WHEATLAND, Mo. — Josh Rice of Crittenden, Kentucky led the final six laps Friday night to capture the Cowboy Classic at Lucas Oil Speedway, earning his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the 2026 season.
Rice, the current O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year points leader, collected $10,000 for his third career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.
Garrett Alberson, who was forced to a backup car after flipping while leading his heat race, finished second. Chris Ferguson stormed from the 14th starting position to take the lead on lap eight and ultimately rounded out the podium.
Point leader Hudson O’Neal finished fourth, while Brandon Overton completed the top five.
Overton led the opening seven laps of the 45-lap feature, which had been postponed 24 hours due to Thursday night rain. Ferguson then charged from the outside of row seven to the lead in just eight laps and appeared poised for victory after pacing the field for the next 25 circuits.
Alberson took command on lap 33, setting up a thrilling three-car battle between Alberson, Ferguson, and Rice. Working the bottom groove to perfection, Rice surged past both drivers on lap 40 and held on the rest of the way for the victory.
Rice’s previous two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins both came at his home track, Florence Speedway, where he is a two-time Ralph Latham Memorial winner. Friday’s triumph came in his first start at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“I can’t thank James Ratliff enough for sticking with me,” Rice said. “I was doubting myself and wondering what in the world I had done. We tried some things Thursday, and this car has been so good. We just missed it on tires in that first race, and I thought we’d be much better than we were.”
Alberson overcame a difficult night and still put himself in position to contend for the win.
“I really wanted that one bad,” Alberson said. “It’s been a long day, and I made too many mistakes there late and knocked the spoiler off. But my dad always taught us to keep a good attitude. The first time I crashed a race car, they told me to get right back in another one. That’s just racing.”
Ferguson, who earlier in the evening finished second to Jonathan Davenport in the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson feature, led a race-high 25 laps before fading late.
“This race car was awesome,” Ferguson said. “We broke some stuff there at the end and just couldn’t race with those guys the last couple laps. But it was definitely ‘cowboy up’ tonight, and honestly, I had a blast. We passed a lot of really good cars. Congrats to Josh and Garrett – that was a fun race.”
13th Annual Cowboy Classic | Feature Finish (45 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 5 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $10,100
2 – 4 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $5,500
3 – 14 – 22F – Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – $3,500
4 – 6 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,700
5 – 1 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,500
6 – 8 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,300
7 – 25 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,500
8 – 16 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $2,100
9 – 10 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,050
10 – 15 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,000
11 – 19 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $1,600
12 – 23 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $1,400
13 – 22 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,200
14 – 20 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,000
15 – 2 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $950
16 – 24 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $925
17 – 17 – 11T – Trevor Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $900
18 – 7 – 11G – Gordy Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $875
19 – 13 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $850
20 – 11 – 1X – Aaron Marrant – Kearney, MO – $825
21 – 12 – 18J – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $800
22 – 9 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $800
23 – 18 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA – $800
24 – 3 – 56 – Tony Jackson Jr – Lebanon, MO – $800
25 – 21 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $900
