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NASCAR On Dirt

Jonathan Davenport's NASCAR Cup Debut Ends Prematurely At Bristol Dirt

Jonathan Davenport's NASCAR Cup Debut Ends Prematurely At Bristol Dirt

Jonathan Davenport’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway ended prematurely after a collision with Kyle Larson.

Apr 10, 2023
Jonathan Davenport's NASCAR Cup Debut Ends Prematurely At Bristol Dirt

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Jonathan Davenport’s NASCAR Cup Series debut on Easter Sunday night at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway ended prematurely after a collision with fellow dirt driver Kyle Larson knocked him out of the running on lap 176 of 250.

The Blairsville, Ga., driver who finished 36th of 37 cars aboard Kaulig Racing’s No. 13 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ran in 29th when he clipped a spinning Larson through turn one, which didn’t seem all that serious in real time but was costly enough to break the right-front upper control arm.

Davenport started the race in 21st, running as high as 19th in the early going and as low as 35th before retiring from the night’s competition.

“I just could never really get going to where I could pass cars,” Davenport said. “I could pass two or three and then get into a lull and just kind of ride. I was just trying to learn and make the laps. … Just couldn’t really get the right feel for my car. The guys did a great job making changes I wanted. We were definitely getting better.

“Then I saw Kyle spinning up there,” he added. “I hate to have gotten into him there.”

Davenport’s high of the race came when he moved into 19th on lap 50, positioning himself behind February’s winner at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Martin Truex Jr., and the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano. Davenport ran no worse than 24th in the opening 75-lap stage.

Stage two, however, was more tumultuous. Davenport simply lost the handle of his race car off turn four on lap 82 and spun out of the 24th position. Restarting 35th hindered the rest of his race as last year’s top-ranked Dirt Late Model couldn’t quite acquaint himself with NASCAR’s Next Gen.

“It’s just a whole different car,” Davenport said. “It’s almost like you’re on a really, really slick asphalt track out there now. There’s not like no big cushion and you can’t really move off of it and turn down the racetrack. But that’s the way these cars race. That’s something I had to get accustomed to really quick. I had a lot of fun and would definitely like to do it again.”

Davenport ran as high as 26th in stage two, but by the lap-150 mark, his pace slowed and he slipped back to 30th. Though he failed to finish the 250-lap race, Davenport holds his NASCAR experience in high regard.

“It’s been good. (The Truck race) went fairly well,” Davenport said. “Then tonight, the first goal was to make all 250. But we didn’t do that. Other than that, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the opportunity and the experience.”