MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. (Sept. 3) — Jonathan Davenport wondered if his winless stretch on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series had really only been a modest month-and-a-half after he returned to the spotlight with a dominant performance in Sunday night’s 55th annual Hillbilly 100 at Tyler County Speedway.

Something was just noticeably different, he thought, when he emerged from his Double L Motorsports Longhorn car in front of the quarter-mile oval’s packed house of fans.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been in victory lane, they must have a new confetti machine,” said Davenport, who noticed that the colorful bits of paper Lucas Oil Series officials shot off during the post-race celebration seemed to come at him with more force than he remembered. “That thing will about blow your head off.”

Without a checkered flag in his last eight full-field Lucas Oil Series starts (and 11 overall on the national tour) since capturing July 15’s Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., Davenport, 39, of Blairsville, Ga., blasted back into form with a flourish. He overtook Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., for the lead on lap 17 and never looked back, racing alone out front during an extended green-flag run from laps 5-84 and then keeping Wilson at arm’s length following three late-race caution flags.

Davenport flashed across the finish line for his second career Hillbilly 100 triumph and a $30,000 payday by several car lengths over the 25-year-old Wilson, a sophomore Lucas Oil Series traveler who settled for the $15,000 runner-up check after leading laps 1-16 off the pole position.

Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., gained one spot during the century grind to finish third. Lucas Oil Series points leader Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., who started 10th, bolted from seventh to fourth on the lap-84 restart and finished there after making several unsuccessful attempts to pass Overton and Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., completed the top five in a race his father Don won in 2014 at I-77 Speedway in Ripley, W.Va.

Davenport extended his edge over Wilson to a high-water mark of nearly a half lap at one point midway through the feature and was never seriously challenge once in command, but he nevertheless faced some stressful moments while negotiating heavy bursts of slower traffic.

“One time they was four-wide in front of me there,” Davenport said. “I was like, ‘Hell, I’m just gonna ride right here until they figure it out.’”

The three-time Lucas Oil Series champion also noted that he “got into a couple lapped cars” along the way — though he “didn’t really mean to.”

“It’s just, your line’s so sensitive right here to get off the corner good, you really gotta turn in, and once you’re under somebody you really can’t do it so I’d kind of push and get into ‘em,” Davenport said of his run-ins while out front.

Davenport’s savvy driving kept him out of serious trouble and prevented his pursuers from drawing close.

“Whatever they’ve done here (with the surface), it’s definitely a lot slicker, so you just gain on somebody a little bit at a time,” Davenport said. “It ain’t like you can go up and touch the cushion and drive right by ‘em. Mainly, I was just trying to get a little bit of a run on (lapped cars) and then try to slide ‘em in the next corner, but I couldn’t do that to a lot of ‘em because they were lined up and so tight … you know, this little bullring.

“I was just trying to be patient there, but be aggressive at the same time, because I knew if I got hung behind (slower car) for too long I’d get stalled out and those guys are always coming behind you.”

But there was no peer for Davenport on this night. He credited his crew for helping him get back in the winning groove.

“I gotta thank all my guys for stepping up — Tyler (Bragg) and (crew chief) Cory (Fostvedt), and then we brought Michael (Bixby) back on board this week just to help out and get us through the year here,” said Davenport, who registered his sixth full-field victory of the Lucas Oil Series campaign and 12th triumph overall. “We all put our heads together all day today. We kind of wanted to go a different direction because we’ve been OK, we’ve steadily been getting better, but we just felt like we needed to try some more stuff. So we hot-lapped one way, we qualified … we just kept changing all through the night.

“And hell, for the feature, I said we were gonna have to make a lot of adjustments, and we changed like three shocks that I know of and a couple springs.”

Davenport, who registered his 71st career full-field Lucas Oil Series win, hit the bullseye with his setup, giving him a healthy dose of momentum as he heads to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on Sept. 7-9 to chase a record-tying sixth World 100 victory.

"I definitely hold my chin a little bit taller once I walk into Eldora,” Davenport said. “But we did this in 2017 — we won the Hillbilly and then went and won the World. Maybe we can repeat that.”

Wilson was a serious contender for the second straight night of the Lucas Oil tour’s holiday weekend doubleheader, backing up his third-place finish (after leading laps 17-31) on Saturday at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park. He also led the first 43 laps of Friday’s unsanctioned 50-lapper at Portsmouth before retiring due to terminal motor trouble.

“Hats off to my guys,” Wilson said. “They’ve been busting their butts this week. We lost that motor Friday and it’s made it really hard this week.”

While Wilson kept Davenport in sight following three restarts between laps 84 and 91, the driver of the Rattliff Racing Longhorn car felt he might have had a better chance at catching Davenport if the race had remained uninterrupted to the finish.

“I wanted it to stay green because we were on harder tires than he was, and early in the race I just couldn’t maneuver in traffic like he could,” said Wilson, who continues to chase his first-ever Lucas Oil Series victory. “Once the racetrack cleaned up a little bit I felt like we were pretty good, but once we got out in clean air there wasn’t really nothing I could do but run right behind him.

“Maybe,” he added, “We’ll finish on top here before too long.”

Overton, 32, felt fortunate to reach the checkered flag in third place with his Wells Motorsports Longhorn mount.

“We were OK at the beginning,” Overton said. “Then me and Daulton got to racing with some lapped cars and one of ‘em kind of ricocheted off the wall and got me in the right-front, so I was just glad to finish. I thought I was gonna have a flat.

“J.D. and Daulton checked out on us there, but like I said, we’re trying to get better and still trying to hang onto this fourth spot in these points (to have a shot at the Lucas Oil Series title in the season-ending Dirt Track World Championship at Eldora) so we can’t do anything stupid.”

The race’s four caution flags resulted from a spin by Earl Pearson Jr. that collected Michael Lake (lap four); debris (lap 84); a tangle that left Garrett Smith spun around with right-side damage (lap 86); and Logan Roberson’s turn-two spin (lap 91). Roberson started second and was still fourth at the lap-84 caution period, but he slipped backward on the restart before spinning on the 91st circuit and finishing 11th.

55th annual Hillbilly 100
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $30,000
2. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., Longhorn, $15,000
3. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., Longhorn, $7,000
4. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $5,500
5. Hudson O'Neal (1), Martinsville, Ind., Rocket, $4,500
6. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $3,500
7. Jacob Hawkins (37), Fairmont, W.Va., Rocket, $3,000
8. Spencer Hughes (11), Meridian, Miss., Longhorn, $2,500
9. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, Longhorn, $2,400
10. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., Rocket, $2,300
11. Logan Roberson (89), Waynesboro, Va., MasterSbilt, $2,200
12. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., Longhorn, $2,100
13. Colten Burdette (44), Parkersburg, W.Va., Rocket, $2,000
14. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $1,900
15. Braeden Dillinger (14), Dawson, Pa., Barry Wright, $1,800
16. Brandon Weigle (47), Middlebourne, W.Va., Rocket, $1,750
17. Garrett Smith (10), Eatonton, Ga., Rocket, $1,700
18. Shane Hitt (5*), Buckhannon, W.Va., Rocket, $1,650
19. Cody Rogers (22), Spelter, W.Va., Rocket, $1,600
20. Earl Pearson Jr. (46), Jacksonville, Fla., Longhorn, $1,550
21. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., Rocket, $1,550
22. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., Rocket, $1,500
23. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., Rocket, $1,500
24. Daniel Hill (GS1), Morgantown, W.Va., Rocket, $1,500
25. Michael Lake (27), Uniontown, Pa., Longhorn, $1,500
Lap leaders: Wilson 1-16; Davenport 17-100
Fast qualifier (among 34 cars): Wilson, 13.083
Heat race winners: Wilson, Davenport, Roberson, Overton
Consolation winners: Dillinger, Burdette
Provisional starters: Erb, Robinson, Hill

Feature lineup

Row 1: Daulton Wilson, Logan Roberson
Row 2: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Spencer Hughes, Hudson O’Neal
Row 4: Garrett Smith, Jacob Hawkins
Row 5: Max Blair, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 6: Earl Pearson Jr., Devin Moran
Row 7: Brandon Weigle, Mason Zeigler
Row 8: Tim McCreadie, Shane Hitt
Row 9: Braeden Dillinger, Colten Burdette
Row 10: Cody Rogers, Michael Lake
Row 11: Garrett Alberson, Boom Briggs
Row 12: Tyler Erb, Ross Robinson
Row 13: Daniel Hill

Consolation results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation finish: Braeden Dillinger, Cody Rogers, Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Ross Robinson, Robbie Scott, Larry Grube, Daniel Hill (DNS) Steve Weigle.

Second consolation finish: Colten Burdette, Michael Lake, Boom Briggs, Kyle Thomas, Mike Benedum, Kyle Lukon, Zack Dohm, Travis Brown (DNS) Ryan Payne.

Heat race recap

Daulton Wilson led all eight laps to win the first heat race by 1.178 seconds over third-starting Spencer Hughes. The caution flew twice, for Steve Weigle's spin and when a Daniel Hill and Robbie Scott tangle; Tyler Erb hit the wall in the early laps and pulled off. … Jonathan Davenport led green-to-checkered to win Heat 2 by 0.706 of a second over fifth-starting Garrett Smith. Sixth-starting Tim McCreadie used a last-lap pass to take the fourth and final transfer spot from Braeden Dillinger. … Second-starting Logan Roberson got the early jump over Hudson O’Neal and narrowly repelled him for the entire distance, winning Heat 3 by 1.277 seconds. Fifth-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. finished third while Mason Zeigler edged Colten Burdette at the line for the final transfer spot. … Brandon Overton fended off sixth-starting Jacob Hawkins to win the fourth heat by 0.441 of a second. Kyle Lukon had two separate spins to draw the race’s two cautions before pulling off.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Daulton Wilson, Spencer Hughes, Max Blair, Brandon Weigle, Cody Rogers, Robbie Scott, Daniel Hill, Steve Weigle, Tyler Erb.

Second heat: Jonathan Davenport, Garrett Smith, Earl Pearson Jr., Tim McCreadie, Braeden Dillinger, Garrett Alberson, Ross Robinson, Larry Grube.

Third heat: Logan Roberson, Hudson O'Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr., Mason Zeigler, Colten Burdette, Boom Briggs, Zack Dohm, Kyle Thomas, Mike Benedum.

Fourth heat: Brandon Overton, Jacob Hawkins, Devin Moran, Shane Hitt, Michael Lake, Travis Brown, Ryan Payne, Kyle Lukon.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 13.083
2. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 13.321
3. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 13.337
4. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 13.361
5. Spencer Hughes (11), Meridian, Miss., 13.376
6. Braeden Dillinger (14), Dawson, Pa., 13.441
7. Brandon Weigle (47W), Middlebourne, W.Va., 13.466
8. Earl Pearson Jr. (46), Jacksonville, Fla., 13.471
9. Steve Weigle (75), Middlebourne. W.Va., 13.481
10. Garrett Smith (10), Eatonton, Ga., 13.483
11. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 13.498
12. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 13.538
13. Robbie Scott (18S), Shinnston, W.Va., 13.562
14. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 13.566
15. Cody Rogers (22), Spelter, W.Va., 13.628
16. Larry Grube (29), Mauldin, S.C., 13.794
17. Daniel Hill (GRS1), Morgantown, W.Va., 13.798
Group B
1. Hudson O’Neal (1), Martinsville, Ind., 13.181
2. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 13.246
3. Logan Roberson (17), Waynesboro, Va., 13.256
4. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 13.272
5. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 13.287
6. Shane Hitt (5*), Buckhannon, W.Va., 13.322
7. Colten Burdette (44), Parkersburg, W.Va., 13.354
8. Kyle Lukon (00), Burgettstown, Pa., 13.400
9. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 13.433
10. Ryan Payne (12r), Pennsboro, W.Va., 13.451
11. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 13.513
12. Jacob Hawkins (37), Fairmont. W.Va., 13.567
13. Mike Benedum (25), Salem, W.Va., 13.603
14. Michael Lake (27), Uniontown, Pa., 13.639
15. Zack Dohm (6T), Cross Lanes, W.Va., 13.689
16. Travis Brown (31), Jacksonburg, W.Va., 13.689
17. Kyle Thomas (57), Pennsboro, W.Va., 13.764

Sunday’s schedule

(All times local)

5:30 p.m. - Drivers' meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Lucas Oil hot laps
- Legend hot laps
- Lucas Oil time trials (2 laps)
- RUSH hot laps/time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Lucas Oil heat races (8 laps)
- RUSH heat races (8 laps)
- Four-cylinder consolation races
- Lucas Oil consolation races (10 laps)
- RUSH consolation races (10 laps)
- Lucas Oil feature (100 laps)
- Legend heat races (8 laps)
- RUSH feature (30 laps)
- Four-cylinder feature (30 laps)
- Legend feature (20 laps)