Jonathan Davenport(49) and Tyler Erb(1) have combined for four wins in Arizona
The Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout is comprised of six feature races spread over the course of nine days at the Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, AZ. Each of the first five events offers a purse paying $5,000 to the winner with the Sunday(Jan. 17) finale doling out $25,000 to the victor. Bonus money is also offered for any driver who can win certain numbers of main events.
The 2021 version of the Wild West Shootout has attracted some of the top drivers and teams in the sport of Dirt Late Model racing to these unsanctioned events. In particular, three stars expected to compete regularly on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series have joined in the fray and have achieved a great deal of success going into the final round.
Three-time series champion Jonathan Davenport has been joined on the long venture to the desert southwest by Tyler Erb and Rookie of the Year hopeful Ricky Thornton, Jr. Also, Brian Shirley is in Arizona and has the early LOLMDS races on his schedule which could indicate a longer run with the series should things get off to a good start in Florida.
Of the five features held so far, Davenport has won two and currently leads the mini-series standings. Erb also has scored two victories and holds second in the overall rundown. Thornton has one triumph and rests in the third position in the standings.
Those three drivers have combined to lead 182 of the possible 200 laps contested so far. Davenport and Thornton have won five preliminary races while Erb has four such wins.
But what bodes well for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as that national tour prepares to kick off its 2021 campaign this coming weekend at Florida’s All-Tech Raceway before moving on to East Bay Raceway Park and Bubba Raceway Park to complete their portion of SpeedWeeks is the fact that the races among these combatants have been highly competitive.
Thornton’s lone win came after he and Davenport battled in traffic just after the halfway mark on January 10th.
Davenport opened the series by holding back numerous challenges from Thornton on January 9th then beat Erb to the line after leading all the way on January 13th.
Please also consider reading “The Chili Bowl: Strengthening the marriage of NASCAR and dirt“
Erb’s two wins were thrillers as he pulled off an incredible three-wide pass for the top spot then held off Thornton over the closing laps on January 15th prior to engaging in a late-race lead swapping fight with Davenport before just edging the No. 49 car at the line on January 16th.
Fans of the LOLMDS could be in for a highly competitive season in 2021 considering how captivating the races in Arizona have been among just these three drivers. When the likes of defending champion Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, Josh Richards, Kyle Bronson, Hudson O’Neal, and Devin Moran are added in on a regular basis the intensity will only ramp up.
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.
