Davenport Claims Cowboy Classic at Lucas Oil Speedway
Story By: JEREMEY SHIELDS / LUCAS LM SERIES MEDIA Photos By:HEATH LAWSON / RACERSGUIDE.COM
WHEATLAND, MO -May 27, 2016 – Defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Jonathan Davenport kicked off the 24th Annual Show-Me 100 – Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com weekend by winning the Cowboy Classic on Thursday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway. The win marked Davenport’s fourth consecutive win at the track.
Davenport took the lead on the second lap and never looked back to secure his seventh LOLMDS win of the season. Jimmy Owens finished second followed by 14th starting Brandon Sheppard, Shannon Babb and Chris Brown.
“With all the rain they have had here lately, I am sure they did the best they could with the track. No other track has this kind of equipment to work the racing surface. These guys know what they’re doing. It was a little crazy there for a while, and I lost my brakes again. It’s the second time this year. I almost turned the car a few times and I started to pump them [the brakes] again,” said the 32-year-old racer.
“We held on for another great run, and that’s what we are looking for, to stay consistent. I want to thank Mac Trailers, Baird Transport, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Bryson Motorsports, Elite Concrete, Longhorn Chassis; of course Kevin and Lee Roy Rumley, and my crew guy Brian Liverman.”
“There are a few lapped cars that don’t like to race me clean. They were trying to pass me back and trying to slide back in front of me. They didn’t really know where to go. They were running side-by-side; they would hit a hole and bounce. Man, it was pretty hairy out there.”
Davenport raced his way through traffic as Owens and Sheppard were trying to catch him. Back-to-back cautions with seven laps to go bunched up the field, but Davenport was not to be denied as he pulled away in waning laps to get the victory.
Owens had a solid second-place finish, in his R&W Racing/E3 Spark Plugs/Barry Wright Race Cars #20. “Yes we had a good night. The teams have been working well together. We have had a lot of good runs at this place in the past, and things just didn’t pan out tonight. J.D. pulled away at the end, so congratulations to him.”
Sheppard charged from the outside of row seven to claim third in the Eric Brock/Best Performance Motorsports entry. “We have a good set-up package going on with this car. It’s running the way I like it. Randall [Edwards] is doing a great job. It took us a while with this Rocket car, but we are finally starting to figure it out. The different tracks we go to, and the different surfaces we run on, I feel like we are going to have a strong finish to the season.”
Completing the top ten were Chad Simpson, Darrell Lanigan, Ryan Gustin, Dennis Erb Jr., and Chris Simpson.
In preliminary action, Jimmy Owens set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group B) amongst the 57 entrants, with a lap of 15.304 seconds. Reid Millard set the fastest time in Group A with a time of 15.316 seconds. Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Justin Kay, and Ryan Gustin won their respective heat races. Chad Simpson, Don O’Neal, and Billy Moyer won their respective B-Mains.
For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2016 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday, May 26th, 2016
Cowboy Classic
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Reid Millard / 15.316 seconds
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Jimmy Owens / 15.304 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jared Landers, Tim McCreadie, RC Whitwell, Kyle Beard, Jake O’Neil, Gavin Landers, Austin Siebert, Chris Spieker, Jeremy Payne, Reid Millard-DNS
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jonathan Davenport, Shannon Babb, JC Wyman, Chad Simpson, Bobby Pierce, Jack Sullivan, Brad Looney, Tommy Weder, Bryon Allison, Will Vaught-DNS
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Chris Brown, Darrell Lanigan, Jesse Stovall, Timothy Culp, Tyler Reddick, Hunter Rasdon, Scott Lewis, Payton Looney
QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Tony Jackson, Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Don O’Neal, Dennis Erb, Jr., Brantlee Gotschall, Tad Pospisil, Robert Baker, Josh Poe, Richard Kimberling
ASi Racewear Products Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Justin Kay, Garrett Alberson, Jason Rauen, Billy Moyer, Brian Birkhofer, Steve Francis, Earl Pearson, Jr., Jason Papich, Colton Flinner
DirtOnDirt.com Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Ryan Gustin, Chris Simpson, Tanner Kellick, Wendell Wallace, Matt Furman, Dave Eckrich, Jacob Magee, Terry Phillips, Mason Oberkramer
Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Chad Simpson, Bobby Pierce, Jack Sullivan, Kyle Beard, Gavin Landers, Jake O’Neil, Jeremy Payne, Tommy Weder, Reid Millard, Bryon Allison, Austin Siebert, Brad Looney-DNS, Chris Spieker-DNS, Will Vaught-DNS
Keyser MFG B-Main #2 Finish (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Don O’Neal, Dennis Erb, Jr., Tad Pospisil, Brantlee Gotschall, Timothy Culp, Tyler Reddick, Robert Baker, Hunter Rasdon, Scott Lewis, Payton Looney, Josh Poe, Richard Kimberling, Jesse Stovall
ProtectTheHarvest.com B-Main #3 Finish (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): Billy Moyer, Steve Francis, Wendell Wallace, Matt Furman, Terry Phillips, Jason Papich, Earl Pearson, Jr., Dave Eckrich, Colton Flinner, Mason Oberkramer, Brian Birkhofer, Jacob Magee
Race Statistics
Entrants: 57
Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1 – 45)
Cautions: Jared Landers, Tim McCreadie (Lap 2); JC Wyman (Lap 38); RC Whitwell (Lap 38)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Jonathan Davenport
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: (Started: ; Finished: ; Advanced Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Chad Simpson
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jonathan Davenport
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Colton Flinner
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Pro Power Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Kevin Rumley (Jonathan Davenport)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap #6 – 14.9960 seconds)
Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (45 Laps)
PFC Brakes Tough Break Award: Jared Landers
Time of Race: 60 minutes 53 seconds
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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners Include: Allstar Performance, Andy Durham Racing Engines, AR Bodies, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, Barry Wright Race Cars, Black Diamond Chassis, Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars, BRODIX, Clements Race Engines, COMP Cams, C&R Racing Inc., CV Products, DirtonDirt.com, Dunn-Benson Ford, E3 Spark Plugs, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Fast Orange, FK Rod Ends, GEICO, General Tire, Georgia Boot, Heath Lawson Photography, Hoosier Tire, Hot Rod Processing, Hot Rod Tracker, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, K&N Engineering, Lucas Oil Products, Lucas Oil Racing TV, Longhorn Chassis, MAVTV Motorsports Network, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welders, Öhlins Shocks, Optima Batteries, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, PFC Brakes, Pierce Race Cars, Pro Power Racing Engines, Protect The Harvest, QA1, Rocket Chassis, Simpson Race Products, Sunoco Race Fuels, Super Clean, WELD Racing, Wrisco Aluminum, 5150 Race Trailers
About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the nation’s premier dirt late model sanctioning organization. In 2016, the LOLMDS will sanction 53 events in 19 states. The series is owned by the parent company Lucas Oil Products Inc. and receives national exposure through a TV package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios. LOLMDS events will be broadcast on four TV Networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network. For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.
