OCALA, FL (February 8, 2025) – Devin Moran outdueled Jonathan Davenport to claim victory in the 50-lap Wieland Winter Nationals finale on Saturday night at Ocala Speedway after starting from the inside of the fourth row. This event marked the largest payout in track history, with Moran taking home $25,000 for his third series win of the season.
Davenport crossed the line in second, followed by Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, and Garrett Alberson.
Davenport seemed to control the race until Moran went to the top side of turns one and two, successfully tracking down Davenport to take the race lead for good with about 12 laps remaining after the two had exchanged the lead several times. Moran had claimed the second position from Thornton following a caution at the halfway point and then aggressively pursued Davenport after the last caution occurred with 20 laps left.
Moran, in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 18th time in his career, came from the seventh starting spot to claim the win. It was Moran’s third career win at Ocala.
“I just gassed on it. This is why we come to Florida for Speedweeks. Everybody has been talking about this or that, and obviously, we aren't at East Bay. We all love East Bay, but this is my favorite time of year. We just put on one hell of a show for the crowd here and everyone watching home,” said the Dresden, Ohio native.
“My the biggest problem was that I just couldn’t restart well all week; however, I finally found the track that could help me restart better. I went wherever they were, and JD was turning down just enough for me to get a run. That last one was really good, but I needed the long runs. We kept having caution after caution, and I was worried about Ricky underneath me. I didn’t expect to finish seventh to win tonight. Last night had the best track conditions, but they still needed to work on it a little, and they did that. They provided us with an amazing experience racetrack.”
Davenport, who led the most laps during the race, came home with his third runner-up finish during Speedweeks.
“We I went with a soft tire there, and I think we were the only car in the field to do so. I don’t know if that played a role, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten the lead without the soft tire. Devin did a great job; I knew it was going to be moving around. I just got slower and slower on the bottom, and I was kind of stuck there with that tire, so I couldn’t really move around a lot. Once I moved all the way to the top, I was okay, but it was a long way around and pretty treacherous. What a cool racetrack to be that wide! It actually raced a lot better than I thought it would there.”
Thornton, the defending series champion, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third.
“The the racetrack was awesome! Bubba told us he was going to get us to where we were running the wall, and I literally think I was on the wall. It was probably the best racetrack we had all week. In the end, I think I made the wrong tire call; we went hard, and the track didn’t slow down as much as I needed it to. Congrats to Devin and JD; they each drove a great race. I almost wish I had in-car camera because it was pretty fun watching those two race it out out.”
The winner’s Double Down Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Lazyday’s RV, C&W Trucking, Bomag, Millwood Plumbing, Refuel Wellness, Phillips CPA, Bilstein Shocks, Red Oak Pub, Pee Wee’s Wrecker Service,
CarSourceAuto.com, McHugh Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, Haulin’ Haskell’s, Phillips CPA, Eibach Springs, Smoky Mountain Speedway, and Anthony’s Pizza.
Completing the top ten were Drake Troutman, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Mark Whitener, and Tanner English.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 5
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Garrett Alberson | 14.398 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport | 14.497 seconds
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 4. 5-Mark Whitener[4]; 5. 96-Tanner English[3]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 15K-Wil Herrington[9]; 8. 8-Dillon McCowan[8]; 9. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 10. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 11. 81-Jason Riggs[11]; 12. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[12]
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 17SS-Brenden Smith[4]; 4. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 5. 111-Max Blair[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[9]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 10. 57-Matt Tifft[11]; 11. 09-Michael Leach[10]; 12. (DNS) 000-Matt Nailor
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 3. 9-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 5. 79-Donald McIntosh[7]; 6. 24-Tyler Wyant[10]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 8. C4-Freddie Carpenter[8]; 9. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 10. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 11. (DNS) 11-Austin Smith; 12. (DNS) 18-Chase Junghans
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O'Neal[5]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[9]; 7. 19M-Spencer Hughes[7]; 8. 28B-Carson Brown[10]; 9. 93L-Cory Lawler[8]; 10. 43-Derrick Stewart[6]; 11. (DNS) 32J-Jason Jack
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 96-Tanner English[1]; 2. 111-Max Blair[2]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 4. 15K-Wil Herrington[5]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[9]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 8. 57-Matt Tifft[12]; 9. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[15]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 11. (DNS) 32-Bobby Pierce; 12. (DNS) 8-Dillon McCowan; 13. (DNS) 81J-Jack Riggs; 14. (DNS) 81-Jason Riggs; 15. (DNS) 09-Michael Leach; 16. (DNS) 000-Matt Nailor
UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 2. 79-Donald McIntosh[1]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 4. 28B-Carson Brown[8]; 5. 93L-Cory Lawler[10]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[6]; 7. 24-Tyler Wyant[3]; 8. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[11]; 9. 43-Derrick Stewart[12]; 10. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 11. (DNS) C4-Freddie Carpenter; 12. (DNS) 3S-Brian Shirley; 13. (DNS) 11-Austin Smith; 14. (DNS) 32J-Jason Jack; 15. (DNS) 18-Chase Junghans
Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 5 Feature Finish (50 Laps):
Pos - Start - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Earnings
1 - 7 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - $26,000
2 - 2 - 49 - Jonathan Davenport - Blairsville, GA - $11,200
3 - 1 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - $7,000
4 - 6 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - $4,000
5 - 5 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - $4,200
6 - 4 - 22* - Drake Troutman - Hyndman, PA - $3,400
7 - 12 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - $3,300
8 - 19 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - $3,000
9 - 13 - 5 - Mark Whitener - Middleburg, FL - $2,200
10 - 17 - 96 - Tanner English - Benton, KY - $2,100
11 - 23 - 7 - Ross Robinson - Georgetown, DE - $2,700
12 - 16 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - $1,900
13 - 14 - 28 - Dennis Erb Jr - Carpentersville, IL - $1,800
14 - 21 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - $2,400
15 - 9 - 1T - Tyler Erb - New Waverly, TX - $1,600
16 - 15 - 18D - Daulton Wilson - Fayetteville, NC - $2,200
17 - 3 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - $2,200
18 - 11 - 17SS - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - $2,200
19 - 18 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - $1,500
20 - 20 - 79 - Donald McIntosh - Dawsonville, GA - $1,500
21 - 25 - 19M - Spencer Hughes - Meridian, MS - $100
22 - 22 - 20 - Jimmy Owens - Newport, TN - $2,300
23 - 10 - 9 - Tim McCreadie - Watertown, NY - $2,600
24 - 8 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - $2,200
25 - 24 - 99B - Boom Briggs - Bear Lake, PA - $2,200
Race Statistics
Entrants: 47
Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
MD3 Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-37); Devin Moran (Laps 38-50)
Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Wieland Feature Winner: Devin Moran
Coltman Farms Racing Cautions: Carson Ferguson (Lap 16); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 17); Daniel Hilsabeck (Lap 25); Dan Ebert (Lap 27); Tyler Erb (Lap 29); Tim McCreadie (Lap 30)
Series Provisionals: Ross Robinson; Boom Briggs
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Emergency Provisional: Spencer Hughes
Track Provisional: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton, Jr.,
Penske Shocks Top 5: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Garrett Alberson
PEM 4th Place Feature: Brandon Overton
DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Garrett Alberson
Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’Neal
Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Ross Robinson
Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Dennis Erb, Jr.
MD3 24th Place Feature: Carson Ferguson
Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Ross Robinson (Advanced 12 Positions)
MD3 Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (37 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Lap 16 | 15.434 seconds)
Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Devin Moran
Hard Luck Award: Brandon Sheppard
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Chuck Kimble
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Tim McCreadie (14.526 seconds)
Time of Race: 35 minutes 27 seconds
Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:
Pos - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Points - Earnings
1 - 49 - Jonathan Davenport - Blairsville, GA - 1165 - $51,400
2 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - 1160 - $64,500
3 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - 1150 - $48,300
4 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - 1055 - $24,350
5 - 18D - Daulton Wilson - Fayetteville, NC - 1020 - $22,475
6 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - 980 - $18,450
7 - 1T - Tyler Erb - New Waverly, TX - 970 - $17,900
8 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - 965 - $21,225
9 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - 965 - $20,950
10 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - 965 - $16,700
11 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - 900 - $12,000
12 - 16 - Tyler Bruening - Decorah, IA - 895 - $20,000
13 - 19M - Spencer Hughes - Meridian, MS - 875 - $9,800
14 - 22* - Drake Troutman - Hyndman, PA - 850 - $16,750
15 - 20 - Jimmy Owens - Newport, TN - 820 - $12,800
16 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - 805 - $12,375
17 - 9 - Tim McCreadie - Watertown, NY - 800 - $16,150
18 - 79 - Donald McIntosh - Dawsonville, GA - 785 - $6,400
19 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - 780 - $6,700
20 - 7 - Ross Robinson - Georgetown, DE - 765 - $11,100
21 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - 740 - $8,825
22 - 28 - Dennis Erb Jr - Carpentersville, IL - 685 - $6,350
23 - 3S - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - 680 - $5,725
24 - 19R - Ryan Gustin - Marshalltown, IA - 680 - $3,800
25 - 76N - Blair Nothdurft - Renner, SD - 670 - $4,275
26 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - 660 - $4,050
27 - 5 - Mark Whitener - Middleburg, FL - 635 - $5,925
28 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - 635 - $3,975
29 - 17SS - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - 615 - $5,600
30 - 99B - Boom Briggs - Bear Lake, PA - 540 - $4,800
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