Moran Goes Back-to-Back in Melvin L. Joseph Memorial at Georgetown
GEORGETOWN, Del.—Devin Moran captured the Melvin L. Joseph Memorial for the second consecutive year Friday night at Georgetown Speedway, taking home the $21,049 top prize in the feature event honoring the track’s founder.
The defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion started fifth and charged to the lead on lap seven, passing Hudson O’Neal before pacing the remainder of the 49-lap event for his fifth Series win of the 2026 season.
O’Neal finished second, while ninth-starting Max Blair rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third. Brandon Sheppard finished fourth, and Josh Rice impressed in his Georgetown debut, advancing from 16th to complete the top five.
O’Neal grabbed the early lead with Ricky Thornton Jr. in pursuit. After leading the first six laps, O’Neal was overtaken by Moran, who made a decisive move to the front on lap seven. Thornton’s night came to an abrupt end shortly after when a broken driveshaft forced him to retire to the infield.
Following the restart, Moran steadily extended his advantage over O’Neal and Blair. He ultimately crossed the finish line 0.570 seconds ahead of O’Neal, extending his championship points lead to 35 as the Series heads to Hagerstown Speedway on Sunday after Saturday’s event at BAPS Motor Speedway was canceled due to weather.
Moran’s victory marked the 29th of his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series career, capping off a challenging night filled with adversity.
“Today was pretty much what racing is like sometimes—we went from low to high, then back to low again,” said the Dresden, Ohio native. “We couldn’t hot lap, had to pull out a backup car, set fast time, and even had an oil line come off that caused a fire under the hood. To come back from all that and win is pretty special.”
“I want to thank Garrett Alberson—he offered us one of his cars if we needed it—and the Rocket 1 team for helping us throughout the night. It was a tough one, but we kept fighting.”
“I wasn’t sure how good the top would be. This is a brand-new car and motor, but we overcame a lot tonight. I was excited to go to BAPS tomorrow, but unfortunately that’s canceled. We’ll be ready for Hagerstown.”
O’Neal, who entered the race as the nation’s winningest dirt late model driver with 11 victories, came up just short of his fourth Series win of the year.
“He showed us a different part of the racetrack,” O’Neal said of Moran. “I thought the top would dominate early, but by the time I realized he was making the bottom work, he was already by me. He did a great job, and his car was really good. We just need to be a little better to start the race.”
Blair’s third-place finish moved him up to fourth in the championship standings.
“I thought I had a shot—I had just passed Garrett (Alberson), but we didn’t get that lap in,” Blair said. “I wish we had one more lap so I could’ve lined up in the second row, but it all worked out. We weren’t great in the heat race, but we improved for the feature.”
Moran’s winning Double Down Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and backed by Big River Steel, Millwood Plumbing, C&W Trucking, Phillips CPA, BOMAG, Haulin’ Haskell’s, CarSourceAuto.com, Anthony’s Pizza, Hazen Services, Northeastern Fabrication, McHugh Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Elliott Farms, and Pee Wee’s Wrecker Service.
Completing the top ten were Carson Ferguson, Daniel Hilsabeck, Garrett Alberson, Clay Harris, and Dillon McCowan.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
The Melvin L. Joseph Memorial
Georgetown Speedway | Georgetown, DE
Friday, April 24, 2026
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Devin Moran | 17.566 seconds (Overall)
Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal | 17.657 seconds
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 111-Max Blair[3]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 55L-Donald Lingo Jr[6]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[5]; 7. (DNS) 01-Matt Glanden
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 5. 4S-Danny Snyder[6]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 7. (DNS) 22*-Drake Troutman
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O'Neal[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 4. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 5. 00-Willie Milliken[5]; 6. 11AC-Trevor Collins[7]; 7. C4-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 8. 121-Tristin Neiderer[8]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 3. 24-Rick Eckert[5]; 4. 11-Josh Rice[3]; 5. 19M-Brenden Smith[4]; 6. 15K-Kyle Lee[6]; 7. KB-Kerry King[7]
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 55L-Donald Lingo Jr[1]; 2. 4S-Danny Snyder[3]; 3. 19M-Brenden Smith[4]; 4. 00-Willie Milliken[2]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 11AC-Trevor Collins[6]; 7. C4-Freddie Carpenter[9]; 8. 93L-Cory Lawler[5]; 9. 121-Tristin Neiderer[11]; 10. 15K-Kyle Lee[8]; 11. KB-Kerry King[10]; 12. (DNS) 01-Matt Glanden; 13. (DNS) 22*-Drake Troutman
The Melvin L. Joseph Memorial Feature Finish (49 Laps):
Pos - Start - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Earnings
1 - 5 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - $22,449
2 - 2 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - $8,300
3 - 9 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - $5,900
4 - 4 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - $4,900
5 - 16 - 11 - Josh Rice - Crittenden, KY - $4,000
6 - 7 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - $3,400
7 - 13 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - $2,400
8 - 3 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - $3,200
9 - 14 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - $3,100
10 - 8 - 8 - Dillon McCowan - Urbana, MO - $3,000
11 - 10 - 3S - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - $2,900
12 - 21 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - $2,700
13 - 20 - 0 - Willie Milliken - Roanoke Rapids, NC - $1,600
14 - 22 - 11AC - Trevor Collins - Seaford, DE - $1,500
15 - 6 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - $2,300
16 - 24 - C4 - Freddie Carpenter - Parkersburg, WV - $1,300
17 - 11 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - $2,100
18 - 23 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - $1,100
19 - 19 - 19M - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - $1,900
20 - 17 - 55L - Donald Lingo Jr - Millsboro, DE - $1,000
21 - 18 - 4S - Danny Snyder - Green Lane, PA - $1,000
22 - 15 - 7 - Ross Robinson - Georgetown, DE - $1,000
23 - 12 - 24 - Rick Eckert - York, PA - $1,000
24 - 1 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - $2,400
Race Statistics
Entrants: 29
Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
MD3 Lap Leaders: Hudson O’Neal (Laps 1-6); Devin Moran (Laps 7-49)
Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Devin Moran
Wieland Feature Winner: Devin Moran
Margin of Victory: 0.570 seconds
Hellraizer Jacks Cautions: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 7); Donald Lingo, Jr., Ross Robinson (Lap 8); Brenden Smith (Lap 12); Dan Ebert (Lap 19); Ross Robinson (Lap 22)
MyRacePass Series Provisional: Cory Lawler; Freddie Carpenter
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Track Provisional: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair
Penske Shocks Top 5: Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Brandon Sheppard, Josh Rice
Behrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair
PEM 4th Place Feature: Brandon Sheppard
Diversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Josh Rice
Wilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Daniel Hilsabeck
Wehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Brian Shirley
Velocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Willie Milliken
XS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Brandon Overton
Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Josh Rice (Advanced 11 positions)
MD3 Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (43 Laps)
Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’Neal
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Devin Moran
O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Josh Rice
Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Devin Moran | Lap 7 | 18.646 seconds
FK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
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: Hudson O’Neal | 17.521 seconds
Time of Race: 30 minutes 35 seconds
Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:
Pos - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Points - Earnings
1 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - 1885 - $129,949
2 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - 1850 - $93,600
3 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - 1685 - $43,050
4 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - 1670 - $40,700
5 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - 1650 - $53,700
6 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - 1650 - $52,750
7 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - 1560 - $38,200
8 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - 1540 - $33,000
9 - 11 - Josh Rice - Crittenden, KY - 1465 - $25,225
10 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - 1465 - $23,075
11 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - 1435 - $25,850
12 - 3s - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - 1420 - $24,500
13 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - 1350 - $23,975
14 - 8 - Dillon McCowan - Urbana, MO - 1225 - $14,375
15 - 19M - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - 1215 - $17,000
16 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - 1200 - $16,625
17 - 93L - Cory Lawler - Hanover, PA - 1030 - $10,425
18 - C4 - Freddie Carpenter - Parkersburg, WV - 1000 - $4,900
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