GAFFNEY, S.C. (June 14) — Leading flag-to-flag, Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., outran Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., to score a $12,000 victory in Friday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Grassy Smith Memorial at Cherokee Speedway.

Winning the night’s first heat race to start on the pole of the 50-lap distance, Marlar set a torrid pace out front, holding as much as half-straightaway lead in the early running. Wiring the field, the reigning World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series champion grabbed his second Lucas Oil Series victory of 2019.

“Everything went our way tonight,” Marlar said after the race. “I had a good qualifying lap there and it just go me setup for success. I just capitalized on all the laps and didn’t probably drive my best race. I felt like I made a few mistakes there. It would get dustier than I would realize sometimes. But I got them all. That’s all that matters.”

The race’s four cautions worked to Marlar’s advantage, reseting the field just as the race leader entered lapped traffic. Never seriously challenged out front, Marlar crossed the finish line 1.889 seconds ahead of Davenport, notching his 11th career series victory.

“The field is so close here, the guy leading the race ain’t much faster than the guy in the back,” Marlar said. “Anybody back there could be winning. Definitely when you get to them, they’re really hard to pass. I got a few lucky breaks. My buddy Devin (Moran), I was trying to get him and he showed me a lane out there. I thought he was racing me back and then he actually helped me a bunch. He showed me that lane and there at the end of the race, I felt real good then.”

Davenport finished runner-up, with Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., advancing from the eighth starting spot to run third. Seventh-starting Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., finished fourth, with Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., rounding out the top five. After running as high as second, Ross Bailes of Clover, S.C., slipped back in the final laps to record a sixth-place finish.

With just five laps remaining in the distance, it was a tight battle for second between Davenport, Owens and Bailes. Rolling around the outside, Davenport held the advantage at the checkered flag, notching his second top-five finish of the weekend.

“I had a plan and it just didn’t work out,” Davenport said. “We had to burn our stuff up too much once Ross (Bailes) got back by me there. I probably should have chose the top that one time. But I thought I was in second that one time and then they let him choose the top. We got second back on that deal again, so I just stuck with that. It didn’t work out. Once we caught Mikey in lapped traffic, I was still one car behind to move out. I just didn’t move out fast enough.”

Owens said he considered attempting a rally for the lead late-race but was concerned his tires could be worn down. Running ninth on Thursday at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, he finished six spots better on Friday night.

“The middle of the track was a little bit better and we got up there and moved around a little bit and felt good up there,” Owens said. “I thought, ‘Man, I’m going to run up here and try to get around them guys.’ But then I though, ‘Man, I’m a little soft on the right-rear tire and I don’t know how much we’ve got left.’ This place right here will really sneak up on you real quick. But we had a good car, come from eighth.”

Notes: The victory was Marlar's second Lucas Oil Series win of the season and his 11th career series victory. He was the winner of the June 1 event at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss. … Twenty-one of the 24 starters finished the race, with 20 completing all 50 laps. … The race took 24 minutes, 51 seconds and was slowed by four cautions. … Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., who recently announced his split from Greg Bruening’s Iowa-based team, drove a Larry Harrod-owned Longhorn to a 17th-place finish. ... Cautions waved for Scott Bloomquist (lap 10); Derrick Ramey (lap 16); Devin Moran and Adam Yarbrough (lap 17); and debris (lap 27). … For the second straight night, Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., was an early retiree. Bloomquist’s apparent second-place finish in his heat was disallowed when his Sweet-Bloomquist Race Car was light at the scales. Using a series provisional to start the feature, he started last and made only 10 laps. … Cherokee hosted the Lucas Oil Series for the 13th time in series history and the second night of the tour’s three-race weekend. … Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., won Thursday’s weekend opener at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He finished 14th at Cherokee.