Davenport rules Dirt Late Model Dream Friday prelim
Photo by Tyler Carr
ROSSBURG, Ohio—It’s been seven years since someone not named Jonathan Davenport or Brandon Overton won the Dirt Late Model Dream, and Friday was a prime example of why that’s the case.
In the second of two preliminary nights for the Eldora Speedway crown jewel, the two titans of the “Big E” were at the front of the field by the end once again, with Davenport emerging victorious for the eighth time in Dream prelim competition. The result puts the Blairsville, GA driver in an ideal position going into Saturday’s $100,000-to-win program, which he’ll be trying to win for a record-breaking fourth time in a row.
Before Davenport or Overton got their time out front, it was Illinois star Jason Feger spending time in the lead early in the race. The reigning champion of the MARS Late Model Championship, DIRTcar Summer Nationals and the DIRTcar Late Model national points broke away from polesitter Mason Zeigler on the top side.
While Feger pulled away, Zeigler started to drop through the field until his night came to an end in catastrophic fashion. He got turned around after contact with Nick Hoffman exiting Turn 4, then ramped off the nose of Brandon Sheppard’s car and barrel rolled down the frontstretch. Zeigler climbed from the machine unhurt.
On the ensuing restart, Overton ripped around the top of Turns 1 and 2 to bring Feger’s time out front to a close. The next car to challenge Feger was Davenport, but the Bloomington, IL native gave “Superman” everything he could handle. Davenport needed several laps to get by Feger initially, and as soon as he did, he tagged the wall in Turn 1 to let Feger get back around. Davenport went back to work and overtook Feger for a second time, but by that point, he only had eight laps left to run down Overton at the front.
Luckily for Davenport, his 1.9-second gap to Overton was erased with five to go when the caution flew for a slowing Brenden Smith. One Turn 1 slide job later, Davenport was in command, and he heldd on for five more circuits to take the checkered flag.
“I thought I had something for [Overton] there in lap traffic,” Davenport said. “Got by Feger, I found me a really good rhythm there and I stuffed it in the fence there. I don’t think I hit the right-front too hard, I don’t know. My steering wheel moved just a little bit, not much. Hopefully it wasn’t too bad. I don’t know if that’s when I knocked my spoiler in or whatever, but it definitely wasn’t as good after that. I couldn’t really go through the middle down in [Turns] 3 and 4 like I needed to.
“I was kind of licking my chops when [Overton] kept picking the outside. I said, ‘if I can ever get there and he picks the outside, I might can get enough.’ There’s just a little bit of brown right in the middle of the straightaway about at the flag stand where you can go all the way to the floorboard, where I don’t think you could if you were out in the slick. [Overton] tried to squeeze down just a little bit so he could catch that too. I don’t know, I saw him at the last second. I was either going to stick it right in his door, I think, if I lifted or hit the brakes. I just tried to drive straight right across him.”
Overton settled for second ahead of Dale McDowell in third, Feger in fourth and Hoffman in fifth.
UP NEXT: The Dirt Late Model Dream concludes on Saturday, June 6, with the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win, finale at Eldora Speedway. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.
DIRT LATE MODEL DREAM FRIDAY RESULTS
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[6]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell[3]; 4. 25F-Jason Feger[2]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[9]; 6. 12W-Ashton Winger[8]; 7. 14JR-Trey Mills[17]; 8. 111-Max Blair[7]; 9. 1-Brandon Sheppard[11]; 10. 19R-Ryan Gustin[20]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[21]; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley[18]; 13. 58V-Daulton Wilson[14]; 14. 157-Mike Marlar[10]; 15. 57-Zack Mitchell[5]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[13]; 17. 8-Kyle Strickler[12]; 18. 17SS-Brenden Smith[25]; 19. 18J-Chase Junghans[23]; 20. 10J-Joseph Joiner[15]; 21. T1-Todd Morrow[16]; 22. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[26]; 23. 12-Jason Jameson[19]; 24. 45-Kyle Hammer[24]; 25. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[1]; 26. 88-Trent Ivey[22]
B-Main 1 (12 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 18J-Chase Junghans[5]; 3. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 4. 10-Garrett Smith[6]; 5. 49-Luke Morey[9]; 6. 20-Jimmy Owens[7]; 7. 10C-Ryan Crane[4]; 8. 95-Alex Vance[12]; 9. 23-Joe Chalmers[11]; 10. 19P-Mathew Porter[10]; 11. 7-Tyler Thomason[2]; 12. 111R-Steven Roberts[8]; 13. (DNS) 6-David Watts
B-Main 2 (12 Laps): 1. 88-Trent Ivey[2]; 2. 45-Kyle Hammer[4]; 3. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[6]; 4. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[8]; 5. C4-Freddie Carpenter[1]; 6. 1G-Devin Gilpin[11]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[7]; 8. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[9]; 9. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[10]; 10. 11-Austin Smith[3]; 11. 15KH-Wil Herrington[5]; 12. (DNS) 32-Chad Stapleton
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 12W-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. 25F-Jason Feger[4]; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 5. 14JR-Trey Mills[5]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[7]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 8. 18J-Chase Junghans[9]; 9. 20-Jimmy Owens[10]; 10. 49-Luke Morey[6]; 11. 23-Joe Chalmers[11]; 12. (DNS) 6-David Watts
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 10J-Joseph Joiner[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 4. 58V-Daulton Wilson[3]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 6. 7-Tyler Thomason[6]; 7. 10C-Ryan Crane[7]; 8. 10-Garrett Smith[9]; 9. 111R-Steven Roberts[5]; 10. 19P-Mathew Porter[10]; 11. 95-Alex Vance[11]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Zack Mitchell[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 17M-Dale McDowell[4]; 4. T1-Todd Morrow[1]; 5. 12-Jason Jameson[6]; 6. C4-Freddie Carpenter[5]; 7. 11-Austin Smith[7]; 8. 15KH-Wil Herrington[10]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening[9]; 10. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[11]; 11. 1G-Devin Gilpin[8]
Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[1]; 2. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 4. 111-Max Blair[4]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 6. 88-Trent Ivey[8]; 7. 45-Kyle Hammer[6]; 8. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[7]; 9. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[9]; 10. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[10]; 11. (DNS) 32-Chad Stapleton
Qualifying | Group A: 1. 25F-Jason Feger, 15.153[8]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton, 15.169[9]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.271[13]; 4. 58V-Daulton Wilson, 15.278[3]; 5. 12W-Ashton Winger, 15.289[10]; 6. 49D-Jonathan Davenport, 15.323[4]; 7. 9-Nick Hoffman, 15.356[23]; 8. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 15.370[12]; 9. 14JR-Trey Mills, 15.412[21]; 10. 111R-Steven Roberts, 15.425[7]; 11. 49-Luke Morey, 15.433[19]; 12. 7-Tyler Thomason, 15.442[11]; 13. 22*-Drake Troutman, 15.498[14]; 14. 10C-Ryan Crane, 15.519[15]; 15. 17SS-Brenden Smith, 15.545[22]; 16. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 15.598[2]; 17. 18J-Chase Junghans, 15.607[18]; 18. 10-Garrett Smith, 15.681[16]; 19. 20-Jimmy Owens, 15.795[5]; 20. 19P-Mathew Porter, 16.063[17]; 21. 23-Joe Chalmers, 16.165[1]; 22. 95-Alex Vance, 16.204[6]; 23. (DNS) 6-David Watts, 16.204
Qualifying | Group B: 1. 17M-Dale McDowell, 15.036[12]; 2. 111-Max Blair, 15.073[15]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 15.364[16]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar, 15.403[17]; 5. 57-Zack Mitchell, 15.417[2]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler, 15.491[13]; 7. T1-Todd Morrow, 15.558[22]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain, 15.570[11]; 9. C4-Freddie Carpenter, 15.577[19]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley, 15.592[7]; 11. 12-Jason Jameson, 15.592[8]; 12. 45-Kyle Hammer, 15.724[6]; 13. 11-Austin Smith, 15.779[18]; 14. 12M-Ryan Montgomery, 15.850[21]; 15. 1G-Devin Gilpin, 15.974[20]; 16. 88-Trent Ivey, 16.040[5]; 17. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.092[4]; 18. 1E-Jeffery Erickson, 16.269[14]; 19. 15KH-Wil Herrington, 16.322[10]; 20. 5*-Bryant Dickinson, 16.901[1]; 21. 145-Chase Frohnapfel, 17.080[3]; 22. (DNS) 32-Chad Stapleton, 17.080
COMBINED POINTS
NOTE: Pierce spun the number 3 on the wheel following Friday night's events
Rank First Last Car Qual Heat LCS A-Feature Total
1 Bobby Pierce 32 96 94 0 300 490
1 Jonathan Davenport 49D 90 100 0 300 490
3 Brandon Overton 76 98 94 0 297 489
4 Dale McDowell 17M 100 94 0 294 488
5 Jason Feger 25F 100 94 0 291 485
6 Devin Moran 99 96 97 0 291 484
7 Tyler Erb 51 94 91 0 297 482
8 Hudson O'Neal 71 90 97 0 294 481
9 Nick Hoffman 9 88 100 0 288 476
10 Ashton Winger 12W 92 97 0 285 474
10 Josh Rice 11 92 100 0 282 474
12 Ethan Dotson 74X 86 100 0 285 471
12 Chris Ferguson 22F 98 94 0 279 471
14 Max Blair 111 98 91 0 279 468
15 Garrett Alberson 58 94 100 0 273 467
16 Sam Seawright 16 100 97 0 267 464
17 Brandon Sheppard 1 96 91 0 276 463
18 Trey Mills 14JR 84 88 0 282 454
19 Kyle Bronson 40B 82 94 0 276 452
20 Ricky Thornton Jr 20RT 68 94 0 288 450
20 Zack Mitchell 57 92 100 0 258 450
22 Daulton Wilson 58V 94 91 0 264 449
22 Mike Marlar 157 94 94 0 261 449
24 Dallon Murty 13D 92 100 0 252 444
25 Tristan Chamberlain 20TC 86 100 0 255 441
26 Jackson Hise 388 82 88 0 270 440
26 Dennis Erb Jr 28 88 91 0 261 440
28 Kyle Strickler 8 90 97 0 252 439
29 Michael Leach 9 98 91 0 249 438
30 Brian Shirley 3S 82 88 0 267 437
31 Jake O'Neil 0 88 91 0 255 434
32 Tim McCreadie 9M 90 97 0 246 433
33 Ryan Gustin 19R 70 88 0 273 431
33 Drake Troutman 22* 76 85 0 270 431
33 Dan Ebert 60 100 73 0 258 431
36 Joseph Joiner 10J 86 97 0 243 426
37 Mason Zeigler 25Z 96 97 0 228 421
38 Todd Morrow T1 88 91 0 240 419
39 Mark Whitener 5 86 88 0 234 408
40 Shane Clanton 25 76 88 0 243 407
42 Brenden Smith 17SS 72 82 0 249 403
43 Jason Jameson 12 80 88 0 234 402
44 Dillon McCowan 8 72 85 0 237 394
45 Chase Junghans 18J 68 79 0 246 393
46 K.C. Burdette 13 70 82 0 240 392
47 Kyle Hammer 45 78 82 0 231 391
48 Ryan Montgomery 12M 74 79 0 237 390
49 Eli Johnson 55E 76 88 0 225 389
50 Justin Duty 15 74 85 0 228 387
51 Trent Ivey 88 70 85 0 225 380
52 Freddie Carpenter C4 84 85 210 0 379
53 Seth Daniels S21 68 79 0 231 378
54 Carson Ferguson 93 80 82 213 0 375
55 Shannon Babb 18 84 79 210 0 373
57 Luke Morey 49 80 73 210 0 363
58 Mario Gresham 21 72 82 207 0 361
59 Ryan Crane 10C 74 82 204 0 360
60 Rod Conley 71R 66 79 213 0 358
60 Garrett Smith 10 66 79 213 0 358
60 Brody Smith 17SR 78 82 198 0 358
63 Tim Lance 48 80 76 201 0 357
64 Jeffery Erickson 1E 66 76 213 0 355
64 Tyler Thomason 7 78 85 192 0 355
66 Austin Smith 11 76 82 195 0 353
40 Dalton Cook 44D 0 85 0 264 349
67 Devin Gilpin 1G 72 70 207 0 349
69 Tyler Bruening 16 68 76 204 0 348
70 Ryan Johnson 7J 64 73 210 0 347
70 Carson Hocevar 77 64 76 207 0 347
70 Jimmy Owens 20 64 76 207 0 347
70 Jerry Bowersock 95J 70 76 201 0 347
70 Steven Roberts 111R 82 76 189 0 347
75 Lane Snook 15L 66 73 204 0 343
77 Greg Williams 17W 62 70 204 0 336
78 Wil Herrington 15KH 64 79 192 0 335
79 Chase Frohnapfel 145 60 73 201 0 334
80 Bryant Dickinson 5* 62 73 198 0 333
81 Mathew Porter 19P 62 73 195 0 330
83 Alex Vance 95 58 70 201 0 329
84 Joe Chalmers 23 60 70 198 0 328
85 Jeff Roth 14R 58 70 195 0 323
86 Ryan Payne 12R 60 70 192 0 322
56 Chris Madden 44 84 85 0 0 169
67 Dustin Nobbe 5N 78 76 0 0 154
76 Benji Hicks 55H 74 73 0 0 147
81 Mike Hildebrand 39H 62 79 0 0 141
87 Mike Spatola 89 0 0 0 0 0
88 Chad Stapleton 32 0 0 0 0 0
89 David Watts 6 0 0 0 0 0
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