Brandon Sheppard and Jonathan Davenport Strike First At Dream Opener
Wild Action Thrills Large Thursday Crowd; Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Mowers Continues Friday and Saturday

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 9, 2016) – It was a night of extremes Thursday as the first day of the 22nd Annual Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Mowers at Eldora Speedway delivered a doubleheader delight for Brandon Sheppard and Jonathan Davenport. While Sheppard dominated the first feature of the night, Jonathan Davenport made a late push to win his A-Feature.

In a 72-car entry list, Sheppard said he thought he underperformed in both his feature race and in qualifying; however, the event format placed him on the outside row of the 24-car Feature race.  The New Berlin, Ill. native fended off Terry Phillips in Turn 4 on the opening lap to take command. This is Sheppard’s third win of the season.

“Early in the night we struggled really badly,” Sheppard said. “But we had a really great car in the feature. We did a little homework last year at the World 100 and got better with our older cars. We kind of did some stuff [tonight] that we were doing to them. We’re just really fortunate to come out with the win.”

On lap two, Billy Moyer moved his way up one spot to second place. His early push – like Sheppard’s – was not enough to challenge for the lead spot. Moyer only closed the gap to a 0.848-second margin. But, Moyer did separate himself from the rest of the field by a similar margin. With five laps remaining, Moyer’s strong run faded, leaving the door open for 14th-starting Ricky Thorton Jr. who would work his way into the runner-up position; Moyer managed to hold on to the final podium spot.

Steve Casebolt, who won the Dirt Late Model Dream in 2007, led much of a furious second Feature race that included challenges from Josh Richards, Chris Brown and Jimmy Owens. However, it was the final 15 laps that decided the race.

Jonathan Davenport from Williamston, S.C. darted to the front, swerving top to bottom to find an opening.  It took a three-wide maneuver to the bottom of Casebolt and Richards on lap 14 to get the lead. Davenport started sixth.

“Everyone ran a heck of a race,” Davenport said. “Casebolt was running up front for a while, and Josh and I were racing really tight. That was definitely awesome.”

Casebolt blew a rear-right tire late in the race, collecting a quickly closing Bobby Pierce rearranging the podium spots. Davenport maintained a healthy lead for the final laps – returning to the point after the race’s final caution on lap 20. But, the buffer did not come without one last push from Richards, who placed second. Jimmy Owens rounded-out the podium in thrilling fashion, using the restart on lap five to catapult him to a third-place finish.

Both feature winners take home a $5,000 purse.

The 22nd Annual Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Mowers returns to action Friday with two $10,000-to-win 25-lap Feature events for the field. Gates open at 12 p.m. with hot laps scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and Heat Races at 8 p.m.

About Eldora Speedway: 
Since carved from a cornfield in the natural amphitheater that existed between the Eldora Ballroom and the Wabash River by bandleader Earl Baltes in 1954, Eldora Speedway has grown to be a frontrunner in motorsports growth and stability. Baltes chose to sell the legendary high-banked clay oval to motorsports entrepreneur and NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion Tony Stewart in 2004.  Celebrating its 63nd season in 2016, Eldora hosts the biggest events in short-track racing including the 22nd annual Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Mowers; the 33rd annual Kings Royal Weekend; the fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on dirt – the Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby; and the 46th annual World 100. The complete schedule for Eldora’s 63rd consecutive season, including ticket and campsite information, is available at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and can be requested by phone at (937) 338-3815. Fans can get behind-the-scenes access of Eldora Speedway by following @EldoraSpeedway on Twitter, hitting ‘Like’ at www.facebook.com/EldoraSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/EldoraSpeedwayInc.