Jonathan Davenport claimed his third Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora and the $100,030 that came with it.
More impressive is that this second year in a row that he won the Dream came via a clean sweep of all 100 laps in the feature. He is only the third driver to have done so and the first since Shane Clanton did it in 2012.
He also won by over five seconds ahead of Bobby Pierce, earning his 10th crown jewel victory at Eldora alongside his six wins in the World 100 in the fall and The Million in 2022.
“Nothing is ever easy but I have had a lot more challenging wins here than that,” Davenport said during the post-race press conference. The first 75, it was really, really good. The last 25, I felt like I could have been better in traffic but I was good enough in the first 75 that it didn’t matter at the end.”
Davenport says he’s so good at Eldora because it’s a thinking man’s race track.
“You have to think the whole race,” he said. “Like I’ve said before, it’s like a chess game. You can’t just run wide open and expect to be there at the end. It starts on prelim nights and heat races, and learning what you need, and telling that to your crew.
“Really, it’s just experience.”
Pierce and Brandon Overton conceded they had nothing for The Fast 49.
“No,” he said when asked. “Simply no.”
Really, a podium was a good night in and of itself.
“It’s not that I was doubting our night but I didn’t know what we would have and I thought a top-5 would be a good race for us. To come home second is great. I wish I could have got behind him earlier because he’s right about his experience and that’s something I could have learned from.”
Overton was behind him and he learned he didn’t have anything for him.
“I thought, ride behind him and see if he messes up or moves and can sneak by him, but once we got in traffic, that’s when you see what you have and that’s when I needed to use the whole race track and that’s what this is about,” Overton said. “It’s not about having more bite or grip, its about having the perfect balance all over the race track and when (Davenport) has that, he wins.”
Like Pierce, Overton was pleased with a second after recovering from losing an engine earlier in the week.
Davenport’s 10 wins at Eldora is second only to Scott Bloomquist.
“I still can’t believe I can come back and win again because it’s so hard to win here,” he said.
Apparently not.
“So, the numbers say but it is so hard to win here. It truly is. You can only come here once for the World and the Dream and it’s so easy to have something happen.
“Like what happened to both of these guys, what happens if you can’t get that motor changed for the heat or getting in a wreck. So many things can happen, and if it does, you’re a year behind on notebook missing the 100 lapper here.
“I have a notebook here for everything so I’ve been fortunate to have snowballed this way as opposed the other way.”
Dream XXX
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $100,030
2. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Longhorn, $30,000
3. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., Infinity, $20,000
4. Hudson O’Neal (97), Martinsville, Ind., Longhorn, $15,000
5. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., Longhorn, $12,500
6. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., Team Zero, $10,000
7. Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., Longhorn, $9,000
8. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $8,500
9. Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M., Category 5, $8,000
10. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., Longhorn, $7,500
11. Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., Rocket, $7,250
12. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, Longhorn, $7,000
13. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Team Zero, $6,800
14. Tim McCreadie (1), Watertown, N.Y., Rocket, $6,600
15. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $6,400
16. Trent Ivey (G4), Union, S.C., Rocket, $6,200
17. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Rocket, $6,000
18. Ricky Weiss (7), Headingley, Manitoba, Sniper, $6,000
19. Cody Overton (97), Evans, Ga., Excel, $6,000
20. Ashton Winger (12), Hampton, Ga., Rocket, $6,000
21. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., Longhorn, $6,000
22. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., Longhorn, $6,000
23. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., Longhorn, $6,000
24. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., Rocket, $6,000
25. Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., Capital, $6,000
26. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., Longhorn, $6,000
Lap leaders: Davenport 1-100
Fast qualifier (101 cars): McDowell, 15.060 seconds
Heat race winners: Overton, Moran, Madden, T. Erb, O’Neal, Davenport
Consolation winners: Blair, Gilpin
Provisional starters: McDowell, Rice
Preliminary feature winners: Thornton, Moran
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.