FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SPRING VALLEY, MN (May 19, 2018) - Jonathan Davenport fended off a late race charge from Bobby Pierce on Saturday night to find Victory Lane in the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts North Star Nationals at Deer Creek Speedway.

Pierce settled for a runner-up finish for the second consecutive night, just 0.281 seconds behind the race winner. Chad Simpson finished in third, with Don O'Neal and Scott Bloomquist rounding out the top five.

Jimmy Mars bolted to the lead at the start of the main event and led the first 20 laps of the race. A torrid battle between the top four drivers then ensued, with Simpson taking the point on lap 21. Simpson then led until Davenport put himself atop the scoring pylon as the new leader on lap 32.

Pierce began to make his late-race surge, taking over the second position and chasing down Davenport in heavy lapped traffic. Heading into turn four on the final lap Pierce threw a slide job in front of Davenport to momentarily take over the lead. As the two raced down the main straightaway to the checkers, Davenport powered his car to the inside of Pierce and beat the youngster to the finish by just a few inches.

In addition to his $12,000 first place prize money, Davenport pocketed an $1,000 bonus from NAPA Auto Part. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Davenport commented: "First off, thanks to Chad [Simpson], Jimmy [Mars] and Bobby [Pierce] for racing hard and clean out there. That was an awesome race. I knew he [Pierce] was coming for me at the end. The lapped cars were holding us up bad."

"I felt like we had a little better car than to make it that close at the end," Davenport added. "I was just trying to hit my marks out there. I went down the back straightaway and I saw my spotter and I knew the slider was coming. I made sure I entered the corner a little softer so that way I could turn back to the inside of him [Pierce]. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, so I knew he was there. I was just hoping I could make it back to the line and not spin the tires. What a great night, this was a turnaround from last night. Thanks to the track crew for a great track tonight and thanks for the fans for coming out."

Pierce was still breathless after nearing pulling off the last-lap-last corner win. "Hats off the JD, he ran a heck of a race, he is one of the best on top. It was really great racing and a lot of fun. I only made one mistake out there tonight. I wanted to slide up earlier because he gave me some room. This track is just great. I can't wait to come back here."

Chad Simpson was looking for his second-career Lucas Oil victory. "I knew I was in trouble when that caution came out. You know anytime you can run like that against these guys, you have to feel good about yourself. Hats off to the Queensland Family and everybody associated with the track. We always enjoy coming up here to race. It was disappointing when this show was rained out last year. I have a lot of fans over there in turn four. It's good to come up here and put on a good show for them."

Davenport's winning Lance Landers Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by: Crop Production Services, Spartan Mowers, Valvoline, ASC Warranty, Penske Shocks, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Midwest Sheet Metal, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Hawkeye Trucks.

Completing the top ten were Hudson O'Neal, Jimmy Mars, Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan, and Gregg Satterlee.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, May 19th, 2018
NAPA Auto Parts North Star Nationals
Deer Creek Speedway - Spring Valley, MN

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Chad Simpson / 14.185 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Bobby Pierce / 14.374 seconds

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chad Simpson, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Dennis Erb, Jr., Rodney Sanders, Ricky Weiss, Brandon Sheppard, Nick Herrick-DNS

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan, Scott Ward, Allen Murray, Tad Pospisil, Chris Simpson, Jordan Yaggy

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Jimmy Mars, Bobby Pierce, Josh Richards, Kyle Bronson, Mason Zeigler, Brent Larson, Cade Dillard, Mark Rose

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Earl Pearson, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Hudson O'Neal, Don O'Neal, Tim McCreadie, Joey Moriarty, Jeff Massingill

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Ricky Weiss, Rodney Sanders, Brandon Sheppard, Chris Simpson, Tad Pospisil, Jordan Yaggy, Nick Herrick-DNS

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Mason Zeigler, Tim McCreadie, Brent Larson, Joey Moriarty, Jeff Massingill, Mark Rose, Cade Dillard-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

 
Race Statistics
Entrants: 30
Lap Leaders: Jimmy Mars (Laps 1 - 20); Chris Simpson (Laps 21 - 31); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 32 - 50)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Jonathan Davenport
Margin of Victory: 0.281 seconds
Cautions: Brent Larson (Lap 6); Mason Zeigler (Lap 29)
Series Provisionals: N/A
Fast Time Provisionals: Jordan Yaggy; Tad Pospisil
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Don O'Neal (Advanced 12 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Ricky Weiss
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Jonathan Davenport
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Kyle Bronson
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason Durham (Jonathan Davenport)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Chad Simpson (Lap #4 - 14.6435 seconds)
STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Jimmy Mars (20 Laps)
Dirty Girl Racewear Farthest Traveler: Joey Moriarty
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Chad Simpson
Time of Race: 19 minutes 09 seconds
   
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day* 

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Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners Include: Allstar Performance, Andy Durham Racing Engines, AR Bodies, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, Black Diamond Chassis, Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars, Boyd Bilt Fabrication, BRODIX, CatSpot, COMP Cams, CV Products, DirtonDirt.com, Dirty Girl Racewear, Dunn-Benson Ford, E3 Spark Plugs, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, GEICO, General Tire, Heath Lawson Photography, Hoosier Tire, Hot Rod Processing, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, K&N Engineering, Lucas Oil Products, Lucas Oil Racing TV, Longhorn Chassis, MAVTV Motorsports Network, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welders, MSD Performance, Öhlins Shocks, Optima Batteries, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, PFC Brakes, Pierce Race Cars, Pro Power Racing Engines, Protect The Harvest, QA1, Rhino AG, RockAuto.com, Rocket Chassis, Rugged Radios, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, STEEL-IT, Sunoco Race Fuels, Super Clean, Wrisco Aluminum, 5150 Race Trailers 

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the nation's premier dirt late model sanctioning organization.  In 2018, the LOLMDS will sanction 60 events in 22 states.  The series is owned by the parent company Lucas Oil Products Inc. and receives national exposure through a TV package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios.  LOLMDS events will be broadcast on four TV Networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network. For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

About Lucas Oil Racing TV
The Future of Motorsports is HERE! Get Lucas Oil Racing TV and experience racing excitement like you've never seen! Lucas Oil Racing TV is the online app for all your favorite devices like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android Devices and more! No matter where you are or when you want to watch, you can stream the best and most exciting motor racing on the planet!
Lucas Oil Racing TV has all your favorite motorsports - from grass roots to international competition, as well as exclusive LIVE EVENTS and behind the scenes interviews and footage that you won't see anywhere else!  But that's just the beginning!  Lucas Oil Racing TV brings you some of motorsports greatest broadcasters and build specialists... from Dave Despain to the mechanics of Two Guys Garage, as well as all the latest news, reviews, and interviews from every genre of racing. 
Lucas Oil Racing TV is the Exclusive, Unlimited, 24/7 All-Access Motorsports App and it's available NOW!  For more information or to sign up, go to: www.LucasOilRacing.TV.

About MAVTV Motorsports Network
Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV is a television network with its roots deep in the automotive world.  MAVTV offers an unparalleled line-up of exclusive motorsports, that includes prestigious events such as the Chili Bowl, The AMA Pro Motocross series, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and NHRA Drag Racing.  But MAVTV goes far beyond the national mainstream events and also covers multitudes of grassroots series' from across the globe: Drag boats, sprint boats, drag racing, pro pulling, rally racing, drifting, dirt racing, ice racing and everything in between.
MAVTV also knows you don't have to be a race fan to be an automotive enthusiast, which is why we have developed a package of automotive reality and custom build shows that is truly second to none.  If it has a motor, it's on MAVTV...MAVTV is THE motorsports network. To learn more about MAVTV go to: www.MAVTV.com.

About Lucas Oil Products
Founded in 1989 by Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, Lucas Oil Products, Inc. has established itself as one of the fastest-growing lubrication product lines in the consumer automotive aftermarket, featuring a line of engine oils, greases, gear lubes, problem-solving additives, and car-care products. Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil has established itself as a worldwide leader in the lubrication industry.  Motorsports has always been part of the Lucas Oil culture and the cornerstone of the company's marketing strategy.  Such passion for motorsports has inspired Lucas Oil to sponsor many race teams, events and series at all levels, including, NHRA, IRL, ASCS, NASCAR, IHRA and many more.  Lucas Oil has also taken ownership and operational control of a number of high profile racing properties, such as: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Lucas Oil Modified Series, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO. and the Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway in Blythe, CA.

In 2007 Lucas Oil founded its own production house, Lucas Oil Production Studios, dedicated to producing high action motorsports television. Currently Lucas Oil Production Studios produces over 300 hours of original programming for networks such as CBS, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and MAVTV.  More information about Lucas Oil Products, Inc. visit the company website at:  www.LucasOil.com.