Ricky Thornton Jr. wins from 9th starting spot in Friday Gateway prelim
ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The race toward Saturday's coveted Gateway Arch trophies at the Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals continues Friday at The Dome at America's Center in Downtown St. Louis, Mo., as the second of two split-field prelims take shape for the Late Model and Modified divisions.
A night after Bobby Pierce topped a 62-car Late Model field and Ricky Thornton Jr. topped a 31-car Modified field, the remaining half of the competition across the two divisions vie for their spot in the 18-car prelims.
Friday's prelim Late Model roster, selected by Emma Sommer — wife of event founder Cody Sommer — in the new draft-style format — is anchored by Ricky Thornton Jr. and two-time event champ Tyler Carpenter.
Three-time Lucas Oil champ Jonathan Davenport, two-time event runner-up Tanner English, 2023 Lucas Oil champ Hudson O'Neal, Eldora Dream prelim winner this year in Josh Rice, 2023 Dome modified champ Drake Troutman, four-time Lucas Oil champ Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, Mike Marlar and NASCAR Cup driver Carson Hocevar are among contenders racing Thursday as well.
Among regional drivers who pose as Dome darkhorses racing Friday: Gordy Gundaker (former Dome prelim winner), Ryan Unzicker (runner-up twice in Dome prelims), Bob Gardner (second in 2021 Dome prelim), Chad Zobrist (two podiums in Dome prelims), Jason Welshan (five top-fives in 13 Dome starts), Rusty Schlenk (second in 2019 Dome prelim), Steve Sheppard (10th in last year's Dome finale), Cody Bauer (2022 Dome prelim winner) and Patrik Daniel (third in 2019 Dome prelim).
FRIDAY RESULTS
Super Late Models
Velocita A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[9]; 2. 5W-Mark Whitener[1]; 3. 19M-Brenden Smith[6]; 4. 17-Zack Dohm[10]; 5. 99E-Dan Ebert[7]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[15]; 7. 11R-Josh Rice[5]; 8. 6-Clay Harris[12]; 9. 49T-Jake Timm[16]; 10. 1G-Devin Gilpin[18]; 11. 77-Carson Hocevar[17]; 12. 7-Donald McIntosh[14]; 13. (DNF) 22*-Drake Troutman[4]; 14. (DNF) 14-Wil Herrington[13]; 15. (DNF) 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 16. (DNF) 96-Tanner English[8]; 17. (DNF) 71-Hudson O'Neal[2]; 18. (DNF) 28-Tyler Carpenter[11]
Mittler Bros Machine Tool B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 14-Wil Herrington[4]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 77-Carson Hocevar[2]; 4. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[5]; 5. 21-Devon Morgan[3]; 6. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[10]; 7. 66K-Dylan Knowles[8]; 8. 27K-Greg Kimmons[6]; 9. 20-Jimmy Owens[9]; 10. 91-Rusty Schlenk[11]; 11. (DNF) 17A-Austin Howes[7]; 12. (DNF) 22-Bree Whittmore[12]
UCoat It B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 7-Donald McIntosh[1]; 2. 49T-Jake Timm[2]; 3. 1G-Devin Gilpin[4]; 4. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[6]; 5. 130-Chase Osterhoff[5]; 6. 19X-Cody Bauer[9]; 7. 128-Kylan Garner[3]; 8. 66-Jody Knowles[11]; 9. 157-Mike Marlar[12]; 10. 555-Brock Pinkerous[8]; 11. 9Z-Jayme Zidar[10]; 12. 114-Evan Koehler[7]
Matman Designs Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11R-Josh Rice[1]; 2. 99E-Dan Ebert[4]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 4. 14-Wil Herrington[3]; 5. 17A-Austin Howes[5]; 6. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[8]; 7. 24-Ryan Unzicker[6]; 8. 3W-Brennon Willard[9]; 9. 2B-Jordan Barbee[10]; 10. (DNF) 3R-Brent Robinson[7]; 11. (DNS) 10J-Joseph Joiner
NDLMHOF Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19M-Brenden Smith[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 3. 77-Carson Hocevar[4]; 4. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[3]; 5. 66K-Dylan Knowles[5]; 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk[7]; 7. 29-Jason Welshan[8]; 8. 995-Manny Falcon[6]; 9. 32F-Derek Fetter[9]; 10. 11B-Lance Brasington[10]
Stakt Products Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Hudson O'Neal[1]; 2. 28-Tyler Carpenter[2]; 3. 21-Devon Morgan[5]; 4. 27K-Greg Kimmons[7]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 6. 22-Bree Whittmore[10]; 7. 55E-Eli Johnson[3]; 8. 78-Chad Zobrist[6]; 9. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson[9]; 10. (DNF) 4G-Bob Gardner[8]
FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 2. 96-Tanner English[1]; 3. 7-Donald McIntosh[2]; 4. 1G-Devin Gilpin[6]; 5. 114-Evan Koehler[5]; 6. 9Z-Jayme Zidar[7]; 7. B89-Dakota Smith[8]; 8. 19-Lucas Lowery[10]; 9. (DNF) 8-Kyle Steffens[9]; 10. (DNF) 75-Patrik Daniel[3]
Superior Fuel Cells Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 5W-Mark Whitener[2]; 2. 17-Zack Dohm[4]; 3. 49T-Jake Timm[7]; 4. 130-Chase Osterhoff[8]; 5. 555-Brock Pinkerous[1]; 6. 66-Jody Knowles[3]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[10]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 9. (DNF) 1-Amelia Eisenschenk[6]; 10. (DNS) 84-Myles Moos
Safecraft Safety Equipment Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[4]; 3. 128-Kylan Garner[2]; 4. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[5]; 5. 19X-Cody Bauer[6]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[10]; 7. 16-Rusty Griffaw[8]; 8. 111-Jon Woods[9]; 9. 19T-James Trantina III[7]; 10. (DNF) 76-Brandon Overton[3]
Hellraizer Jacks Qualifying A: 1. 11R-Josh Rice, 00:11.523[24]; 2. 19M-Brenden Smith, 00:11.690[11]; 3. 71-Hudson O'Neal, 00:11.749[12]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 00:11.772[7]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:11.781[21]; 6. 28-Tyler Carpenter, 00:11.798[15]; 7. 14-Wil Herrington, 00:11.824[6]; 8. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr, 00:11.846[22]; 9. 55E-Eli Johnson, 00:11.880[4]; 10. 99E-Dan Ebert, 00:11.950[31]; 11. 77-Carson Hocevar, 00:11.951[30]; 12. 20-Jimmy Owens, 00:11.962[26]; 13. 17A-Austin Howes, 00:11.979[2]; 14. 66K-Dylan Knowles, 00:11.990[10]; 15. 21-Devon Morgan, 00:11.994[1]; 16. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:12.001[17]; 17. 995-Manny Falcon, 00:12.060[5]; 18. 78-Chad Zobrist, 00:12.082[19]; 19. 3R-Brent Robinson, 00:12.109[23]; 20. 91-Rusty Schlenk, 00:12.121[14]; 21. 27K-Greg Kimmons, 00:12.173[13]; 22. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 00:12.187[16]; 23. 29-Jason Welshan, 00:12.203[18]; 24. 4G-Bob Gardner, 00:12.217[20]; 25. 3W-Brennon Willard, 00:12.251[8]; 26. 32F-Derek Fetter, 00:12.342[28]; 27. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson, 00:12.419[29]; 28. 2B-Jordan Barbee, 00:12.574[27]; 29. 11B-Lance Brasington, 00:12.974[9]; 30. 22-Bree Whittmore, 00:13.011[25]; 31. (DNS) 10J-Joseph Joiner
Hellraizer Jacks Qualifying B: 1. 96-Tanner English, 00:11.652[1]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous, 00:11.799[9]; 3. 22*-Drake Troutman, 00:11.851[6]; 4. 7-Donald McIntosh, 00:12.025[5]; 5. 5W-Mark Whitener, 00:12.060[11]; 6. 128-Kylan Garner, 00:12.085[2]; 7. 75-Patrik Daniel, 00:12.138[7]; 8. 66-Jody Knowles, 00:12.177[3]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton, 00:12.183[23]; 10. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 00:12.212[19]; 11. 17-Zack Dohm, 00:12.264[10]; 12. 19T-James Trantina III, 00:12.265[15]; 13. 114-Evan Koehler, 00:12.273[17]; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 00:12.284[25]; 15. 6-Clay Harris, 00:12.300[12]; 16. 1G-Devin Gilpin, 00:12.325[18]; 17. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk, 00:12.336[4]; 18. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford, 00:12.347[28]; 19. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 00:12.382[16]; 20. 49T-Jake Timm, 00:12.412[20]; 21. 16-Rusty Griffaw, 00:12.456[14]; 22. B89-Dakota Smith, 00:12.532[22]; 23. 130-Chase Osterhoff, 00:12.614[29]; 24. 19X-Cody Bauer, 00:12.692[21]; 25. 8-Kyle Steffens, 00:12.765[30]; 26. 81-Jason Riggs, 00:13.005[26]; 27. 111-Jon Woods, 00:13.235[24]; 28. 19-Lucas Lowery, 00:13.332[27]; 29. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 30. 157-Mike Marlar[13]
Modifieds
Summit Racing Equipment A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[6]; 2. 6-Ryan Ayers[4]; 3. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[2]; 4. 15W-Alex Williamson[5]; 5. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[8]; 6. 20-Rodney Sanders[10]; 7. 68-Adam Stricker[3]; 8. 442-Aaron Johnson[13]; 9. 35-Michael Altobelli[7]; 10. 40D-Blake Adams[15]; 11. 44-Dave Hess Jr[12]; 12. 99-Blake Brown[11]; 13. 13-Charlie Mefford[18]; 14. 17-Nick Snell[16]; 15. 12-Jeff Reay[14]; 16. 115-Brandon Smith[17]; 17. (DNF) 09-Michael Ledford[9]; 18. (DNF) 151-Tim Ward[1]
Abilene Race Rads B Feature (8 Laps): 1. 115-Brandon Smith[2]; 2. 13-Charlie Mefford[6]; 3. J82-Treb Jacoby[8]; 4. 98-Joshua Hawkins[4]; 5. 21K-Kyle Brown[10]; 6. 30-Jordan Grabouski[13]; 7. 74M-Manix Furqueron[7]; 8. 24C-Jim Chisholm[11]; 9. 94-Austin Rettig[12]; 10. 96M-Mike McKinney[16]; 11. 3G-Haleigh Gross[15]; 12. C4-Dan Ems[14]; 13. (DNF) 43LV-Logan Veloz[1]; 14. (DNF) 44B-KC Burdette[3]; 15. (DNF) 45-Kyle Hammer[5]; 16. (DNF) 97-Houston Johnson[9]
Truform Race Products Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Ryan Ayers[1]; 2. 15W-Alex Williamson[3]; 3. 09-Michael Ledford[2]; 4. 442-Aaron Johnson[7]; 5. 43LV-Logan Veloz[6]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer[4]; 7. 97-Houston Johnson[5]; 8. 30-Jordan Grabouski[8]
Deatherage Opticians Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[2]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison[1]; 3. 20-Rodney Sanders[6]; 4. 12-Jeff Reay[4]; 5. 115-Brandon Smith[8]; 6. 13-Charlie Mefford[5]; 7. (DNF) 21K-Kyle Brown[3]; 8. (DNF) C4-Dan Ems[7]
Dirtcarlift Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 151-Tim Ward[1]; 2. 35-Michael Altobelli[2]; 3. 99-Blake Brown[3]; 4. 40D-Blake Adams[4]; 5. 44B-KC Burdette[6]; 6. 74M-Manix Furqueron[7]; 7. 24C-Jim Chisholm[8]; 8. 3G-Haleigh Gross[5]
Zamp Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 68-Adam Stricker[1]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[4]; 3. 44-Dave Hess Jr[3]; 4. 17-Nick Snell[5]; 5. 98-Joshua Hawkins[6]; 6. J82-Treb Jacoby[8]; 7. 94-Austin Rettig[7]; 8. 96M-Mike McKinney[2]
Wehrs Qualifying: 1. 6-Ryan Ayers, 00:12.631[7]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison, 00:12.707[5]; 3. 151-Tim Ward, 00:12.721[1]; 4. 68-Adam Stricker, 00:12.722[4]; 5. 09-Michael Ledford, 00:12.758[13]; 6. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr, 00:12.788[22]; 7. 35-Michael Altobelli, 00:12.803[10]; 8. 96M-Mike McKinney, 00:12.855[2]; 9. 15W-Alex Williamson, 00:12.900[16]; 10. 21K-Kyle Brown, 00:12.926[8]; 11. 99-Blake Brown, 00:12.956[27]; 12. 44-Dave Hess Jr, 00:12.957[9]; 13. 45-Kyle Hammer, 00:12.980[6]; 14. 12-Jeff Reay, 00:13.003[20]; 15. 40D-Blake Adams, 00:13.003[11]; 16. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson, 00:13.014[12]; 17. 97-Houston Johnson, 00:13.028[30]; 18. 13-Charlie Mefford, 00:13.033[14]; 19. 3G-Haleigh Gross, 00:13.050[3]; 20. 17-Nick Snell, 00:13.062[32]; 21. 43LV-Logan Veloz, 00:13.065[17]; 22. 20-Rodney Sanders, 00:13.069[15]; 23. 44B-KC Burdette, 00:13.098[23]; 24. 98-Joshua Hawkins, 00:13.099[28]; 25. 442-Aaron Johnson, 00:13.144[18]; 26. C4-Dan Ems, 00:13.203[19]; 27. 74M-Manix Furqueron, 00:13.220[26]; 28. 94-Austin Rettig, 00:13.223[24]; 29. 30-Jordan Grabouski, 00:13.247[29]; 30. 115-Brandon Smith, 00:13.318[31]; 31. 24C-Jim Chisholm, 00:13.403[25]; 32. (DNF) J82-Treb Jacoby[21]
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