Josh Rice Scores Biggest Win of His Career with First North/South 100 Title

COLUMN BY: LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES / WALTON, KY –  Josh Rice finally sealed the deal Saturday night, capturing the biggest win of his career at his home track with a victory in the 44th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil at Florence Speedway. Rice earned a career-high $75,000 before a packed grandstand.

Rice and Jonathan Davenport endured a wild, lead-swapping duel, with Rice leading the final two laps to earn the victory at the track where he began his career in an open-wheel modified.

Luke Morey, making his first North-South 100 start, finished third, followed by Devin Moran and Brandon Overton.

Dan Ebert took the lead at the start and paced the first seven laps before Davenport took over the top spot. On a lap 11 restart, Ebert’s driveline broke, causing him to slow coming off turn four and triggering a 15-car pileup. The incident eliminated LOLMDS championship points leader Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, who was seeking his fourth consecutive North-South 100 victory.

After a lengthy cleanup, Davenport maintained the lead until lap 25, when Kyle Bronson took over the top spot. Bronson and Davenport were battling for the race lead when the two made contact coming off turn two, sending Davenport spinning into the inside berm.

Bronson then led until lap 62, when Devin Moran took over. Moran held the lead until Davenport, who had pitted for repairs following the lap 51 incident, charged back to the front. Davenport’s lead was short-lived, as Moran regained the top spot on lap 85. Davenport answered immediately, passing Moran to retake the lead on lap 86.

Davenport held the lead until Rice charged from fourth and caught him as the duo raced to the white flag. Rice took the lead off turn four, then lost it between turns three and four after getting into the wall on the final lap. He drove back underneath Davenport to take the checkered flag.

In Wieland Victory Lane for the fifth time in his career, the current O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie-of-the-Year points leader reflected on the victory.

“I am a frickin’ North-South 100 winner. We put on four different tires, wrecked three different times and we had a Daytona 500 crash on the front stretch. It worked out and I didn’t even know I had a left front. I had about six pep talks when I pitted. I am speechless. What just happened? I can’t thank my dad and mom enough for everything. We have made a mess of this race so many times. I just can’t thank my sponsors enough throughout the years, and just everybody who stuck by me. All of my guys, all of my family and friends are here. It’s incredible,” said the Crittenden, Kentucky, racer, who is in his first full season of national touring racing.

“Man, I just kept getting crowded off the corners. When you slide those guys, it’s either hit ’em down the straightaway or slide them to let them know you are coming. Man, I’d get runs on those guys and I’d have to calm myself down. My car was not good, but when I hit it right, my car was really good. I just tried to stay focused, and I don’t know how clean some of those sliders were on JD. I felt like I owed him one, and I got it back down in three. He apologized afterwards. I think a lot of JD. We’ve had a lot of good racing here recently,” said the 28-year-old racer.

Rice explained what went through his mind during the frenetic final laps of the race.

“You have no idea how hard it is to be, like, the fans are paying attention. They’re just crazy. When I slid him (Davenport) down here, I got all crossed up on the cushion and I cut down on him, and I probably figured he was aggravated about that. All the way down the back chute, I didn’t know what to do, whether to slide myself, and I started to think about last night and how out of control I was getting to it. So I guess I will just enter it and prepare to cross, and my right-rear tire hit the cushion just perfectly and it launched me. I knew it was over before it was over, and I’m like, this is perfect. Got the best run that I could ever imagine.”

Davenport, who was seeking his third career North/South 100 victory, finished second, 0.574 seconds behind Rice.

“I can’t remember everything that happened. We took off pretty good there. I just hated it for all the guys that got taken out there in that wreck. It definitely changed the complexion of the race. The first time me and Josh got together, I really thought I left him just enough room and he jumped my right front. It was just a racing deal, and I knew he would probably be mad. I was coming back through there after I pitted. I started picking them off. I never could really run the cushion; I got to bouncing a couple of times. I just progressed back up through there and got by Josh again. I thought I was going to be okay, and I got by Devin (Moran) and I got a little excited. I guess we started to really roll through the middle, and I could catch the brown in three and four pretty good. I couldn’t circle there and leave pretty good.”

Morey, who before this weekend had raced only once at Florence in his career, made his first North-South 100 start and rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third after starting 19th.

“Yeah, that was crazy. It was the first North-South for me. I had only been here one other time. I am telling you, it was crazy watching Rice and them go after it and the fans freaking out. I would have been thankful to battle for 20th. I never thought we’d be here standing on the frontstretch afterwards.”

The winner’s James Rattliff/JRR Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Glenwood Electric, The KAG, Rice Excavating and Plumbing, Chain Locker, Sunoco Race Fuels, BC Fluid Power, MGL Auto Sales, Jessie Insurance Agency, Cheap Chevrolet, Lonkard Construction, JRR Motor Sales, JRR Trucking, Keltner Contracting, and Big Al’s Guns and Outdoor.

Completing the top 10 were Dallon Murty, Clay Harris, Carson Ferguson, Brian Shirley, and Kyle Bronson.

 

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 

Race Summary 

44th Annual Sunoco North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Florence Speedway | Union, KY

 

44th Annual Sunoco North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil | Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

1 – 9 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $75,900

2 – 3 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $25,500

3 – 19 – 49M – Luke Morey – Zeeland, MI – $10,000

4 – 5 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $10,350

5 – 2 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $9,900

6 – 18 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $7,000

7 – 27 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $3,500

8 – 10 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $5,900

9 – 26 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $5,650

10 – 7 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $5,400

11 – 16 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $5,450

12 – 12 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $4,900

13 – 14 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $3,750

14 – 25 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $4,600

15 – 6 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $4,650

16 – 8 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $3,600

17 – 23 – 17D – Zack Dohm – Cross Lanes, WV – $3,550

18 – 22 – 16 – Justin Rattliff – Campbellsville, KY – $3,500

19 – 11 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $4,700

20 – 15 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $4,400

21 – 24 – 5 – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $3,500

22 – 1 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $9,400

23 – 4 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $4,750

24 – 13 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $3,500

25 – 21 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $3,500

26 – 17 – 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – $3,500

27 – 20 – 18 – Shannon Babb – Moweaqua, IL – $3,500