Last Lap Pass Of Moran Nets Ricky Thornton Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Win At All-Tech

Story By: LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – LAKE CITY, FL – Ricky Thornton Jr., the defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion, seized the opportunity created by race leader Devin Moran’s flat tire on the final lap to triumph in the 40-lap Wieland Winternationals opener on Thursday night at All-Tech Raceway.
Moran, who led a race-high 34 laps, had a tire going down in the final two laps, which allowed Thornton to pass him on lap 39 as he went on to secure his first win of the season.
Max Blair edged past Daulton Wilson on the final lap, as they rounded out the Big River Steel podium, taking second and third place at the finish. Moran limped across the line in fourth, with Tyler Erb completing the top five drivers.
Moran jumped to the lead at the start of the race and maintained it for the first 12 laps until Shane Clanton passed him on lap 13. Clanton would then lead Moran for four more laps until Moran surged back ahead for the lead on lap 18. Clanton remained solid in second until a flat tire on lap 29 ended his chances for the win.
A lap 30 restart saw Thornton charge from fourth to second as he pressured Moran for the race lead. However, Thornton slipped back when he got too high in turn two on lap 33 and hit the wall. He recovered, and Moran’s flat tire opened the door for Thornton, who entered the All-Tech race as the only driver to have won more than once in the last seven Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing appearances at the track, allowing him to go to the winner’s circle for the third time there.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 43rd time in his career, and for the third time at All-Tech, Thornton claimed victory for the first time in 2025.
“I I had a good run on that last restart. I got under Daulton for second as we entered turn three; we bumped a little, but nothing too serious. Then I got to Devin, as I mentioned, and I knew his crew guy would move him up. I actually didn’t even see him [Moran] well enough to notice that he had a right-rear flat. We got to the top of turn three, and he was three-wheeling it. As we approached the white flag, I thought it really stinks for him, but I guess someone’s misfortune was good for us and we’ll take it it.”
Blair, who started 10th, surged to the front in the final circuits, claiming the runner-up spot. “I want to be up there where he [Thornton] is. We have been good since the end of last year. The track fit our driving style tonight. We’ll come back tomorrow and try to finish one spot better.”
Wilson, who led the most laps at Golden Isles two weeks ago, stayed in the top four for most of the race and came home in third. “We were good at Golden Isles and not so good last weekend. I thought I had a real shot at winning tonight.”
The winner’s Bobby and Jessica Koehler-owned Koehler Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Ultimate Towing and Recovery, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms Racing, Elite Ready Mix, Capital Waste, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Certified Inspection Services Company, Inc., and EMD Wraps.
Jonathan Davenport, Donald McIntosh, Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, and Hudson O’Neal completed the top ten.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 1
Thursday, January 30, 2025
All-Tech Raceway – Lake City, FL
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Devin Moran | 18.924 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Donald McIntosh | 18.999 seconds
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 4. 31-Tyler Millwood[4]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[6]; 7. 22*-Drake Troutman[12]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 9. 7-Ross Robinson[10]; 10. 28B-Carson Brown[9]; 11. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[11]; 12. 43-Derrick Stewart[7]
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 11-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 74X-Ethan Dotson[4]; 4. 19M-Spencer Hughes[5]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 24D-Michael Brown[3]; 7. 10-Joseph Joiner[6]; 8. 81M-Dale McDowell[8]; 9. 23-Beckham Malone[10]; 10. 09-Michael Leach[9]; 11. 109-Nicholas Johnson[11]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 79-Donald McIntosh[1]; 2. 9-Tim McCreadie[4]; 3. 111-Max Blair[2]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard[9]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 8. 5-Mark Whitener[11]; 9. 6-Clay Harris[6]; 10. 60-Dan Ebert[10]; 11. 157-Mike Marlar[7]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 3. 59-Trey Mills[3]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[5]; 6. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 7. 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 8. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[10]; 9. 388-Jackson Hise[7]; 10. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 11. 93L-Cory Lawler[11]
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 2. 22*-Drake Troutman[5]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 4. 10-Joseph Joiner[6]; 5. 81M-Dale McDowell[8]; 6. 23-Beckham Malone[10]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 8. 24D-Michael Brown[4]; 9. 28B-Carson Brown[11]; 10. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 11. 7-Ross Robinson[9]; 12. 109-Nicholas Johnson[14]; 13. 43-Derrick Stewart[15]; 14. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[13]; 15. 09-Michael Leach[12]
UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[1]; 5. 5-Mark Whitener[7]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 8. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 9. 388-Jackson Hise[10]; 10. 6-Clay Harris[9]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 12. 157-Mike Marlar[13]; 13. 60-Dan Ebert[11]; 14. 93L-Cory Lawler[14]
Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 1 Feature Finish (40 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
- 1 – 8 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $10,000
- 2 – 10 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $5,500
- 3 – 5 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $3,500
- 4 – 1 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,700
- 5 – 7 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $2,500
- 6 – 17 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,300
- 7 – 2 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,200
- 8 – 18 – 20 – Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – $2,100
- 9 – 6 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $2,050
- 10 – 14 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,000
- 11 – 22 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $1,600
- 12 – 4 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $1,400
- 13 – 20 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $1,200
- 14 – 9 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,000
- 15 – 13 – 31 – Tyler Millwood – Kingston, GA – $950
- 16 – 12 – 59 – Trey Mills – St. Augustine, FL – $925
- 17 – 15 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $900
- 18 – 21 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $875
- 19 – 16 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $850
- 20 – 24 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $825
- 21 – 3 – 11 – Shane Clanton – Zebulon, GA – $800
- 22 – 11 – 74X – Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – $800
- 23 – 19 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $800
- 24 – 23 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $800
- 25 – 25 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $100
Race Statistics
- Entrants: 45
- Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Devin Moran
- Lap Leaders: Devin Moran (Laps 1-12); Shane Clanton (Laps 13-17); Devin Moran (Laps 18-39); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 40)
- Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Devin Moran
- Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
- Margin of Victory: 0.963 seconds
- Coltman Farms Racing Cautions: Shane Clanton (Lap 29)
- Series Provisionals: Ross Robinson; Clay Harris
- Fast Time Provisional: n/a
- Emergency Provisional: Kyle Bronson
- Track Provisional: n/a
- Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Max Blair, Daulton Wilson
- Penske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Max Blair, Daulton Wilson, Devin Moran, Tyler Erb
- PEM 4th Place Feature: Devin Moran
- DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Tyler Erb
- Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Donald McIntosh
- Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Ryan Gustin
- Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Brandon Sheppard
- MD3 24th Place Feature: Ross Robinson
- Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Advanced 11 Positions)
- MD3 Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (34 Laps)
- Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
- Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tyler Bruening
- Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Devin Moran (Lap 1 | 17.9351 seconds)
- Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
- Hard Luck Award: Devin Moran
- Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Nathan Sletto
- ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
- Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
- Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Jonathan Davenport (18.564 seconds)
- Time of Race: 17 minutes 09 seconds