Madden — Finished 4th: “We were harder on tires than anybody on the race track and the cautions just kept falling and killing us every time we’d get ready to put a charge together to try to race with Cody for the win. A caution would come out every time. Cautions the last two nights has really killed us. We had a good run going to get Jimmy there at Volunteer for the win up there with 5 to go and had a caution up there running second and wound up fourth. Same thing here tonight. Seven laps to go, had a caution. Harder on tire than them guys and just don’t fire up and we run fourth.

We brought a new car out, which we just built last week and it’s definitely put us up there where we can at least race for the win now.

We’re going to tune on it for tomorrow and get it a little bit better. Our balance is not perfect, but we’re very close. We got something to work with and hopefully we’ll get it done tomorrow.”

Hudson O’Neal — Finished 6th: “It’s a little self-inflicted. We were just tight hot lapping and I just got in there a little hot and got the right front kinda scooting across the race track and just couldn’t get it quite whoaed up before I caught it. It wasn’t terrible damage. It just caught the wheel, and spindle, and ball joints, and some simple stuff.

It was unfortunate at the beginning of the night because we didn’t have hot laps so we had no idea really where we were. Had to go out there and qualify really not knowing exactly what we had. Was able to be alright. 

Got a lot better for the feature than what we were in the heat race. We were really good around that bottom and really good around the cushion. We just got a little too tight right there at the very end to really make a lot of speed. 

We know what to do. I think we’ll get a little bit better for tomorrow and it’ll be a little longer race and we’ll see what happens.

I just got a little too tight to run around the cushion. It got really thin in 3 and 4 and I just was too tight to really make a lot of speed because I had to slow my entry down so much to get a run around it. [Bobby Pierce] was a little bit more balanced than we were right there at the very end. I made a lot of hay up there in the beginning of the race. It felt like that was ultimately going to drive me up through there and maybe win me the race. Just didn’t quite end up that way. 

Felt like we got to third there and we had a good showing and just faded a little bit right there at the end. Sixth place is not terrible. We obviously want to be a little bit better. One day you’ll wish, you’ll be praying that you had a sixth. So all-in-all it’s not that bad. We’ll keep working at it and get a little better.

I think tires are going to be the biggest thing [for tomorrow]. We had on softer tires tonight. I think what won was a little bit harder. I think tomorrow being a longer race we’ll be a little bit harder. I think that might fix our right front problem just a little bit. See what happens.”

Trey Mills — Finished 9th: “We just kinda got started off behind the 8-ball there having a flat tire pulling out there for hot laps. Didn’t really get to feel the track out. First time here so our first time was for qualifying. Put us starting outside of a transfer spot in the heat race, but we managed to get in the show through the heat. And then started, I think, 16th in the feature.

A lot of good guys, Bobby came from 20th. So there was a lot of good guys back there. Managed to has out a 9th place finish. It was definitely better than we thought it was going to be for having a bad start. So we’ll just take that, put it in the notebook, and be a little better tomorrow.

It’s a super cool track. There’s a couple things they can do different to make it a little bit better, but overall it was one of the better ones we go to. Probably just wet that top a little more in 3 and 4. I feel like it was only there for a little bit then it kinda died off. 1 and 2, you could race all over it, but 3 and 4 I feel like there really wasn’t a whole lot of moving and shaking down there.

We’re going to make some small adjustments to the car. Nothing major. We had a good piece tonight just kinda started a little too far back. I’ll talk it over with my crew chief and we’ll see what we do.”

Dustin Sorensen — Finished 14: “It’s a weird place. The only place I’ve ever been with this color dirt is Senoia. I’ve been there twice. Just trying to figure that out. I didn’t feel terrible, but like I just got to qualify better. I was the last car out, qualified terrible, and had to start way in the back. I think if I had better track position I would’ve been alright.

It’s just weird. There’s some laps I’d drive in there and feel really good and then do the same thing the next lap and feel terrible. I don’t know. I guess I got to figure that out. It’s not crummy so it shouldn’t be that. Maybe I’m driving bad, I don’t know. 

Like I said, I felt pretty good. Probably need to be more aggressive like Bobby is, but I pry wasn’t as good as him either. Some of them cautions, I passed three cars and then some of them, three of them passed me back. I think I just got to be more consistent myself and more aggressive.

More laps around here. Take more chances. But it can bite you too. Like Hudson in hot laps. Just do better as a driver. Use my feet and hands better.

Qualify better [for tomorrow], win the heat race, and it’ll be easy.”

NEXT: Mike Marlar Shares Details About The New Black And Yellow Longhorn He Debuted At Volunteer Speedway