WOODSTOCK, Ga. (Oct. 12) — Michael Page has gotten pretty good at defending his home turf. On Saturday night the Douglasville, Ga., driver did it again. Winning his second career Dixie Shootout, Page turned back Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series invaders for a $12,000 victory at Dixie Speedway. Staying just ahead of Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., throughout the main event, Page led all 50 laps and beat Owens to the finish by 1.057 seconds.

Seventh-starting Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., finished third, while fifth-starting Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., advanced one position to finish fourth. Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., started fourth and gave up one spot to finish fifth as he and Madden swapped positions.

From the pole, Owens easily beat Page into turn one on the opening lap, but Page powered ahead as they exited turn two and used highside momentum to beat Owens back to the line to lead the opening circuit. He then pulled away to a four-car advantage until reaching slower traffic on lap 12.

“I knew I kinda had to get Jimmy (Owens) there on the start,” said Page. “It was pretty rough right there (on the outside in turns one and two). I ain’t been up there all night, so I just went for it and the car was good. I knew it was gonna be pretty good from the start. Last week we couldn’t even line up. That’s racing. You gotta hold your head up and just keep on gettin' it. I’d rather be lucky than good any day.”

Owens was never far behind in his Ramirez Motorsports Rocket car. Trailing Page throughout after giving up the lead, he ran comfortably in second, not quite fast enough to make a bid for the top spot, but in no danger of giving up his runner-up position. The 2012 winner knew his best chance for a second career Dixie Shootout triumph was likely lost on the opening lap.

“Congrats to Page and them guys. They’re real good here. It was just a drag race to turn one,” said Owens. “I beat him to (turn) one there and I started to go to the high side because I know you can momentum around the high real good. But I had a bunch of good cars on the low side too so I thought I’ll take my chances. I felt like I hit it pretty good, but he was just a little better and rolled us on the high side and got the lead there and was able to hold us off.”

Despite a caution-free race, Page had little trouble with lapped traffic. Twenty of the 24 starters finished the race, with 17 completing all 50 laps. Page managed to catch the slower traffic in good order and scoot by with little resistance.

“They didn’t try to race you when they were getting lapped,” said Page. “Most of the time you don’t get that respect. That was good and made it a lot easier for me.”

While the win was hardly as emotional as his first Lucas Oil Series victory — of course Page still had the usual throng of supporters gathered in the front-stretch victory lane — Page still measured his words while speaking to series announcer James Essex.

“I never thought I was ever gonna win one, and especially two … I love this place,” said Page. “From the first time I come here I told dad, ‘That’s where I need to learn how to race.’ It’s been really good and it’s pretty cool. This has been a hard year, kinda hit and miss, fast or slow and it’s really good to end the year with a good run.

“(I thank) Troy Baird for just giving me a chance a couple years ago. You know, I’d done all I could do and I was done, and he called me. It’s just cool to have the opportunity and I’m just glad I can win some races for him.”

As Page steered his Troy Baird-owned Stinger Race Car toward the finish, he had Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, directly ahead of him. That not only allowed Owens to close in over the final few laps, it also gave Overton a chance make up ground on the two leaders.

Overton grabbed the fourth spot on lap 25 following a two-lap, side-by-side battle with Davenport. Madden slipped high in turns one and two, giving Overton the space he need to slip into third with less than 10 laps remaining. With five laps to go, Overton’s Rum Runner Racing Rocket machine was the fastest car on the track, but he couldn’t climb any higher after catching Owens.

“We had a really good car, just didn’t win our heat and didn’t put us in them first two rows (to start the feature),” said Overton, who entered Saturday’s race after winning three straight five-figure events, including a pair of World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series races last weekend. “You can’t complain. Passing was probably at a minimum tonight out there. We had a really good car … just keep finishing on the podium and the wins will come.”

Notes: Page joined Scott Bloomquist (six victories), Dale McDowell (four), Shannon Babb (three) and Chris Madden (two) as a repeat winner in the race that began as a Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series-sanctioned event during that tour’s inaugural season in 1990. … Just as he did in 2017, Page piloted the lone Stinger Race Car entry. “Sometimes it’s a great advantage and sometime it hurts me because I have nobody else with one and I don’t have nobody to talk to or ask about,” said Page. … McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., who dominated last year’s Dixie Shootout for his fourth career victory in the long-running event, slipped to sixth after starting third. … The Dixie Shootout was the first race during a weekend doubleheader in the Peach State for the Lucas Oil Series as the tour heads to Dixie’s sister track, Rome Speedway (another Swims family-owned facility) on Sunday.