GREENWOOD, Neb. — A pair of No. 20’s will make up the front row for the 10th annual Silver Dollar Nationals on Saturday night at I-80 Speedway as Ricky Thornton Jr. and Jimmy Owens will lead the field to green flag for the $53,000-to-win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event.
Thornton and Owens earned top spots in passing points from Friday Night’s 10 heat races that were contested. Devin Moran and Brandon Sheppard will make-up row number two for the richest winner’s purse offered so far in 2020.
The first heat of round one saw Scott Bloomquist, the all-time winningest driver in series history, bolt to the lead at the start and lead the entire distance to take the win. Billy Moyer Jr. finished a close second to Bloomquist with Jonathan Davenport and Jimmy Owens trailing.
The second heat featured a solid performance by Kansan Chase Junghans who earned the heat race victory. Jake Neal finished in second followed by Brandon Sheppard and Tad Pospisil.
The third heat race saw a terrific between Mason Zeigler and Shanon Buckingham. Zeigler caught and passed Buckingham on the final lap of the race to take the win. Buckingham finished in second followed by 17-year-old Colton Horner and Tim McCreadie.
Chad Simpson got by Justin Zeitner in the closing laps of heat number four to take the victory for the two-time Lucas Oil MLRA champion. Zeitner came across the line in second. Tyler Erb came from the tail to finish in third followed by Nick Deal.
The fifth and final heat of round one went to Thornton, who charged from the fourth starting position to take the lead, as he pulled away to take the checkers. Devin Moran ran second the entire distance with Stormy Scott and Kyle Bronson rounding out the top four.
The second round started off with Ricky Weiss taking the victory in heat number one. Shane Clanton gave Weiss a good run early on, but Weiss pulled away for the win. Clanton took second followed by Thornton and Bobby Pierce, the defending Silver Dollar Nationals winner.
The second heat of round two saw current LOLMDS point leader Jimmy Owens roar from the eighth starting spot to get the win. Earl Pearson, Jr. came from the fifth starting position to grab second with Tyler Erb placing third as Chris Ferguson rounded out the top four.
Josh Richards took command of the race lead from Cory Dumpert in heat three as he ran away for the win. Tanner English finished second to Richards with Kyle Strickler and Chad Simpson claiming third and fourth at the finish.
The fourth heat of round two went to Kyle Bronson, who came from the fourth starting spot for the win. Johnny Scott, driving his brothers second entry, came home in second with Devin Moran charging from the tail to pick up third place at the checkers. Jonathan Davenport was fourth.