KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Jonathan Davenport led all 25 laps on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway to win the opening night main event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Davenport earned $7,000 for his fifth career victory at the famed half-mile track.
Davenport’s win was the 82nd of his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series career, which ties him for second place on the all-time win list with Jimmy Owens.
Bobby Pierce, who started eighth, raced his way to second place at the finish line, falling 1.470 seconds behind the winner. Hudson O’Neal finished third, followed by Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie.
In a race slowed by just one caution flag (on lap 14), Davenport’s only concerns were traffic and Pierce moving to second on the lap-15 restart. Still, Davenport was up to the task as he will be looking to add a second Knoxville crown jewel win to his resume on Saturday night to accompany his triumph in 2022.
“The car actually felt pretty good. I was happy we started out front. My guys gave me a great piece,” Davenport said. “We tried a few different things there and they seemed to really work. Pierce, obviously, he’s got the best car, I think. He waxed us qualifying and drove up through there in the heat. Unless I messed up it was going to be hard for him [Pierce] to pass me. You want to start up towards the front of the pack here. It’s important to start the weekend right like we did tonight.”
Pierce, who was seeking his 33rd feature win of 2024, charged from the outside of row number four to end his evening with a good points night by taking the runner-up spot.
“The inverts created some good racing. We got up through there, and he [Davenport] was really good; whenever I got close to him, my front end would take off or get loose,” Pierce said. “Maybe tomorrow it will be a little less hammer down. It would mean everything to get our first Knoxville title, and that’s why we are here this weekend. We could have taken off, but we’re trying to get that win. There’s a lot of money on the line, and hopefully, we can make it to Saturday and race for that $50,000. I love coming to Knoxville to race; it’s a very unique race track; there’s not a lot of places like it.”
O’Neal, whose father Don won the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in 2011, rounded out the podium.
“I don’t know. It took me a while to get to second there, and it just worked out there where I could make up some ground getting into three on that bottom,” O’Neal said. “I knew that whenever we had that restart, Bobby was going to be tough. I got clear of him down in one, and I messed up and just slid a little too hard down there and let him back get under me. All-in-all, I think we had a good piece, and it’s something to work on. Everybody had a little different tires on than we did, except for Jonathan. It’s going to be a fun week. I love this place.”
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. Jonathan Davenport (2); 2. Bobby Pierce (8); 3. Hudson O’Neal (3); 4. Devin Moran (6); 5. Tim McCreadie (5); 6. Dillon McGowen (4); 7. Tyler Erb (9); 8. Ryan Gustin (7); 9. Brian Shirley (21); 10. Carson Ferguson (12); 11. Garrett Alberson (22); 12. Daulton Wilson (24); 13. Chris Simpson (11); 14. Mike Marlar (15); 15. Chad Simpson (1); 16. Max Blair (13); 17. Drake Troutman (14); 18. Ross Robinson (18); 19. Brandon Sheppard (19); 20. Tyler Bruening (16); 21. Jimmy Owens (17); 22. Boom Briggs (10); 23. Matt Furman (20); 24. Daniel Hilsabeck (23).