PORT ROYAL, Pa. — For the first time since July 11, defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion Ricky Thornton Jr. returned to victory lane, leading 39 of the 40 laps in Friday night’s $10,000-to-win main event at Port Royal Speedway.
Thornton’s 11th win of 2025 came on night one of the Rumble by the River presented by UNOH.
Jonathan Davenport challenged Thornton for most of the race, briefly taking the lead on lap 30 after Thornton had led the first 29 laps from his pole position.
Davenport then got by him for the race lead, but on the next lap, Thornton regained the lead off turn four on lap 31.
Thornton pulled away to win his 53rd Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race. Davenport finished second, with Brandon Sheppard third. Devin Moran was fourth, and Mike Marlar rounded out the top five in a caution-free race.
“I didn’t quite know where I needed to be. I could run the bottom, then reach out through the middle, and then I started to feel like I was getting free, and I knew JD was coming. Then I heard him, and he got next to me and drove by, sliding into three. If I have a shot to win this, I’ll need to be able to pass him right back,” said the Chandler, Arizona native.
Davenport, who entered the night 55 points ahead of Thornton, lost 20 points as last week’s Topless 100 winner finished in second place.
“He (Thornton) just did a good job there,” Davenport said. “I kept inching up on him from the bottom. I tried the top a couple of times in one and two, but you really had to commit all the way up there, and I kept trying to go up there to gain a little momentum and pull off, but it just wasn’t as effective. I then started running the bottom and tried to slow down more and more, and it seemed to work for us. I ran him back down and got past him, which made him start searching too, and then he just committed to the top in one and two. Obviously, he got a run down the back straightaway and slid me into three. He just did a good job, plain and simple.”
Sheppard, who started next to Thornton on the front row, ran second for the first 10 laps before yielding the spot to Davenport.
“We had a really solid night, for sure,” Sheppard said. “We were just two spots short tonight, you know. It’s one of those deals where it was like stages, and we were really good, so we’re just going to jot it down in the old notebook and give it our best shot tomorrow night. I’ve got a good car and something to work with. When you’re running well and gaining some consistency, that’s what we want.”
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[6]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 6. 71-Hudson O’Neal[10]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 8. 111-Max Blair[12]; 9. 18D-Daulton Wilson[7]; 10. 44-Chris Madden[8]; 11. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 12. N1-Michael Norris[11]; 13. 7-Ross Robinson[19]; 14. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[14]; 15. 60-Dan Ebert[13]; 16. 15K-Wil Herrington[18]; 17. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[16]; 18. 09-Michael Leach[20]; 19. 93-Carson Ferguson[22]; 20. 2J-Justin Weaver[25]; 21. 79-Donald McIntosh[23]; 22. 6-Clay Harris[15]; 23. 93L-Cory Lawler[24]; 24. 22F-Chris Ferguson[17]; 25. 118*-Matt Cochran[21]
