September 15, 2023 | By Bill Wright

Thornton Jr. makes last lap pass for opening night win at Late Model Knoxville Nationals

Knoxville, IA —  Ricky Thornton Jr. emerged victorious with a last lap slide job, edging Brandon Overton on Night #1 of the 19th Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals Presented by Your Life Iowa. The whole night saw exciting racing from beginning to end. The Chandler, Arizona driver nailed down the $7,000 prize, and emerged as the high point driver for the night (Point totals below). It was Thornton’s first late model victory here, but he did win the prestigious Modified Harris Clash here in 2018.

Daulton Wilson led the 25-lap main event early, with Earl Pearson Jr. and Devin Moran in tow. Defending Late Model Nationals champion, Jonathan Davenport, entered the top three on lap two, and passed Pearson for second on lap three. Brian Shirley was running sixth on lap five when he slowed and pulled off.

Moran re-entered the top three, getting by Pearson on lap seven, while Mike Marlar entered the top five on lap seven. Marlar’s charge continued into fourth before Wilson entered lapped traffic on lap 11. Marlar passed Moran for third using the low side on lap 13.

Up front, Davenport was reeling in Wilson. When Wilson bicycled across turn two on lap 17, Pearson shot under to the point. However, his lead was short-lived when he tagged the frontstretch wall and again in turn one, ending his night and bringing caution. Brandon Overton passed Marlar for second on the same lap.

Wilson retook the lead ahead of Overton, Marlar, Moran and Thornton. Thornton and Marlar battled for third with Thornton taking the spot after an exchange with five to go. Overton ran down Wilson and took the lead on lap 21, bringing Thornton with him into second.

A final caution flew with three to go, when a sixth running Hudson O’Neal spun in turn one. Overton led Thornton, Wilson, Marlar and Moran back to green. Wilson took second from Thornton, but when the white flag flew, Thornton was back by.

Thornton sized up Overton and slid by in turns one and two on the final lap, winning at the checkers by a half second. Wilson also made a last lap pass of Overton for second. Moran was fourth and Marlar fifth. Chris Ferguson, Tyler Erb, Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard and Pearson rounded out the top ten. Marlar and Thornton set quick time in their respective groups. Max Blair, Ferguson, Davenport and Chad Simpson were heat winners. Chris Simpson and Tim McCreadie claimed the B mains.

“This is pretty awesome,” said Thornton of his last lap pass. “I didn’t know if we’d get the job done or not. I felt like we had a really good car, I just had to bide my time there as long as I could and not knock the right front off getting under guys. It ended up working out. I wasn’t sure how close I’d be to Brad there in turn one, but I decided I’d try a slider there in turn one, and it worked out for us. I love this place. I always love coming here.”

Join us tomorrow night for Night #2 of the 19th Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals Presented by Your Life Iowa! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

19th Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals Presented by Your Life Iowa Night #1 Results

Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (3), 17.109; 2. 22F, Christopher Ferguson, Mt. Holly, NC (1), 17.214; 3. 99, Devin Moran, Dresden, OH (14), 17.325; 4. 18D, Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, NC (9), 17.352; 5. 8S, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (2), 17.412; 6. 4, Brandon Overton, Evans, GA (13), 17.434; 7. 111B, Max Blair, Centerville, PA (7), 17.531; 8. 40B, Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL (15), 17.746; 9. 32, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (19), 17.776; 10. 58, Garrett Alberson, Las Cruces, NM (16), 17.829; 11. 1T, Tyler Erb, Houston, TX (12), 17.836; 12. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (4), 17.890; 13. 99B, Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA (5), 17.960; 14. 22M, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (11), 18.051; 15. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (17), 18.221; 16. 21B, Rich Bell, Sheffield, IL (10), 18.268; 17. 21M, Luke Merfeld, Dubuque, IA (20), 18.351; 18. 7, Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE (6), 18.519; 19. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Orland Park, IL (8), 18.542; 20. 6, Al Humphrey, Giltner, NE (18), 18.871

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 20RT, Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ (6), 17.396; 2. 1H, Hudson O'Neal, Martinsville, IN (15), 17.676; 3. 49, Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA (19), 17.755; 4. 30, Todd Cooney, Des Moines, IA (8), 17.806; 5. 46, Earl Pearson Jr., Jacksonville, FL (9), 17.915; 6. 11, Spencer Hughes, Meridian, MS (7), 17.980; 7. B5, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (4), 17.999; 8. 25, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (16), 18.119; 9. 22, Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, IA (5), 18.123; 10. 19R, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (2), 18.158; 11. 7W, Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB, Can. (1), 18.169; 12. 16, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (13), 18.254; 13. 62, Justin Zeitner, Malvern, IA (12), 18.288; 14. 98, Corey Hedgecock, Loudon, TN (10), 18.326; 15. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (3), 18.387; 16. 1X, Aaron Marrant, Orrick, MO (11), 18.649; 17. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (14), 18.686; 18. 51, Matt Furman, Iowa City, IA (18), 18.975; 19. 10W, Junior Coover, Norfolk, NE (17), 19.257; 20. 17, Tim Simpson, Iowa City, IA (20), 19.345

Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Max Blair (3); 2. Devin Moran (5); 3. Brian Shirley (4); 4. Mike Marlar (6); 5. Tyler Erb (1) / 6. Chris Simpson (2); 7. Billy Moyer (8); 8. Luke Merfeld (9); 9. Frank Heckenast Jr. (10); 10. Boom Briggs (7)

Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.0: 1. Christopher Ferguson (6); 2. Chase Junghans (1); 3. Kyle Bronson (3); 4. Brandon Overton (4); 5. Daulton Wilson (5) / 6. Garrett Alberson (2); 7. Ross Robinson (7); 8. Al Humphrey (9); 9. Rich Bell (8) DNS - 10. Charlie McKenna

Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:46.0: 1. Jonathan Davenport (5); 2. Brandon Sheppard (3); 3. Ricky Thornton Jr. (6); 4. Earl Pearson Jr. (4); 5. Daniel Hilsabeck (2) / 6. Justin Zeitner (7); 7. Tim McCreadie (8); 8. Tim Lance (9); 9. Junior Coover (10); 10. Ricky Weiss (1)

Heat four (started), 12 Laps, 3:51.0: 1. Chad Simpson (3); 2. Spencer Hughes (4); 3. Ryan Gustin (2); 4. Tyler Bruening (1); 5. Hudson O'Neal (6) / 6. Corey Hedgecock (7); 7. Matt Furman (9); 8. Todd Cooney (5); 9. Aaron Marrant (8); 10. Tim Simpson (10)

B main one (started), 15 Laps, 4:50.0: 1. Chris Simpson (1); 2. Billy Moyer (3) / 3. Garrett Alberson (2); 4. Ross Robinson (4); 5. Frank Heckenast Jr. (7) / 6. Boom Briggs (9); 7. Al Humphrey (6); 8. Luke Merfeld (5); 9. Charlie McKenna (8) DNS - 10. Rich Bell

B main two (started), 15 Laps, 4:58.0: 1. Tim McCreadie (3); 2. Tim Lance (5) / 3. Todd Cooney (6); 4. Justin Zeitner (1); 5. Ricky Weiss (9); 6. Matt Furman (4); 7. Corey Hedgecock (2); 8. Aaron Marrant (8); 9. Tim Simpson (10); 10. Junior Coover (7)

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr. (8); 2. Daulton Wilson (1); 3. Brandon Overton (11); 4. Devin Moran (3); 5. Mike Marlar (7); 6. Christopher Ferguson (5); 7. Tyler Erb (17); 8. Ryan Gustin (18); 9. Brandon Sheppard (12); 10. Earl Pearson Jr. (2); 11. Chris Simpson (21); 12. Chad Simpson (14); 13. Spencer Hughes (10); 14. Billy Moyer (23); 15. Tim McCreadie (22); 16. Tim Lance (24); 17. Hudson O'Neal (6); 18. Max Blair (13); 19. Kyle Bronson (15); 20. Daniel Hilsabeck (16); 21. Tyler Bruening (20); 22. Chase Junghans (19); 23. Jonathan Davenport (4); 24. Brian Shirley (9). Lap Leaders: Wilson 1-16, Davenport 17, Wilson 18-20, Overton 21-24, Thornton 25. Hard-charger: Gustin.

Thursdqy Night Points

1. Ricky Thornton Jr. 494
2. Christopher Ferguson 488
3. Devin Moran 487
4. Mike Marlar 483
5. Daulton Wilson 480
6. Brandon Overton 477
7. Barndon Sheppard 469
8. Earl Pearason Jr. 465
9. Chad Simpson 464
10. Spencer Hughes 463
11. Ryan Gustin 462
12. Tyler Erb 456
13. Hudson O’Neal 454
14. Max Blair 454
15. Jonathan Davenport 452
16. Chris Simpson 449
17. Kyle Bronson 444
18. Brian Shirley 440
19. Daniel Hilsabeck 434
20. Chase Junghans 433
21. Tyler Bruening 429
22. Billy Moyer 428
23. Tim McCreadie 426
24. Todd Cooney 419
25. Tim Lance 417
26. Garret Alberson 413
27. Justin Zeitner 405
28. Corey Hedgecock 397
29. Ricky Weiss 395
30. Ross Robinson 392
31. Boom Briggs 389
32. Matt Furman 388
33. Luke Merfeld 383
34. Frank Heckenast Jr. 382
35. Aaron Marrant 382
36. Charlie McKenna 381
37. Al Humphrey 379
38. Rich Bell 378
39. Junior Coover 372
40. Tim Simpson 369