The re-starts were the only openings for the field to pass Jonathan Davenport at The Clash at The MAG.
And even those opportunities were narrow.
After each re-start Saturday night, Davenport, who passed Scott Bloomquist for the lead on lap 16, would open a three-second gap on the field within the first few laps.
Davenport, who entered the race on a six-race winning streak, easily navigated each re-start to win the 100-lap, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
Davenport, of Blairsville, Georgia, took home $20,000 with the win. He won the $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream on June 6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
“I’ve won a bunch of races in a row before, but not $20,000, $10,000, $100,000, and stuff like that,” Davenport said. “This is almost unreal. I could never dream we’d be this good.
“We’re definitely overwhelmed, but we try not to get too high on the highs. This is the most humbling sport I’ve ever been in. We could win tonight and go next week and not make the race. These guys are so competitive, always trying new things. They’ll catch up, I’m certain of it.”
Davenport leads the Lucas Oil points standings by 10 points of Earl Pearson Jr., who finished 13th Saturday.
Davenport started fourth, but Bloomquist looked to have the fastest car, particularly through qualifying and heats. Bloomquist set the track record at 12.961 seconds, the first time a driver has cracked the 13-second barrier in track history.
Davenport quickly reached second during Saturday’s feature and traded places with Bloomquist for a couple of laps before making the pass and leading the remaining 84 laps.
“I noticed we had a really good hot rod again, so I was just sitting there, waiting, watching Scott,” Davenport said. “They’d watered the top, so you couldn’t get all the way to it, so we just had to start inching our way up there. And I saw he started getting a bit loose off the corner there early, so I thought we could do something. I was quite a bit better than Scott on the cushion, but then I started pulling down and showing him the nose on the bottom and hoping he’d think I’d moved down there. Luckily, he did move down there, and I got to roll by him on the outside.”
Davenport stayed primarily at the top of the track, only inching down to the middle or cushion to maneuver for a pass around Bloomquist. Much of the field, though, used the middle and cushion of the tracks.
“I never even got close enough to even see (Davenport),” said Jimmy Owens, who finished third. “He’s been on a tear, running great. He’s got a good team, a good car, and he’s got his confidence up. He’s something to deal with right now.
“We’ve struggled a bit on our own trying to finish top five, so outrunning someone is still our priority, but we have to get better all the way around.”
Davenport finished 12th, 15th, and 15th in the three races before his winning streak. He said his recent performances can be attributed to crew chief Kevin Rumley and tire man Bryan Liverman.
“I just started paying a lot more attention to detail and how we groove our tires and how we sipe them,” Davenport said. “I used to do them all the time, and it just helps me to know how they’re grooved and how they’re siped to where I know how hard to push the car at times.”
Davenport, who said he was lapped twice before the first caution flag in his first race at Magnolia, has won twice and finished second in his past three races at the track.
Jared Landers, Jimmy Owens, Don O’Neal, and Brandon Sheppard rounded out the top five.
Rough night for local, state drivers
Neil Baggett started 20th Saturday, but he raced the first 25 laps like he was shot out of a cannon, moving as high seventh in the Super Late Model race.
Then, on lap 26, he entered turn one and hit the wall. His night ended in the same place he started: 20th.
Baggett’s misfortune mirrored that of teammate Brian Rickman, who ended up in the wall off turn two and saw his night end early.
Bub McCool, who has won five Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series races, was the highest finisher (ninth) among Mississippi and West Alabama drivers.
Jimmy Cliburn, of Star, finished 17th, while Scott Dedwylder, of Vicksburg, was 18th. Chad Thrash, of Meridian, took 19th, while Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, of Northport, Alabama, was 16th
Other Mississippi drivers, Eric Cooley, David Breazeale, and Rick Rickman, failed to make the feature race.
In other action Saturday:
n Jeremy Shaw won the NeSmith Late Model race. Ashley Newman, Evan Ellis, Jamey Boland, and Kyle Shaw rounded out the top five.
n Brooks Strength won the MSSS Street Stocks feature. Dewayne Estes, Kevin Whittington, Trey Bright, and Lee Ray rounded out the top five.
n Jason Byrd won the Factory Stock feature. Josh Lawley, Doug Long, Jennifer Byrd, and Jeremy Matlock rounded out the top five.
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