WHEATLAND, Mo. — Chris Ferguson joined the prestigious club of Dirt Late Model crown jewel winners Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway.

The Mount Holly, N.C., driver grabbed the lead with 12 laps remaining during a tense battled with Jonathan Davenport and went on to capture the 30th annual Show-Me 100 presented by ProtecttheHarvest.com.

"Oh man, I don't know what to say. I'm speechless," Ferguson said in victory lane after his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory in front of an estimated 8,000 fans. "God is so great. He put me in this situation. That was awesome. This is amazing and I'm so thankful to be here."

The 32-year-old Ferguson, who captured the 2020 Diamond Nationals in his first visit to Lucas Oil Speedway, became the 18th different winner of the Show-Me 100. He earned a race-record $50,000 by finishing 3.04 seconds in front of runner-up Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz. Third place went to 17th-starting Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and four-time Show-Me 100 winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., finished fourth.

Ferguson started 10th and was able to work his way into contention by the midway point and advanced to third by lap 75. Davenport led most of the way, leading all but eight of the first 87 laps as Ferguson closed in on him coming off turn two on lap 88.

Pulling just in front off the turn, Ferguson had to check up for the lapped car of Earl Pearson Jr. Davenport and Ferguson went into turn three side-by-side, but as the leaders cleared Pearson, they made contact.

Ferguson was able to keep his car pointed straight and Davenport, the 2015 Show-Me 100 winner, spun and had to go to the rear for the restart and his chances dashed. Davenport wound up 16th.

"J.D. kind of got stuck behind the lapped cars there," Ferguson said of the preceding laps leading into the key moment. "I found a groove about a half-car out from everybody else and rolled him in (turns) one and two. I got door-to-door with him.

"I kind of picked up Earl down the backstretch and let him know I was there. He went down and I rolled to the outside of him and I think me and J.D. just kind of got in hot and we hit a little bit.

"It knocked the steering wheel out of my hand and I was able to grab it back and keep the lead. I guess he didn't make out so well. I hate it for him. I think we might have had a little better car than him, but it was a heck of a battle. It's fun when it comes down to the end like that."

Davenport led the opening nine laps before pole-starting Johnny Scott used a crossover move entering turn three to grab the top spot on lap 10. He didn’t hold it long as Davenport went back in front two laps later.

As the leaders battled heavy lapped traffic, Owens slipped by Scott for second. Meanwhile, Davenport built up a 3.7-second lead over Owens by lap 24 when the race’s first caution flag flew due to Kolby Vandenbergh’s spin in turn four.

With a clear track ahead of him, Davenport blazed away after the restart and needed only five laps to built a 3.1-second command over Owens with Hudson O’Neal moving into third. Bobby Pierce, who started 14th, advanced into fourth by lap 37 behind Davenport, O’Neal and Owens with the top four all being former Show-Me 100 winners.

Davenport’s lead was 3.6 seconds over O’Neal when action slowed on lap 44 for the second caution. Pierce was running third with Owens fourth and Ricky Thornton Jr. fifth. But Pierce suddenly pulled off the track with a faulty distributor on lap 48 while battling among the top four, ending victory hopes for the 2017 race winner.

As the race hit the midpoint, Davenport held a two-second lead over Thornton with O’Neal third and Owens in fourth. With those behind him gaining ground on the bottom groove, Davenport’s lead over Thornton was down to less than a half second by lap 58. Running in lapped traffic, Davenport lost the lead on lap 63 as Thornton moved by coming out of turn four.

Thornton and Davenport were side-by-side when Davenport reclaimed the top spot on lap 67 with Ferguson close behind in third and McCreadie having advanced from 17th at the start to fourth.

Davenport rebuilt his lead to 1.7 seconds by lap 80, as Ferguson had moved into second. It was about that time that Ferguson began whittling into the margin to set up the drama of lap 88 that would decide the outcome.

Ferguson drove away the restart for Davenport's spin and opened a 2.1-second lead by lap 95. Without lapped traffic to contend with, he beat Thornton by just over three seconds seconds for the biggest victory of his career.

"All the people than don't realize it, our cars are fast," Ferguson said of his Team Zero chassis. "For a long time I've dreamed about being at this level. I feel like I can drive good enough to get it done now."

Thornton felt good about his runner-up finish, which resulted in a $20,000 payday.

"We came really close and it kind of sucks to run second, but congrats to Fergy," Thornton said. "He is really good, especially late. We had a really good car yesterday and it put us in a good position for today."

Chad Simpson of Mount Vernon, Iowa, rounded out the top five in the running order. Last year’s winner Hudson O'Neal wound up seventh and 2020 race winner Payton Looney of Republic rallied from 20th to seventh. Six-time Show-Me 100 winner Scott Bloomquist started 15th and finished 10th.

Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon won the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge non-qualifiers’ race, but because of transmission issues he elected to take the $2,500 prize rather than trade the check for a spot at the tail end of the Show-Me 100 feature lineup.

30th annual Show-Me 100
Pos. Driver, hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., Team Zero, $50,000
2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $20,000
3. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $10,000
4. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Longhorn, $9,000
5. Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, Black Diamond, $8,000
6. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., Rocket, $7,000
7. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Rocket, $6,000
8. Payton Looney (15), Republic, Mo., Capital, $5,000
9. Ashton Winger (89), Hampton, Ga., Rocket, $4,500
10. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Team Zero, $4,000
11. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., Black Diamond, $3,500
12. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $3,250
13. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $3,000
14. Earl Pearson Jr. (46), Jacksonville, Fla., Longhorn, $2,750
15. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, Longhorn, $2,500
16. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $2,400
17. Johnny Scott (1st), Las Cruces, N.M., Longhorn, $2,350
18. Kolby Vandenbergh (15), Ashland, Ill., Rocket, $2,325
19. Trevor Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., Black Diamond, $2,300
20. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., Longhorn, $2,250
21. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., Longhorn, $2,200
22. Spencer Hughes (11), Meridian, Miss., Longhorn, $2,150
23. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., Team Zero, $2,100
24. Tad Pospisil (04), Norfolk, Neb., Team Zero, $2,050
25. Billy Moyer Jr. (21), Batesville, Ark., Longhorn, $2,000
26. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Rocket, $2,000
27. Jason Papich (91P), Nipomo, Calif., Longhorn, $2,000
28. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Pierce, $2,000
29. Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M., Longhorn, $2,000
30. Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., Black Diamond, $2,000
31. Jeremy Shaw (1s), Millport, Ala., Capital, $2,000
Lap leaders: Davenport 1-9, 12-62, 67-88; J. Scott 10-11; Thornton, 63-66; Fergusoon 89-100
Preliminary feature winner (among 63 cars): J. Scott
Consolation winners: Shaw, Looney, Erb
Non-qualifiers’ race winner: Tony Jackson Jr.
Provisional starters: Hughes, Robinson, Chris Simpson, Pospisil

Feature lineup

Row 1: Johnny Scott, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Jimmy Owens, Hudson O’Neal
Row 3: Ricky Thornton Jr., Ashton Winger
Row 4: Kyle Bronson, Garrett Alberson
Row 5: Kolby Vandenbergh, Chris Ferguson
Row 6: Brandon Sheppard, Chad Simpson
Row 7: Jason Papich, Bobby Pierce
Row 8: Scott Bloomquist, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 9: Tim McCreadie, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 10: Jeremy Shaw, Payton Looney
Row 11: Tyler Erb, Brian Shirley
Row 12: Cade Dillard, Shannon Babb
Row 13: Spencer Hughes, Ross Robinson
Row 14: Daulton Wilson, Chris Simpson
Row 15: Tad Pospisil, Stormy Scott
Row 16: Trevor Gundaker

Consolation race results

(15 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation: Jeremy Shaw, Brian Shirley, Tony Jackson Jr., Kyle Beard, Spencer Hughes, Brian Rickman, Scott Crigler, Jon Binning, Kylan Garner, Dewaine Hottinger, John Blankenship, Shannon Parker, Kaeden Cornell, Reid Millard. Scratched: Jay Fields.

Second consolation: Payton Looney, Cade Dillard, Stormy Scott, Chase Junghans, Cole Wells, Daulton Wilson, Joseph Joiner, Brennon Willard, Jacob Magee, Kayden Clatt, Tad Pospisil, Daniel Hilsabeck, Al Humphrey, Trevor Gundaker. Scratched: John Willard.

Third consolation: Tyler Erb, Shannon Babb, Neil Baggett, Mason Oberkramer, Ross Robinson, Jon Kirby, Steve Stultz, Aaron Marrant, Ben Schaller, Dustin Walker, Logan Martin, Joe Gorby, Chris Simpson. Scratched: Mike Marlar, Glen Powell.

Non-qualifiers' race: Tony Jackson Jr., Chase Junghans, Neil Baggett, Brennon Willard, Brian Rickman, Kylan Gardner, Dustin Walker, Jacob Magee, Ben Schaller, Jon Kirby, Steve Stultz, Daulton Wilson, Cole Wells. Scratched: Kyle Beard, Mason Oberkramer, Scott Crigler, Joseph Joiner, Jon Binning, Kayden Clatt, Aaron Marrant, Dewaine Hottinger, John Blankenship, Daniel Hilsabeck, Logan Martin.

Consolation lineups

(15 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation
Row 1: Jeremy Shaw, Brian Shirley
Row 2: Tony Jackson Jr., Kyle Beard
Row 3: Spencer Hughes, Brian Rickman
Row 4: Kaeden Cornell, Kylan Garner
Row 5: Shannon Parker, Dewaine Hottinger
Row 6: John Blankenship, Reid Millard
Row 7: Jay Fields, Jon Binning
Row 8: Scott Crigler
Second consolation
Row 1: Payton Looney, Chase Junghans
Row 2: Tad Pospisil, Cade Dillard
Row 3: Stormy Scott, Daulton Wilson
Row 4: Cole Wells, Trevor Gundaker
Row 5: Jacob Magee, Brennon Willard
Row 6: Kayden Clatt, John Willard
Row 7: Daniel Hilsabeck, Joseph Joiner
Row 8: Al Humphrey
Third consolation
Row 1: Mike Marlar, Shannon Babb
Row 2: Tyler Erb, Neil Baggett
Row 3: Logan Martin, Ben Schaller
Row 4: Aaron Marrant, Ross Robinson
Row 5: Mason Oberkramer, Jon Kirby
Row 6: Joseph Gorby, Steve Stultz
Row 7: Glen Powell, Chris Simpson
Row 8: Dustin Walker

Saturday's schedule

12:30 p.m. - Sponsor appreciation luncheon
2:30 p.m. - All gates closed and cleared
3 p.m. - All gates reopen
3:15 p.m. - Dirt Racing Outreach service
5 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
5:30 p.m. - Hot laps (Late Models/modifieds)
6 p.m. - Opening ceremonies
6:15 p.m. - Competition begins
- Late Model consolations (15 laps)
- Late Model hot laps (locked-in cars)
- Modified consolations (12 laps)
- Modified hot laps (lock-in cars)
- Late Model non-qualifiers’ race (20 laps)
- Show-Me 100
- Modified feature (30 laps)
1:30 a.m. - Diamond Bar closes