After the Checkers
Instant reaction, analysis of Show-Me 100 prelims
By Kevin Kovac
DirtonDirt senior writer
Josh Rice in victory lane. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 22) — Instant reaction and analysis from Friday’s Show-Me 100 preliminary program at Lucas Oil Speedway, including the Don and Billie Gibson Tribute won by Jonathan Davenport (RaceWire) and the postponed Cowboy Classic captured by Josh Rice (RaceWire):
BREAKTHROUGH: Josh Rice of Crittenden, Ky., was absolutely over-the-top excited after winning the held-over 45-lap Cowboy Classic that closed Friday’s card — and with good reason since it was the 27-year-old’s first triumph on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series since being hired by JRR Motorsports to chase the circuit full-time. Beaming as he stood in the pit-area tech building after celebrating his $10,000 score in victory lane, he finally put his early struggles as a Lucas Oil rookie behind him. “I mean, yeah, I definitely feel like a national tour guy now,” he said through a huge, satisfied smile. Boosting him even more was the fact that he hit paydirt in his debut at the 3/8-mile oval. “It’s just crazy to me that we came here and won,” he said. “I did not see this being the place we would be good at.” Indeed, Rice’s success on unfamiliar turf would indicate he’s reached a turning point in his budding career as a professional racer.
WHAT’S AHEAD?: Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., dominated the 40-lap Tribute to Don & Billie Gibson and rallied from an early blown right-rear tire to finish sixth in the postponed feature, locking him in as the pole position starter in Saturday’s $75,000-to-win Show-Me 100 finale. He’s not sure exactly what to expect from the long-distance grind, though. The 42-year-old star said the track surface, which was pummeled by over 7 inches of rain earlier in the week and juiced up with more precipitation on Thursday night and Friday morning, seemed to get “wetter and wetter” during the first feature and then became downright unruly in the nightcap with the air noticeably damp. If that condition continues, it could make for a physical test of man and machine. “I hope we don't have to go 100 like that tomorrow,” Davenport said after his $10,000 triumph.
ALMOST EPIC: I’ll admit it. When Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., shot into the lead on lap 33 of the Cowboy Classic, the journalist in me started conjuring up how I would write a comeback story for the ages. Alberson appeared destined to go from escaping injury in a scary, car-destroying series of flips while leading his Friday heat race to ending the evening standing beside his backup car in victory lane. From zero to hero in a matter of hours. How spectacular would that have been? Josh Rice stepped up to deny Alberson a coveted first Wheatland win, but finishing second wasn’t a bad close to a night that had begun so disastrously. Alberson’s family, friends and fans would agree — they cheerily clapped for him when he pulled his Roberts Motorsports car up to his trailer following technical inspection.
RESURGENT: Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., circled Lucas Oil Speedway just like old times on Friday. As the lone driver to finish both races on the podium — runner-up in the Gibson Tribute and third (after blasting forward from 14th to lead laps 8-32) in the Cowboy Classic — the 36-year-old put forth the type of vibes he flashed in winning the Show-Me 100 in 2022 and placing fourth in ’23. Fergy didn’t even enter the event the last two years as he worked to “rebuild” his racing program after transitioning from Bloomquist to Longhorn and now Stinger Chassis, but his consecutive strong runs to land the third starting spot in the 100-lapper signaled that he’s rediscovering his form.
UNUSUAL SIGHT: Friday’s program was noteworthy for the struggles experienced by reigning national touring series champions Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, and Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill. Talk about an odd development — both young stars were lapped in the first feature (Moran finished 20th and Pierce 22nd), and in the postponed feature Moran was a non-factor finishing 12th and Pierce faded from outside the front row before a scrape with Ricky Thornton Jr. cut his left-rear tire and a deflating right-front tire in the late stages spiraled him to 15th. Can he rebound on Saturday’s big stage? Moran didn’t stick around long at his trailer afterward to talk about his moribund night. Pierce did review his performance but said he has “a lot of work to do” before he can even think of repeating as the Show-Me 100 winner.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Davenport won for the 16th time at Wheatland since he first reached victory lane in 2015’s MLRA-sanctioned opener of the Show-Me 100 weekend. He’s a two-time Show-Me 100 winner (2015, ’24) and has tallied 11 of his triumphs since 2023. What’s more, the Longhorn Chassis he’s driving is the same car he debuted with a sweep of last month’s MLRA Spring Nationals at Wheatland and parked until this weekend, so it’s a proven 3-for-4 Lucas Oil Speedway car.
