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Jonathan Davenport celebrates on the Winner's Stage after winning the 29th annual Late Model Dream on Saturday night at Eldora. It's the second time Davenport has won the Dream, which paid out $129,000 for the victory this season.
ROSSBURG - Jonathan Davenport's dominance of the major dirt late model events at Eldora Speedway continued on Saturday night as the Blairsville, Georgia, driver took the lead on lap 29 of the Dirt Late Model Dream and led the rest of the 100 laps to collect the hefty $129,000 top prize.
Davenport has now won two Dream titles, five World 100's, the 2020 Intercontinental Classic, and the 2022 Eldora Million just over a year ago. In all he has nine major event wins at Eldora and has taken more than $1.5 million home from the Tony Stewart-owned facility.
Davenport's previous Dream win came in 2015 when he crossed the finish line in second but was awarded the win when Scott Bloomquist was light at the scales.
"It just feels good to go and finally celebrate this victory instead of just the money. I've really wanted to win this race on the track," Davenport said. "Last year I had four races circled that I still wanted to win. We knocked two of them off last year and we just knocked another of the list here. If we can come back here in October for the Dirt Track World Championship (which will be held at Eldora for the first time this season) and win, me and Lance (car owner Lance Landers) may just sell everything and buy us a boat."
Jonathan Davenport crosses the finish line in capturing the 29th Late Model Dream on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.
Saturday night Davenport won the opening heat race to earn the sixth starting spot and once the green flag flew to start the 100-lap main event, Davenport patiently worked his way forward.
Mason Zeigler won the sixth heat race to earn the pole starting position and the Pennsylvania driver jumped to the early lead. Davenport settled into fourth place in the opening laps behind Zeigler, Bobby Pierce and Hudson O'Neal.
"I was patient at the start and didn't want to burn the edges off my tires," Davenport said. "I was just kind of trying to take advantage of other guys' mistakes and when they would slip, I'd try to go ahead and go. I guess I got to the lead at the right time."
Davenport passed O'Neal on lap 18. Pierce passed Zeigler for the top spot on 26 and a lap later, Davenport moved into the runner-up position moving around Zeigler.
On lap 29, Davenport got to the inside of Pierce in turn three and worked around the Illinois driver at the flag stand to take the lead.
Once Davenport took the lead, the entire 26-car starting field began to move lower and lower on the speedway as the track began to "take rubber", making for a one-lane racing groove.
"I thought (the track) might take rubber, but we haven't been on these tires all weekend," Davenport said. "I thought it might take a little longer to get there."
Chris Madden finished second for the third straight time in the annual Late Model Dream.
With Davenport in the lead and the track's fast groove getting more and more narrow, Chris Madden, looking for his first Eldora major win, began flexing his muscle working through the top five.
The race ran caution-free until lap 62, when Josh Rice spun in turn two to bring out the only caution flag of the event. On the restart, Madden slipped under Pierce, immediately ran down Davenport and began applying pressure for the top spot, but with a narrow racing groove, there was little Madden could do but follow Davenport and hope for a mistake.
Davenport never made that mistake and Madden had to settle for his third straight runner-up finish in the DLM Dream.
"Another second-place for us," Madden lamented after the race. "The track just one laned there and rubbered up right around the bottom. Just couldn't do anything. Couldn't move out of the groove, couldn't do anything. Before the rubber came, I felt like we had the car to get it tonight."
Davenport anticipated the track becoming one groove late in the race and obviously wanted to be in the lead when it did.
"Madden followed us up through there and I'm not sure when he got to second, but I was just biding my time," Davenport said. "I was hoping the rubber wouldn't come, but I knew in the back of my mind that it probably would late in the race and I wanted to be in the lead when it did."
Madden, close yet again to a major win at Eldora, turned his attention to the World 100, the sport's most prestigious event, in September.
"We had a great race car, just circumstances there put us on a one-lane track and all we could do was drive around like a freight train," Madden said. "So it is what it is. We'll take it home and get it ready to come back for the World. Hopefully we'll have a racetrack we can race on and use the whole race track. But second is better than third I guess."
As frustrated as Madden was with another runner-up finish, Pierce, the 2016 World 100 winner, was happy with his third-place finish, his best at the DLM Dream.
"By far this is my best finish at The Dream," Pierce said. "We were pretty good there, and just like at the end of the Million last year, I was right there with J.D. (Davenport) for a little and then he pulled away from me. I was making the top work and felt good up there until it rubbered on the bottom. But hey, we'll take it. A podium is awesome at The Dream. By far my best finish."
Ricky Thornton Jr. finished fourth ahead of Zeigler, who completed the top five. Tyler Erb, driving for St. Marys car owner Eric Brock, finished in sixth ahead of O'Neal, Devin Moran, Shane Clanton and Stormy Scott.
Heat races were won by Davenport, O'Neal, Rice, Pierce, Moran and Zeigler. Brandon Sheppard and Nick Hoffman each won a B-main.
Brandon Overton's attempt for a fourth consecutive Dream win came to crunching end when he was involved in a heat race crash, ending his night and frustrating weekend well before the main event.
The All Star Circuit of Champion's Sprint Speedweek returns to Eldora on Friday night. The $12,000 to-win event is the final tune up for the 410 sprints cars before the Eldora Million next month. The All Star sprints will be joined by the BOSS non-wing sprint series for the sprint car doubleheader.
