ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 6) — Right when Jonathan Davenport appeared he wouldn’t be at his fullest strength the rest of Dream Week, the Eldora Speedway dominator rebounded resoundingly with Friday evening’s prelim victory.
The 41-year-old veteran of Blairsville, Ga., had to sideline his cherished Eldora car — the only car he’s raced at Eldora since his 2021 World 100 win — and resort to a backup for Wednesday’s FloRacing Night in America following a mishap in hot laps.
Not racing again until Friday’s 50-lapper gave Davenport and his Double L Motorsports team time to repair the car he’s affectionately dubbed Eldora for its enduring success at the Ohio half-mile. Davenport didn’t seem to miss a beat Friday in a race that only took him nine laps to lead from the sixth-starting spot.
He led 40 of the final 41 laps while topping Brandon Overton by 1.193 seconds at the finish.
“Hats off to my guys,” said Davenport, who earned $30,000 for the victory. “They have worked their tails off the past three days. Yesterday we didn’t race obviously, but they still tore that thing apart, went all through it and changed a bunch of stuff. Obviously we found something. We still wasn’t exactly right after qualifying and the heat race, and we found a few other little small things, but when you start changing parts that’s the way it goes.”
Comp Cams Super Dirt Series campaigner Timothy Culp led the opening nine laps before giving way to Davenport on lap nine. Overton challenged Culp in the early going, evening taking the lead briefly on the backstretch on lap six before Culp crossed back under the three-time Dream winner.
Davenport’s lead-snatching move came in turn three by virtue of a slide job on lap eight. Dan Ebert’s flat tire on lap nine began a barrage of cautions — eight stoppages total — during the 40-minute-long feature.
Ricky Thornton Jr., a three-time prelim winner at Eldora but still searching for his first 100-lapper triumph, nearly flipped the script when he took the lead on a restart with 11 laps remaining. A nicely-executed crossover put Thornton ahead of Davenport through turns one and two on restart to lead 40, but Davenport sprung right back on the next lap with an aggressive move to Thornton’s inside entering turn one, a move sized up from momentous generated off the cushion of turn four.
Thornton remained in second until Mark Whitener’s spin on the final lap reset the field and allowed Overton to steal the runner-up spot.
“I can’t thank everyone that helps us (enough). It was a great race, man. I thought Ricky was going to steal one from me. I’m like, ‘I’m either going to hit the inside wall or I’m going to slide him.’ Because I’ve ran way too many damn seconds this year.”
Davenport on Saturday will chase his third straight Dream and 11th overall Eldora major event victory, which would inch him closer to Scott Bloomquist’s all-time mark of 14 total major event wins at the Big E.
After earning high-point honors between the pair of preliminary programs — the other feature won by Josh Rice — Davenport spun the No. 4 on the Wheel of Misfortune, meaning he’ll start fourth in the first heat race because of the four-car invert. The best Davenport can start is sixth in Saturday’s 100-lap finale (and that’s if he wins his heat race).
Finishing second in his heat race means he’d start seventh and finishing third means he’d start 13th in the finale. Anything less than a top-three in the heat race means he’d have to race his way in through a consolation feature.
“It could be worse, but (starting fourth) is awful here because getting into turn one, the air sucks. So you do more defensive driving for air starting fourth. We know how that works out. It could’ve been sixth. It could’ve been one row further back. It’s just the way it goes. We’ll have to see who is in our heat and make a gameplan for that first lap.”
Feature lineup
(50 laps)
Row 1: Timothy Culp, Brandon Overton
Row 2: Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Dustin Sorensen, Jonathan Davenport
Row 4: Garrett Alberson, Ethan Dotson
Row 5: Dylan Thornton, Dan Ebert
Row 6: Mike Marlar, Ryan Gustin
Row 7: Trey Mills, Mark Whitener
Row 8: Spencer Hughes, Shane Clanton
Row 9: Tim McCreadie, Tanner English
Row 10: Justin Duty, Clint Keenan
Row 11: Tyler Bruening, Chris Madden
Row 12: Donald McIntosh, Jordan Koehler
Row 13: Jason Feger, Cade Dillard
Consolation race results
(12 laps; top three transfer)
First consolation: Tyler Bruening, Donald McIntosh, Jason Feger, Jason Jameson, Seth Daniels, Jensen Ford, Freddie Carpenter, Casey Noonan, Devin Gilpin. Scratched: Allen Styck, Derrick Stewart, Ashton Winger, Bryant Dickinson.
Second consolation: Chris Madden, Jordan Koehler, Cade Dillard, Jadon Frame, Brody Smith, Trent Ivey, Jackson Hise, Clayton Bryant, Cody Overton, Brandon Moore, Dustin Nobbe, Chad Simpson, Kody Evans. Scratched: Ross Bailes.
Heat race recap
Second-starting Brandon Sheppard led all 10 laps to win the first heat race by 1.040 seconds over fourth-starting Ethan Dotson. Timothy Culp, 10th-starting Cilnt Keenan and ninth-starting Justin Duty rounded out the top-five finishers. The race’s first caution flew on the fourth lap when Ashton Winger appeared to break a rear suspension component and pulled off. The second stoppage came on lap five when Donald McIntosh and Derrick Stewart made contact, cutting McIntosh’s left-front tire and sending Stewart into the turn-three wall; Stewart was unable to continue, while McIntosh recovered to sixth after changing the flat. The third yellow came on lap six when Jason Jameson hopped the turn-one cushion and over-rotated, clipping Allen Styck’s right rear; both drivers limped off with heavy damage and retired. … Ryan Gustin secured a commanding flag-to-flag victory from the pole in the second heat, crossing the line 1.004 seconds ahead of Dan Ebert. Dustin Sorensen, Trey Mills and seventh-starting Tim McCreadie punched their ticket into Friday’s first 50-lap main event. … Ricky Thornton Jr. fired off from the outside front-row and led the entire way, beating polesitter Jonathan Davenport to the checkers by 0.893 of a second. Garrett Alberson finished third, with sixth-starting Spencer Hughes in fourth and seventh-starting Shane Clanton completing the top five. … Second-starting Dylan Thornton dominated the fourth and final heat race, leading all 10 laps and winning by 0.450 of a second over third-starting Brandon Overton. Mark Whitener improved one spot and finished third, with eighth-starting Tanner English taking fourth and Mike Marlar hanging on for the fifth and final transfer spot into the $30,000-to-win second qualifying prelim. After the opening start was called back, the second yellow came on the third lap when Ross Bailes hopped the turn-four cushion and slammed the wall, requiring a tow back to the pits. The third and final slowdown came when Jordan Koehler spun from fourth on the ensuing restart; he rebounded to finish sixth. … All four heats combined to last just shy of 30 minutes.
Heat results
(10 laps; top five transfer)
First heat: Brandon Sheppard, Ethan Dotson, Timothy Culp, Clint Keenan, Justin Duty, Donald McIntosh, Casey Noonan, Jason Jameson, Allen Styck, Derrick Stewart, Ashton Winger, Freddie Carpenter.
Second heat: Ryan Gustin, Dan Ebert, Dustin Sorensen, Trey Mills, Tim McCreadie, Tyler Bruening, Jason Feger, Seth Daniels, Jensen Ford, Devin Gilpin, Bryant Dickinson.
Third heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Garrett Alberson, Spencer Hughes, Shane Clanton, Chris Madden, Jadon Frame, Chad Simpson, Trent Ivey, Jackson Hise, Cody Overton, Brandon Moore.
Fourth heat: Dylan Thornton, Brandon Overton, Mark Whitener, Tanner English, Mike Marlar, Jordan Koehler, Brody Smith, Cade Dillard, Clayton Bryant, Dustin Nobbe, Ross Bailes.
Time trials
Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time
- Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., 15.380
- Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., 15.426
- Timothy Culp (c8), Prattsville, Ark., 15.526
- Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 15.530
- Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.628
- Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 15.666
- Derrick Stewart (43), Ainsworth, Iowa, 15.675
- Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa, 15.734
- Donald McIntosh (79), Dawsonville, Ga., 15.750
- Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 15.831
- Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 15.848
- Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 15.865
- Ashton Winger (00), Hampton, Ga., 15.921
- Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., 15.996
- Allen Styck (11), Americus, Ga., 16.024
- Jensen Ford (83), Johnson City, Tenn., 16.032
- Justin Duty (15), Molalla, Ore., 16.036
- Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 16.148
- Clint Keenan (29), Patalaska, Ohio, 16.154
- Seth Daniels (s21), Jackson, Ohio, 16.425
- Freddie Carpenter (c4), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.736
- Bryant Dickinson (5*), Ionia, Mich., 17.962
- Casey Noonan (1N), Sylvania, Ohio, no time
Group B
- Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 15.296
- Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 15.509
- Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.528
- Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.567
- Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 15.646
- Dylan Thornton (13), Orcutt, Calif., 15.717
- Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 15.760
- Jordan Koehler (114), Mount Airy, N.C., 15.762
- Jadon Frame (81f), Decherd, Tenn., 15.780
- Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 15.842
- Spencer Hughes (19m), Meridian, Miss., 15.845
- Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., 15.878
- Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 15.931
- Ross Bailes (11), Clover, S.C., 15.947
- Cody Overton (2), Evans, Ga., 16.002
- Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 16.047
- Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 16.145
- Jackson Hise (388), Ocala, Fla., 16.287
- Brody Smith (17sr), Dade City, Fla., 16.592
- Trent Ivey (88), Union, S.C., 16.821
- Brandon Moore (39), Bryan, Ohio, 16.968
- Clayton Bryant (114), Yoder, Ind., 17.664
- Dustin Nobbe (5N), Batesville, Ind., no time
Friday’s schedule
(All times local)
11 a.m. - Ticket office opens (ticket and pit pass sales)
Noon - Pits open
12:30 p.m. - Technical inspection begins
1 p.m. - Grounds cleared and secured
2 p.m. - All gates, suites and concessions open
3 p.m. - Ballroom dinner buffet begins
4:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting (infield)
5:30 p.m. - Hot laps
8 p.m. - Opening ceremonies
Competition
- Late Model time trials
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
Hot laps for first prelim feature drivers
- Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Late Model second prelim (50 laps)
- Late Model first prelim (50 laps)
Following last checkered flag: Live music (fan zone)
