Davenport Takes Night Two Of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series High Bank Heist At Eagle

Story By: LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – EAGLE, NE – Jonathan Davenport took the lead at the start of the 40-lap main event, leading wire-to-wire on Friday night at Eagle Raceway.

He won night two of the Malvern Bank High Bank Heist, worth $10,000, marking his 87th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing victory.

Davenport, who finished second on Thursday night to winner Ricky Thornton Jr., had three drivers challenge him. Polesitter and Nebraska native Tad Pospisil, Kyle Bronson, and Hudson O’Neal all occupied the second spot at various points during the race, but none were able to take the lead away from Davenport.

Davenport, who started alongside Pospisil, took the lead at the outset, with Pospisil falling into second place. Pospisil, who was seeking his first career Series win, stayed with Davenport through traffic until Bronson made a charge for second, passing Pospisil on lap 14.

Bronson and points leader Ricky Thornton, Jr. then put on a clinic of slide jobs for second as the two battled back and forth for several laps until Thornton collided with the frontstretch wall on lap 22, ending his night.

Bronson was able to maintain second place until a caution for Pospisil in turn four, with 37 laps complete, set up a three-lap dash to the finish. Davenport managed to retain his lead until the end, but O’Neal was able to sneak underneath Bronson on lap 39 to claim the runner-up spot at the finish.

O’Neal, who started in 13th, earned the Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race, passing Bronson with two laps to go to finish in second place. Bronson rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Brandon Sheppard finished fourth, with Garrett Alberson coming home in fifth.

In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fourth time this season, the Blairsville, Georgia native turned the tables from not benefiting from the cautions one night ago to having them play in his favor on Friday.

“I am kind of glad that one caution came out there, it gave me a breather. The car was good in the middle at the end of the race. The first part of the race, we were just super tight up there on the lip, and I’m sure everybody was. We really weren’t expecting that. The bottom didn’t come in, I don’t think like it did last night, there for a while. I didn’t really go down there except for a couple of times. I was just kind of married myself to the top there and tried to hang on.”

In his last three Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing starts, Davenport has two wins and a runner-up finish as he holds down the second spot in the championship standings.

“It’s about confidence, really, in all of us. We are all just riding up and down the road in the truck and having a good time, everybody’s getting along, everybody’s doing their job and having fun doing it.”

O’Neal came on towards the end of the race, and a caution with three laps to go allowed him to not only challenge Bronson, but also Davenport for the win.

“I kept trying the bottom down there in one and two, that was the only way I was going to have a shot at him (Davenport). I had a little line figured out there in three, and maybe I could get close to him and run off in there and slide him. I just couldn’t get there on him, but we’re happy to come away with a second after we backed up pretty well last night. We were scratching our heads a little bit last night. We thought we were going to be in a good spot, but just kept backing up, and we just didn’t have anything for them last night. We’re so happy we were able to rebound a little bit tonight, so it makes us feel better going into tomorrow.”

Bronson backed up a third place run on Thursday night with another podium performance Friday.

“I felt like that last caution there kind of killed me. I was just about to slide Hudson back there, and he was playing a really smart race, and he was really good through that middle, but I felt like I had a second-place car. I need to be up on the wheel more here. My guys have been busting their butts, and we are headed back in the right direction.”

The winner’s Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, DynaGro Seed, ASC Warranty, Mark Martin Automotive, and Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas.

Completing the top ten were Tyler Bruening, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Carson Ferguson, and Donald McIntosh.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Malvern Bank Presents High Bank Heist | Night 2
Friday, May 16, 2025
Eagle Raceway – Eagle, NE

Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Tad Pospisil | 13.676 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport | 13.452 seconds (overall)

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 04-Tad Pospisil[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 5. 14S-Collen Winebarger[5]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[7]; 7. 7D-Dusty Leonard[9]; 8. 10-Junior Coover[8]; 9. 6-Clay Harris[6]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 5. 15-Clay Stuckey[5]; 6. 18D-Daulton Wilson[6]; 7. 07-Ben Sukup[7]; 8. 71M-Michael Morton[8]; 9. (DNS) 45D-Dan Battaglia

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish ( Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 28-Sam Mars[3]; 3. 79-Donald McIntosh[2]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 5. 28W-Ian Whisler[4]; 6. 6J-Jake Neal[6]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[7]; 8. 18-Jesse Sobbing[8]; 9. 38T-Dylan Thornton[9]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[3]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[4]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[5]; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans[8]; 7. 30G-Jordan Grabouski[7]; 8. 35D-Dylan Sillman[6]

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (9 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 14S-Collen Winebarger[1]; 2. 19M-Spencer Hughes[3]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[2]; 5. 07-Ben Sukup[6]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[9]; 7. 7D-Dusty Leonard[5]; 8. 10-Junior Coover[7]; 9. 71M-Michael Morton[8]; 10. (DNS) 45D-Dan Battaglia

UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (9 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 2. 18C-Chase Junghans[4]; 3. 93L-Cory Lawler[5]; 4. 28W-Ian Whisler[1]; 5. 6J-Jake Neal[3]; 6. 35D-Dylan Sillman[8]; 7. 30G-Jordan Grabouski[6]; 8. 18-Jesse Sobbing[7]; 9. 38T-Dylan Thornton[9]

Malvern Bank Presents High Bank Heist | Night 2 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay

• 1 – 2 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $10,100
• 2 – 13 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $5,500
• 3 – 3 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $3,500
• 4 – 4 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,700
• 5 – 7 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,500
• 6 – 9 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $2,300
• 7 – 11 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $2,200
• 8 – 8 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,100
• 9 – 15 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,050
• 10 – 10 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,100
• 11 – 18 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,600
• 12 – 20 – 18C – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $1,400
• 13 – 12 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,200
• 14 – 16 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $1,000
• 15 – 14 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $950
• 16 – 1 – 4 – Tad Pospisil – Norfolk, NE – $925
• 17 – 21 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $900
• 18 – 17 – 14S – Collen Winebarger – Corbett, OR – $875
• 19 – 22 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $850
• 20 – 19 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $825
• 21 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $800
• 22 – 5 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $900
• 23 – 6 – 28 – Sam Mars – Menomonie, WI – $800
• 24 – 24 – 28W – Ian Whisler – Otis, OR – $800

Race Statistics

• Entrants: 35
• Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Tad Pospisil
• MD3 Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-40)
• Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Jonathan Davenport
• Wieland Feature Winner: Jonathan Davenport
• Margin of Victory: 1.096 seconds
• Coltman Farms Racing Cautions: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 33); Tad Pospisil (Lap 37)
• Series Provisional: Clay Harris
• Fast Time Provisional: Ian Whisler
• Emergency Provisional: n/a
• Track Provisional: n/a
• Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal, Kyle Bronson
• Penske Shocks Top 5: Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal, Kyle Bronson, Brandon Sheppard, Garrett Alberson
• PEM 4th Place Feature: Brandon Sheppard
• DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Garrett Alberson
• Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Tyler Erb
• Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dillon McCowan
• Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Dan Ebert
• MD3 24th Place Feature: Ian Whisler
• Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 11 Positions)
• MD3 Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (40 Laps)
• Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’Neal
• Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
• O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Donald McIntosh
• Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Overton (Lap 4 | 14.244 seconds)
• Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Hudson O’Neal
• Fresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
• Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Cory Fostvedt
• ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing Engines
• Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
• Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Devin Moran (14.0183 seconds)
• Time of Race: 17 minutes 21 seconds