Jonathan Davenport made quick work of the Friday night preliminary feature at Deer Creek Speedway, leading all 25 laps to score his 60th career win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Davenport grabbed the lead at the start of the main event which saw back-to-back caution flags after one lap was completed. The rest of the race went caution-free and was virtually clear sailing for the 38-year-old Georgia native as he beat Brandon Overton to the finish line by 1.601 seconds.
Tim McCreadie finished in third followed by Mike Marlar and Kyle Strickler, who recorded his first top-five finish of the season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Davenport battled heavy traffic in the latter part of the race allowing Overton to close the gap, but he could only get to within two car lengths of Davenport when the checkers fell. For Davenport, a three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion, it was his second series win of 2022.
“It was really a key to get out front early. I think our car was pretty good,” said Davenport, who turned down a chance at a $10,000 bonus if he would have elected to start 11th in the field and won the race. “The track was a little bit different tonight than last night. It was still really good. Brandon [Overton] gave me all I wanted there I could tell he was closing I could hear him there a couple of times. I just had to change my rhythm up, change my line down to the bottom. I got through lapped traffic pretty good there and there weren’t too many who held me up. That’s been my Achilles’ heel here lately has been leading in lapped traffic.”
Overton, who will be shooting for his first $50,000 victory of the season in Saturday night’s NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50, recorded his ninth podium finish with the series this year. “I actually over slid a couple of guys one time and I about got in the fence there. It was a fun race, and we are definitely getting the car better so it’s something to be happy about. You always want to win them, it’s always so tough there is a bunch of good competition here. These guys are the best so to be mixing it up with them you have to feel good.”
McCreadie, who won the Firecracker 100 two weeks ago at Lernerville Speedway, has his sights set on another big payday on Saturday, rounded out the podium. “You just have to go to your notebook and listen to the team and be better. We need a little more. I thought when I got to second, I would be ok, but on the restart, I was hung up there on the outside, so I took the bottom and got beat either way. So, we will get back to what we had done here years ago and look around and hopefully come up with something special tomorrow.”
The winner’s Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, Spartan Mowers, ASC Warranty, Bilstein Shocks VP Fuels, Mark Martin Automotive, and Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas.
Completing the top ten were Tyler Bruening, Chris Madden, Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Owens, and Johnny Scott.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 – Prelim Night 2
Friday, July 8th, 2022
Deer Creek Speedway – Spring Valley, MN
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Jonathan Davenport / 14.029 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Kyle Bronson / 14.286 seconds
Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 4. 25C-Shane Clanton[4]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 6. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 7. 0-Scott Bloomquist[8]; 8. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 9. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[10]; 10. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[9]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 4. 7W-Ricky Weiss[4]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[6]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[5]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 8. 77-Jared Hawkins[8]; 9. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 10. 29-Larry Grube[9]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson[4]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[6]; 6. 55C-Chad Mahder[8]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 8. 7X-Jesse Glenz[10]; 9. 2S-Stormy Scott[7]; 10. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[9]
Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[4]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[1]; 4. 44M-Chris Madden[3]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[7]; 7. 49T-Jake Timm[8]; 8. 18J-Chase Junghans[6]; 9. 10-Paul Parker[9]; 10. 90-Lance Matthees[10]
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 4. B1-Brent Larson[4]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 6. 77-Jared Hawkins[8]; 7. 0-Scott Bloomquist[5]; 8. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[11]; 9. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 10. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 11. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 12. (DNF) 29-Larry Grube[12]
UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[9]; 5. 49T-Jake Timm[6]; 6. 18J-Chase Junghans[8]; 7. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 8. 7X-Jesse Glenz[7]; 9. 55C-Chad Mahder[3]; 10. 10-Paul Parker[10]; 11. 90-Lance Matthees[12]; 12. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[11]
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series PR
