LOCUST GROVE, Ark. — Jonathan Davenport took the lead on lap 38 when race leader Brandon Sheppard, who had led the first 37 laps, slowed with a flat tire.
Davenport then led the remaining 61 laps to win his second career Nutrien Ag Solutions Topless 100 presented by Big River Steel on Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway.
The victory earned the current Midwest Sheet Metal points leader $50,000, marking his eigth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing win of the year.
Chris Madden tried to chase down Davenport over the final 20 laps, finishing second by just 0.989 seconds.
Devin Moran rallied from a flat tire to take third. Rookie Dan Ebert scored the best finish of his late model career with a fourth-place finish, while Sheppard rebounded from his flat tire to finish fifth.
“I just tried not to get complacent behind those lapped cars, then I started to, and it began to get a little tricky around the top,” Davenport said. “I needed to keep slowing down and moving toward the bottom, but I kept trying to catch my left rear in that brown strip. I’m sure it looks like there would be plenty of grip from up there, but it was so slimy that I actually got looser when I tried.
“So, I finally said I’ve got to do something because either Madden or I was going to step out and try the outside. There was a lot of grip out there if you hit it just right and straight.”
Madden, driving for Kale Green Motorsports, was aiming for his second career Topless 100 win, which earned $20,000 for his runner-up finish.
“We tried to save our stuff for as long as we could and make a charge at him (Davenport). About 20 laps to go, we started picking up the pace a little bit,” Madden said. “We were really good down here in one and two, and in three and four we about evened out — he might have been a tick better down there.
“We caught that lapped car, and the 19m got in between us, so we kept our stuff hot trying to get around him. I finally got by him with about three laps to go, cooled out our stuff, and got back to JD. Hats off to JD, and congratulations to Devin.”
Moran, who fought with Davenport for second early in the race when Sheppard was out in front, finished third.
“I don’t know if I would have beaten JD or not, but I felt like we had the best car. We messed with him a little early in the race, got by him, and then he got back by me just a little. Then I had the flat. It’s unfortunate— we come here to race, and everybody’s getting all these flat tires. I don’t know what the deal is, but it’s just a shame. I feel like we had such a great race car, and my guys worked their butts off. Finishing third was a good night for points, but it’s really bittersweet when you feel like you had a chance to win.”
The finish:
Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden, Devin Moran, Dan Ebert, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, Daniel Hilsabeck, Kyle Beard, Clay Harris, Hudson O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Garrett Alberson, Donald McIntosh, Dale McDowell, Mike Marlar, Carson Brown, Joseph Joiner, Haiden Cowan, Carson Ferguson, Timothy Culp, Terry Phillips, Daulton Wilson, Jared Landers.
