2022 Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals

The Headline(s)

Mother Nature and a tricky track surface still couldn’t keep Jonathan Davenport from another huge win, his first Late Model Knoxville Nationals triumph.

How it Happened

2022 Late Model Knoxville Nationals (Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series)
Where: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa (streamed on Flo Racing)
Winner’s Purse: $50,000 (Sunrday)

While on paper the Late Model Knoxville Nationals will go down as another Jonathan Davenport crown jewel win, Sunday’s (Sept. 18) rain-delayed feature was a radical departure from so many major super late model races. This time, the driver known as “Superman” had to come from behind, prevailing for second after an intense battle with Earl Pearson Jr., then erasing a one-second lead in three laps to blow by leader Tyler Bruening with the race-winning pass two laps from the finish.

The dream season continues for @TheFast49! @knoxvilleraces @lucasdirt pic.twitter.com/52Nq71liOQ

— FloRacing (@FloRacing) September 18, 2022

Davenport led the opening eight laps of the feature before Bobby Pierce became the first driver in recent memory to pass Davenport in feature competition, pouncing on Davenport’s tight-handling car as the field caught lapped traffic for the first time.

Pierce’s run up front was short-lived, with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion forced to park his car with an issue under the hood after a lap 10 caution. That handed the lead to Bruening, who ran away with much of the feature race while both Davenport and Pearson waged a fierce back and forth for second place.

Sunday’s race and the mechanical woes that accompanied it extended to the LOLMDS points battle as well, with defending champion and current points leader Tim McCreadie forced to park his car on lap 14 after smoking heavily under the hood. That, coupled with a top-five finish by Brandon Sheppard, marked the first major swing in a title chase that McCreadie has had a stranglehold on.

Sunday’s feature was shortened from 75 to 50 laps due to high temperatures, concerns over tire wear in daylight conditions and forecasted severe weather expected in Knoxville Sunday night.

Shane Clanton and Pierce scored $7,000 preliminary feature wins on Thursday and Friday night, respectively.

Success Stories

It’s hard to say Davenport needed this win, seeing as how it was his 21st of the season, but for his No. 49 car to battle side-by-side and run down a race leader from behind in the closing laps makes his dominance…