May 11, 2025 | By Lucas Oil Late Model Series PR

Davenport Holds Off Sheppard to Win FALS Spring Shootout at Fairbury

FAIRBURY, Ill.—Jonathan Davenport had to fend off a furious late-race charge from Brandon Sheppard to win the 3rd FALS Spring Shootout Presented by Titan Industries on Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway.

In typical Fairbury fashion, the race was decided on the final lap when Sheppard threw a slider on Davenport heading into turn three as the duo approached the white flag. Still, Davenport crossed back over to regain the lead at the line on lap 59 and held off Sheppard on the final lap to score the $30,000 payday.

Sheppard finished 0.192 seconds behind the Blairsville, Georgia native, marking his second consecutive runner-up finish of the weekend. Bobby Pierce, who started in seventh, completed the Big River Steel Podium in third place. Tyler Bruening secured fourth, while Shannon Babb rounded out the top five drivers.

Brandon Overton led the first 16 laps of the race from his pole starting position until Davenport, who started sixth, forged ahead on lap 17. The race remained green for the first 49 laps until the first caution was issued for Donald McIntosh.

Tyler Bruening moved into second on lap 30 after a torrid battle among several drivers in the top seven spots. Bruening held second until lap 56 when Sheppard, who had fallen back as far as eighth in the running order at one point, stormed to the top and passed him.

Sheppard then proceeded to track down Davenport immediately and took the lead briefly after a slider in turn four. Still, Davenport’s crossover move as the white flag waved allowed him to maintain the lead to the finish.

In Victory Lane at FALS for the first time in 10 years, when he won the Prairie Dirt Classic in 2015, Davenport collected his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season.

“That is about how I figured it was going to happen,” said Davenport, referring to the slider that Sheppard threw on him to take the lead briefly. “I kept watching the board, and I saw the 1 car get to third, and then I saw the 1 get to second, and I’m like, well, I pretty much know where he’s probably going to be, so I crept up just a little bit. I don’t know if it killed my exit speed coming off four, but then I heard him, so then I went ahead and set up for the crossover.”

“I just barely got him back. I got into him right there at the flagstand. I hope I didn’t mess him up too bad, and then I just tried to block down the back straightaway, just kind of slide myself there. I can’t even talk. I think I held my breath those last two laps there. It’s an awesome feeling coming back here in front of all of these fans,” said Davenport after winning his 86th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race.

Sheppard, who led 65 laps on Friday night at Farmer City, nearly pulled off an incredible charge on the final lap but fell just short of the win.

“It’s always good to be here at FALS, especially to be back in the Rocket House Car. It means the world to me that those guys gave me the opportunity to come back. I felt really good tonight, you know, we had a good car all night long. At the beginning of the race, I was trying to keep my tires underneath me. I couldn’t really go that good at the beginning, and then once the track started to get slicker, the better I got.”

Pierce rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third, and was in the mix from the midpoint of the race on as he had to battle several other drivers to get to the third spot at the end.

“It was super slippery, I mean like JD shot up there pretty quick, it looked like he had a pretty good drive. If you could make it work in the middle and bottom stuff, that was good. I really didn’t want to beat my stuff up there, it felt super flat, and you were just leaning on a curb. It was very tricky and technical tonight. It was a good track for some racing.”

The winner’s Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, DynaGro Seed, ASC Warranty, Mark Martin Automotive, and Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas.

Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Garrett Alberson, Carson Ferguson, and Daulton Wilson completed the top ten.


Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
FALS Spring Shootout Presented by Titan Industries
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Fairbury Speedway – Fairbury, IL

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Brandon Overton | 13.307 seconds 
Fast Time Group B: Tyler Bruening | 13.321 seconds

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 5. 22*-Drake Troutman[6]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 7. 25F-Jason Feger[7]; 8. 74X-Ethan Dotson[9]; 9. 5S-Kyle Hammer[10]; 10. 2-Cody Overton[8]; 11. 22M-Sean Mattingly[11]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[2]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[8]; 6. 79-Donald McIntosh[7]; 7. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 8. 60-Dan Ebert[10]; 9. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[9]; 10. 10N-Rob Sanders[11]; 11. 17A-Austin Howes[1]

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[5]; 5. 71-Hudson O'Neal[4]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[8]; 7. 19M-Spencer Hughes[6]; 8. 55-Jeep VanWormer[11]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver[7]; 10. M27-Mike Provenzano[12]; 11. 93L-Cory Lawler[9]; 12. 130-Chase Osterhoff[10]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker[5]; 5. 99W-Mckay Wenger[2]; 6. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[11]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar[8]; 9. 38J-Jake Little[9]; 10. 33 4-Billy Hough[10]; 11. 75-Mike McKinney[7]

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25F-Jason Feger[5]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 4. 79-Donald McIntosh[4]; 5. 5S-Kyle Hammer[9]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 7. 2-Cody Overton[11]; 8. 10N-Rob Sanders[12]; 9. 60-Dan Ebert[8]; 10. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 11. 22M-Sean Mattingly[13]; 12. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[10]; 13. 74X-Ethan Dotson[7]; 14. (DNS) 17A-Austin Howes

UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O'Neal[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[8]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 19M-Spencer Hughes[5]; 6. 99W-Mckay Wenger[2]; 7. M27-Mike Provenzano[11]; 8. 55-Jeep VanWormer[7]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver[9]; 10. 33 4-Billy Hough[12]; 11. 93L-Cory Lawler[13]; 12. 130-Chase Osterhoff[15]; 13. 38J-Jake Little[10]; 14. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 15. (DNS) 75-Mike McKinney


FALS Spring Shootout Presented by Titan Industries Feature Finish (60 Laps):

Pos - Start - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Pay
1 - 6 - 49 - Jonathan Davenport - Blairsville, GA - $31,200
2 - 2 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - $15,700
3 - 7 - 32 - Bobby Pierce - Oakwood, IL - $7,000
4 - 10 - 16 - Tyler Bruening - Decorah, IA - $5,500
5 - 8 - 18 - Shannon Babb - Moweaqua, IL - $4,500
6 - 12 - 28 - Dennis Erb Jr - Carpentersville, IL - $3,500
7 - 18 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - $3,800
8 - 3 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - $3,200
9 - 5 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - $3,100
10 - 11 - 18D - Daulton Wilson - Fayetteville, NC - $3,000
11 - 22 - 157 - Mike Marlar - Winfield, TN - $2,200
12 - 1 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - $2,800
13 - 17 - 25F - Jason Feger - Bloomington, IL - $2,000
14 - 16 - 24 - Ryan Unzicker - El Paso, IL - $1,900
15 - 19 - 9 - Nick Hoffman - Mooresville, NC - $1,800
16 - 20 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - $2,450
17 - 25 - 79 - Donald McIntosh - Dawsonville, GA - $1,100
18 - 4 - 3S - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - $1,650
19 - 26 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - $900
20 - 13 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - $2,750
21 - 15 - 89 - Mike Spatola - Manhattan, IL - $1,550
22 - 14 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - $2,500
23 - 23 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - $2,200
24 - 24 - 19M - Spencer Hughes - Meridian, MS - $2,200
25 - 9 - 99JR - Frank Heckenast Jr - Frankfort, IL - $1,500
26 - 21 - 1T - Tyler Erb - New Waverly, TX - $1,500


Race Statistics 

Entrants: 45

Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Brandon Overton
MD3 Lap Leaders: Brandon Overton (Laps 1-16); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 17-60)
Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Wieland Feature Winner: Jonathan Davenport

Margin of Victory: 0.192 seconds

Coltman Farms Racing Cautions: Donald McIntosh (Lap 49); Dan Ebert (Lap 49 Restart); Mike Spatola (Lap 51); Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran (Lap 54
Series Provisionals: Daniel Hilsabeck; Spencer Hughes
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Emergency Provisional: Donald McIntosh; Dan Ebert
Track Provisional: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce
Penske Shocks Top 5: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Tyler Bruening, Shannon Babb
PEM 4th Place Feature: Tyler Bruening
DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Shannon Babb
Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal
Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Mike Marlar
Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Jason Feger
MD3 24th Place Feature: Spencer Hughes
Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 11 Positions)
MD3 Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (44 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Donald McIntosh
Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Shannon Babb (Lap 5 | 13.399 seconds)
Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Brandon Sheppard
Fresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Devin Moran
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Cory Fostvedt
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Shannon Babb (13.013 seconds)

Time of Race: 23 minutes 16 seconds


Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

Pos - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Points - Pay
1 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - 2965 - $154,750
2 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - 2845 - $140,349
3 - 49 - Jonathan Davenport - Blairsville, GA - 2835 - $114,700
4 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - 2580 - $53,150
5 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - 2535 - $58,850
6 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - 2520 - $53,475
7 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - 2460 - $61,000
8 - 18D - Daulton Wilson - Fayetteville, NC - 2395 - $46,550
9 - 1T - Tyler Erb - New Waverly, TX - 2160 - $31,600
10 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - 2150 - $33,175
11 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - 2065 - $24,050
12 - 79 - Donald McIntosh - Dawsonville, GA - 2020 - $22,000
13 - 19M - Spencer Hughes - Meridian, MS - 2015 - $26,550
14 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - 1835 - $16,650
15 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - 1795 - $20,600
16 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - 1605 - $10,575