COLUMBUS, Miss. — Mike Marlar has enjoyed a lot of success in Columbus, Miss.

Since 2004, when he won his first-ever start at Columbus Speedway in the 15th annual Magnolia State 100, the 41-year-old Winfield, Tenn., native has 10 top-five finishes and five victories in a variety of special events. But until Saturday, Marlar had never gotten to pick cotton straight from the boll, a tradition that comes only with winning the Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100.

Marlar has twice won the Magnolia State 100, but since the long-running event merged with the Cotton Pickin’ 100 in 2013, he’s been shut out of victory lane in Mississippi’s late-summer special. Not any more.

Leading flag-to-flag at Magnolia Motor Speedway on Saturday, Marlar added a triumph in the Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100 to his impressive Mississippi resume while marking his and wife Stacy’s desire to pinch a hand full of cotton off the couple’s bucket list.

“My wife’s had quite a bit of pressure on me for some time to get some cotton,” Marlar joked in victory lane. “Luckily when (Randy) Weaver won (with driver Brandon Overton) a few years ago, they gave her a little piece. We got the whole bush now. That’s cool. I’m glad to win it for my team and my car owner. I got such a great group, all my sponsors and everybody. It’s awesome to win cool races like this.”

The win now gives the likable Tennessean six victories in Columbus since 2004 and perhaps an even more impressive five wins since 2010. Since that first triumph 15 years ago, he’s hauled off $104,014 in winnings alone with wins in the 2004 Magnolia State 100 ($20,004); the 2010 Magnolia State 100 ($25,010); the 2013 Lucas Oil Clash at The Mag ($20,000); the 2017 Clash at The Mag ($12,000); the 2019 Clash at The Mag ($15,000); and Saturday’s Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100 ($12,000).

“In ’04, with the help of C.J. Rayburn supplying me race cars, I got out and traveled and we won our first big one over there (at Columbus Speedway) … never will forget it,” said Marlar. “It was all cash and Jimmy Owens helped me carry it back to the truck that night. He raced in that race. It was awesome. It’s  always been good to me … it’s nice to come to a town that’s good to you and not let everybody down.”

Marlar’s prowess at The Mag is undeniable. He has five additional finishes of third or better at the sweeping oval known for its slippery surface to go along with a fifth-place as well. Of the 12 events in which Marlar has registered at least a top-five finish, only the first two wins came on the east side of town at Columbus Speedway.

On Saturday he turned in a dominating performance to show why he’s now the man to beat when big money is on the line in Possum Town. Completing a clean sweep after setting the overall fast time and winning the first heat, Marlar was hardly challenged while denying runner-up Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., a weekend sweep.

“(The track surface) was really racey and man I’m telling ya, I was really scoping everything out there,” said Marlar. “I actually ripped all my tearoffs off just so I could see a better groove in the track. Man (the groove) moved all over. I was on the fence and in the infield and all over it. It was really racey and when it’s like that you never know where they’re gonna be at. I don’t know if they were close or not. I know that I was digging and scratching for everything I could get.”

Lanigan, who won Friday’s $4,000, 30-lap opener, was eligible for a $2,000 bonus from promoter Dewitt Singleton if he could win both features. He charged forward from his 12th starting position and managed to close to within two car lengths of Marlar as they negotiated lapped traffic. On lap 58, Marlar caught Eric Cooley of Fulton, Miss., and Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., running side-by-side.

With Lanigan cutting his deficit to less than a second, Marlar zipped between the two slower cars and managed to gain some breathing room. Lanigan, who didn’t make it through quite as easily, had other problems, however. He began to fade over the final 10 laps after a skirmish with an infield tire, allowing Marlar to pull away and win by 4.265 seconds.

“We were close and then with about 10 (laps) to go we hit the bumper on one of them yuke tires and got it bent down,” said Lanigan. “So the race was pretty much done then. I just had to try to hold off the rest of ‘em.”

Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., the 2017 winner, improved one spot to finish third, a little more than a second behind Lanigan, while seventh-starting Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., finished fourth. Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., completed the top five after starting sixth. Overton had a back-and-forth battle with Ferguson before finally securing the final podium spot on lap 55.

“I felt like we had a third-place car. Not bad,” said Overton. “We worked on getting it tight all weekend and then we’re too tight in that feature.”

Notes: The 70-lap main event was slowed by four cautions, none serious. Yellow flags waved on laps three, 10, 26 and 40. … Eleven of the 25 starters completed the full 70 circuits. … After Marlar’s wife Stacy ripped her piece of cotton off the boll with ease, Marlar suggested she may seek employment in Mississippi next summer. “Stacy did so good (picking cotton) she’d probably be able to get a job here this time of year I bet,” quipped Marlar. … Marlar, the overall fast qualifier, earned a $200 bonus from Penske of Columbus for setting the quick time. ... For the second year in a row, action at the Mississippi oval was divided into two separate programs. … After 24 cars were locked into the starting grid through prelims, a 25th starter was added via a blind draw from a young fan from the non-qualifiers. Shelby Sheedy of French Camp, Miss., was the lucky driver added to the 13th row, which was worth at least $700 in start money. … Rick Rickman of Columbus, had mechanical trouble in his No. 86 and drove his brother Brian’s back-up car. He advanced to the feature in the borrowed machine and finished 21st. … Kyle Beard of Trumann, Ark., broke an engine during prelims.

Preliminary results:

Feature lineup

Row 1: Mike Marlar, Chris Brown
Row 2: Billy Moyer, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Tanner English, Dale McDowell
Row 4: Chris Ferguson, Dane Dacus
Row 5: Ray McElhiney, Brian Rickman
Row 6: Garrett Alberson, Darrell Lanigan
Row 7: Jamie Elam, Michael Arnold
Row 8: Chad Thrash, Colton Horner
Row 9: Hunter Rasdon, Eric Cooley
Row 10: Austin Rettig, Morgan Bagley
Row 11: Austin Arnold, Manny Falcon
Row 12: Neil Baggett, Rick Rickman
Row 13: Shelby Sheedy

Consolation results

First consolation (top four transfer): Hunter Rasdon, Austin Rettig, Austin Arnold, Neil Baggett, Jadon Frame, Shelby Sheedy, Jonathan Rowan, Dwight Falcon, Jeff Young, Jason Michau.

Second consolation (top four transfer): Eric Cooley, Morgan Bagley, Manny Falcon, Rick Rickman, Billy Franklin, David Gentry. Scratched: Jay Scott, Kyle Beard, Braden Mitchell.

Consolation lineups

(10 laps; top four transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Hunter Rasdon, Austin Rettig
Row 2: Dwight Falcon, Austin Arnold
Row 3: Shelby Sheedy, Jonathan Rowan
Row 4: Jadon Frame, Jeff Young
Row 5: Neil Baggett, Jason Michau
Second consolation
Row 1: Eric Cooley, Billy Franklin
Row 2: Morgan Bagley, Rick Rickman
Row 3: Manny Falcon, Jay Scott
Row 4; Kyle Beard, Braden Mitchell
Row 5: David Gentry

Heat race results

First heat (top four transfer): Mike Marlar, Tanner English, Ray McElhiney, Jamie Elam, Hunter Rasdon, Dwight Falcon, Shelby Sheedy, Jadon Frame. Scratched: Neil Baggett.

Second heat (top four transfer): Billy Moyer, Chris Ferguson, Garrett Alberson, Chad Thrash, Austin Rettig, Austin Arnold, Jonathan Rowan, Jeff Young, Jason Michau.

Third heat (top four transfer): Chris Brown, Dale McDowell, Brian Rickman, Michael Arnold, Eric Cooley, Morgan Bagley, Manny Falcon, Kyle Beard. Scratched: David Gentry.

Fourth heat (top four transfer): Brandon Overton, Dane Dacus, Darrell Lanigan, Colton Horner, Billy Franklin, Rick Rickman, Jay Scott.

Heat race lineups

(10 laps; top four transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Mike Marlar, Tanner English
Row 2: Jadon Frame, Ray McElhiney
Row 3: Hunter Rasdon, Dwight Falcon
Row 4: Jamie Elam, Shelby Sheedy
Row 5: Neil Baggett
Second heat
Row 1: Billy Moyer, Austin Rettig
Row 2: Garrett Alberson, Chris Ferguson
Row 3: Chad Thrash, Austin Arnold
Row 4: Jeff Young, Jonathan Rowan
Row 5: Jason Michau
Third heat
Row 1: Chris Brown, Brian Rickman
Row 2: Dale McDowell, Michael Arnold
Row 3: Kyle Beard, Manny Falcon
Row 4: Eric Cooley, Morgan Bagley
Row 5: David Gentry
Fourth heat
Row 1: Jay Scott, Dane Dacus
Row 2: Brandon Overton, Billy Franklin
Row 3: Colton Horner, Rick Rickman
Row 4: Darrell Lanigan, Braden Mitchell

Qualifying results

Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 13.864
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 13.997
Tanner English (22E), Benton, Ky., 14.002
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., 14.017
Jadon Frame (8J), Winchester, Tenn., 14.084
Garrett Alberson (1E), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.138
Ray McElhiney (20), Pulaski, Tenn., 14.198
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 14.239
Hunter Rasdon (R5), Jonesboro, Ark., 14.334
Chad Thrash (1), Meridian, Miss., 14.359
Dwight Falcon (4F), Pine Grove, La., 14.435
Austin Arnold (A8), Kosciusko, Miss., 14.471
Jamie Elam (48), Senatobia, Miss., 14.521
Jeff Young (1J), Tutwiler, Miss., 15.033
Shelby Sheedy (4G), French Camp, Miss., 15.277
Jason Michau (11), Kilmichael, Miss., 15.651
Jonathan Rowan (56R), Whiteville, Tenn., no time
Neil Baggett (21xxx), Columbus, Miss., no time
Group B
Chris Brown (21B), Spring, Texas, 14.002
Jay Scott (27J), Fayetteville, Tenn., 14.008
Brian Rickman (90), Columbus, Miss., 14.011
Dane Dacus (54), Lakeland, Tenn., 14.022
Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 14.111
Brandon Overton (2), Evans, Ga., 14.137
Michael Arnold (4),  Hattiesburg, Miss., 14.232
Billy Franklin (17), Calera, Ala., 14.345
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark., 14.360
Colton Horner (56jr), Katy, Texas, 14.388
Manny Falcon (995), Pine Grove, La., 14.397
Rick Rickman (86), Columbus, Miss., 14.402
Eric Cooley (33), Fulton, Miss., 14.509
Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky., 14.510
Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas, 14.540
Braden Mitchell (64), Russellville, Ala., 14.581
David Gentry (56), Murfreesboro, Tenn., 14.634

Tentative driver roster (alphabetical)

Driver (car no.), hometown
Garrett Alberson (1G), Las Cruces, N.M.
Austin Arnold (A8), Kosciusko, Miss.
Michael Arnold (4),  Hattiesburg, Miss.
Neil Baggett (21xxx), Columbus, Miss.
Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark.
Chris Brown (21B), Spring, Texas
Dalton Cook (44D), Smith Station, Ala.
Eric Cooley (33), Fulton, Miss.
Dane Dacus (54), Lakeland, Tenn.
Jamie Elam (48), Senatobia, Miss.
Tanner English (22E), Benton, Ky.
Dwight Falcon (4F), Pine Grove, La.
Manny Falcon (995), Pine Grove, La.
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C.
Jadon Frame (8J), Winchester, Tenn.
David Gentry (56), Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Colton Horner (56jr), Katy, Texas
Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky.
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn.
Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga.
Ray McElhaney (20), Pulaski, Tenn.
Jason Michau (11), Kilmichael, Miss.
Braden Mitchell (64), Russellville, Ala.
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark.
Brandon Overton (2), Evans, Ga.
Hunter Rasdon (R5), Jonesboro, Ark.
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo.
Brian Rickman (90), Columbus, Miss.
Rick Rickman (86), Columbus, Miss.
Jonathan Rowan (56R), Whiteville, Tenn.
Jay Scott (27J), Fayetteville, Tenn.
Shelby Sheedy (4G), French Camp, Miss.
Chad Thrash (1), Meridian, Miss.
Jeff Young (1J), Tutwiler, Miss.

Saturday’s schedule

Noon: Annual Carl Hanson BBQ
2 p.m.: Pit gates open
3 p.m.: Grandstands open
4 p.m.: Autograph session on souvenir row
5 p.m.: Driver’s meeting
5:30 p.m.: Premier Ford Hay Ride for the kids
6 p.m.: Hot laps/Racing
-Super Late Model time trials
-Super Late Model heats (10 laps)
-Super Late Model consolations (10 laps)
-Consolations for support divisions (if necessary)
-Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100
-Features for support divisions