Davenport Edges Pierce in Lucas Thriller

 After a week of " should we or shouldn't we " back and forth, Darryl, Fred and I took off Saturday for a new track for all of us, the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota. With the weather forecast for that area changing multiple times daily, it was Saturday morning before we decided to gamble and make the five plus hour drive to take in the Napa 50 featuring the Lucas Oil late models, along with USRA modifieds. It was the first ever visit by the series to the 3/8 mile high banked speed plant, as this event had fallen victim to rain in 2017. Though we traveled under sunny skies, arriving mid afternoon, by race time clouds had moved in, the steady breeze remained, and the temperature began to drop, and we " southerners " soon drug out the sweatshirts and heavy coats, as did many of the locals, who are no doubt accustomed to the night time chill. The iffy forecast did nothing to hold down the enthusiastic crowd - the vast stands may not have been full, but it was I would have to say a very solid turnout.
  The expansive pit area had more than enough room for the 30 late model teams, most of whom were already in the house when we arrived, having made the long pull from 141 Speedway near Green Bay, Wisconsin, the host of Friday night action. As we trolled the pits, the bulk of the 37 modified teams made their way in.
  After a bowl of hot chili and a meaty 1/3 pound cheeseburger - I know, I should have tried the cheese curds - we made our way into the tightly packed bleachers just off turn four in time for 6:00 hot laps.
  The program got under way on time, and as soon as hot laps ended on the smooth, racy, lightning fast surface, the late models lined up for time trials. Three at a time for two laps was the procedure, in two groups of 15. The cars entered the track off of turn two, and took the green the first time around, and  I do love such efficiency!
 Mt. Vernon, Iowa driver Chad Simpson was among the first cars to qualify, and he turned in a lap of 14.185 seconds, about .2 off the track record according to series announcer James Essex and track announcer Todd Narveson. Despite a host of drivers coming close, Chads time held up throughout. Bobby Pierce was fastest in group B, and the heat lineups were set. Only " local " driver Nick Herrick failed to qualify, as his #6 went up in smoke during hot laps. The modifieds used a top twelve passing points system instead of time trials, but they would have to wait, as the four late model heats ran first.
  Simpson held off series point leader Jonathon Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, and Dennis Erb Jr. as the transfers in heat one, earning the pole start in the 50 lap headliner. The second ten lapper  went to row two starter Jimmy Owens over front row starters Darrell Lanigan and Scott Ward, with  Alan Murray fourth. Outside pole sitter, and apparent crowd favorite Jimmy Mars outdueled Pierce to the heat three photo finish victory, followed by Josh Richards and Kyle Bronson. Earl Pearson Jr. ended a dry spell with a Friday night feature win, and he stayed hot winning heat four ahead of Scott Bloomquist, and the son, father duo of Hudson and Don Oneal.
  With the five modified heats in the books, and still no caution flags to slow the action, there was a momentary delay, and Fred and I headed to the restroom, mistakenly thinking it was intermission time. But soon the roar of engines signaled the first of two late model twelve lap B mains. So I missed the lineup on B main one, but it was Canadian Ricky Weiss taking the win over Rodney Sanders, who was doing double duty in his modified, as well, and surprise entrant Brandon Sheppard in his own #B5. Brandon is a regular on the World of Outlaw late model series driving the Rocket house car, but used a night off to come Lucas racing. The second last chance event saw Mason Zeigler hold off Tim McCreadie and Brent Larson, who used a pair of very aggressive moves to overtake Joey Moriarity. His first attempt to take the spot resulted in contact , the first caution of the night, and a trip to the back for Larson as he changed a flat tire, but he rebounded to again muscle past the #51M. Two provisionals completed the 24 car field, with the spots going to Jordon Yaggy, who lives in Rochester, about 15 miles from the track, and Nebraskan Tad Pospisil. Amazingly to us, Chris Simpson was left on the outside looking in. Chris had lined up last in heat two, finished sixth, then ran one spot out of a transfer slot in the first B main.
  A pair of mod consys came next, then it was intermission time, as the track crew did a quick " farm " job.
  To the delight of we travelers, the late model main would run first!
Chad Simpson and Mars lined up on row one, while Richards gave up his row five spot, lining up on the tail. No explanation was given that I heard, however I do know that if a driver changes more than his left rear tire for the feature he must start in the back, so this may have been the case. Scott Bloomquist used this tack at the series race at Tri City Speedway last month. After a false start when Lanigan may have jumped, Mars won the drag race to turn one. The first caution came on lap six for a spinning Larson. Back under green, slower traffic came into play about lap 16, and three circuits later Simpson was hounding the leader. Chad made his move on lap 21, quickly stretching his advantage. Just past the halfway mark, Pierce began to move forward, taking the fourth slot, with 16th starting Don Oneal following him in fifth. The caution waved as Zeigler slowed at the lap 29 mark. Mars failed to get up to speed on the restart as Davenport charged to second, taking along Pierce and Oneal. On lap 31, Davenport used a slide job in turn four to take the lead, but on the next lap Simpson pulled a slider of his own to retake the spot. At lap 33, however, Davenport powered to first, taking Pierce along. " Superman " Davenport opened a sizable lead, and now the focus was on Simpson, Oneal and Bloomquist, as they sliced and diced side by side, for third. With Davenport in control and Pierce comfortably in second, lapped traffic came into play again by lap 44. Now Pierce began to cut into the lead, and with three circuits to go, he was pulling even with the leader in each corner, with Davenport using the high side momentum to stay in front. As the white flag waved, Pierce let it all out, and came up just short at the line, as the now standing crowd roared their approval. Davenport scored his sixth LOLMS win of 2018, while Pierce settled for his second runnerup finish in two nights. Simpson won the hotly contested battle for third ahead of Oneal and Bloomquist. Hudson Oneal came from row six to finish sixth, besting Mars, Owens, Lanigan, and Satterlee.  The win was worth $12,000 for Davenport, plus a $1,000 bonus for carrying a NAPA sticker.
  With the temps dropping and the long drive looming, we headed for the car, heading out of the crowded lot at 9:35! Reports this morning show locals Dustin Sorensen and Lucas Schott taking the top two spots in the modified main, with Iowan Zack Vanderbeek  coming home third. The mod main event paid a cool $2,000.
  I can't say if or when I will return to Deer Creek, but only because of the distance involved. It is certainly an excellent facility, well lit, and with good sightlines to go with a well run program. The track features modifieds weekly, and will host the World of Outlaw late models for the legendary Gopher 50 on July 7.
  With company coming in and a John Michael Montgomery concert next weekend, my racing plans are up in the air, but hopefully I can fit in at least one night of action.
  Thanks for reading!