BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 19) — Chris Ferguson was 11 years old in 2001 when he watched Dirt Late Model legend Scott Bloomquist etch his name in the history books with a memorable victory at Bristol Motor Speedway the last time the famous NASCAR track was covered in dirt. Nearly twenty years later with dirt once again covering Bristol’s concrete surface, the now 31-year-old Ferguson scored a history-making victory of his own Friday night with a dominating performance on the first night of Super Late Model action during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.

“This is crazy,” Ferguson said shortly after leaving the Bristol Motor Speedway victory lane stage. “I was 10 or 12 years old whenever they had this race (in 2001) and I was up in the stands watching Scott pass Freddy Smith on the last lap for the win here. It just seems so far away to make it to this point in my career, but here we are.”

On one of Dirt Late Model racing’s biggest stages in recent seasons, Ferguson more than lived up to the moment. The Mount Holly, N.C., racer led all 25 laps in cruising to a $10,000 victory in the unsanctioned event that served as a tune-up for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Bristol Dirt Nationals finale.

Starting from the pole, Ferguson took the lead over fellow front-row starter Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., on the race’s initial start, then turned back mid-race challenges from Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., in traffic before holding off Larson’s final charge in the closing laps. Ferguson took the checkers 0.271 seconds ahead of Larson in earning a victory that ranks among the biggest of his career.

“I’d say this at the top here,” Ferguson said when asked about the significance of winning at Bristol. “The guys that ran second and third are the best in the world, and we were able to beat them tonight.

“I think every year we get a little bit closer to the top of the sport. Last year we kind of turned the page winning some big races. … This is the biggest stage of the year so far. Hopefully this kind of launches us into a spot where we’re considered one of the best. Everybody says you hit your prime after your 30s in Dirt Late Models. Maybe this is my time.”

Larson, the NASCAR and dirt open-wheel star who has raced in select Dirt Late Model events since first trying the division late last season, settled for second with Davenport third. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., was fourth with Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., rounding out the top five in a race slowed by two cautions.

With his opening night victory, Ferguson heads into Saturday’s 50-lap, $50,000-to-win Bristol Dirt Nationals finale with considerable momentum and plenty of confidence as he looks to complete a $60,000 weekend sweep.

“I’m definitely excited for tomorrow night,” Ferguson said. “We have a good car. I wasn’t really pushing it too hard in lapped traffic. We kind of were cruising and I didn’t really get aggressive. I knew it was a 30-lapper and my brother was giving me good signs getting into (turn) one there. … I think we got a good car and as good chance as anyone.”

After earning fast time honors in qualifying and winning his heat race, Larson was in prime position to add another high-level Dirt Late Model victory to his resume. But he knew the odds were against him when he slid back to third on the race’s initial start. He took second back from Davenport on the lap-11 restart but couldn’t build up enough momentum to make a move on Ferguson for the lead.

“The track was so fast, I was just trying to get in a line and figure out a spot where my car could turn,” said Larson, whose most recent Dirt Late Model action before Friday was a dominating victory in the season-opening race for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in late January. “When we caught traffic (before the lap-11 caution), second and third, we caught (Ferguson) pretty quickly. He was having trouble getting by (a lapped car). At that time I found a good line that worked for me … I feel like if we could’ve stayed green, I would’ve had the opportunity to get by Davenport and maybe get a shot a Fergy. But cautions fell. I got to second, but we never caught traffic after that.”

Davenport was also hamper by the lap-11 caution with the slowdown coming just as he was catching Ferguson in traffic. He also saw the slim margin that Ferguson out qualified him by to top the night’s first qualifying group as a major factor in the outcome of the race. By qualifying behind Ferguson, Davenport was only able to start third in the main event.

“It just wasn’t meant to be,” Davenport said. “We had that caution come out when things might could’ve got a little dicey. Clean air is so good here and means so much especially when the speeds are as fast as they are. If we could start the racetrack a whole lot slower and slicker then I definitely think it’ll race a whole lot better.

“I feel like if we could’ve went a hundredth (of a second) faster — that’s all Chris beat us by in qualifying — we might’ve been on the (victory lane) stage tonight. But who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see, take what the track gives us and try to make our car just a little bit better tomorrow.”

The race was slowed by two cautions. The first appeared with 11 laps completed when eighth-running Tyler Millwood of Kingston, Ga., made heavy contact with the wall in turn two. Millwood was OK, but his car appeared to suffer significant damage and had to be towed to the infield.

The second caution appeared three laps later when Chase Elliott of Dawsonville, Ga., got the worst end of a multi-car tangle on the front straightaway. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion was running 10th in a car supplied by Stacy Boles of Clinton, Tenn., before the accident.

Friday’s event was the first of two nights of Super Late Model racing during the Bristol Dirt Nationals. Saturday’s finale will include another complete program for unsanctioned Super Late Models. The week-long event, which features racing for a total of eight divisions including both 604 Crate Late Models and 602 Crate Late Models, is the first event in a month’s worth of dirt track action at the dirt-covered NASCAR track.

Notes: Fourteen of the race’s 24 starters were running at the finish with 12 on the lead lap. … Kyle Busch was the third NASCAR Cup Series driver in the feature lineup; he finished 13th and was the first car a lap down. … Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., made an impressive charge from 16th to fifth before a shredded right-rear tire ended his ninth on lap 16. … Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., was among the night’s four heat race winners but was never a factor in the main event. He dropped quickly from his fourth starting spot before slowing from the 12th position on lap 10. … Davenport, Thornton and Overton are all in the Lucas Oil Series points chase and will have to miss a series race at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway on Saturday if they are to compete in Bristol’s $50,000 finale. Davenport and Overton have both indicated that they intend on staying at Bristol, while Thornton said he was undecided on his plans at the end of Friday’s program.

Feature lineup

Row 1: Chris Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Kyle Larson, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Dakotah Knuckles, Scott Bloomquist
Row 4: Boom Briggs, Chris Madden
Row 5: Tyler Millwood, Chase Elliott
Row 6: Brian Nuttall Jr., Ray Cook
Row 7: Adam Yarbrough, Michael Rouse
Row 8: Jason Riggs, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 9: David Payne, Kyle Busch
Row 10: Jensen Ford, Coleby Frye
Row 11: Michael Chilton, Donald McIntosh
Row 12: Frank Ingram, Jay Scott

Consolation results

(10 laps; top 4 transfer)

First consolation finish: David Payne, Jensen Ford, Michael Chilton, Frank Ingram, Kyle Lear, Jeff Sloan, David Webster, Brian Mullins, Shane Bailey, Chris Nash, Travis Greer, Reid Millard, Richard Edwards.

Second consolation finish: Kyle Busch, Coleby Frye, Donald McIntosh, Jay Scott, Travis Stemler, Bob Gordon, Joey Coulter, Tyler Horst, Bobby Pierce, Brian Shockley, David Mielke, Andy Standridge, Jon Hodgkins.

Heat race results

(8 laps; top 4 transfer)

First heat finish: Chris Ferguson, Dakotah Knuckles, Tyler Millwood, Adam Yarbrough, Michael Chilton, Jensen Ford, Jeff Sloan, Brian Mullins, Richard Edwards, Chris Nash.

Second heat finish: Jonathan Davenport, Scott Bloomquist, Chase Elliott, Michael Rouse, David Payne, Frank Ingram, Bryant Dickinson, David Webster, Travis Greer, Shane Bailey, Tim Isenberg.

Third heat finish: Kyle Larson, Boom Briggs, Brian Nuttall Jr., Jason Riggs, Kyle Busch, David Mielke, Donald McIntosh, Jay Scott, Tyler Horst, Brian Shockley, Edward Freeman, G.R. Smith.

Fourth heat finish: Brandon Overton, Chris Madden, Ray Cook, Ricky Thornton Jr., Coleby Frye, Travis Stemler, Jon Hodgkiss, Bob Gordon, Joey Coulter, Cla Knight, Andy Standridge, Bobby Pierce, Dustin Walker.

Qualifying results

First group   
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 15.557
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.564
Dakotah Knuckles (21K), Ewing, Va., 15.656
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 15.695
Jensen Ford (83), Johnson City, Tenn., 15.854
Chase Elliott (9E), Dawsonville, Ga., 15.861
Tyler Millwood (31), Kingston, Ga., 16.090
Michael Rouse (23R), Wilson, N.C., 16.114
Adam Yarbrough (57), Denver, N.C., 16.288
David Payne (8P), Murphy, N.C., 16.316
Michael Chilton (97), Salvisa, Ky., 16.379
Tim Isenberg (9i), Marshfield, Wis., 16.532
Tim Vance (17T), Clover, S.C., 16.804
Bryant Dickinson (5*), Ionia, Mich., 16.824
Chris Nash (354), Portage, Mich., 16.878
Frank Ingram (F9), Woodstock, Ga., 17.074
Jeff Sloan (7S), Charleston, Mo., 17.245
David Webster (44W), Monroe, Wis., 17.328
Richard Edwards (4B), Grayson, Ky., 17.371
Travis Greer (11G), Marion, Va., 17.431
Brian Mullins (626), Cincinnati, Ohio, 17.570
Shane Bailey (1B), Grayson, Ky., 17.829
Jason Walker (88), Culleoka, Tenn., 17.890
Graylin Prince (7P), Loveland, Ohio, no time
Justin King (9), Neon, Ky., no time
Reid Millard (14R), Jefferson City, Mo., no time
Kyle Lear (151), Severna Park, Md., no time
Tracey Cooper (02), Tunnelton, W.Va., no time
Second group   
Kyle Larson (6), Elk Grove, Calif., 15.460
Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.576
G.R. Smith (89), Cornelius, N.C., 15.764
Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 15.858
Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 15.940
Travis Stemler (4), Ionia, Mich., 15.960
Jason Riggs (81), College Grove, Tenn., 15.976
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 15.986
Kyle Busch (51), Las Vegas, Nev., 15.992
Ray Cook (53), Brasstown, N.C., 16.001
Brian Nuttall Jr. (16), Claxton, Ga., 16.052
Coleby Frye (0), Dover, Pa., 16.097
David Mielke (87), Gladwin, Mich., 16.123
Jon Hodgkiss (69), Kennedy Township, Pa., 16.193
Jay Scott (J27), Fayetteville, Tenn., 16.244
Cla Knight (42), North Augusta, S.C., 16.252
Tyler Horst (14H), Waynesboro, Pa., 16.253
Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 16.334
Donald McIntosh (7M), Dawsonville, Ga., 16.413
Bob Gordon (31G), Keyser, W.Va., 16.684
Brian Schockley (17S), Thorn Hill, Tenn., 17.004
Dustin Walker (14W), Peculiar, Mo., 17.480
Farrel Skelton (0F), Mount Pleasant, Tenn., 17.790
Andy Standridge (156), Tellico Plains, Tenn., 18.254
Joey Coulter (2), San Antonio, Texas, no time
Kevin Wilson (618), Stoneville, N.C., no time
Edward Freeman (215), Cropwell, Ala., no time