Davenport Stops Richards at East Bay

(TAMPA, FL - February 9, 2018) - Jonathan Davenport passed Josh Richards on lap 47 and then held him off for the win on Friday night at East Bay Raceway Park during the 42nd Annual Wrisco Industries Winternationals - presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Gregg Satterlee came home in third, followed by Billy Moyer Jr., and Mason Zeigler.

Davenport picked up his 29th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win and his fourth ever at "The Clay by the Bay." Davenport started sixth in the field, and never ran outside the top three during the 50-lap main event. Richards stayed glued to the bottom of the track for most of the latter half of the race as Davenport swept to the outside of the 1/3-mile oval. Davenport dove down low for a few laps but eventually came back to the top soon enough so that he was able to get around Richards.

"It's going to be a hard battle all year long on this series," said Davenport who was congratulated by Richards in victory lane after the race. "I knew I was going to be in tire conservation mode the entire race. He [Richards] ran down on the bottom for most of the race. There was some traction from the middle to the top that I noticed during the caution flag. My car just wouldn't handle on the bottom. I thought I was hurting my tires for most of the race, but fortunately they held up."

"I told myself I needed to man up out there and go to the top. The car went real good coming into and off the corners and then I got that run on him near the end and took the lead. Man, I am out of breath. I hoped the fans enjoyed that one. I got a feeling its is going to be like this all year."

Richards was looking to win his third straight points-earning event this season but saw his win streak come to an end at the hands of Davenport. "I wish now I had moved up on the race track. I was trying to defend around the bottom. We had a pretty good lead I think before that caution. Congratulations to him on the win. He earned it. We fell short just a little bit tonight. He [Davenport] did a great job tonight. I should have stayed in the middle or went the top of the track earlier.   The bottom was starting to take black and was slowing up."

Satterlee, racing in front of his family came home with a third-place finish in the Satterlee Petroleum Distributors, Rocket Chassis. "We made a big change before the feature and it paid off," said Satterlee, who started tenth on the grid. "We got off to a good start and we definitely have made great strides this week. This track is so tough to figure out, but we will work some more on the car and hopefully get it just a little bit better for tomorrow night. All of family is down here today. It's rare that they get to see me race in person."

Davenport pilots the Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis powered by a Durham Racing Engine and is sponsored by: Crop Production Services, Spartan Mowers, Valvoline, ASC Warranty, Penske Racing Shocks, and Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas.

Completing the top ten were Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, Don O'Neal, and Earl Pearson Jr.