The fastest car doesn’t always win the race and that was the case in the Toyota Knoxville 50 on Friday night at Tazewell Speedway.Jonathan Davenport inherited the lead when Jimmy Owens left the race on lap 46 with terminal issues. Davenport then held off a hard-charging Tim McCreadie for his fifth series win of the season. McCreadie finished a close second, with Don O’Neal coming home in third. Dennis Erb Jr. and Earl Pearson Jr. rounded out the top five.
Owens bolted to the lead at the start of the event and dominated much of the race in the Ramirez Motorsports entry. He led by almost a straightaway on several occasions as Davenport and McCreadie battled for second.
No one appeared to have anything for Owens, who was looking for the sixth Toyota Knoxville 50 win of his career. Unfortunately, with four laps to go Owens retreated to the pits off turn four in a cloud of smoke. McCreadie pressured Davenport in the final laps, but Davenport held on for first Tazewell Speedway victory since his record-setting 2015 season.
“I hate for anybody to have any bad luck, especially when you are leading. We were running second there at the end, early on I don’t know if I could have gotten by Josh Richards or Jimmy Owens.” Richards pulled out of the race on lap 18 while running second to Owens.
“I don’t know how much Jimmy was saving. This place is so fast. The top went away, and the bottom was coming back in at the end. Man, I love this place. I didn’t see anything coming from the 20 car. I thought he had a tire going down or something. Josh was smoking for several laps there early on. Man, it was heartbreak for those two. We will take it, it was a good points night for us.”
“Thanks to Lance Landers for putting together this wonderful race team. The sky is the limit. The first time I ever came here I loved it. This place is so unique. There is nothing like it. I wish we could come back here two or three times.”
McCreadie’s Sweeteners Plus, Longhorn maintained for a solid podium finish. “We had a good race there with JD. He [Davenport] got by me and then I was pinned in the middle. We just didn’t get any breaks tonight. We had a good enough car to win. This is my best run here, so I am happy. “
O’Neal in the Peak Antifreeze and Coolant, Club 29 reached the podium again with his third-place run. “It was a good solid run for us. Man, I thought I had something for them. We were a little too free. It was a good points night for us. We will head to Florence tomorrow where we have had a lot of success in the past.”
The winner’s Lance Landers Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by: Crop Production Services, Spartan Mowers, Valvoline, ASC Warranty, Penske Shocks, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Hawkeye Trucks, Midwest Sheet Metal and Sunoco Race Fuels.
Completing the top ten were Hudson O’Neal, Eric Wells, Mason Zeigler, Chad Ogle, and Jason Jameson.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Toyota Knoxville 50
1. 49 Jonathan Davenport
2. 39 Tim McCreadie
3. 5 Don O’Neil
4. 28 Dennis Erb Jr
5. 1 Earl Pearson Jr
6. 71 Hudson O’Neil
7. 18 Eric Wells
8. 25Z Mason Ziegler
9. 10 Chad Ogle
10. 12 Jason Jameson
11. 22 Gregg Satterlee
12. 0 Scott Bloomquist
13. 21K Dakotah Knuckles
14. 40B Kyle Bronson
15. 69 Carder Miller
16. 1G Ryan King
17. 20 Jimmy Owens
18. 21 Robby Moses
19. 25 Eric Webber
20. 32 Bobby Pierce
21. 1R Josh Richards
22. 101 Forrest Trent
23. 86 Jeff Neubert
24. 7B Brian Smith
25. 14 Darrell Lanigan
Sportsman Late Models were also on showcase in front of the huge crowd with $1,200 up for grabs to the winner of the twenty lap feature. Heath Alvey of Dandridge was quickest among nineteen entries with a lap of 11.957 seconds, the only driver to record a sub-11 second time. After the invert draw Alvey would start fourth. East Tennesse racing veteran Warren McMahan of Dandridge and Russellville’s Aaron Guinn shared the front of row of the feature.With the drop of the green the field stormed into turn one with Guinn using the high line to take the lead coming out of the second turn. Behind him McMahan, last year’s points champion Travis Fultz of Harrogate, Alvey and Barbourville, KY’s Steve Smith gave chase. The caution flag would fly on thye second lap for a spinning Paul Whitley. On the restart Guinn mashed the loud pedal and began puliing away from the field as Fultz started working on a way to get around McMahan for second.
The yellow flag would slow the field again on lap six for a spinning Nick Kniat. On the restart Fultz used the moisture in the low groove to pull even with McMahan. On the next lap Fultz would muscle his way into second in turn two. This allowed Alavey to begin putting pressure on McMahan for third. As the pair exited turn four they would make contact sending McMahan spinning down the front stretch, tagging the inside wall and ending his night.
With the field reset Fultz, in search of his fourth Tazewell Speedway win in a row, set his sights on Guinn for the lead. With the laps quickly winding down Fultz looked high and low trying to find extra traction. It wasn’t enough as the “Russellville Rocket” led every lap of the feature to score his first win of the year piloting the Mahle Motorsports, LeBel Commercial Realty, Pro-Tech Tire & Automotive, Sam Neill Insurance, Russellville Barber Shop, East TN Race Report, Lloyd’s Electric Service, Comboy’s Auto Sales sponsored, DJ’s Performance Race Engine powered Warrior Race Car.
Sportsman
1. 97 Aaron Guinn
2. T0 Travis Fultz
3. 7 Heath Alvey
4. 2 Steve Smith
5. 8 Randy Davis
6. 00 Chris Raines
7. 43 Rex Coffey
8. 14 Odie Overholt
9. 24 Andy Wilder
10. 6 Clay Coghlan
11. 8W Paul Whitley
12. K0 Nick Kniat
13. 28J Justin James
14. 33 Warren McMahan
15. 21 Bryan Howerton
16. G6 Daryl Gordon
17. 76 Joe Bray
A stout field of Classic Cars were also on hand to battle for $700 to win in a twenty lap contest. Jason Saylor of Harlan, KY was quickest in time trials with a lap of 14.380 seconds with fellow Harlan County native Tim Stevens recording the second quickest time.Using the inside groove Saylor would shove his way into the lead on the opening lap as Tim Stevens has busy fighting for second with his cousin John Stevens. John was able to work his way into second and start tracking down Saylor. The pair began pulling away from the rest of the field and continue their friendly rivalry. Stevens started using the low line to gain advantage on Saylor.
With ten laps in the books the duo had caught up with the tail of the field. Two laps later Stevens dove low in turn two and made it a drag race for the lead on the back chute. Saylor would hold onto the lead yet Stevens stayed glued to his back bumper. As they exited turn four to complete the fifteenth lap Stevens would make contact sending Saylor spinning down the front stretch. Track officials would send Stevens to the tail of the field for rough driving and allowing Saylor to retain the lead.
With the field reset pole-sitter Tim Stevens moved into second with Hayston Collett taking over third. Stevens looked to have a car good enough to challenge Saylor yet had his hands full trying to hold off Collett. With the checkered flag waving in the air Stevens and Collett made contact on the front stretch which caused Stevens to take a wild flip directly in front of the crowd. After a few tense moments Tim Stevens was able to exit the car and walk away unscathed while Saylor celebrated his first official win of the season.
Classic Car
1. 5S Jason Saylor
2. 3 Hayston Collett
3. 19 Tim Stevens
4. 14 Lee Merritt
5. 69 Roy Bailey
6. 1A Quincy Arnwine
7. 7 John Stevens
8. XXX Josh Chesney
9. 37 Shane Taylor
10. 69 Jesse Hickman
11. 1W Rusty Welch
12. 28 Ryan Bailey
A strong field of 4 Cylinders drivers were also on hand to compete in twenty lap feature paying $700 to win. Derik Duggan of Lenoir City turned the fastest lap of 14.497 second in qualifying, earning the pole and sharing the front row of the feature with Dandridge’s Chuck McMahan. Duggan would take the lead from the green flag with McMahan right on his back bumper. The pair began pulling away from the rest of the field by lap number six. Just past the midway point of the race Duggan had caught the tail of the end and began distancing himself away from McMahan. With five to go the gap extended to over five car lengths. The “Crossroads Flash” would go flag-to-flag for his second Tazewell Speedway win of year in the Turpin Motorsports, Coalhill Fabrication, Fullmoon Signs & Graphics sponsored Ford Mustang.
4 Cylinder
1. 25 Derek Duggan
2. 99 Chuck McMahan
3. 38 James Collett
4. 3 Jared Wise
5. 72 Walter Walsh
6. 5 Robby Steakley
7. 21 Randy Dyke
8. 13 Terry Boshears
9. 1M Mark Wallace
10. 49 Joey Allen
11. 72 Hayston Collett
12. 32 Nikita Wright
13. 2B Shane Bullock
DNS 63 Toby Brock
