ROSSBURG, Ohio — When Jonathan Davenport got into the turn-two wall on the 36th lap Friday at Eldora Speedway and dropped to fourth from second, it appeared that cost him a chance to win a $30,000 Dream XXXII prelim.

But when the Blairsville, Ga., driver climbed back to second and a caution fell with four laps remaining, it gave the four-time Dream winner the reprieve he needed.

Davenport dove under fellow Georgia Brandon Overton on the lap-47 restart, taking command exiting turn two and pulling away to win by 2.871 seconds one day before he’ll go for an unprecedented fourth consecutive six-figure Dream victory.

In making the winning pass, "I was either gonna like stick it right in his door, I think — if I lifted or hit the brakes — I just tried to drive straight right across to him,” Davenport said. “I don't think I hit him, but maybe it ain't too bad. His crew gave me a fist bump there, so hopefully they ain't too pissed off.”

Evan, Ga.’s Overton, who has also won three consecutive Dreams the three events preceding Davenport’s current streak, led laps 16-46 in settling for second while a third Georgia, Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, was third. Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., led the first 15 laps from outside the front row before slipping to fourth while ninth-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., rounded out the top five.

The race was marred by polesitter Mason Zeigler’s violent, flipping wreck down the frontstretch on the 17th laps. He climbed out apparently unhurt before the red-flag cleanup, one of four slowdowns.

While Feger looked strong early, Overton went by on the 16th lap and was in control by the time the sixth-starting Davenport reached the second position on lap 34. When Davenport got into Eldora’s unforgiving concrete, he lost two spots and Overton appeared to be on his way to victory.

But the race’s final caution set up the side-by-side restart and Davenport used his inside position to slide under Overton. Did he think he had a chance without the caution? “Probably not,” he said.

“I thought I had something for him there in lapped traffic, and I got by Feger and I found me a really good rhythm there and I stuffed it in the fence there,” Davenport said, adding that the car “definitely wasn't as good after that.

“I couldn't, really go through the middle down in (turns) three and four like I needed to, but, yeah, I was kind of licking my chops when (Overton) kept picking the outside, kept picking the outside (on restarts). I said, ‘Well, if I can ever get there and he picks the outside, I might can get enough (traction). There's just a little bit of brown right in the middle of this straightaway right here by the flagstand where you can go all the way to the floorboard where I don't think you could if you was out in the slick. He tried to squeeze down just a little bit so he could catch that too.”

Overton couldn’t repel Davenport’s move and settled for the second spot. Choosing to restart on the bottom — his option as the leader — might’ve changed the outcome.

“If the caution don't come out, I probably win,” Overton said. “But honestly, we run second, and that sucks, but just to be back in the front, to lead some laps, I felt like a couple of years ago out there. So I've just got to do a couple more tweaks where they can't get to me down this frontstretch and slide me.”

While Davenport collected a hefty paycheck, it’s no assurance for Saturday’s 100-lapper, before which he’ll start third in a heat race.

“I've just got to figure out what this thing needs. I'm not quite there. I'm not quite comfortable with it yet,” Davenport said. “Especially in a long green-flag run there, It's going to show up even more and more. So like I said, we're going to work a little bit harder on it and try to tune on it a little bit, try to get through these heat races tomorrow try to keep her nose clean there and get in the 100-lapper. And as long as you've got a good car, you can start anywhere and win.”

Fans were relieved to see Zeigler quickly emerge from his car for a quick interview on the frontstretch with Dustin Jarrett.

The wreck was triggered when Hoffman clipped the inside wall and side across the track exiting turn four, making contact with Zeigler, whose car got completely sideways on the frontstretch ahead of Brandon Sheppard, whose contact sent Zeigler’s car into a frightening tumble, landing on its wheels.

“It’ll take a lot more than that to hurt me,” Zeigler told Jarrett. “Someone got in my left-rear there — I think it was Nick, I don’t think he did it on purpose — but I have no idea. Someone got into my left-rear and we were going to quick and caught the edge there and started tumbling.”

Three cautions also slowed the race, the first on the 16th lap for a Trent Ivey. Debris caused a lap-37 yellow and the final caution flew one the 47th lap when Brenden Smith slowed and pulled pitside with his right-rear wheel packed with mud.

Notes: Jonathan Davenport, running an independent schedule this season, grabbed his 10th overall victory of 2026. … The 34-minute feature concluded at 10:06 p.m. ... Lap 18-leading Brandon Overton received $900 courtesy of Hellraizer Jacks, honoring the late NASCAR star Kyle Busch.

Feature lineup

(50 laps)

Row 1: Mason Zeigler, Jason Feger
Row 2: Dale McDowell, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Zack Mitchell, Jonathan Davenport
Row 4: Max Blair, Ashton Winger
Row 5: Nick Hoffman, Mike Marlar
Row 6: Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Strickler
Row 7: Tristan Chamberlain, Daulton Wilson
Row 8: Joseph Joiner, Todd Morrow
Row 9: Trey Mills, Brian Shirley
Row 10: Jason Jameson, Ryan Gustin
Row 11: Drake Troutman, Trent Ivey
Row 12: Chase Junghans, Kyle Hammer
Row 13: Brenden Smith, Ryan Montgomery

Consolation race results

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Drake Troutman, Chase Junghans, Brenden Smith, Garrett Smith, Luke Morey, Jimmy Owens, Ryan Crane, Alex Vance, Joe Chalmers, Mathew Porter, Tyler Thomason, Steven Roberts. Scratched: David Watts.

Second consolation: Trent Ivey, Kyle Hammer, Ryan Montgomery, Jeffery Erickson Jr., Freddie Carpenter, Devin Gilpin, Tyler Bruening Chase Frohnapfel, Bryant Dickinson, Austin Smith, Wil Herrington. Scratched: Chad Stapleton.

Heat race recap

Nick Hoffman commanded all 10 laps from the pole in winning the night’s first heat race by 1.789 seconds over Ashton Winger, who trailed Hoffman the entire way. Fourth-starting Jason Feger finished third with Brandon Sheppard and Trey Mills holding serve in securing top-five finishes, punching their tickets into the 50-lap preliminary feature. … Second-starting Jonathan Davenport fired off from the outside front row and earned a green-to-checkered victory in the second heat, winning by 1.549 seconds over polesitter Joseph Joiner. Fourth-starting Brandon Overton finished third with Daulton Wilson in fourth and eighth-starting Ryan Gustin charging to claim the fifth and final transfer spot. … Second-starting Zack Mitchell earned a flag-to-flag victory in winning the third heat by 1.213 seconds over third-starting Mason Zeigler, who took the runner-up spot from polesitter Todd Morrow on the fourth lap. Fourth-starting Dale McDowell took third from Morrow on the sixth lap, relegating Morrow to fourth, with sixth-starting Jason Jameson rounding out the top-five finishers. … Tristan Chamberlain controlled all 10 laps to win the night’s fourth and final heat race, taking the checkers 0.320 of a second ahead of Kyle Strickler, who pursued him the entire distance. Mike Marlar, Max Blair and Brian Shirley completed the top five after starting in their respective finishing positions.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top five transfer)

First heat: Nick Hoffman, Ashton Winger, Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard, Trey Mills, Drake Troutman, Brenden Smith, Chase Junghans, Jimmy Owens, Luke Morey, Joe Chalmers. Scratched: David Watts.

Second heat: Jonathan Davenport, Joseph Joiner, Brandon Overton, Daulton Wilson, Ryan Gustin, Tyler Thomason, Ryan Crane, Garrett Smith, Steven Roberts, Mathew Porter, Alex Vance.

Third heat: Zack Mitchell, Mason Zeigler, Dale McDowell, Todd Morrow, Jason Jameson, Freddie Carpenter, Austin Smith, Wil Herrington, Tyler Bruening, Chase Frohnapfel, Devin Gilpin.

Fourth heat: Tristan Chamberlain, Kyle Strickler, Mike Marlar, Max Blair, Brian Shirley, Trent Ivey, Kyle Hammer, Ryan Montgomery, Jeffery Erickson Jr., Bryant Dickinson. Scratched: Chad Stapleton.

Pre-qualifying notes

Wonderful weather conditions continue to prevail over Eldora Speedway for the second Dream XXXII preliminary program with mostly sunny skies and an afternoon high in the low 80s. There’s one difference tonight: it’s breezy as winds have been gusting over 20mph throughout the day, though they’re expected to die down as the show rolls on. … Saturday’s forecast includes the possibility of rain for the first time all week. Eldora officials are keeping a close eye on the timeline for expected precipitation and will, of course, make any adjustments necessary to the racing schedule to provide the best chance of completing the $100,000-to-win finale. … With 45 cars entered on Friday, the official count for this year’s Dream totals 89 cars. … Three drivers in Friday’s field did not compete in Wednesday’s FloRacing Night in America event to kick off the week: Devin Gilpin, Chase Frohnapfel and Chad Stapleton. … Friday’s program includes Wednesday winner Nick Hoffman and Jonathan Davenport, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth straight Dream victory. They’re parked side-by-side in the infield pit area. … Both Hoffman and Davenport stayed busy during their off nights on Thursday — Hoffman offered some technical and driving advice to NASCAR star Carson Hocevar while Davenport assisted his buddy Shannon Babb’s effort. … Hoffman said the 23-year-old Hocevar “just needs more laps” behind the wheel of a Dirt Late Model. He suggested that Hocevar should consider hitting some midweek DIRTcar Summer Nationals events in the coming weeks to gain experience. … Jason Feger’s team members are very noticeable in the pits for the Bloomington, Ill., veteran’s preliminary night. They’re all wearing Feger’s new button-down Hawaiian-style shirts that are available for purchase at his T-shirt trailer. … Dan Ebert isn’t racing tonight but his crew was busy during the day changing an engine for Saturday’s finale. The swap came after they found some metal shavings in the oil filter.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Jason Feger (25F), Bloomington, Ill., 15.153
2. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.169
3. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.271
4. Daulton Wilson (58v), Fayetteville, N.C., 15.278
5. Ashton Winger (12w), Hampton, Ga., 15.289
6. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.323
7. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., 15.356
8. Joseph Joiner (10J), Milton, Fla., 15.370
9. Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 15.412
10. Steven Roberts (111R), Sylvester, Ga., 15.425
11. Luke Morey (49), Zeeland, Mich., 15.433
12. Tyler Thomason (7), Phenix City, Ala., 15.442
13. Drake Troutman (22*), Hyndman, Pa., 15.498
14. Ryan Crane (10c), Panama City, Fla., 15.519
15. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 15.545
16. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 15.598
17. Chase Junghans (18J), Manhattan, Kan., 15.607
18. Garrett Smith (10), Madison, Ga., 15.681
19. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 15.795
20. Mathew Porter (19p), Austinville, Va., 16.063
21. Joe Chalmers (23), South Yunderup, W. Australia, 16.165
22. Alex Vance (95), Waynesville, N.C., 16.204
23. David Watts (6), Buchanan, Va., no time
Group B
1. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 15.036
2. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 15.073
3. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.364
4. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 15.403
5. Zack Mitchell (57), Enoree, S.C., 15.417
6. Kyle Strickler (8), Mooresville, N.C., 15.491
7. Todd Morrow (T1), Penton, Ala., 15.558
8. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., 15.570
9. Freddie Carpenter (c4), Parkersbrug, W.Va., 15.577
10. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.592
11. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 15.592
12. Kyle Hammer (45), Clinton, Ill., 15.724
13. Austin Smith (11), Cedartown, Ga., 15.779
14. Ryan Montgomery (12m), Fairmont, W.Va., 15.850
15. Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 15.974
16. Trent Ivey (88), Union, S.C., 16.040
17. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 16.092
18. Jeffery Erickson Jr. (1E), Muskegon, Mich., 16.269
19. Wil Herrington (15kh), Hawkinsville, Ga., 16.322
20. Bryant Dickinson (5*), Ionia, Mich., 16.901
21. Chase Frohnapfel (145), Canal Winchester, Ohio, 17.080
22. Chad Stapleton (32), Edinburgh, Ind., no time

Friday’s schedule

(All times local)
11 a.m. - Ticket office opens (ticket and pit pass sales)
Noon - Pits open
1 p.m. - Grounds cleared and secured
2 p.m. - All gates, suites and concessions open
2 p.m. - Turn one camping opens
2 p.m. - Ballroom opens
2:30 p.m. - Tech and registration (new entrants)
3 p.m. - Ballroom dinner buffet begins
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting (infield)
6 p.m. - Ballroom dinner buffet ends
6:30 p.m. - Hot laps
8 p.m. - Ballroom closes
8 p.m. - Opening ceremonies
Competition
- Late Model time trials
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Late Model feature (50 laps)
Following last checkered flag: Live music (fan zone)