JUNCTION CITY, Ky. — Jonathan Davenport passed leader Tim McCreadie coming to the checkered flag on Friday night at Ponderosa Speedway.
The three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National champion edged McCreadie by .234 seconds.
McCreadie, the series point leader, finished second followed by Mike Marlar, Hudson O’Neal, and 12th-starting Shane Clanton.
McCreadie started on the pole and set a steady pace early with Marlar and Davenport trying to stay close to him. Marlar briefly led a lap just past the halfway mark, but McCreadie was able to retake the lead as lap 28 was scored. A caution flag with 32 laps scored bunched up the field one more time and set-up a shootout to the finish.
Marlar held the second spot behind McCreadie as Davenport wrestled the spot away from Marlar with nine laps to go. Davenport set sail catching McCreadie in traffic with a just a few laps remaining that set-up the amazing finish.
For the 52nd time in his career, Davenport visited Lucas Oil Victory Lane.
“Timmy [McCreadie] got hung up behind those lapped cars and was just a sitting duck there. I did not have any choice except to try something different,” Davenport explained. “I thought earlier in the race I could snooker them on the bottom. We got really good down there and then Timmy moved to the bottom. The cautions have been killing me here lately. Me and [Mike] Marlar went back-and-forth for second and third. I knew our car was pretty good and Timmy’s was too. The first time I came here I embarrassed myself, but ever since we have had a good set-up for this place.”
McCreadie still looked stunned in his post-race interview as he came up just short of his second series win of the season.
“I should have known better than to be so low, the outside is always good at the end of the races here,” he said. “I just got a little complacent. I didn’t get into turn one good. I didn’t really hear anybody down the backstretch. You could second-guess all day with what happened. We were really fast all night.”
The finish:
Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar, Hudson O’Neal, Shane Clanton, Zack Dohm, Tyler Erb, Stormy Scott, Jimmy Owens, Ricky Thornton Jr., Josh Richards, Earl Pearson Jr., Tanner English, David Webb, Kyle Bronson, Devin Moran, Tommy Bailey, Larry Greer, Brandon Overton, Dustin Linville, Brian Shirley, Cameron Marlar, Scott James, Justin Rattliff, Michael Chilton.