Jonathan Davenport showed strength by picking up two Silver Dollar heat wins.
*Story composed from DirtonDirt.com video and various social media reports.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series has made the trek to the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. for the fifth annual Silver Dollar Nationals. The two-day event would feature heat racing on Friday night to set the field for Saturday evening’s $32,000-to-win feature race.
This race employs a somewhat rare format that does not have drivers qualify via time-trials. Rather, each participant competed in two heat races on Friday night with passing points used to determine the starting lineup for the main event. The top-18 drivers out of the 60 that were entered who amass the most passing points in their heat races will be locked into the field for the Silver Dollar Nationals while all others will be sent to consolation races to earn their way into the big race.
Starting positions for the first round heats are determined by a blind draw.
Heat #1- Nebraska native Tad Pospisil earned the maximum number of passing points in the first heat race by starting 10th(last) and moving around every other driver to score the win ahead of fifth starting Terry Phillips. Both of the top-2 finishes earned those spots by passing eventual third place finisher Chad Hollenback on a late race restart. Jason Feger came from the seventh starting position to finish fourth with Dave Eckrich ending up fifth.
Heat #2- Three and four wide racing was the order of the day in this heat during the early laps. Billy Moyer started third but moved to the lead on lap 3 after emerging from a battle with Gregg Satterlee. The Hall of Fame driver would lead the rest of the way. Sixth starting Chad Simpson finished third ahead of Matt Buller and ninth starting Jesse Stovall.
Stovall had moved up as far as second but suffered a flat tire on the final lap.
Heat #3- Earl Pearson, Jr. started from the outside of the front row and shot to the early lead then drove on to the victory. Chris Spieker finished in the runner-up spot while Eddie Carrier, Jr. proved to be the big mover in this preliminary as he raced up to third from his eighth starting position. Chris Simpson and Ben Schaller rounded out the top-5.
Heat #4- In this stacked heat race, Jared Landers went to the early lead from his outside front row starting spot and he would ultimately run out front all the way. Jimmy Owens was the big mover in the race as he employed multiple slide job passes on his way to a second place result. Rodney Sanders came home third just ahead of tenth starting Scott Bloomquist and Chris Brown.
Heat #5- Jason Utter proved to be too tough for the field in this race as he surged to the early lead from the outside of the front row. A late race caution did not help the field as Utter drove away when the pack took the green and white flags together. Clay Daly, Jake O’Neil, Mike Collins and Brian Kosiski rounded out the top-5.
Heat #6- Red hot Jonathan Davenport started third but he didn’t stay there long as he went to the lead on the first lap. Fifth starting Don O’Neal bested Brandon Sheppard in an intense fight for second. Jason Papich drove from ninth to fourth at the finish while Steve Francis earned a top-5.
Heat #7- Chris Brown made a three-wide move on the start of this race to take the lead. But the fast mover in this preliminary proved to be seventh starting Brandon Sheppard as he put his No. B5 machine on the high side of the track and ran Brown down in the closing laps. However, Brown would hold on for the win in a side-by-side finish. Clay Daly, tenth starting Ben Schaller and Jason O’Brien rounded out the top-5.
Heat #8- The start of this heat saw several cars involved in three and four wide action early on. But the big mover proved to be eighth starting Jonathan Davenport as he sliced through the field quickly to take the lead before the race reached its halfway point. Tenth starting Gregg Satterlee powered all the way to second at the time of the checkered flag while Ryan Gustin, Jason Papich and Garrett Alberson earned top-5 finishes after they engaged in a paint swapping battle over the closing laps.
Heat #9- Scott Bloomquist started from the pole and immediately went to the lead in this race. The real drama in this one was between fifth starting Chad Simpson and fourth starting Jason Feger as they staged an epic battle for second with slide jobs being traded at virtually every turn. Simpson ultimately finished in the runner-up spot with Feger, Rodney Sanders and Mike Stadel rounding out the top-5.
Heat #10- R.C. Whitwell made a late move around Jeremy Payne then survived a bit of drama at the scales to get the win in this heat. Ninth starting Jason Utter was third ahead of Kyle Berck and Chris Simpson.
Heat #11- Jimmy Owens charged from third to first on lap 1 then had to outrun ninth starting Jared Landers and Billy Moyer to earn the win. Landers employed the high groove around the track to move through the pack then fought his way around Moyer late in the race to capture second. Terry Phillips and Steve Francis scored top-5 results as well.
Heat #12- Dennis Erb, Jr. took advantage of a four-wide start to move from fourth to first on the opening circuit. First heat race winner Tad Pospisil came on late and offered a stern challenge for the lead in the closing laps but Erb fought off the home state driver’s bid for the victory. Jesse Stovall, Eddie Carrier, Jr. and Don O’Neal rounded out the top-5.
Silver Dollar Nationals Starting Lineup
Row 1- Jonathan Davenport…..Tad Pospisil
Row 2- Jimmy Owens…..Jared Landers
Row 3- Chad Simpson…..Jason Utter
Row 4- Gregg Satterlee…..Billy Moyer
Row 5- Scott Bloomquist…..Clay Daly
Row 6- Brandon Sheppard…..Terry Phillips
Row 7- Chris Brown…..Eddie Carrier, Jr.
Row 8- Rodney Sanders…..Don O’Neal
Row 9- Jason Feger…..R.C. Whitwell
*The remainder of the starting lineup will be set from Saturday’s consolation races and provisional positions awarded by the series and/or the track.
