WHEATLAND, Mo. — Dillon McCowan scored the biggest victory of his racing career in front of his hometown crowd Friday night at Lucas Oil Speedway, capturing the inaugural Salute to Forrest Lucas and earning his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.
The two-time Lucas Oil Speedway Modified track champion, who grew up racing at the Wheatland facility, became the 95th different winner in series history. McCowan collected the $15,000 winner’s purse along with an additional $1,000 bonus from Steering Buddy.
McCowan took the lead on lap 29 from fellow O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year contender Josh Rice and pulled away over the closing laps to win by 2.104 seconds. Rice finished second, while Jonathan Davenport third.
Chase Junghans finished fourth, followed by Hudson O’Neal in fifth. O’Neal’s fifth-place finish, combined with Brandon Sheppard’s 16th-place result after entering the night as the series points leader, leaves the two drivers tied atop the championship standings heading into Saturday night’s CMH Diamond Nationals finale.
McCowan, a native of Urbana, Missouri, became the race’s third different leader before celebrating an emotional victory lane interview in front of a cheering hometown crowd.
“I have tried my whole life to do this right here. It’s the only thing I ever wanted in my life, to win a Lucas Oil feature over here. I used to sit right up there in those stands and watch every feature every Saturday night. I honestly can’t put it into words. This is unreal,” said the 22-year-old, who lives approximately 20 minutes from Lucas Oil Speedway.
“I joked with my dad that we just may retire if we ever win one of these things over here. I can’t explain it. Nobody knows the hours we spend in the shop or what we have overcome to get here. I can’t thank everybody enough. My mom and dad have sacrificed so much for us to be out here on the road, and for my dad to be with me. This is a dream come true.”
Rice, who won the Cowboy Classic at Lucas Oil Speedway in May, led a race-high 23 laps after taking the lead from Davenport on lap five. Contact with the wall in turns three and four ultimately cost him the lead.
“I remember my first Lucas Oil win at Florence, so it was pretty cool to see him (McCowan) win that,” Rice said. “I slid up there and thought I barely hit the fence, but I guess my spoiler caught the catch fence just right. I knew he was right there. I wish we could have raced it out because he did a heck of a job. He stayed right there the whole time and pressured me just enough that I got into the fence. That’s just part of it, I guess. It’s cool for us to run second, but obviously you want to win.”
Davenport, who led the opening five laps, challenged Rice for second during the closing stages but settled for third.
“No doubt these young guys are tough to run with. Congratulations to McCowan. That’s awesome. Getting your first win here when you’re from this area makes it even more special,” Davenport said. “I guess I just wasn’t driving hard enough. We all had the same tire, and I felt like my car was pretty decent. I ran the top one lap before that caution came out, and it was a little slimy up there. I stayed on the bottom too long. I just didn’t move to the top quickly enough, and after that I was just trying to keep pace with them.”
Salute to Forrest | Feature Finish (40 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 3 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $16,100
2 – 2 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $7,000
3 – 1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $5,000
4 – 7 – 18J – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $4,000
5 – 11 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,000
6 – 17 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,500
7 – 10 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,400
8 – 4 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $2,300
9 – 6 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $2,200
10 – 5 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $2,100
11 – 8 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,000
12 – 14 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $1,800
13 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,600
14 – 9 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $1,500
15 – 21 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $1,400
16 – 12 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $1,400
17 – 13 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $1,200
18 – 19 – 93O – Mason Oberkramer – Broseley, MO – $1,100
19 – 15 – 21 – Billy Moyer Sr – Batesville, AR – $1,000
20 – 18 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,000
21 – 16 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA – $1,000
22 – 22 – 4W – Tyler Wolff – Fayetteville, AR – $1,000
23 – 24 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $1,000
24 – 20 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $1,000
