WALTON, Ky. — Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr. won the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series preliminary main events on Thursday night at Florence Speedway.
Davenport won his 79th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event, pocketing $6,000 for the first 25-lap race leading the entire distance over Devin Moran, Drake Troutman, Tyler Erb and Josh Rice.
Thornton went to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Victory Lane for the 12th time in 2024 as he led the final 17 circuits to win the second 25-lap main event that also paid $6,000.
Bobby Pierce tracked down Thornton late in the race to come home in second. Tim McCreadie was third followed by Hudson O’Neal and Kyle Bronson.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fifth time in 2024 and for the first time since June 20 at Lernerville, Davenport was 2.417 seconds ahead of Moran at the finish.
“It’s a big relief really. I have not liked my car lately in the features. It drove well there honestly; I wished I would have started further back where I could’ve seen where my car was better or worse at,” Davenport said. “We are just going have to go back and watch the video and see where was better or where we were worse at. I think we will see more of a transition in the race Saturday around I would say the mid-point of the race. We will just have to wait and see. The biggest takeaway is we are finally in victory lane. That’s huge for us and our race team.”
Moran, who vaulted past Davenport in the championship points after winning the Silver Dollar Nationals at Huset’s battled with Davenport early in the race as he held the second spot the entire 25-lap distance.
“I was real good on that start,” Moran said. “We had a little bit softer tire than he did. I don’t think we could have done anything tonight with him. He was really, really good. I tried moving up, but I couldn’t really run up top. I started to move around, but I couldn’t do a whole lot. We had a second place tonight so I really can’t complain.”
Troutman started 14th and finished third.
“We took last weekend off and just went through this car really good,” he said. “This is a new Jay Dickens engine under the hood. So, for the first time running here we gained some valuable experience that will hopefully help us the rest of the weekend.”
Thornton’s win was his first for Koehler Motorsports and their newly named crew chief, Chris Madden.
“To come out the first night like we did; we had a lot of speed coming out of the box a few weeks ago,” Thornton said. “We didn’t have the finish we wanted at Huset’s, we came back home and put a new body on the car. I tore it up a little bit there. I felt like I was almost running too hard trying to get my tires to go. I know we went harder than most of them. I thought Nick [Hoffman] had a really good pace and then he really started to slow down going into three. I knew I needed to get a good run down the backstraightaway, and I was going to slide him and hopefully I could take off after I did that.”
Pierce, who started ninth, made a late charge and came up 2.080 seconds short of the win.
“It was hard racing,” he said of his battles during the race with Jason Jameson and Cory Hedgcock. “We have raced a lot here. I don’t know he [Jameson] knows how to smash the gas pedal I will give him that. He does a good job getting up there early, but we were just coming through, and I had the faster car, and I got under him and slid him. It just got tight up there. Me and Hedgecock had a little contact when we went three-wide, and I apologize for that. I got into his right front.”
McCreadie rounded out the podium.
“It cost us a couple of spots there at the end when I got up in that cushion in four. I know it’s not victory lane where we all want to be, but we are definitely improving. It’s getting better every time we hit the track.”
The finishes:
First feature: Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Drake Troutman, Tyler Erb, Josh Rice, Jimmy Owens, Ethan Dotson, Zack Dohm, Tanner English, Ross Bailes, Dale McDowell, Devin Gilpin, Trent Ivey, Boom Briggs, Derek Groomer, Derek Fisher, Tyler Collins, Brenden Smith, Brandon Hardgrove, Spencer Hughes, Dustin Nobbe, Max Blair, Donald McIntosh, Mike Marlar.
Second feature: Ricky Thornton Jr., Bobby Pierce, Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal, Kyle Bronson, Cory Hedgecock, Brandon Overton, Nick Hoffman, Garrett Alberson, Carson Ferguson, Daulton Wilson, Tripp Gerrald, R.J. Conley, Dustin Linville, Tyler Stevens, Dillon McCowan, Ross Robinson, Robb Hensley, Jordan Koehler, Blake Creech, Zack Blackwood, Jordan Wever, Michael Chilton, Jason Jameson.