March 29, 2026 | By Lucas Oil Late Model Series PR

Moran Wins Third Straight Indiana Icebreaker at Brownstown

BROWNSTOWN, Ind—Devin Moran captured his third consecutive Indiana Icebreaker on Saturday night at Brownstown Speedway. The defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion earned $25,000 for his fourth series victory of the season. With the win, Moran now holds the series points lead heading into Sunday night’s race at Atomic Speedway.

Ricky Thornton Jr., the defending Jackson 100 champion at Brownstown, passed Max Blair late in the race to finish second. Blair rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third after starting eighth. Josh Rice, in his first full season with the series, charged from 17th to finish fourth, while Brandon Sheppard completed the top five.

Sheppard, a two-time Indiana Icebreaker winner, jumped to the lead at the start of the 50-lap feature and led the opening 14 laps. Moran, who started outside the front row, moved into second on lap six and stayed within striking distance. Following a caution on lap 12, Moran closed in and overtook Sheppard three laps later, then led the remainder of the race.

Moran, now a 28-time winner in Lucas Oil Victory Lane, drove from the fourth starting position to secure the victory.

“You never really know where to be on the track sometimes,” Moran said. “I felt like I had a really good car on that first run and was closing in on Sheppard, but we never got to lapped traffic. On restarts, he was kind of gapping me, so I knew I needed to make a move there. Once I had open air, I felt like we were going to be fine. I could see Ricky looking underneath me on restarts, but that’s about it.”

“In turns three and four, the top was completely gone - it was up over the edge. In turns one and two, there was still a lot left if you entered just right. It was a little choppy, so if you hit it correctly, it might have been faster, but it was also very treacherous. Once I built a gap, there was no reason to take that risk.”

Thornton, who won in his last appearance at Brownstown last September, slipped past Blair in the closing laps to secure the runner-up finish.

“He (Moran) was really good - he could go wherever he needed to,” Thornton said. “I felt like I needed clean air and had to try something different. It seems like he has a lot more side bite than we do. Their program has been really strong the last couple of years, and now they’re clicking off wins. Hopefully we can improve tomorrow at Atomic.”

Blair, who held second from lap 33 until Thornton’s late pass, now has finishes of second and third in his last two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series races.

“I felt like I had a good car today—one we could have won with,” Blair said. “I got to Devin and then just started making mistakes. I think I got out-experienced a little bit. We’ve got a strong race car, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going. I really think I had something for him. He made a great move in lapped traffic, splitting a couple of cars, and I felt like that was the turning point. I probably should have settled back in, but I kept pushing. It seems like Ricky has passed me late for a podium spot a few times this year.”

The winning Double Down Motorsports-owned Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Millwood Plumbing, C&W Trucking, Phillips CPA, Bomag, Haulin’, Haskell’s, CarSourceAuto.com, Hazen Services, Anthony’s Pizza, Advantage Lawn Care, Red Oak Pub, McHugh Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Elliott Farms, and Pee Wee’s Wrecker Service.

Completing the top ten were Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Overton, Brenden Smith, Brian Shirley, and Garrett Alberson.


Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary

29th Annual Indiana Icebreaker

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Dan Ebert | 12.773 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Sheppard | 12.638 seconds (Overall)

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 60-Dan Ebert[1]; 3. 93L-Cory Lawler[3]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 5. 11-Josh Rice[4]; 6. 38JU-Jake Little[7]; 7. 1C-Chad Stapleton[6]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 71-Hudson O'Neal[4]; 4. 4G-Tripp Gerrald[1]; 5. 89-Mike Spatola[5]; 6. (DNS) 48J-Jug Wethington; 7. (DNS) 40B-Kyle Bronson

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[3]; 3. 13-Dallon Murty[2]; 4. C4-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 5. 1G-Devin Gilpin[5]; 6. 11C-Tyler Collins[7]; 7. 19M-Brenden Smith[4]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 2. 111-Max Blair[3]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[6]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 6. 14M-Willie Madison[7]; 7. 12J-Jason Jameson[1]

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 11-Josh Rice[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 3. 1G-Devin Gilpin[2]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[3]; 5. 11C-Tyler Collins[6]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[11]; 7. 1C-Chad Stapleton[9]; 8. 48J-Jug Wethington[7]; 9. 38JU-Jake Little[5]; 10. 19M-Brenden Smith[10]; 11. 14M-Willie Madison[8]; 12. 12J-Jason Jameson[12]


29th Annual Indiana Icebreaker Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Pos - Start - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Earnings
1 - 4 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - $26,300
2 - 1 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - $11,300
3 - 8 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - $6,900
4 - 17 - 11 - Josh Rice - Crittenden, KY - $4,900
5 - 2 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - $4,400
6 - 11 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - $4,100
7 - 6 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - $3,400
8 - 23 - 19M - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - $3,200
9 - 16 - 3S - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - $3,100
10 - 7 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - $3,000
11 - 20 - 89 - Mike Spatola - Manhattan, IL - $2,000
12 - 22 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - $2,800
13 - 3 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - $2,700
14 - 18 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - $2,600
15 - 24 - 12J - Jason Jameson - Lawrenceburg, IN - $1,600
16 - 14 - C4 - Freddie Carpenter - Parkersburg, WV - $1,500
17 - 10 - 13 - Dallon Murty - Chelsea, IA - $1,500
18 - 5 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - $2,400
19 - 9 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - $1,500
20 - 12 - 8 - Dillon McCowan - Urbana, MO - $2,400
21 - 13 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - $1,500
22 - 19 - 1G - Devin Gilpin - Columbus, IN - $1,500
23 - 21 - 11C - Tyler Collins - North Vernon, IN - $1,500
24 - 15 - 4G - Tripp Gerrald - Versailles, KY - $1,500


Race Statistics 

Entrants: 28

Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
MD3 Lap Leaders: Brandon Sheppard (Laps 1-14); Devin Moran (Laps 15-50)
Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Devin Moran
Wieland Feature Winner: Devin Moran

Margin of Victory: 1.633 seconds

Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Tyler Collins (Initial Start); Tripp Gerrald, Tyler Collins (Lap 7); Cory Lawler, Brian Shirley, Tyler Collins, Freddie Carpenter (Lap 8); Tripp Gerrald, Tyler Collins, Kyle Bronson, Daniel Hilsabeck (Lap 9); Dillon McCowan (Lap 12); Cory Lawler (Lap 17); Dan Ebert, Dillon McCowan, Daniel Hilsabeck (Lap 31)

MyRacePass Series Provisional: Brenden Smith
Fast Time Provisional: Jason Jameson
Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Track Provisional: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Max Blair
Penske Shocks Top 5: Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Max Blair, Josh Rice, Brandon Sheppard
Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Max Blair
PEM 4th Place Feature: Josh Rice
Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Brandon Sheppard
Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Brandon Overton
Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Mike Spatola
Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Clay Harris
XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Jason Jameson
Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Brenden Smith (Advanced 15 positions)
MD3 Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (36 Laps)
Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Hudson O’Neal
O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/a
Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard | Lap 1 | 14.858 seconds
FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Clay Harris
Victory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Devin Moran
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Chuck Kimble
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Race Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Brandon Sheppard | 12.782 seconds

Time of Race: 38 minutes 36 seconds


Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:

Pos - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Points - Earnings
1 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - 1440 - $103,900
2 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - 1410 - $81,500
3 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - 1310 - $34,850
4 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - 1275 - $34,050
5 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - 1245 - $30,900
6 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - 1215 - $32,600
7 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - 1210 - $40,900
8 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - 1145 - $26,500
9 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - 1145 - $18,175
10 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - 1100 - $20,550
11 - 3s - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - 1065 - $18,600
12 - 11 - Josh Rice - Crittenden, KY - 1050 - $16,325
13 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - 1030 - $18,975
14 - 19M - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - 935 - $13,000
15 - 8 - Dillon McCowan - Urbana, MO - 915 - $9,475
16 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - 865 - $13,125
17 - 13 - Dallon Murty - Chelsea, IA - 815 - $7,950
18 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - 775 - $9,225
19 - C4 - Freddie Carpenter - Parkersburg, WV - 725 - $2,600