Davenport Charges to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Win at East Bay

TAMPA, FL (May 25, 2020) – Defending Series champion Jonathan Davenport came from the fifth starting spot to win Monday Night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at East Bay Raceway Park.  Davenport took the lead on lap 31 from fellow Georgian Shane Clanton and then pulled away for his eighth career win at “The Clay by the Bay.”

Clanton led 29 laps of the 40 lap event and appeared poised to pick up his first ever win at East Bay, but Davenport slid under him with nine laps to go to grab the top spot.  Clanton finished in the runner-up position, with point leader Tim McCreadie coming home in third. Jimmy Owens finished in fourth with Tyler Erb rounding out the top five drivers.

Clanton and Overton had a heated battle for the lead for several laps until Overton slowed on the track after a lap 19 restart that forced Overton from the event. Overton led one lap during the exchange with Clanton as the two fought tooth-and-nail around the 1/3 mile oval.

With Overton out of the race Clanton again showed the way with several drivers nipping at his heels including Owens who moved to second after Overton’s exit. Davenport moved to third and then eventually to second around Owens. Davenport then set his sights on Clanton as has the two crossed the stripe to complete lap 31 Davenport slid down low heading into turn one and slid up in front of Clanton to take the lead.

In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 49th time in his career Davenport, the 3-time and reigning series champion was relieved to be back in the winner’s circle for the first time since February. “I didn’t really know where to go in the corners of the track tonight. It was so slick in the center I had to wait a long time to take off, because I didn’t think running the ring around the cushion was the way to take off. Drivers kept piling up behind me. I was just trying to keep the car in the right position. It’s been a struggle the last few weeks.”

“We’ve changed everything on this car except for the driver. I hope everybody that watched at home enjoyed the show. I was just patient at first because the track blew off a lot faster than I thought it would. It was fast through all the heat races, then suddenly when they rolled the top in I don’t know whether the tide rolled back out, but it got drier.”

Clanton had his best finish of 2020 with his runner-up finish. “I started to lose my right front tire there in the shine. I got so tight getting into the corner I was having to dip the car hard. I was doing all I could, then I caught the lapped cars and they were in my line and I needed to turn under him, and I missed the bottom. JD got a good run on me and then Owens got a good run on me as well. I tried to get under both of them on the last restart.”

McCreadie was looking for his third series win of the season and came home third maintaining his point lead heading into Tuesday Night’s action at East Bay. “I just made a big mistake going into one. Brandon [Overton] and I were just racing so hard and that is just the way it goes. I slid him going into turn three.  When I went in there I locked the rear end up and it started clunking in high gear. I thought I was going to spin out in front of the field, which made me lose 3 or 4 spots.”  

The winner’s Lance Landers Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, Spartan Mowers, Lucas Oil Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Hoosier Tires, VP Fuels, and ASC Warranty.

Completing the top ten were Brian Shirley, Kyle Bronson, Tanner English, Rick Eckert, and Mason Zeigler.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
GEICO East Bay Nationals – presented by Brandon Ford
Monday, May 25th, 2020
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Shane Clanton / 13.966 seconds 
Fast Time Group B:  Brandon Overton / 13.871 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 4. 50-Shanon Buckingham[2]; 5. 33J-Jeff Mathews[7]; 6. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[6]; 7. 311-Ken Monahan[4]; 8. 91S-Blake Naylor[8]; 9. (DNS) 95-Steven Mathis Jr

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 111-Steven Roberts[4]; 5. 89-GR Smith[5]; 6. 20B-Todd Brennan[6]; 7. KB0-Kerry King[7]; 8. (DNS) F15-Jeremy Conaway

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 5W-Mark Whitener[5]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 6. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 7. 25W-Allen Weisser[8]; 8. 71-Hudson O'Neal[9]; 9. 6S-Blake Spencer[7]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[5]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[6]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 7. 1V-Vic Hill[7]; 8. 29-Larry Grube[8]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 2. 33J-Jeff Mathews[1]; 3. 89-GR Smith[2]; 4. 20B-Todd Brennan[4]; 5. 311-Ken Monahan[5]; 6. KB0-Kerry King[6]; 7. 91S-Blake Naylor[7]; 8. (DNS) F15-Jeremy Conaway; 9. (DNS) 95-Steven Mathis Jr

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[1]; 3. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 5. 25W-Allen Weisser[5]; 6. 71-Hudson O'Neal[7]; 7. 29-Larry Grube[8]; 8. 1V-Vic Hill[6]; 9. (DNS) 6S-Blake Spencer

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (40 Laps):  

Race Statistics
Entrants: 34
Lap Leaders: Shane Clanton (Laps 1 – 11); Brandon Overton (Lap 12); Shane Clanton (Laps 13 – 30); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 31 – 40)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Jonathan Davenport
Margin of Victory: 0.806 seconds
Cautions: Shanon Buckingham (Lap 2); Stormy Scott (Lap 8); Debris (Lap 13); Jeff Matthews, Steven Roberts (Lap 19); Shanon Buckingham (Lap 36); Josh Richards (Lap 38)
Series Provisionals: Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Bruening
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Shane Clanton, Tim McCreadie
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Devin Moran (Advanced 12 Positions) 
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadie
Allstar Performance Most Laps Led: Shane Clanton (29 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jimmy Owens
Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: n/a
Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason Durham (Jonathan Davenport)
Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Shane Clanton (Lap #2 – 14.322 seconds)
Hot Rod Processing Tough Break of the Race: Brandon Overton
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Shane Clanton
Time of Race: 32 minutes 23 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

*Results are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day

For the latest breaking news concerning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2020 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Official Sponsors Include:

ARP - The Official Fastener of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Arizona Sport Shirts - The Original Racing Shirt
Big River Steel - A leading Steel Mill in the flat-rolled steel industry
Brandon Ford - "The Official Pace Truck" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Dirt Draft - "The Official Fantasy Sports Provider" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
DirtonDirt.com - All Late Models. All The Time.
Dixie Chopper - "The Official Mower" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
E3 Spark Plugs - "The Official Spark Plug" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
GEICO - Saving People Money on More than Just Car Insurance
General Tire - Anywhere is Possible
Holmatro - Mastering Power
Hoosier Tire - Tires Designed for Champions
K&N Engineering - "Make your Move" to K&N Performance Filters
Lucas Oil Products - Made in America, SOLD to the World
Lucas Oil Racing TV - GRAB IT AND HOLD ON TIGHT
MAVTV Motorsports Network - MAVTV is Motorsports
Miller Welders - WE BUILD With You
Nitro-Bee PLUS - "The Official Race Receiver" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Optima Batteries - The Ultimate Power Source
ProtectTheHarvest.com - Standing up for America's Farmers, Hunters, and Animal Owners
Rugged Radios - “The Official Communications” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
SRI Performance - Your One Stop Shop for All Things Racing
STEEL-IT - Stainless Steel Coating in a Can
Sunoco Race Fuels - "The Official Fuel" of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Super Clean - Super Easy, Super Fast!
Wrisco Industries, Inc. - 100 Years of Industry Experience

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners Include:

Advanced Powder Coating, Allstar Performance, Automotive Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Black Diamond Chassis, Boyd Bilt Fabrication, Brodix, Capital Race Cars, Cornett Racing Engines, CP Carrillo Pistons, Dirty Girl Racewear, Durham Racing Engines, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Heath Lawson Photography, Keyser Manufacturing, Longhorn Chassis, MasterSbilt Race Cars, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Midwest Sheet Metal, MSD Performance, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Öhlins Shocks, Outerwears, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies, PFC Brakes, Pro Power Racing Engines, Rocket Chassis, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Slicker Graphics, Swift Springs, Thermo-Tec Automotive Products, Tiger Rear Ends, Vic Hil Race Engines, Xcelydne Valvetrain, 5150 Race Trailers

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the nation’s premier dirt late model sanctioning organization.  In 2020, the LOLMDS will sanction 57 events in 18 states.  The series is owned by the parent company Lucas Oil Products Inc. and receives national exposure through a TV package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios.  LOLMDS events will be broadcast on four TV Networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.  For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com. 

About Lucas Oil Racing TV

The Future of Motorsports is HERE! Get Lucas Oil Racing TV and experience racing excitement like you've never seen! Lucas Oil Racing TV is the online app for all your favorite devices like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android Devices and more! No matter where you are or when you want to watch, you can stream the best and most exciting motor racing on the planet!

Lucas Oil Racing TV has all your favorite motorsports - from grass roots to international competition, as well as exclusive LIVE EVENTS and behind the scenes interviews and footage that you won't see anywhere else! But that's just the beginning! Lucas Oil Racing TV brings you some of motorsports greatest broadcasters and build specialists... from Dave Despain to the mechanics of Two Guys Garage, as well as all the latest news, reviews, and interviews from every genre of racing.

Lucas Oil Racing TV is the Exclusive, Unlimited, 24/7 All-Access Motorsports App and it's available NOW! For more information or to sign up, go to: www.LucasOilRacing.TV.

About MAVTV Motorsports Network

Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV is a television network with its roots deep in the automotive world. MAVTV offers an unparalleled line-up of exclusive motorsports, that includes prestigious events such as the Chili Bowl, The AMA Pro Motocross series, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and NHRA Drag Racing. But MAVTV goes far beyond the national mainstream events and also covers multitudes of grassroots series' from across the globe: Drag boats, sprint boats, drag racing, pro pulling, rally racing, drifting, dirt racing, ice racing and everything in between.

MAVTV also knows you don't have to be a race fan to be an automotive enthusiast, which is why we have developed a package of automotive reality and custom build shows that is truly second to none. If it has a motor, it's on MAVTV...MAVTV is THE motorsports network. To learn more about MAVTV go to: www.MAVTV.com.

About Lucas Oil Products

Founded in 1989 by Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, Lucas Oil Products, Inc. has established itself as one of the fastest-growing lubrication product lines in the consumer automotive aftermarket, featuring a line of engine oils, greases, gear lubes, problem-solving additives, and car-care products.  Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil has established itself as a worldwide leader in the lubrication industry.  Motorsports has always been part of the Lucas Oil culture and the cornerstone of the company's marketing strategy.  Such passion for motorsports has inspired Lucas Oil to sponsor many race teams, events and series at all levels, including, NHRA, IRL, ASCS, NASCAR, IHRA and many more.  Lucas Oil has also taken ownership and operational control of a number of high profile racing properties, such as: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, and the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.

In 2007 Lucas Oil founded its own production house, Lucas Oil Production Studios, dedicated to producing high action motorsports television.  Currently Lucas Oil Production Studios produces over 300 hours of original programming for networks such as CBS, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and MAVTV.  More information about Lucas Oil Products, Inc. visit the company website at:  www.LucasOil.com.