Davenport Sweeps Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Action at Atomic
CHILLICOTHE, OH (March 24, 2024) – Jonathan Davenport was the driver to beat on Sunday night at Atomic Speedway as he made a clean sweep of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series program.
Davenport set the overall fastest time in Allstar Performance Time Trials, won his heat race to earn the Victory Fuel pole, and topped it off by winning the Buckeye Spring 50 to earn the $12,000 top prize.
Davenport’s second win of the season broke a streak of 10 straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series races that saw 10 different winners. The three-time champion earned his 76th win with the series.
Mike Marlar was the only other driver to lead laps in the main event as he held the point for laps 15 and 16 after taking over the lead from Davenport, who had led the first 13 circuits of the race. But Marlar’s top spot was short-lived as Davenport made a daring move coming off turn two on lap 17 to retake the lead which he held to the finish.
Marlar came home in second with Devin Moran, the previous night’s winner at Brownstown coming from the 11th starting spot to round out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Jimmy Owens, who holds the late model track record at Atomic was fourth, with Bobby Pierce completing the top five drivers.
Davenport picked a fine time to turn around his weekend after finishing 15th at Brownstown on Saturday night. “Anytime you can set fast time, win your heat, and win the feature you know it just caps off the whole night. Mikey [Marlar], he run me pretty hard through lapped traffic and man there was one time when lapped cars got together and I had to squeeze between them and the wall; man, that was really close right there, but it was a lot of fun,” said the Blairsville, Georgia driver.
“There were some timely cautions for sure. I didn’t know to be down on this end [turn four] early. I thought through the middle would be best, but I kept trying to move my line and I could never really get off the throttle like I needed to. I was moving around a little bit in one and two, but not much because there is so much banking down there, but I started coming off of it earlier and that helped me,” Davenport added.
Marlar, coming off a third-place finish at Brownstown the night before, improved one spot in the finishing order at Atomic. “When I got the lead, when Davenport got bunched up there in traffic and slid up a little bit and I got him and when he entered down here in one I thought I could enter below the lapped car and just be half on him on exit nobody was going to go around me. I went in there and got free and I let Jonathan have enough room behind that lapped car to come back in front of me. That was a big mistake on my end, but you know it’s hard racing and it’s fun and me and him had a heck of a race.”
Moran, who picked up his first series win of the season the night before, was looking for a clean sweep of the weekend but came up short in doing so in his home state despite a valiant effort from the inside of row number six.
“This place you just can’t pass a car one lap it takes a couple of laps to maneuver around someone. Charlie Vest [Atomic promoter] and them guys done a great job with the track. I thought we were going to be in trouble when they went out and watered it a little bit, but it really made a good race out of it. I just needed to qualify better tonight. We were pretty limited on tire selection tonight, so everyone was pretty much on the same stuff. I wish we could have started a little further up front. If that caution hadn’t come out in the heat and I beat Ricky [Thornton Jr.] we might have had a chance in the feature.”
The winner’s Lance and Darla Landers, Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, Dyna Gro Seed, Lucas Oil Products, Bilstein Shocks, ASC Warranty, Mark Martin Automotive, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, and VP Fuels.
Completing the top ten were Tim McCreadie, Nick Hoffman, Ricky Thornton Jr., Max Blair, and Garrett Alberson.