PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – Chris Ferguson and Shane Clanton will make up the front row for Saturday night’s 39th Annual RhinoAg Dirt Track World Championship – Presented by Optima Batteries at Portsmouth Raceway Park.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series-sanctioned event drew 66 entries for preliminary events on Friday night of the $100,000-to-win event.
Ferguson will start on the pole after earning the most combined points from qualifying and heat races in Group A. Ferguson will be seeking his first career crown jewel event win on Saturday. Clanton accumulated the most points from qualifying and heat races in Group B to earn the outside of the front row in tomorrow night’s season-ending event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
The top-eight in combined qualifying and heat race results from both Group A and from Group B are locked in to the DTWC with each group sending a total of 16 cars to the starting grid. Starting behind Ferguson will be the two-time and defending DTWC winner, Josh Richards. Richards is looking to become the first driver in history to win the crown jewel event three consecutive times and will start third on Saturday night.
Behind Ferguson and Richards will be two-time DTWC winner Brandon Sheppard, 2019 LOLMDS National Champion Jonathan Davenport, 2019 LOLMDS Rookie-of-the-Year Tyler Erb, Shanon Buckingham, Scott James and Jason Covert.
Clanton earned the outside of the front row with a stirring run in his heat race from fifth to first. Mike Marlar will start behind Clanton with 2012 DTWC winner Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr., Kyle Bronson and Hudson O’Neal, who earned the 16th starting spot and final spot for the locked in cars.