The World of Outlaws Late Models come to Nodak Speedway as part of Minot Mayhem on Sunday, June 28, with races beginning at 7 p.m. The IMCA Modifieds will also be racing. Photo provided by Emily Schwanke. Submitted Photo

A legendary driver is bringing his championship resume to the Magic City when the World of Outlaws Late Models come to town as part of Minot Mayhem at Nodak Speedway on Sunday, June 28.

It’s not Donny Schatz – a Minot native and 10-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion – but Jonathan “Superman” Davenport, whose Kryptonite certainly hasn’t been checkered flags and victory lane during his tenured career on the dirt track.

Davenport mainly participates in the Lucas Oil Series, but Sunday’s race in the World of Outlaws Late Models Series will be his 12th showing of the season and fourth consecutive. Davenport and the World of Outlaws were most recently at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks on Friday, June 26, as the series makes its tour through North Dakota and Minnesota.

The 42 year old from Blairsville, Ga., has been behind the wheel since he was just 7 years old. While he was far too young to drive an actual race car, Davenport began racing go-karts, winning the first race he entered. Fourteen years later, he debuted on the Late Model circuit and hasn’t looked back.

Davenport earned the Lucas Oil Late Model Rookie of the Year award in 2012, competing in 64 races with three wins, 13 top-five finishes and 31 top-10 finishes in his inaugural year in the series. From 2012 up until Sunday’s race at Nodak Speedway, Davenport has competed in 1,116 races across multiple series, compiling 231 victories and 598 top-five finishes. He has finished in the top 10 on 785 occasions. He has won 20-plus races in six years, claiming a career-high 27 checkered flags in 2021. In the Lucas Oil Series alone, Davenport has 116 victories. He’ll be seeking his first World of Outlaws victory of 2026 in his 10th start. He has four top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes in the circuit this season.

The laundry list of wins has led to three Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championships for Davenport. He won his first in 2015, and then went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. He is also a five-time champion of the World 100 at Eldora Speedway, winning in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022. The World 100 is a 100-lap race on the 1/2 mile track that has been run every year since 1971 and pays out $100,000 to the winner. Davenport called Eldora Speedway his favorite track, making the trip to Rossburg, Ohio, multiple times per season. That was the site where Davenport pocketed just over $1 million when he won the Medora Million race in 2022, which pays out the richest purse in sprint car history.

Davenport is also a fan favorite, voted the Lucas Oil Late Models Dirt Series Most Popular Driver in 2023.

While Davenport will be a big draw, there are several other names for fans to get excited about when the rest of the World of Outlaw Late Model drivers get on the track. Leading up to Friday’s race in Grand Forks, Bobby Pierce sits atop the points standings with 4,621. He has a series-best 13 wins and has placed in the top 10 in all 32 races. He has more than twice as many wins as the next closest driver. Nick Hoffman sits 59 points back of Pierce in second place with six victories and 30 top-10 finishes. His 26 top-five finishes are the most in the series, two more than Pierce. Pierce and Hoffman finished 1-2 in the first two races of the week at Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minn. and I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn . Pierce has led for 358 laps this season, more than 150 than the 202 laps Nick Hoffman has led. They are the only two drivers who have led more than 100 laps.

Rounding out the top three in the points standing is Tyler Erb at 4,364. He is 198 points behind Hoffman and 257 points back of Pierce.

Joining the World of Outlaws is the IMCA Modifieds. Steven Pfeifer is coming off of earning the points championship the prior weekend on Father’s Day. He finished with 255 points and held off Marcus Tomlinson (247) and Gabriel Deschamp (246).

Nodak Speedway and the World of Outlaws have planned activities leading up to and during the night of racing. They will be hosting a free pulled pork feed from 2-4 p.m. in the pit area, where anyone with a grandstand ticket can enter and eat with members of the race teams.

Immediately following the redraw after the end of the heat races, four random fans will be chosen to participate in a cornhole tournament, with each of them being partnered with one of the heat-race winning drivers. The winning fan and driver will receive $500.

With rain in the forecast for the weekend, Nodak Speedway has said on its social media page that if the races are rained out on Sunday, it will be rescheduled to the following day on Monday, June 29. All activities planned for Sunday would remain as scheduled on Monday.

This is the first of two visits from the World of Outlaws this year. The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series comes to Nodak Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 30, after being rained out back on May 31.