PORT ROYAL, Pa. — With his father in the hospital, Jonathan Davenport hoped to give him some good news Saturday night, along with some entertainment if J.L. Davenport had the energy to stay awake late enough to watch the race.
Whether his father was able to stay up or not Davenport didn't know, but the 40-year-old Blairsville, Ga., driver held up his end of the bargain with a dominating performance in Port Royal Speedway's Rumble by the River, collecting his second $50,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season.
"I'm thinking of him," Davenport said of his father in victory lane. "I know he's not doing too well, right now. He's in the hospital. Hopefully he had enough strength to stay up and watch me. Just thinking of him for sure. He don't get to come out on the road here as much as he used to, but hopefully one day he'll get a little better and he'll get come back out and watch us in person instead of just on his phone."
In winning his fourth full-field Lucas Oil Series victory of the season, the outside front-row starting Davenport was in control virtually all 50 laps, overtaking polesitter Devin Moran on the second lap and keeping runner-up fifth-starting Ricky Thornton Jr.'s late challenges in check to win by more than four seconds.
Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., improved four positions to land on the Lucas Oil podium for the first time since July 6 while Dresden, Ohio's Moran settled for fourth. Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., rebounded from engine woes in Friday's weekend opener to round out the top five ahead of 17th-starting Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa.
Friday's dramatic last-lap winner Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., whose $10,000 triumph was his first on the Lucas Oil circuit, saw his hopes for a weekend sweep disappear quickly when he slowed on the fifth lap and his car was towed to the pits.
While Davenport led comfortably much of the way, he was wary of challengers while riding the high groove at the half-mile oval.
"I felt like (his spotter) on the back straight away told me that Ricky was on me just the whole time there. I guess I wasn't running high enough. It looks like I've tried to save as much spoiler as possible for as long as possible," Davenport said. "And then there at the end, we got in those lapped cars, and it was blowing just enough grit that I didn't have a really good clean line right through where I wanted to go through (turns) one and two. So I pushed a little bit and got into the wall."
Davenport added that the Double L Motorsports team has "just been tuning on this thing quite a bit. I've gotta keep up with these young guys. It's seems like everywhere we go now, if there's just a little bit of grip around the top, that's where we got to be."
The winner's biggest scare came on the 34th lap when series regular Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., spun in turn four just in front of the leaders.
"I was watching way ahead of me so I seen him get kind of squirrelly and I already let off the gas a little bit, but if I (would've) just lifted, I would have went to the wall," Davenport said. "So I was already trying to come back down a little bit and just glad that he just held on to the brakes and didn't do anything stupid."
In a race with a half-dozen cautions, Davenport edged away on restarts while Thornton was able to make up ground on longer runs.
"On the takeoff, Normally the leader's got a little bit of advantage. And then I never did like, really go 110 percent, because we was all a little soft on left-rear tire. So I knew I was gonna try to save some for the end, try not to blister it," Davenport said. "When you're behind somebody, you can judge off of them and where you can catch him, (Thornton) was probably running in the corner a little bit harder than I was. I was just trying to make sure I hit my mark and stayed just enough off the wall that I kept the spoiler on it."
Thornton's most serious threat appeared to be developing in the final laps as he cut Davenport's margin to a half-second before slapped the wall a few times and limping home late with damage to his car.
"I could slowly roll up to him and then we get to the lapped cars and I feel like we'd get the first or second lapped car, then a yellow would come out. So he never really had to move around," Thornton said. "I started (running) the middle down (in turns) three and four and I felt like I could maintain a little bit and, I don't know, I was giving it all she had the last 10 laps. I hit the wall in turns one and two, then hit the wall in three and four. I'm like, 'All right, let's just finish second.' "
The runner-up was glad to improve on Friday's fifth-place run in his Koehler Motorsports entry.
"I feel like after last night — we were down a little bit — and after tonight, I feel like we got a really good race car again," he said.
Blair's third-place run was about as good as the Centerline Motorsports driver could expect.
"I was just way too tight getting in (the corners) and it really affected restarts and stuff. I couldn't be very aggressive for a couple of laps there. So I about gave third away to Devin (Moran) on the last lap, too," he said. "I'm pretty happy with third. I love this place, man. I wish we could race here a lot more than we do."
Notes: Davenport has 75 career Lucas Oil Series victories. ... He won his first full-field victory since June 8's DIRTcar-sanctioned Dream at Ohio's Eldora Speedway. ... Polesitter Devin Moran led the first lap but slipped back to fourth early; that's where he finished. ... Thornton and Hudson O'Neal tangled in turn four on the 18th lap battling for second, leaving O'Neal with significant body damage. The cars got briefly sideways but straightened out to avoid an immediate yellow flag, but O'Neal slowed with a left-front flat on lap 25. ... Among other slowdowns was a lap-15 yellow for debris and Cory Lawler spinning two laps later (coupled with a cleanup of debris from the roof that flew off Colton Flinner's car). ... On the 36th lap, sixth-running Mike Marlar got into the turn-one wall after losing his brakes; the 18th starter retired.
Feature lineup
(50 laps)
Row 1: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Hudson O’Neal, Daulton Wilson
Row 3: Ricky Thornton Jr., Colton Flinner
Row 4: Max Blair, Jimmy Owens
Row 5: Garrett Alberson, Tim McCreadie
Row 6: Alex Ferree, Clay Harris
Row 7: Kyle Lee, Ross Robinson
Row 8: Carson Ferguson, Justin Weaver
Row 9: Drake Troutman, Mike Marlar
Row 10: Matt Cosner, Bryan Bernheisel
Row 11: Mason Zeigler, Rick Eckert
Row 12: Boom Briggs, Brenden Smith
Row 13: Cory Lawler
Consolation results
(10 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation: Matt Cosner, Mason Zeigler, Dillan Stake, Gregg Satterlee, Cory Lawler, Mike Lupfer, Tyler Dietz, Danny Snyder, Chad Julius, Seth Zacharias, Scott Flickinger, Ron Fink, Greg Diehl, Justin Kann, Andrew Yoder, Kody Lyter.
Second consolation: Bryan Bernheisel, Rick Eckert, Dan Stone, Boom Briggs, Hayes Mattern, Shaun Jones, Dylan Yoder, Gary Stuhler, Jason Schmidt, Chad Myers, Nathan Long, Jamie Lathroum, Logan Zarin, Coleby Frye, Brenden Smith, Trevor Collins.
Heat results
(Eight laps; top three transfer)
First heat: Devin Moran, Max Blair, Kyle Lee, Mason Zeigler, Mike Lupfer, Tyler Dietz, Danny Sndr, Seth Zacharias, Ron Fink.
Second heat: Hudson O'Neal, Garrett Alberson, Carson Ferguson, Matt Cosner, Dillan Stake, Justin Kann, Chad Julius, Greg Diehl.
Third heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Alex Ferree, Drake Troutman, Cory Lawler, Gregg Satterlee, Andrew Yoder, Kody Lyter, Scott Flickinger.
Fourth heat: Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Ross Robinson, Bryan Bernheisel, Logan Zarin, Dan Stone, Jason Schmidt, Chad Myers. DNS: Trevor Collins.
Fifth heat: Daulton Wilson, Tim McCreadie, Justin Weaver, Jamie Lathroum, Rick Eckert, Hayes Mattern, Shaun Jones, Gary Stuhler.
Sixth heat: Colton Flinner, Clay Harris, Mike Marlar, Dylan Yoder, Boom Briggs, Coleby Frye, Brenden Smith, Nathan Long.
Time trials
Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown
- Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 18.241
- Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 18.362
- Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 18.364
- Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 18.418
- Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 18.473
- Alex Ferree (1c), Saxonburg, Pa., 18.562
- Kyle Lee (2T), Mercersburg, Pa., 18.591
- Carson Ferguson (93F), Lincolnton, N.C., 18.595
- Drake Troutman (7T), Hyndman, Pa., 18.676
- Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 18.784
- Matt Cosner (66c), Ridgeley, W.Va., 18.832
- Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., 18.853
- Tyler Dietz (77), Saxonburg, Pa., 18.910
- Dillan Stake (D19), Three Springs, Pa., 18.928
- Andrew Yoder (0y), Middleburg, Pa., 18.980
- Mike Lupfer (06), Shermans Dale, Pa., 18.983
- Justin Kann (66), Huntingdon, Pa., 19.116
- Cory Lawler (93), Hanover, Pa., 19.139
- Seth Zacharias (17z), Vestal, N.Y., 19.392
- Greg Diehl (80D), New Cumberland, Pa., 19.587
- Kody Lyter (25k), Lewistown, Pa., 19.624
- Danny Snyder (4s), Green Lane, Pa., 19.706
- Chad Julius (5), Harrisburg, Pa., 19.761
- Scott Flickinger (15), Elliottsburg, Pa., 19.798
- Ron Fink (ez1), Cumberland, Md., 19.983
Group B
- Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 18.279
- Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 18.342
- Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 18.601
- Bryan Bernheisel (119), Jonestown, Pa., 18.607
- Jamie Lathroum (15k), Mechanicsville, Md., 18.164
- Colton Flinner (48), Allison Park, Pa., 18.712
- Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 18.768
- Tim McCreadie (1), Watertown, N.Y., 18.779
- Coleby Frye (91), Dover, Pa., 18.836
- Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 18.850
- Justin Weaver (2J), Clearspring, Md., 18.855
- Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 18.871
- Logan Zarin (1z), Moon Township, Pa., 18.994
- Hayes Mattern (9m), Beavertown, Pa., 18.996
- Dylan Yoder (24), Middleburg, Pa., 19.010
- Dan Stone (2), Thompson, Pa., 19.092
- Rick Eckert (0), York, Pa., 19.149
- Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 19.151
- Jason Schmidt (11), Lewistown, Pa., 19.250
- Shaun Jones (32J), Shermansdale, Pa., 19.267
- Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 19.291
- Chad Myers (21), Hampstead, Md., 19.345
- Gary Stuhler (4), Greencastle, Pa., 19.351
- Nathan Long (63), Selinsgrove, Pa., 20.092
- Trevor Collins (11c), Seaford, Del., no time
Saturday’s schedule
(All times local)
2 p.m. - Outreach service
3:30 p.m. - Pits closed and cleared
4 p.m. - Pits reopen
4:30-5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ autograph session
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
6 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6:30 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Modified hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Late Model consultations (10 laps)
- Modified consolation (10 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Rumble by the River (50 laps)
- Modified feature (25 laps)