CONCORD, N.C. — Ricky Thornton Jr. won the World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature at World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Thursday, his seventh straight Late Model win.
Thornton has been on a run since Justin Tharp was elevated to crew chief of the Koehler Motorsports No. 20rt after the team parted ways with Anthony Burroughs.
He won at Eldora Speedway on Oct. 9, swept the weekend the following night, and won two more races a week later at West Virginia Motor Speedway’s Dirt Track World Championship. After a week of USAC Sprint Car racing in Arizona, he extended his streak to six at Portsmouth Raceway Park on Oct. 30-31.
Thursday’s 35-lap feature was a 74-car field. Brandon Overton led comfortably until rain arrived 17 laps in and brought a short red flag. When the field restarted, Thornton’s car came to life. He restarted fifth and was past Overton and into the lead within two laps. Overton reeled him back in during late-race lap traffic, but Thornton held on.
“We decided to just leave it covered, put a little bit of fuel in, hop in and go back out,” Thornton commented on his lack of changes during the break. “I was just able to get a really good restart. Those guys kind of got to [Turn] 1 and shoved, and I was able to drive straight. I got second right away, and I knew if I could at least pressure Brandon and get by him, then just try to get as far out as I could before I got to lap cars.”
It was Thornton’s fourth World Finals Late Model win. Overton finished second in a Rocket chassis, ahead of Bobby Pierce in third. Pierce extended his points lead over fourth-place Nick Hoffman to 78 with two nights remaining. Chris Ferguson was fifth.
Feature results (35 laps)
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20RT | Ricky Thornton Jr. | 12 |
| 2 | 17 | Brandon Overton | 1 |
| 3 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | 11 |
| 4 | 9 | Nick Hoffman | 8 |
| 5 | 22 | Chris Ferguson | 4 |
| 6 | 14 | Trey Mills | 10 |
| 7 | 09 | Michael Leach | 3 |
| 8 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | 13 |
| 9 | 44 | Chris Madden | 5 |
| 10 | 9M | Tim McCreadie | 19 |
| 11 | 19R | Ryan Gustin | 9 |
| 12 | 1 | Tyler Erb | 25 |
| 13 | 11R | Josh Rice | 15 |
| 14 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | 20 |
| 15 | 93 | Carson Ferguson | 16 |
| 16 | 74X | Ethan Dotson | 26 |
| 17 | 16 | Ben Watkins | 14 |
| 18 | 58V | Daulton Wilson | 21 |
| 19 | 5 | Drake Troutman | 18 |
| 20 | 20TC | Tristan Chamberlain | 29 |
| 21 | 19 | Dustin Sorensen | 28 |
| 22 | 58 | Garrett Alberson | 23 |
| 23 | 28 | Dennis Erb Jr. | 27 |
| 24 | 49M | Luke Morey | 22 |
| 25 | 4 | Kale Green | 6 |
| 26 | 13 | Dallon Murty | 7 |
| 27 | 8 | Kyle Strickler | 17 |
| 28 | 23 | Beckham Malone | 24 |
| 29 | 1Z | Logan Zarin | 30 |
| 30 | 81F | Jadon Frame | 2 |
