What won the race: Clearing polesitter Mike Marlar with a turn-three slide job on the opening lap, second-starting Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., navigated his way through lapped traffic in the late going and paced all 30 circuits of Tuesday's Gauntlet opener at Volunteer Speedway. Davenport took the checkers 1.311 seconds ahead of Marlar for the $7,500 payday and his sixth overall feature victory of the season.

Quotable: “We thought we might could sneak one in on ‘em here, being the first night and just the way the racetrack was, being the shortest race,” Davenport said. “We knew Mikey (Marlar) was really, really good and it was gonna be tough to pass him, so we thought we’d come up with this gameplan to try and get by him early and then hopefully hold him off later. I knew if we could get at least one caution through the midway point then that would help our tires cool back down and be able to take back off again.”

Key notes: Davenport picked up his third feature win in the last five days, adding to his sweep of the April 10-11 MLRA Spring Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. ... He also adds to his two FloRacing Series victories at Volunteer (2021, '25) that were worth more than $30,000. ... Davenport becomes the first driver eligible for a $100,000 bonus should he compete in each of the next three Gauntlet races and win Saturday's $30,000 finale. ... Mike Marlar closed within 0.661 of a second of Davenport as they raced through lapped traffic in the final laps before J.D. stretched his advantage coming to the checkers. ... Chris Madden briefly challenged Marlar for second on a lap-13 restart before settling for third. Madden dueled Garrett Smith in the early going, allowing Dale McDowell to slip by Smith for fourth on the second lap. ... Ninth-starting Kyle Strickler prevailed after a back-and-forth battle with Smith in the race's second half, securing fifth for good on lap 27 and relegating Smith to sixth in the final rundown. ... Jeremy Steele finished 13th aboard the Billy Hicks Racing No. 79 Longhorn entry. ... Jimmy Owens finished 18th as the final starter running at the finish in track promoter Vic Hill's No. 20 CVR Race Car. ... Jake O'Neil pulled off under green on the 14th lap. ... Camaron Marlar was the race's first retiree after suffering left-front suspension damage in the night's opening heat race. ... The race was slowed twice by debris caution — once before the initial green flag dropped — and lasted just shy of 10 minutes with 14 starters completing the distance. ... Volunteer's Gauntlet continues with Wednesday's $10,000-to-win second round and features a fan fest event from noon-6 p.m. during Thursday’s lone non-racing night.

On the move: Kaede Loudy of Rogersville, Tenn., started 14th and finished ninth.

Winner's sponsors: Davenport’s Double L Motorsports Longhorn Chassis carries sponsorship from Ace Doran, Nutrien Ag Solutions, ASC Warranty, Mark Martin Automotive, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Mount Airy Polaris, Bilstein Shocks, VP Racing Fuels, Dyer’s Top Rods, Go Lithium Batteries and Midwest Sheet Metal.

Current weather: Scattered Clouds, 70°F

Car count: 26

Fast qualifier: Jonathan Davenport

Time: 12.015 seconds

Polesitter: Mike Marlar

Heat race winners: Mike Marlar, Garrett Smith, Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden

Consolation race winners: Todd Morrow

Next series race: April 15, Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, TN) $10,000