Jonathan Davenport drove this Longhorn typically piloted by Donald Bradsher
The Southern Nationals Bonus Series made its way to Tri-County Race Track on Thursday night to serve as the sanctioning body for the Tarheel 53. In the end, it was Jonathan Davenport who pulled into Victory Lane at the Brasstown, NC facility owned and operated by racer and promoter Ray Cook.
After compiling what has been considered by many to be the greatest season for an individual driver in the history of Dirt Late Model racing, Davenport added yet another achievement to his list when he took the checkered flag on the track closest to his Blairsville, GA home.
Davenport drove a Longhorn Chassis car normally piloted by Donald Bradsher.
Casey Roberts led the way in qualifying among the Super Late Model machines as he posted a lap of 12.394 seconds around the quarter-mile speed plant. Joining Roberts as the drivers who would compete in a dash race to determine the starting order for the feature were Davenport, Billy Ogle, Jr. and Donald McIntosh.
Roberts earned the pole for the feature by winning the dash race ahead of Davenport, Ogle and McIntosh.
At the start of the 53-lap feature, Davenport shot to the early lead from his outside front row starting position with Roberts, McIntosh, Ogle and Austin Smith in his tire tracks. And in the early stages of the event, it looked as if Roberts might be looking to spoil Davenport’s return home as he hounded the No. 93 machine by diving low each time the cars raced through the turns on the high-banked track.
Smith also looked to be a serious contender early as he moved by Ogle on lap 3 to claim fourth and then around McIntosh on lap 12 to capture third. However, his night would end prematurely as his car coasted to a stop with mechanical troubles just before the halfway mark of the event.
Another driver who made progress from his starting spot was veteran local racer David Payne. Using a high line around the track, the high school teacher and basketball coach roared up from his tenth starting spot to find a place within the top-5 by lap 20.
A total of five cautions would slow the race pace, but only one of those would occur during the second half of the race. The green flag running throughout much of the race’s later laps allowed Davenport to pull slightly ahead of Roberts while McIntosh, Ogle and Payne staged a furious battle for third.
A lap 49 caution set the stage for a final dash to the checkered flag which Davenport was able to win with relative ease. He earned $3,500 for the win plus a bounty of $1,000 that had been placed on Roberts.
Feature Finish: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Casey Roberts, 3. Billy Ogle, Jr., 4. Donald McIntosh, 5. David Payne, 6. Vic Hill, 7. Shawn Chastain, 8. Tommy Bailey, 9. Jacob Grizzle, 10. Rodney Weeks, 11. Joe Brewer, 12. Ashton Winger, 13. Brandon Overton, 14. George Mashburn, 15. Austin Smith, 16. Jamie Oliver, 17. Randy Nichols, 18. T.J. Reaid, 19. Ronnie Payne, 20. Jim Harrah
