Jonathan Davenport began 2023 by winning in New Mexico
The unsanctioned Wild West Shootout kicked off on Saturday night from Vado Speedway Park. The 17th annual event returned to this track for the second consecutive year after having been run in Arizona during previous seasons. At the end of the night, it was Jonathan Davenport who picked up where he left off last season by claiming the win in the first of what is scheduled to be a six race series.
The Longhron Chassis driver from Blairsville, Georgia earned $10,000 for his efforts at the Vado, New Mexico track in a race shown live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 48 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A Results- 1. Mike Marlar(14.722), 2. Garrett Alberson, 3. Ricky Weiss, 4. Brandon Sheppard, 5. Jonathan Davenport
Group B Results- 1. Bobby Pierce(14.718), 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Johnny Scott, 4. Terry Phillips, 5. Cade Dillard
Heat 1 Results: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Ricky Weiss, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Stormy Scott
Heat 2 Results: 1. Garrett Alberson, 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Tyler Erb, 4. Chris Simpson
Heat 3 Results: 1. Bobby Pierce, 2. Johnny Scott, 3. Cade Dillard, 4. Jake Timm
Heat 4 Results: 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Terry Phillips, 3. Billy Moyer Sr., 4. Justin Duty
B-main 1 Finish: 1. Morgan Bagley, 2. Don Shaw, 3. Rodney Sanders, 4. Tad Pospisil
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Dustin Sorensen, 2. Kyle Beard, 3. Rusty Schlenk, 4. Clayton Stuckey
Collen Winebarger won the Pro Power Dash.
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 40-lap main event it was Pierce who took the early lead with Alberson, Davenport, Phillips and Johnny Scott trailing. Davenport and Phillips battled for third on lap 4 as Pierce began pulling away from the pack.
The top-5 held station for much of the early portion of the race as Pierce caught the tail of the field on lap 12 while Alberson closed in from second. Also closing was Davenport who passed by Alberson for the runner-up spot on lap 15.
With traffic a major factor for the lead cars, Davenport closed in on Pierce and then passed for the race lead on lap 19 but Pierce would regain the position on the next circuit. Further back, Sheppard and Weiss began to rise as both entered the top-5 as the race moved into its second half.
The first caution of the night came on lap 26 when Phillips spun. Pierce was leading at that point with Davenport, Sheppard, Alberson and Weiss trailing.
On the lap 26 restart, Davenport grabbed the lead ahead of Pierce and Sheppard. Sheppard briefly passed by Pierce for second but Pierce crossed back over to regain the spot. At the same time, Larson entered the top-5.
Pierce spun from second on lap 30 to bring out a yellow flag. Davenport led Sheppard, Weiss and Larson at the time. On the restart, Dillard rose to fourth pushing Larson back to fifth.
Sheppard kept Davenport within his sights over the closing laps but it was ultimately ‘The Fast 49’ who would sail under the checkered flag to claim his first win of 2023 and his first win at Vado Speedway Park.
Feature Results: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Ricky Weiss, 4. Cade Dillard, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Stormy Scott, 7. Tyler Erb, 8. Mike Marlar, 9. Garrett Alberson, 10. Chris Simpson, 11. Billy Moyer Sr., 12. Johnny Scott, 13. Bobby Pierce, 14. Jake Timm, 15. Terry Phillips, 16. Justin Duty, 17. Rusty Schlenk, 18. Clayton Stuckey, 19. Don Shaw, 20. Kyle Beard, 21. Morgan Bagley, 22. Tad Pospisil, 23. Collen Winebarger, 24. Dustin Sorensen, 25. Rodney Sanders
Please consider also reading:
Ray Cook outlasts the competition for return to Ice Bowl victory lane
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.
