Jonathan Davenport owns The Dirt Track at Charlotte, and he proved it again Saturday night.
The Georgia star started on the front row of the 50-lap, $25,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model finale at the Dave Smith Motors World Finals, cleared Dallon Murty off Turn 2 and was never seriously challenged. Davenport had a 1.8-second lead by Lap 10 and survived a pair of late cautions (a Lap 29 tangle between Nick Hoffman and Chris Madden, and Eli Johnson stalling on Lap 36) to beat Bobby Pierce by 1.41 seconds.
It was Davenport's ninth World Finals victory, extending his own record. It was also his 20th career World of Outlaws win, tying him with Hoffman and Brandon Overton for 13th on the all-time list.
Top 10: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Bobby Pierce, 3. Dallon Murty, 4. Brandon Overton, 5. Trey Mills, 6. Ryan Gustin, 7. Brandon Sheppard, 8. Ethan Dotson, 9. Nick Hoffman, 10. Max McLaughlin.
Pierce, champion again. Second place capped a monster year for Bobby Pierce, who clinched the 2026 World of Outlaws Late Model Series title: his second straight and third in four seasons. Pierce rewrote the record book this year, breaking the series' single-season win mark during the summer.
Thornton's week. Ricky Thornton Jr. opened the World Finals on Thursday with his seventh straight Late Model victory and his fourth career World Finals win. Saturday was a different story: he missed the main event.
Sources: World of Outlaws, Racing News, Charlotte Motor Speedway, DirtonDirt, STLRacing.
