Jonathan Davenport picked up his third career USA Nationals trophy
Jonathan Davenport has been the hottest driver throughout most of 2022 and that continued on Saturday night with a win in the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series-sanctioned USA Nationals at the Cedar Lake Speedway. It was yet another crown jewel victory for the driver known as ‘Superman’.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Blairsville, GA earned $50,000 for his efforts on the 3/8 mile track located in New Richmond, Wisconsin in a race shown live by DirtVision.com.
The top-16 starters in the race set established by two sets of heat races that were contested on Friday evening while two Last Chance Showdowns would set the remainder of the grid.
The top-16 starters were:
1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Chris Madden, 3. Jake Timm, 4. Tyler Erb, 5. Brandon Sheppard, 6. Bobby Pierce, 7. Tanner Englsih, 8. Ashton Winger, 9. Frank Heckenast Jr., 10. Ricky Weiss, 11. Jimmy Owens, 12. Shane Clanton, 13. Kyle Strickler, 14. Ryan Gustin, 15. Max Blair, 16. Chad Mahder
Last Chance Showdown 1 Results: 1. Garrett Smith, 2. Jason Feger, 3. Cade Dillard
Last Chance Showdown 2 Results: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Shannon Babb
Last Chance Qualifier Results: 1. Tyler Bruening, 2. Gordy Gundaker
Feature Re-cap: When the 100-lap main event got underway, Davenport took the lead over Madden, Tyler Erb, Timm and Sheppard. During the early laps, Davenport, Madden and Erb established that they would be tough to beat as Davenport led while Madden and Erb mixed it up for second.
Further back from the top-3 were Timm, Sheppard and Pierce ran in tight formation for positions 4-6. Pierce would eventually break away from that battle and briefly got by Madden to take third but would be unable to hold the spot. At that same point, Davenport had built a lead of more than two seconds until the first yellow flag of the night waved on lap 35 when Mahder slowed.
As the race approached the midway point, Davenport continued to run up front while Madden and Erb exchanged the runner-up position time after time over the remainder of the race.
A string of cautions would be the order of the day during the third quarter of the feature with the same trio showing the way while new contenders Weiss, Blair, Marlar and Heckenast moved in to join Pierce and Sheppard as they fought behind the top-3 runners.
As the closing laps clicked away, Davenport continued to show the way with the intense battle between Madden and Erb working to decide who would be the closest pursuer of the leader. Madden was able to break away from Erb leaving him to contest third with Weiss. With less than ten laps remaining, Madden closed right to the rear spoiler of the No. 49 machine.
Using a high line around the track, Madden looked as if might be able to pull off a late race pass but slower traffic would intervene. Davenport held on to the lead and ultimately sailed under the checkered flag to earn yet another big payday.
It was Davenport’s third USA Nationals win of his career and his second consecutive victory in this event.
Feature Results: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Chris Madden, 3. Tyler Erb, 4. Ricky Weiss, 5. Brandon Sheppard, 6. Mike Marlar, 7. Max Blair, 8. Dennis Erb Jr., 9. Shannon Babb, 10. Cade Dillard, 11. Brandon Overton, 12. Tanner English, 13. Brent Larson, 14. Garrett Smith, 15. Jake Timm, 16. Frank Heckenast Jr., 17. Ashton Winger, 18. Tyler Bruening, 19. Bobby Pierce, 20. Kyle Strickler, 21. Ryan Gustin, 22. Trevor Gundaker, 23. Shane Clanton, 24. Jason Feger, 25. Chad Mahder, 26. Gordy Gundaker, 27, Jimmy Owens, 28. Joseph Joiner
Please consider also reading:
Chris Ferguson claims second career Ultimate Series USA 100 win at VMS
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