Cherokee Speedway
Davenport earns $4,000 victory at Cherokee
By Kelley Carlton
O'Reilly Southern All Star East SeriesGAFFNEY, S.C. (Aug. 1) — Falling to third early, polesitter Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., fought back amid traffic to take the lead from Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., and lead the final 28 of 40 laps at Cherokee Speedway. Davenport earned $4,000 for his second O'Reilly Southern All Star East victory of the season.
Furman Parton of Union Mills, N.C., took the lead at the outset while Ferguson quickly took second from Davenport. Ferguson took the point from Parton on the fourth lap and quickly entered traffic, where he found problems trying to get past series rookie Zach Cox.
Ferguson tried to get around Cox in turn three but got caught up in the cushion, costing him momentum and allowing Davenport to take command. Davenport had his problems getting past Cox, too, making hard contact in turn four with a slowing Cox on the next lap. His car's rear end broken, Cox retired.
While Davenport was fine and went on to lead the rest of the race, Ferguson bout with the cushion damaged his card radiator and forced him to retired his overheating machine.
Ninth-starting Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., rallied to finish second with Randle Chupp of Troutman, N.C., finishing third. Johnny Pursley of Clover, S.C., and Jeff Cooke of Spartanburg, S.C., rounded out the top five. Parton was battling up front with Jeff Smith of Dallas, N.C., when both were forced out with mechanical problems on the 25th lap.
Notes: Davenport’s Troy Baird-owned Barry Wright Race Car has a Clements Race Engine and sponsorship from Elite Concrete, Baird Transport, Mega Plumbing, Nichols Plumbing and En Compass Solutions. ... Davenport picked up $100 from Kenny Lamb Racing Engines for his quick time. ... Next up for Southern All Star East competitors is a $3,000-to-win event Aug. 28 at Union County Speedway in Buffalo, S.C.
SAS East @ Cherokee: (1) Jonathan Davenport, (2) Casey Roberts, (3) Randle Chupp, (4) Johnny Pursley, (5) Jeff Cooke, (6) Monk Gulledge, (7) Daniel Baggerly, (8) Colby Cannon, (9) Roger Lankford, (10) Ronald Blankenship, (11) Dennis Franklin, (12) Furman Parton, (13) Chris Ferguson, (14) Jeff Smith, (15) Larry Blankenship, (16) Ross Bailes, (17) Zach Cox, (18) Dan Breuer, (19) Kelly Thacker, (20) Petey Ivey, (21) Bruce Hall. Fast qualifier (among 21 cars): Davenport, 15.603 seconds.
