CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Jonathan Davenport led every lap of a fast and furious Buckeye Spring 50 on Friday Night at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. With the win, Davenport, of Blairsville, Ga., took over the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points lead heading to Brownstown Speedway on Saturday Night.
Josh Richards briefly took the lead from Davenport on a restart, but Davenport quickly shot back around him to retake the lead. Richards came home in second, followed by 17th starting Mason Zeigler, Chris Brown, and Jimmy Owens.
"The car was unbelievable all night long," said Davenport. "We found a few things wrong after qualifying. We were just spot-on in the heat and feature. The track was extremely fast and hooked-up. It is a great feeling to have a car that handled like that for the entire race. The only thing we really tore up was the right front flair, but we will get that fixed and get ready for Brownstown tomorrow night.
"I can't thank Kevin and Le Roy Rumley enough for what they have done for me. I have very rarely won north of the Mason-Dixon Line, so to come here and win feels real good. When Josh went by me on that one restart, I just got up on the wheel and was able to get back under him."
Davenport started on the pole and was into lapped traffic only five laps into the race as he set a blistering pace. Several times during the race, Davenport was a full second faster than anyone else.
Richards was pleased with his second place finish, continuing a good start to the racing season.
"Jonathan was so fast tonight," he said. "I lost track of him several times out there. Having not raced much last year, and to come here when it's hooked up, I think I need to get back in the gym and work out some more"
Zeigler charged through the field to take third at the finish. He put on an impressive show for the huge crowd on hand.
"Wow, what a racetrack and race that was tonight," Ziegler said. "We had only been here once, and it was rained out. I hoped the crowd enjoyed that one. We were just biding our time out there and then all of sudden we had some really great restarts and we were in the top five. To have Longhorn Chassis finish first and third in this stout field, that is something."
In preliminary action, Jimmy Owens set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group A) amongst the 40 entrants, and set a new Atomic Speedway Track Record, with a lap of 12.748 seconds. Steve Francis set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 12.877 seconds. Davenport, Richards, Francis and Chris Brown won their respective heat races. Zeigler and Scott Bloomquist won their respective B-Mains.
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Atomic Speedway - Chillicothe, OH
Buckeye Spring 50 - March 20, 2015
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 1 6 Jonathan Davenport Mount Airy, NC
2 3 1R Josh Richards Shinnston, WV
3 17 25Z Mason Zeigler Chalk Hill, PA
4 4 21b Chris Brown Spring, TX
5 5 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
6 2 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
7 16 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
8 23 28e Dennis Erb, Jr. Carpentersville, IL
9 7 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
10 13 D8 Dustin Linville Lancaster, KY
11 6 28 Eddie Carrier, Jr. Salt Rock, WV
12 12 6T Tim Dohm Charleston, WV
13 8 1 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
14 21 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
15 10 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
16 15 54 Matt Westfall Pleasant Hill, OH
17 24 21jr Billy Moyer, Jr. Batesville, AR
18 22 20c Duane Chamberlain Richmond, IN
19 25 47 Greg Oliver Jackson, OH
20 11 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN
21 18 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
22 14 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
23 20 c4 Freddie Carpenter Parkersburg, WV
24 9 c9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN
25 19 1J Davey Johnson Greensburg, PA
Saturday
May 11th, 2024
12:54AM
