GAFFNEY, S.C. — The Jonathan Davenport with a salt-and-pepper beard who captured Sunday’s Blue-Gray 100 at Cherokee Speedway obviously wasn't the same up-and-coming star who first won the track’s biggest race in 2011.

That much was clear to the 42-year-old Blairsville, Ga., driver, who in winning his first Blue-Gray found his 27-year-old self apologizing in victory lane for knocking Dale McDowell out of the lead.

“Half these people weren't even around when I when I won it the last time,” Davenport said Sunday, looking at the crowded grandstands in upstate South Carolina. “It's been a while.”

Over the intervening 15 seasons, Davenport blossomed into one of the sport’s national starts and winner of the most prestigious events, and he added another one with a $30,000 Southern All Star victory at the 4/10-mile Cherokee oval.

Inheriting the lead on the 64th lap when mechanical issues forced Ross Bailes to the pits, Davenport led the rest of the 70-lap feature to take the checkers 1.312 seconds ahead of Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., who was chasing his 10th Blue-Gray victory.

Davenport’s victory capped a successful four-race weekend with Thursday's runner-up finish in FloRacing Night in America Series action at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., Friday’s third-place World of Outlaws Late Model Series finish at Modoc (S.C.) and a $25,000 WoO victory on Saturday at Modoc for the Belton, S.C., resident.

“It's definitely a good weekend,” said Davenport, who plans to take a weekend off before heading to The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., for WoO’s season-ending World Finals.

Ben Watkins of Rock Hill, S.C., was third at Cherokee followed by Zack Mitchell of Enoree, S.C., who made his first start in the Billy Hicks Racing No. 79. Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, who led laps 27-56, came back to fifth after a pit stop to repair a flapping hood and get fresh rubber.

Bailes, who started on the pole and led laps 1-26 and 57-63, ended up 13th after pitting with right-rear suspension issues and a right-rear tire that, according to Davenport, didn’t appeared like it would last for the 70-lap feature.

Starting on the pole, Bailes looked strong in his Brian Nuttall Jr.-owned car before Erb began pressuring him, eventually diving underneath entering turn three on the 27th lap. Bailes slipped to third for a time, but as Erb passed the lap-50 mark, this time it was Bailes providing the pressure and he squeezed between Erb and a slower car on the frontstretch to regain command on lap 57.

Erb elected to pit on a caution a lap later for hood repairs — apparently from damage to contact with Ryan Gustin early — with Bailes again asserting control. But in a flurry of restarts between laps 62-63, Bailes showered sparks from the right-rear corner of his car, and eventually ducked to the pits to repair a spring issue and new rubber.

That put Davenport on the point and he closed out the victory without a serious challenge from the second-running Madden, who he overtook on the 59th lap to gain the runner-up spot behind Bailes.

"I definitely hate it for Ross there. His right-side spring steel broke was rubbing his wheel, and that's what was throwing all the sparks,” Davenport said. “ But he was like really wore down (on his right-rear tire). I couldn't see any circumference grooves in his right rear from like two previous restarts. So that's when I started going a little harder.”

Convinced the laps were numbered for Bailes, Davenport knew Madden — who races out of Davenport’s Belton, S.C. shop — was his biggest competition.

“I knew it was a race between me and Madden to get to second, whenever Ross was gonna blow out there,” Davenport said, adding that on the 59th lap he "rolled him on the top there and got a big run down the back straightaway. So essentially that's what won us the race.”

Madden initially figured he’d make a planned pit stop for tires in the 70-lapper but ended up staying on the track all race long.

“I didn't have to hustle my car to get there, so I decided, ‘Well, heck, I'm just gonna, I guess just sit right here for a little while and see what happens.’ Then we got to going and got to making laps and got to go on really good, but we're fighting something,” he said. “Hopefully we can get it fixed before Charlotte comes up in a couple of weeks. I really don't know what to do to it. it's kind of got me puzzled right now, but hats off to J.D.”

Watkins wasn’t a threat to the frontrunners, but notched his third podium finish in seven career Blue-Gray starts.

"I didn't want to go too hard, obviously with seeing tires going down and everything, but I wanted to see what I could get,” said Watkins, who started fifth. “Made a little ground on Madden there, but all in all, I’m super happy to be behind these two guys right here, two of the best in the business right here, for sure.”

Notes: Jonathan Davenport won his 11th career Southern All Stars Series victory and first since April 16, 2021, at Mountain Motorsports Park in Isom, Ky. … The winner felt an issue in his right-front corner late in the race, at first thinking he had a flat tire. “I don't know if we messed the shock up or something, but I started bottoming out really, really bad,” he said, “so I just had to keep backing my corner up.” … Tyler Erb was fifth in his first career Blue-Gray start. … Trent Ivey, who started 10th, held the second spot from laps 39-45 but later pitted and finished seventh. ... Seven cautions slowed the race (five between laps 62-64). ... The first yellow flag fell on the 12th lap when third-running Ryan Gustin spun exiting turn four (it appeared Gustin lost power before Erb made contact). ... On the 58th lap, Ethan Wilson slowed the draw a yellow (second-running Erb ducked into the pits during the caution along with fourth-running Ivey). ... On the 63rd lap, Chris Ferguson stopped with a flat right-rear tire. ... On the ensuing restart, Brandon Overton's flat left-rear drew another quick yellow. ... A lap later Ferguson slowed again and Willie Milliken slowed with a right-rear flat. ... The ensuing restart drew another quick yellow, apparently for the sparks from the Bailes car; he pitted during the caution period. ... Another yellow appeared for a bad restart before the race finally shook off the plague of yellows. ... The 49-minute feature concluded at 9:16 p.m. ... Fourteen drivers completed 70 laps. ... Tucker Anderson of Blairsville, Ga., retired early but secured the Southern All Stars Series title. ... Freddy Smith tribute cars paced the feature field in the event also honoring the late Hall of Famer this season ... Mike Marlar scratched after time trials. ... The event concluded the Southern All Star season. ... Longtime race official Rusty Carlton was inducted into the Southern All Star Series Hall of Fame during a prerace ceremony.