MINERAL WELLS, W. Va. — Ricky Thornton Jr. won his second ARP Dirt Track World Championship on Sunday night at West Virginia Motor Speedway, earning $100,000 for Koehler Motorsports.
His victory in the 46th annual event, which returned to West Virginia for the first time in 16 years, was his first in the crown jewel race since 2021.
Brandon Sheppard’s runner-up finish secured his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national championship by 55 points over Devin Moran, who finished third. The championship was worth $250,000 to the West Virginia-based Rocket 1 team.
West Virginia native Zack Dohm was the highest-finishing driver from the Mountaineer State, advancing from 14th to fourth. Jonathan Davenport rounded out the top five.
Thornton started from the pole, but Hudson O’Neal jumped to the early lead in the 100-lap race. O’Neal and Thornton ran first and second for the opening 32 laps before Thornton took the lead for the first time.
Thornton led for just two laps before O’Neal regained the top spot. The pair continued to run one-two until O’Neal ran over a mud clod, damaging the right front of his car and causing him to push up the track.
O’Neal pitted, dropping him to the tail of the lead lap. Thornton regained the lead and remained in front when a caution with 10 laps to go set up a single-file restart with Moran and Sheppard directly behind him.
Sheppard passed Moran for second on lap 91, putting himself in position to claim the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship. He stayed ahead of Moran to the checkered flag to secure the title.
Thornton celebrated his 66th series victory in Wieland Victory Lane after winning his fourth straight LOLMDS race to close the season. He earned $220,000 in winnings and bonuses for the night.
“He (O’Neal) was definitely better tonight. Really, early on, I was a little better than he was, and I could dictate his speed,” Thornton said. “The only way I could do that was to stay close enough and run the top whenever he went to the bottom, and the bottom whenever he went to the top. You can start getting them to run harder. He figured out the top, and I thought I wasn’t going to get a shot at him again. I just cooled myself back down during that caution. I showed my nose and kept running harder and harder. I don’t know if he just got tight or what. I saw him kind of turn backward at the wall, and I got by him. I was hoping to come out as the leader.”
46th Annual ARP Dirt Track World Championship presented by Summit Racing Equipment | Feature Finish (100 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $106,300
2 – 6 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $26,000
3 – 4 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $11,300
4 – 14 – 17 – Zack Dohm – Cross Lanes, WV – $8,000
5 – 3 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $7,500
6 – 7 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $7,900
7 – 11 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $7,400
8 – 2 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $7,400
9 – 8 – 28E – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – $5,500
10 – 9 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $6,000
11 – 19 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $5,100
12 – 10 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $3,600
13 – 17 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $3,900
14 – 20 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $3,800
15 – 26 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $3,700
16 – 12 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $3,600
17 – 25 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $3,500
18 – 16 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $2,575
19 – 5 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $3,450
20 – 13 – 75 – Eddie Carrier Jr – Fairmont, WV – $2,535
21 – 23 – 5T – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $2,525
22 – 28 – 55 – Benji Hicks – Mount Airy, NC – $2,515
23 – 18 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $3,400
24 – 24 – 44 – Dave Hess Jr – Waterford, PA – $2,500
25 – 22 – 25Z – Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – $2,500
26 – 15 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $2,500
27 – 27 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $100
28 – 21 – 99H – Kyle Hardy – Winchester, VA – $2,500
