OCALA, Fla. — Kevin Thomas Jr. and Rock Steady Racing’s first night out in 2024 went just about as smooth as you can ask for.
The Cullman, Ala., driver who won at Ocala in 2021 timed in with a best lap of 13.796 seconds during Thursday night’s open practice with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.
The three-hour session was the final preparation prior to the opening two races of the series season on Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, at Ocala’s three-eighths-mile dirt oval.
Thomas and Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy recorded the best lap of the evening in the second of three groups that timed in on Thursday.
Mitchel Moles was the quickest in group one and second fastest overall with a lap of 13.928. Logan Seavey, in the debut of the Abacus Racing sprint car, was the best in the third and final group and third overall at 13.962 seconds. Carson Garrett was fourth overall at 14.009 while two-time and defending series champion Justin Grant rounded out the top five at 14.016.
The practice times:
Thursday: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.796; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.928; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.962; 4. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.009; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.016; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.024; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.063; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.083; 9. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.094; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.118; 11. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-14.136; 12. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.140; 13. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.210; 14. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.216; 15. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-14.225; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.261; 17. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.325; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.359; 19. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.392; 20. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-14.394; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.470; 22. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.582; 23. Mark Smith, 43m, Witherspoon-14.612; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.613; 25. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-14.972; 26. Will Hull, 7s, Hull-15.148; 27. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-15.170; 28. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.795.