Jonathan Davenport outran defending race winner Scott Bloomquist, defending series Champion Casey Roberts and a stellar field of drivers Sunday afternoon to claim the $10,000 Cherokee Speedway March Madness title. Davenport quickly grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag over the series rookie Chip Brindle and set a blistering pace until a caution at halfway bunched the field back up. Casey Roberts took advantage of a lap 31 restart to briefly grab the lead over Davenport. Just 3 laps later, race leader Casey Roberts took advantage of the usually dominate inside row forcing Davenport to take the outside lane for the restart. This would prove costly as Davenport found the outside groove to be the fast way around the speedway. Scott Bloomquist piloted his self-designed car from his 7th place starting position to finish 2nd behind Davenport by utilizing the traction on the high side.
The early story of the night was the Shell Racing Solutions Fast Time Award winner Chip Brindle. Brindle set fast time in only his third ever behind the wheel of a Super Late Model powered late model. He would go on to finish 4th and is only 2 points from the series points lead after the first 2 events. Several drovers who expected to do well in the event suffered mechanical issues (Madden, Smith, Ivey, Bailes). The race was delayed when the speedway made the call to rework and water the track before the main event. 5th place finisher Chris Ferguson agreed that the track made the right call to water the speedway before the main event, “It really brought in a second groove for us to race on.”
Race Results: 1) Jonathan Davenport, 2) Scott Bloomquist, 3) Casey Roberts, 4) Chip Brindle, 5) Chris Ferguson, 6) Rambo Franklin, 7) Brent Dixon, 8) Austin Dillon, 9) Johnny Pursley, 10) Dale McDowell 11) Ty Dillon 12) Zach Mitchell 13) John Pursley 14) Donald Bradsher 15) Chris Madden 16) Jared Landers 17) Daniel Baggerly 18) John Henderson 19) Colby Cannon 20) Casey Barrow 21) Mike Gault 22) Petey Ivey 23) David McCoy 24) Ross Bailes 25) Jeff Smith
The Ultimate EAST Super Late Models will travel to Pine Hall, NC for the 3rd scheduled event on the tour at 311 Speedway Saturday April 2nd. This event will pay $5,000 to win. The Fastrak Crate series is also on the schedule racing for $2,000 with a $500 bonus to any drive that can win both races. For more information on this event please call 311 track phone at 336.593.8736 or visit www.311speedway.net. For more information on the Ultimate EAST Super Late Model Touring series please visit www.ultimatesupers.com.
Top 10 in Ultimate EAST points: 1) Casey Roberts, 2) Chris Ferguson, 3) Chip Brindle 4) Jonathan Davenport 5) Chris Madden 6) Johnny Pursley 7 -10) Donald Bradsher, Daniel Baggerly, Ross Bailes, Jeff Smith
SASE-ULTIMATE Super Late Model Series Schedule
Modoc Speedway Modoc 100 $5,000 CHRIS MADDEN
Cherokee Speedway March Madness $10,000Â JONATHAN DAVENPORT
April 2 (S) 311 Speedway Madison, NC $4,000 to win
April 16 (S) Gordon Park Speedway Grovetown, GA $4,000 to win
April 23 (S) Volunteer Speedway Bulls Gap, TN $4,000 to win
May 7 (S) Wythe Raceway Rural Retreat, VA $4,000 to win
May 14 (S) Toccoa Speedway Toccoa, GA $4,000 to win
May 30 (MN) Harris Speedway Rutherfordton, NC $4,000 to win (Tentative)
June 14 (TU) Laurens Speedway Laurens, SC $3,000 Laurens County Shrine Race
July 2 (S) 311 Speedway Madison, NC $4,000 to win
July 3 (SU) Cherokee Speedway Gaffney, SC $4,000 to win Independence Shoot Out
July 16 (S) Volunteer Speedway Bulls Gap, TN $4,000 to win
July 23 (S) Virginia Motor Speedway Jamaica, VA $10,000 to win
Sept 2 (F) Wythe Raceway Rural Retreat, VA Open Practice
Sept 3 (S) Wythe Raceway Rural Retreat, VA $5,000 to win Late Model Mania
Sept 4 (SU) Cherokee Speedway Gaffney, SC $7,500 to win Hall of Fame
October 1 (S) Cherokee Speedway Gaffney, SC $5,000 to win Stick Elliot Memorial
Nov 20 (SU) Cherokee Speedway Gaffney, SC $10,000 to win Blue/Gray
Partners of the ULTIMATE Super Late Model Series include:
Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, City Chevrolet, Shell Racing Solutions, NOS Energy Drink, Big A’s Custom Graphics, Vicci Apparel, & Thomas Clark Performance