Dirt on Dirt - J.D. dominates Lucas Oil opener at Golden Isles

March 4

Golden Isles Speedway,

Brunswick, GA

Sanction: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (Wieland Winternationals) - $7,000

Information provided by: Kevin Kovac, series and track reports (last updated March 4, 8:59 pm)

J.D. dominates Lucas Oil opener at Golden Isles

Wieland Winternationals

Jonathan Davenport
Hudson O'Neal
Brandon Sheppard
Devin Moran
Max Blair
Tyler Erb
Brian Shirley
Mark Whitener
Garrett Alberson
Brandon Overton
Clay Harris
Cody Overton
Ricky Thornton Jr.
Garrett Smith
Brenden Smith
Dennis Erb Jr.
Blair Nothdurft
Dallon Murty
Carson Ferguson
Daniel Hilsabeck
Benji Hicks
Dan Ebert
Kyle Bronson
Ross Bailes

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What won the race: Clearing Brian Shirley with a turn-four slide job on the opening lap, polesitter Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., held off a late-race surge by Hudson O'Neal to win Wednesday's 30-lap Wieland Winternationals opener at Golden Isles Speedway. Davenport beat the fast-closing O'Neal by 1.194 seconds for the $7,000 payday, his first feature victory of the season and 85th career full-field Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph.

Key notes: Dallon Murty took advantage of a one-lap dash to finish the first consolation race, grabbing the fourth and final transfer spot from Ross Robinson on the restart. ... Mike Marlar scratched after making wall contact during qualifying and failed to complete a lap. ... Cory Lawler scratched from heat race action after engine trouble in his primary car during hot laps; Lawler got some laps on his backup during the second consolation. ... Preston Luckman broke a jackshaft in hot laps and scratched for the night. ... Cody Overton overcame engine issues to compete in Wednesday's 30-lap, $7,000-to-win opener. ... Lucas Oil Series points begin in Thursday's 40-lap, $10,000-to-win second round. … The event, formerly known as the Super Bowl of Racing, continues with Friday’s 50-lap, $12,000-to-win third round and Saturday’s 50-lap, $25,000-to-win finale. … Hudson O’Neal is fresh off two victories at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway, worth more than $35,000 and enters with seven overall feature wins this season. … Four-time winner this season Brandon Overton enters as a five-time Golden Isles winner, including his first career Lucas Oil victory there in 2017; he has amassed more than $70,000 in race winnings over that span. … Tyler Bruening earned his first series win there last year before the rest of the event rained out; he was banged up in a heat race crash at Ocala. … Watch live on FloRacing.

Points chase: Before Golden Isles Wednesday: 1. Hudson O’Neal (1,185); 2. Devin Moran (1,135); 3. Brandon Overton (1,045); 4. Brandon Sheppard (945); T5. Clay Harris (920); T5. Kyle Bronson (920); 7. Carson Ferguson (900); 8. Ricky Thornton Jr. (890); 9. Max Blair (870); 10. Dan Ebert (865).

Current weather: Clear Mist, 63°F

Car count: 40

Fast qualifier: Ricky Thornton Jr.

Time: 15.189 seconds

Polesitter: Jonathan Davenport

Heat race winners: Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Brian Shirley, Brandon Sheppard

Consolation race winners: Carson Ferguson, Dennis Erb Jr.

Next series race: March 5, Golden Isles Speedway (Brunswick, GA) $10,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Updates from Wednesday’s Wieland Winternationals opener at Golden Isles Speedway, highlighted by a 30-lap, $7,000-to-win feature for Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Clearing Brian Shirley with a turn-four slide job on the opening lap, polesitter Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., held off a late-race surge by Hudson O'Neal to win Wednesday's 30-lap Wieland Winternationals opener at Golden Isles Speedway. Davenport beat the fast-closing O'Neal by 1.194 seconds for the $7,000 payday, his first feature victory of the season and 85th career full-field Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Jonathan Davenport, Brian Shirley
Row 2: Devin Moran, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Garrett Alberson
Row 4: Mark Whitener, Hudson O'Neal
Row 5: Brenden Smith, Clay Harris
Row 6: Tyler Erb, Max Blair
Row 7: Ricky Thornton Jr., Cody Overton
Row 8: Blair Nothdurft, Garrett Smith
Row 9: Carson Ferguson, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 10: Benji Hicks, Ross Bailes
Row 11: Daniel Hilsabeck, Kyle Bronson
Row 12: Dallon Murty, Dan Ebert

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First consolation: Carson Ferguson, Benji Hicks, Daniel Hilsabeck, Dallon Murty, Ross Robinson, Trent Ivey, Michael Leach, Tyler Bruening, Dillon McCowan, Josh Rice. Scratched: Cory Hedgecock, Mike Marlar.

Second consolation: Dennis Erb Jr., Ross Bailes, Kyle Bronson, Dan Ebert, Jadon Frame, Jackson Hise, Cory Lawler, Trey Mills, Freddie Carpenter, Brock Pinkerous, Tripp Gerrald. Scratched: Preston Luckman.

Heat race recap

Fifth-starting Jonathan Davenport charged to take the lead from Ricky Thornton Jr. with a turn-four slide job on the fifth lap before pacing the final four laps in winning the night’s first heat race by 0.918 of a second over sixth-starting Brandon Overton. Second-starting Brenden Smith slipped by polesitter Thornton as they raced to the checkers, relegating Thornton to claim the fourth and final transfer spot into Wednesday’s 30-lap Golden Isles opener after leading the opening four laps. Trent Ivey pulled into the pits before taking the green and failed to complete a lap. … Fourth-starting Devin Moran drove by race-long leader Mark Whitener out of turn two on the final lap, beating Whitener by 0.390 of a second to win the second heat; Whitener led the opening seven laps before settling for second. Second-starting Tyler Erb settled for third while Blair Nothdurft improved three spots for the fourth and final transfer position into the night’s $7,000-to-win feature. … Third-starting Brian Shirley was moved to start on the outside front row and led all eight laps in winning the third heat by 0.964 of a second over polesitter Garrett Alberson. Clay Harris overcame an opening lap penalty to finish third with fourth-starting Cody Overton rounding out the top-four finishers. The race’s lone caution came when Harris was called for jumping the original start and penalized a starting row. … Brandon Sheppard led all eight laps from the pole to win the fourth and final heat race in dominating fashion, taking the checkers 0.911 of a second ahead of Hudson O’Neal, who trailed Sheppard the entire way. Fifth-starting Max Blair finished third while third-starting Garrett Smith held on for fourth. The first caution flew on the third lap when fourth-running Trey Mills backed hard into the turn-four wall and slowed down the frontstretch; Mills was credited with ninth after getting a push back to the pits. Sixth-running Brock Pinkerous spun on the ensuing restart and retired.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Brenden Smith, Ricky Thornton Jr., Benji Hicks, Daniel Hilsabeck, Josh Rice, Michael Leach, Cory Hedgecock. Scratched: Trent Ivey.

Second heat: Devin Moran, Mark Whitener, Tyler Erb, Blair Nothdurft, Carson Ferguson, Dillon McCowan, Ross Robinson, Tyler Bruening, Dallon Murty. Scratched: Mike Marlar.

Third heat: Brian Shirley, Garrett Alberson, Clay Harris, Cody Overton, Dennis Erb Jr., Kyle Bronson, Dan Ebert, Tripp Gerrald, Freddie Carpenter. Scratched: Cory Lawler.

Fourth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O'Neal, Max Blair, Garrett Smith, Ross Bailes, Jackson Hise, Jadon Frame, Brock Pinkerous, Trey Mills. Scratched: Preston Luckman.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 15.189
2. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 15.305
3. Brenden Smith (19m), Dade City, Fla., 15.316
4. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 15.362
5. Trent Ivey (88), Union, S.C., 15.516
6. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 15.539
7. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 15.559
8. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 15.586
9. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.590
10. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, 15.622
11. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.634
12. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 15.648
13. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., 15.721
14. Blair Nothdurft (76n), Renner, S.D., 15.818
15. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 15.828
16. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 15.836
17. Cory Hedgecock (79), Loudon, Tenn., 15.842
18. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 15.906
19. Benji Hicks (55), Mount Airy, N.C., 16.001
20. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., no time
Group B
1. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 15.380
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.408
3. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 15.422
4. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 15.426
5. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.435
6. Garrett Smith (10), Madison, Ga., 15.499
7. Cody Overton (97), Evans, Ga., 15.528
8. Trey Mills (14), St. Augustine, Fla., 15.549
9. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 15.575
10. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 15.774
11. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 15.901
12. Jackson Hise (388), Ocala, Fla., 15.920
13. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 15.940
14. Ross Bailes (16B), Clover, S.C., 15.974
15. Tripp Gerrald (4G), Versailles, Ky., 15.991
16. Jadon Frame (81F), Winchester, Tenn., 16.001
17. Freddie Carpenter (c4), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.082
18. Brock Pinkerous (555), Ellenville, N.Y., 16.150
19. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 16.193
20. Preston Luckman (77), Coos Bay, Ore., no time

Wednesday’s schedule

(All times local)
1:30 p.m. - Pits closed and cleared
2 p.m. - Pits reopen
2 p.m. - Tech and registration open
3 p.m. - Grandstands open
4:45 p.m. - Tech and registration close
5 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
5:30 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Crown Vic group qualifying
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Crown Vic heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (30 laps)
- Crown Vics (15 laps)