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Davenport dominates MLRA Spring Nationals opener at Lucas Oil Speedway

WHEATLAND, MO. (April 10, 2026) - Jonathan Davenport turned Night One of the 13th annual MLRA Spring Nationals into a runaway on Friday night at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Davenport, of Blairsville, Ga., trounced runner-up Garrett Alberson by 7.5 seconds in a race that wasn’t that close most of the way. He lapped all but seven opponents in the 27-car starting field and, with his ninth win at Lucas Oil Speedway since the 2023 Spring Nationals, earned $7,000.

The MLRA drivers will aim for a bigger payday on Saturday with $20,000 going to the winner of a 60-lap feature. Clearly, Davenport will be the man to beat.

“It was way better than I was, apparently,” Davenport said of his car, which he said was a bit of a handful in a Thursday-night practice session. “We wasn’t very happy with it last night and still had some bugs to work out of it.

“My guys put their heads together and worked really hard today. We didn’t know (because of rain) if we were going to get to race or not. The good Lord gave us a little extra traction and we needed it all. Hats off to the track crew because we got a lot of rain today.”

Davenport took the immediate lead and opened a 2.6-second cushion by lap five over Daniel Hilsabeck. That’s when caution flew as Dillon McCowan slowed to a stop in turn two for what would be the event's lone caution.

The two-time Show-Me 100 winner picked up where he left off when action resumed. His lead over Hilsabeck was 3.1 seconds by lap 10 with Tony Jackson Jr. another 2.2 seconds back in third.

By that point, Davenport caught lapped traffic and weaved his way through it, continuing to pad his margin. His lead was a whopping 8.6 seconds over Jackson by the halfway mark on lap 20 which was equivalent to about a half-lap.

Davenport began to slow his pace a bit and Jackson drew within five seconds by lap 28. By the notion that Jackson - or anyone else - would catch the leader was dashed as Davenport suddenly picked up the pace and pushed his lead back in excess of eight seconds by lap 31.

“We kind of make this a tradition,” Davenport said of coming all the way to south-central Missouri for the Spring Nationals. “We always build a new car after (Florida-Georgia) Speedweeks and we come here because we know we’re gonna get a great race track. We come here to test it and get ready for the Show-Me.”

Alberson, who started ninth, rallied into second by lap 34 but the Las Cruces, N.M. driver was nowhere close to the leader. He was able to finish three seconds clear of Jackson for second and came away hoping he can qualify better on Saturday to start closer to the front of the feature.

“I don’t know if anybody had anything for J.D. Just look at the lap times. I didn’t even see him for most of the race,” Alberson said. “I didn’t know if he was still out there or not.

“We missed a little bit tonight (in qualifying). We showed up and thought we had a good game plan and just didn’t hit the ground. I’m hoping we can be closer to where we need to be.”

Another who struggled in qualifying but who rallied strong in the feature was Ricky Thornton Jr., who came from 19th to fourth. Hilsabeck, after running second early, wound up fifth.

Davenport set fast time out of Group 2 qualifying with a lap of 15.266 seconds, just ahead of Group 1 leader Kayden Klatt's 15.373.

Fennewald earns Super Stocks win: Johnny Fennewald of Appleton City advanced from mid-pack to the lead before the halfway mark and went on to capture the Hickamo Super Stocks main event.

Fennewald beat Derek Brown by 3.3 seconds by the finish of the 20-lap feature.

Fennewald worked his way from 10th at the start to second by lap five, then took the lead on lap six with an outside pass of early leader J.T. Carroll coming off turn four. Fennewald needed only six laps to open a 3.3-second lead and he kept extending the margin until a caution on lap 13 wiped out a commanding 4.1-second lead.

The caution proved no obstacle for Fennewald, who drove away after the restart to win by a comfortable margin over Brown. Blaine Ewing was third with Terry Schultz fourth and Jacob Rexing fifth.

"We had a really good car in the feature," Fennewald said. "In the heat race, I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't been in this thing since the Big Buck 50 and I couldn't get out of my own way. We just had the stagger that was wrong and I guess we put the wrong tires on there and we were way too tight.

"It freed me up for the feature they kept on giving me good lanes. Everybody runs you clean."

Legends win goes to Gilbert: Chance Gilbert of Galena, Kan., led start-to-finish to capture the 15-lap Legends victory, holding off Corey Pope by just under one second.

Erik Johnson was third with Austin Azeez fourth and Jett Stovall coming home fifth.

Looking ahead to Night Two: Pit gates and grandstands open at 5 p.m. Saturday with hot laps at 6:30 and Late Model qualifying at 7. The Super Stocks return, along with the Show-Me Vintage Racers joining the action in place of the Legends.

Saturday admission:

Adults (13 and over) - $33

Seniors (62 and over)/Military - $29.50

Youth (ages 6-12) - $12

Kids (5 and under) - FREE

Pit pass (purchase only at pit office) - $49, $12 (5 and under).

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

13th annual MLRA Spring Nationals

MLRA Late Models

A Feature - 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[9]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[4]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[19]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[3]; 6. 50C-Kayden Clatt[5]; 7. 15S-Clay Stuckey[7]; 8. 13-Dallon Murty[15]; 9. 32S-Chris Simpson[11]; 10. 15E-Laela Eisenschenk[17]; 11. 11-Jeff Herzog[14]; 12. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[6]; 13. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[23]; 14. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[21]; 15. 25B-Chevy Boyer[18]; 16. 3W-Brennon Willard[25]; 17. 3-Joey Smith[27]; 18. 8L-Matthew Larson[10]; 19. 11C-Sawyer Crigler[26]; 20. 51C-Dean Carpenter[22]; 21. 1E-Amelia Eisenschenk[20]; 22. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel[16]; 23. (DNF) 78S-Steve Stultz[1]; 24. (DNF) 18-Chase Junghans[8]; 25. (DNF) 4TW-Tim Ward[12]; 26. (DNF) 10G-Don Geist[13]; 27. (DNF) 8-Dillon McCowan[24]

B Feature 1 - 1. 15E-Laela Eisenschenk[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 3. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[2]; 4. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[5]; 5. 1T-Tucker Cox[6]; 6. 3W-Brennon Willard[4]; 7. 19L-Thomas Langley[7]; 8. 3-Joey Smith[9]; 9. 26G-Glen Powell[8]; 10. 32-Derek Fetter[10]

B Feature 2 - 1. 25B-Chevy Boyer[1]; 2. 1E-Amelia Eisenschenk[2]; 3. 51C-Dean Carpenter[3]; 4. 41-Matt Menzie[6]; 5. 28G-Jim Greenway[5]; 6. 11C-Sawyer Crigler[7]; 7. (DNF) 8-Dillon McCowan[9]; 8. (DNS) 43-Derrick Stewart; 9. (DQ) 1ST-Justin Reed[4]

Heat 1 - 1. 78S-Steve Stultz[2]; 2. 50C-Kayden Clatt[1]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 4. 10G-Don Geist[6]; 5. 15E-Laela Eisenschenk[4]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[8]; 7. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[5]; 8. 19L-Thomas Langley[7]; 9. 3-Joey Smith[9]

Heat 2 - 1. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[1]; 2. 15S-Clay Stuckey[2]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[3]; 4. 13-Dallon Murty[4]; 5. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 6. 3W-Brennon Willard[5]; 7. 1T-Tucker Cox[8]; 8. 26G-Glen Powell[7]; 9. 32-Derek Fetter[9]

Heat 3 - 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[3]; 3. 8L-Matthew Larson[5]; 4. 11-Jeff Herzog[4]; 5. 25B-Chevy Boyer[6]; 6. 51C-Dean Carpenter[8]; 7. 28G-Jim Greenway[7]; 8. 11C-Sawyer Crigler[9]; 9. (DNS) 8-Dillon McCowan

Heat 4 - 1. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[2]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 3. 4TW-Tim Ward[3]; 4. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel[6]; 5. 1E-Amelia Eisenschenk[5]; 6. 1ST-Justin Reed[8]; 7. 41-Matt Menzie[7]; 8. (DNS) 43-Derrick Stewart

Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 50C-Kayden Clatt, 15.373[11]; 2. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 15.424[15]; 3. 78S-Steve Stultz, 15.427[8]; 4. 15S-Clay Stuckey, 15.579[7]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson, 15.608[6]; 6. 32S-Chris Simpson, 15.656[13]; 7. 15E-Laela Eisenschenk, 15.677[9]; 8. 13-Dallon Murty, 15.756[16]; 9. 1XM-Aaron Marrant, 15.914[17]; 10. 3W-Brennon Willard, 15.996[12]; 11. 10G-Don Geist, 16.031[1]; 12. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 16.045[10]; 13. 19L-Thomas Langley, 16.076[5]; 14. 26G-Glen Powell, 16.144[14]; 15. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 16.193[2]; 16. 1T-Tucker Cox, 16.237[18]; 17. 3-Joey Smith, 16.474[4]; 18. 32-Derek Fetter, 17.248[3]

Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 15.266[16]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans, 15.419[2]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan, 15.569[4]; 4. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr, 15.569[10]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 15.649[1]; 6. 4TW-Tim Ward, 15.783[14]; 7. 11-Jeff Herzog, 15.824[8]; 8. 43-Derrick Stewart, 15.832[11]; 9. 8L-Matthew Larson, 15.839[12]; 10. 1E-Amelia Eisenschenk, 16.001[6]; 11. 25B-Chevy Boyer, 16.052[7]; 12. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel, 16.115[5]; 13. 28G-Jim Greenway, 16.227[9]; 14. 41-Matt Menzie, 16.264[17]; 15. 51C-Dean Carpenter, 16.273[3]; 16. 1ST-Justin Reed, 16.337[15]; 17. 11C-Sawyer Crigler, 16.799[13]

Hickamo Super Stocks

A Feature - 1. 21-Johnny Fennewald[10]; 2. 11-Derek Brown[7]; 3. 04-Blaine Ewing[2]; 4. 41-Terry Schultz[4]; 5. 59R-Jacob Rexing[15]; 6. 26M-Donnie Miller[11]; 7. 17-Mike Striegel[3]; 8. 35-Johnny Coats[8]; 9. 26-Burl Woods[16]; 10. B4-Brian Worley[20]; 11. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[5]; 12. 1X-Kris Lloyd[17]; 13. G1-Tony Anglin[19]; 14. 164-Michael Muskrat[13]; 15. 16-Logan Thompson[21]; 16. 53-Danny O'Neal[23]; 17. 9-Kyle Downs[12]; 18. 221-Jerry Brown[14]; 19. O70-Mike Daugherty[22]; 20. 10C-Jacob Combs[24]; 21. (DNF) 94C-JT Carroll[1]; 22. (DNF) 21M-Payton McDowell[18]; 23. (DNF) 27S-Will Smart[6]; 24. (DNF) 2-Colton Bourland[9]

B Feature - 1. 1X-Kris Lloyd[2]; 2. 21M-Payton McDowell[5]; 3. G1-Tony Anglin[4]; 4. B4-Brian Worley[9]; 5. 16-Logan Thompson[8]; 6. O70-Mike Daugherty[6]; 7. 53-Danny O'Neal[3]; 8. 10C-Jacob Combs[1]; 9. 06-Morgan Campbell[7]; 10. 40-Alcoa Harris[10]; 11. (DNS) 27-Terry Williams

Heat 1 - 1. 94C-JT Carroll[9]; 2. 17-Mike Striegel[6]; 3. 2-Colton Bourland[3]; 4. 9-Kyle Downs[2]; 5. 221-Jerry Brown[7]; 6. 10C-Jacob Combs[8]; 7. 21M-Payton McDowell[5]; 8. (DNF) B4-Brian Worley[1]; 9. (DNF) 40-Alcoa Harris[4]

Heat 2 - 1. 41-Terry Schultz[2]; 2. 11-Derek Brown[1]; 3. 35-Johnny Coats[4]; 4. 21-Johnny Fennewald[6]; 5. 26M-Donnie Miller[8]; 6. 59R-Jacob Rexing[9]; 7. 53-Danny O'Neal[3]; 8. 06-Morgan Campbell[7]; 9. 16-Logan Thompson[5]

Heat 3 - 1. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[2]; 2. 04-Blaine Ewing[9]; 3. 27S-Will Smart[6]; 4. 164-Michael Muskrat[4]; 5. 26-Burl Woods[5]; 6. 1X-Kris Lloyd[8]; 7. G1-Tony Anglin[3]; 8. O70-Mike Daugherty[1]; 9. (DNF) 27-Terry Williams[7]

Legends

A Feature - 1. 01-Chance Gilbert[1]; 2. 84-Corey Pope[4]; 3. 7J2-Erik Johnson[2]; 4. 48-Austin Azeez[7]; 5. 00-Jett Stovall[8]; 6. 33-Keith Moline[3]; 7. 533-Cody Moline[6]; 8. 17-Matthew Bowen[5]; 9. 25-David Sappington[11]; 10. 57-Phil Burkybile Jr[10]; 11. 2-Phillip Uhrig[9]; 12. 9-Rory Thompson[13]; 13. 68-Jordan Myers[12]

Heat 1 - 1. 01-Chance Gilbert[7]; 2. 17-Matthew Bowen[2]; 3. 84-Corey Pope[6]; 4. 00-Jett Stovall[4]; 5. 57-Phil Burkybile Jr[3]; 6. 25-David Sappington[5]; 7. 9-Rory Thompson[1]

Heat 2 - 1. 7J2-Erik Johnson[2]; 2. 33-Keith Moline[3]; 3. 533-Cody Moline[4]; 4. 48-Austin Azeez[5]; 5. 2-Phillip Uhrig[1]; 6. 68-Jordan Myers[6]

High Limit Sprints coming April 18: Advance tickets for the Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint Series' April 18 visit at Lucas Oil Speedway are available online. Tanner Thorson holds a narrow lead over Aaron Reutzel, Rice Abreu and Giovanni Scelzi in the early 2026 championship standings.

For further event information, including more info on tickets and camping for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at Nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.

CONTACT:
Casey Shuman
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
Email: CShuman@lucasoilspeedway.com

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate, this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience.

For ticket and camping information and everything about the Show-Me 100 event, visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for all the information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on X, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

About Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Mo., approximately an hour from Springfield and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, United States Modified Touring Series and the High Limit Sprint Racing Series, POWRi Sprint Cars and POWRi WAR Sprints.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and Super Stocks.

2026 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Bill Roberts Chevrolet

"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Iconic Apparel

"The Official Merchandise Provider of Lucas Oil Speedway"

Lucas Oil Products

"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper

"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios

"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Summit Racing Equipment

"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels

"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2026 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:

AM Pyrotechnics, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clear Creek Golf Cars, Clearlight Inn, Dixie Chopper, Eibach Springs, Encounter Ministry Inc., FSE Fire Systems, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Henry's Towing Service, Heritage Tractor, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Highkine Warren, Hobbytime Motorsports, Iconic Apparel, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Outerwears Performance Products, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, SMSI, Southwest Electric Cooperative, State Tech, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Super 8 Bolivar Mo., Super Splash, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, WacoBill.com, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Woods Supermarkets.

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