“Superman” Jonathan Davenport Claims First Career Win at Knoxville!
by Bill Wright
Knoxville, IA, September 25, 2014 – “Superman” Jonathan Davenport of Mount Airy, North Carolina picked up his first career feature at the famed Knoxville Raceway on Thursday night on night one of the 11th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. Davenport led the entire 25-lap distance, and pocketed $7,000 for his victory.
Davenport led at the outset with Brian Birkhofer and Kent Robinson in tow. By lap six, defending Late Model Nationals champion, Darrell Lanigan was in third. The only slowdown of the event came with eight laps complete when debris on the track brought a caution.
Davenport led Birkhofer, Lanigan, Robinson and Earl Pearson Jr. back to green. A lap later, Lanigan shot around Birkhofer for the runner-up position, but could never mount a serious challenge to Davenport.
Davenport’s win came over Lanigan, Birkhofer, Pearson and hard-charger, Brandon Sheppard, who came from the 22nd starting spot to fifth. Robinson, Scott Bloomquist, Eddie Carrier Jr., Frank Heckenast Jr. and Tim McCreadie rounded out the top ten.
Dale McDowell and Carrier set quick time in their respective groups, while Brady Smith, John Blankenship, Brandon Overton, Davenport, Mike Marlar and Rick Eckert won heat races. Chris Simpson won the D main, while Terry Phillips captured the C. Chad Simpson won the B main.
Davenport and Lanigan tied for the point lead after night one with 488 points, followed by Earl Pearson Jr., Birkhofer, Carrier, Robinson, McDowell, Bloomquist, Heckenast and Steve Francis.
“It’s really big for me and the team,” said Davenport in Victory Lane. “I had a little bit of problems with the car, but got them figured out. We’ve definitely had some hard luck lately. You definitely don’t want anything to go wrong in these big races. Those lapped cars are tough. You just lose so much air on the nose.”
“To come out and run second here…it’s definitely an awesome place,” said Lanigan. “You always think you’ve got something (for the leader). You’re going to try something. He was good on top, and we’ll see what we can do with 100 laps.”
“It’s a podium and a decent paycheck,” said Birkhofer. “This gives us something to work with. Last year was terrible. It’s great, because I already have a couple things in my head for Saturday. We wanted to get the best finish we could, and that way we could concentrate on getting better tomorrow.”
Join us Friday night, September 26 for night #2 of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. For more information, log on to www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
Late Models Results
Group A Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 17M, Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA (31), 17.635; 2. 28E, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (9), 17.845; 3. 44, Earl Pearson Jr., Trinity, NC (8), 17.884; 4. 15, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY (27), 17.885; 5. 23, John Blankenship, Williamson, WV (20), 17.902; 6. 1W, Wendell Wallace, Batesville, AR (36), 17.912; 7. 7R, Kent Robinson, Bloomington, IN (40), 17.926; 8. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (34), 17.953; 9. 5X, Brandon Overton, Appling, GA (17), 18.077; 10. 00, Jesse Stovall, Billings, MO (33), 18.101; 11. 16, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (6), 18.112; 12. 15X, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (1), 18.148; 13. 18, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (7), 18.152; 14. 18C, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (19), 18.161; 15. 98, Jason Rauen, Farley, IA (24), 18.211; 16. 91P, Jason Papich, Nipomo, CA (11), 18.259; 17. 56E, Andy Eckrich, Iowa City, IA (28), 18.318; 18. 14M, Morgan Bagley, Longview, TX (13), 18.319; 19. 2, Brady Smith, Solon Springs, WI (21), 18.373; 20. 22, Greg Satterlee, Indiana, PA (2), 18.380; 21. 58E, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (26), 18.392; 22. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (4), 18.462; 23. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (10), 18.590; 24. 32C, Vic Coffey, Caledonia, NY (3), 18.635; 25. 15R, Brian Harris, Davenport, IA (23), 18.655; 26. 1V, Will Vaught, Crane, MO (38), 18.674; 27. 81, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (18), 18.728; 28. 21B, Rich Bell, Sheffield, IL (35), 18.828; 29. 5D, John Duty, Happy Valley, OR (22), 18.985; 30. 1M, Rob Moss, Iowa City, IA (12), 19.035; 31. 3X, Skip Frey, Swisher, IA (15), 19.039; 32. 27, Greg Kimmons, Pleasant Plains, IL (5), 19.052; 33. 25L, Steve Lance Jr., Cuba, IL (14), 19.205; 34. 15C, Curt Schroeder, Ames, IA (32), 19.720; 35. 9, Lyle Zanker, Rockford, IL (29), 19.910; 36. 82, Roger Brickler, Springfield, IL (16), 20.669; 37. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (25), NT; 38. 10, Junior Coover, Norfolk, NE (37), NT; 39. 29X, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (39), NT; 40. 38, Jordan Heiman, Sioux Falls, SD (30), NT.
Group B Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 28, Eddie Carrier Jr., Salt Rock, WV (2), 17.836; 2. 25, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (33), 17.842; 3. 29, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (7), 17.922; 4. 75, Terry Phillips, Springfield, MO (3), 17.925; 5. 15B, Brian Birkhofer, Muscatine, IA (28), 17.945; 6. 12, Jason Hughes, Watts, OK (14), 17.991; 7. 6, Jonathan Davenport, Mount Airy, NC (17), 18.022; 8. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfurt, IL (22), 18.022; 9. 0, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (12), 18.077; 10. 777, Jared Landers, Batesville, AR (38), 18.083; 11. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (19), 18.089; 12. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (26), 18.102; 13. 21JR, Billy Moyer Jr., Batesville, AR (5), 18.160; 14. 50, Denny Eckrich, Oxford, IA (39), 18.172; 15. B5, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (27), 18.203; 16. 58D, AJ Diemel, Elk Mound, WI (1), 18.215; 17. 83, Scott James, Harrison, IL (8), 18.219; 18. 25Z, Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, PA (18), 18.226; 19. 85D, Mark Dotson, Cameron, MO (25), 18.227; 20. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (29), 18.323; 21. 25F, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (31), 18.384; 22. 22B, Jonathan Brauns, Muscatine, IA (24), 18.386; 23. 20S, Rodney Sanders, Happy, TX (32), 18.462; 24. 1, Rick Eckert, York, PA (15), 18.508; 25. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (34), 18.651; 26. 21F, Todd Frank, Montrose, IA (9), 18.654; 27. 20X, Jake Meier, Tipton, IA (21), 18.682; 28. 32, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (36), 18.759; 29. 51, Matt Furman, Columbus, OH (23), 18.930; 30. 56, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (6), 18.961; 31. 31, Jason Utter, Columbus Junction, IA (35), 19.016; 32. 19R, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (37), 19.024; 33. 22CC, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (20), 19.029; 34. 5M, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (13), 19.222; 35. 15D, Justin Duty, Happy Valley, OR (11), 19.255; 36. 58, Ray Guss Jr., East Moline, IL (30), 19.302; 37. 6H, Al Humphrey, Giltner, NE (16), 19.371; 38. 77, Jordan Yaggy, Rochester, MN (10), 19.492; 39. 14W, Dustin Walker, Peculiar, MO (4), 19.668.
Group A Heat one (started), 12 Laps, 3:48.0: 1. Brady Smith (2); 2. Kent Robinson (6); 3. Dale McDowell (8) / 4. Steve Francis (7); 5. Jesse Stovall (5); 6. Jason Papich (3) / 7. Jay Johnson (1); 8. Brian Harris (9); 9. Rich Bell (10) / 10. Skip Frey (11); 11. Shannon Babb (4); 12. Curt Schroeder (12); DNS – 13. Billy Moyer 14. Jordan Heiman
Group A Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.6: 1. John Blankenship (7); 2. Will Vaught (9); 3. Chase Junghans (4) / 4. Dennis Erb Jr. (8); 5. Greg Satterlee (2); 6. Tim Lance (1) / 7. John Duty (10); 8. Greg Kimmons (11); 9. Lyle Zanker (12) / 10. Jimmy Mars (6); 11. Andy Eckrich (3); 12. Tyler Bruening (5); DNS – Junior Coover (13)
Group A Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.5: 1. Brandon Overton (6); 2. Earl Pearson Jr. (8); 3. Vic Coffey (1) / 4. Morgan Bagley (3); 5. Wendell Wallace (7); 6. Jason Rauen (4) / 7. Brian Shirley (9); 8. Donny Schatz (5); 9. Dave Eckrich (2) / 10. Rob Moss (10); 11. Steve Lance Jr. (11); 12. Roger Brickler (12); 13. Spencer Diercks (13)
Group B Heat one (started), 12 Laps, 3:50.6: 1. Jonathan Davenport (6); 2. AJ Diemel (3); 3. Eddie Carrier Jr. (8) / 4. Mark Dotson (2); 5. Jared Landers (5); 6. Billy Moyer Jr. (4) / 7. Terry Phillips (7); 8. Jason Utter (11); 9. Tim McCreadie (9) / 10. Chris Simpson (10); 11. Jonathan Brauns (1); 12. Al Humphrey (13); 13. Mike Fryer (12)
Group B Heat two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Mike Marlar (2); 2. Brian Birkhofer (7); 3. Frank Heckenast Jr. (6) / 4. Don O’Neal (5); 5. Denny Eckrich (4); 6. Chad Simpson (8) / 7. Rodney Sanders (1); 8. Scott James (3); 9. Jordan Yaggy (13) / 10. Todd Frank (9); 11. Justin Duty (12); 12. Matt Furman (10); 13. Ryan Gustin (11)
Group B Heat three (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Rick Eckert (1); 2. Scott Bloomquist (6); 3. Darrell Lanigan (8) / 4. Mason Zeigler (3); 5. Brandon Sheppard (4); 6. Ray Guss Jr. (12) / 7. Jake Meier (9); 8. Charlie McKenna (11); 9. Chris Spieker (10) / 10. Dustin Walker (13); 11. Jimmy Owens (5); 12. Jason Feger (2); 13. Jason Hughes (7)
D main (started), 10 Laps, 3:20.3: 1. Chris Simpson (6); 2. Jonathan Brauns (2); 3. Shannon Babb (9); 4. Ryan Gustin (10) / 5. Rob Moss (1); 6. Matt Furman (8); 7. Justin Duty (11); 8. Skip Frey (3); 9. Mike Fryer (12); 10. Steve Lance Jr. (5); 11. Roger Brickler (7); 12. Todd Frank (4); 13. Dustin Walker (13); 14. Jimmy Owens (14) DNS – Jimmy Mars, Jason Hughes, Tyler Bruening, Jason Feger, Andy Eckrich, Curt Schroeder, Billy Moyer, Junior Coover, Al Humphrey, Spencer Diercks, Jordan Heiman
C main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Terry Phillips (2); 2. Scott James (4); 3. Tim McCreadie (8); 4. Donny Schatz (1); 5. Ryan Gustin (22); 6. Brian Shirley (9); 7. Chris Spieker (12); 8. Brian Harris (7); 9. Rodney Sanders (6); 10. Shannon Babb (21); 11. Rich Bell (11); 12. Jay Johnson (5); 13. Jason Utter (14); 14. Charlie McKenna (16); 15. Jake Meier (10); 16. Chris Simpson (19); 17. Jonathan Brauns (20); 18. Dave Eckrich (3); 19. Jordan Yaggy (18); 20. John Duty (13); 21. Greg Kimmons (15); 22. Lyle Zanker (17)
B main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Chad Simpson (2); 2. Jared Landers (4); 3. Steve Francis (3); 4. Brandon Sheppard (12); 5. Jason Rauen (9); 6. Tim McCreadie (21); 7. Wendell Wallace (5); 8. Dennis Erb Jr. (1); 9. Jason Papich (11); 10. Jesse Stovall (7); 11. Greg Satterlee (15); 12. Morgan Bagley (13); 13. Scott James (20); 14. Denny Eckrich (10); 15. Tim Lance (17); 16. Donny Schatz (22); 17. Mark Dotson (16); 18. Don O’Neal (6); 19. Mason Zeigler (14); 20. Ray Guss Jr. (18); 21. Terry Phillips (19); 22. Billy Moyer Jr. (8);
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Jonathan Davenport (2); 2. Darrell Lanigan (6); 3. Brian Birkhofer (4); 4. Earl Pearson Jr. (5); 5. Brandon Sheppard (22); 6. Kent Robinson (1); 7. Scott Bloomquist (0); 8. Eddie Carrier Jr. (8); 9. Frank Heckenast Jr. (10); 10. Tim McCreadie (24); 11. Dale McDowell (7); 12. Steve Francis (21); 13. Brady Smith (13); 14. Mike Marlar (16); 15. Rick Eckert (18); 16. AJ Diemel (14); 17. Will Vaught (17); 18. Jared Landers (20); 19. John Blankenship (3); 20. Jason Rauen (23); 21. Vic Coffey (15); 22. Brandon Overton (9); 23. Chad Simpson (19); 24. Chase Junghans (11). Lap Leader: Davenport 1-25. Hard-charger: Sheppard.
Points after Night #1
- 6, Jonathan Davenport 488
- 29, Darrell Lanigan 488
- 44, Earl Pearson Jr. 487
- 15B, Brian Birkhofer 485
- 28, Eddie Carrier Jr. 480
- 7R, Kent Robinson 475
- 17m, Dale McDowell 474
- 0, Scott Bloomquist 469
- 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr. 464
- 15, Steve Francis 463
- 23, John Blankenship 456
- B5, Brandon Sheppard 452
- 5x, Brandon Overton 442
- 2, Brady Smith 440
- 25, Chad Simpson 439
- 58D, AJ Diemel 437
- 157, Mike Marlar 436
- 777, Jared Landers 436
- 1, Rick Eckert 426
- 28E, Dennis Erb Jr. 425
- 18c, Chase Junghans 422
- 98, Jason Rauen 419
- 1w, Wendell Wallace 416
- 1v, Will Vaught 415
- 39, Tim McCreadie 410
- 32c, Vic Coffey 408
- 00, Jesse Stovall 402
- 91P, Jason Papich 389
- 5, Don O’Neal 387
- 50, Denny Eckrich 386
- 75, Terry Phillips 386
- 14m, Morgan Bagley 385
- 22, Greg Satterlee 380
- 15x, Donny Schatz 377
- 83, Scott James 373
- 85D, Mark Dotson 373
- 25z, Mason Zeigler 371
- 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. 369
- 48 Tim Lance 363
- 18 Shannon Babb 328
- 58 Ray Guss Jr. 327
- 20S Rodney Sanders 322
- 81 Brian Shirley 320
- 93 Jay Johnson 318
- 15R Brian Harris 317
- 56 Chris Spieker 306
- 21B Rich Bell 302
- 20X Jake Meier 302
- 58E Dave Eckrich 302
- 22B Jonathan Brauns 296
- 31 Jason Utter 295
- 19R Ryan Gustin 294
- 22CC Charlie McKenna 289
- 32 Chris Simpson 289
- 5D John Duty 288
- 28M Jimmy Mars 281
- 27 Greg Kimmons 277
- 12 Jason Hughes 274
- 20 Jimmy Owens 272
- 77 Jordan Yaggy 266
- 9 Lyle Zanker 266
- 16 Tyler Bruening 265
- 1M Rob Moss 257
- 56E Andy Eckrich 252
- 21F Todd Frank 251
- 51 Matt Furman 251
- 3X Skip Frey 249
- 25F Jason Feger 243
- 15D Justin Duty 240
- 25L Steve Lance Jr. 238
- 5M Mike Fryer 232
- 82 Roger Brickler 227
- 14W Dustin Walker 223
- 15C Curt Schroeder 213
- 21 Billy Moyer 202
- 6H Al Humphrey 201
- 10 Junior Coover 198
- 29X Spencer Diercks 192
- 38 Jordan Heiman 185
Category: Iowa, Knoxville Raceway