Thornton Wins DTWC As Sheppard Clinches Lucas Oil Title

Ricky Thornton Jr. in victory lane at West Virginia Motor Speedway. (Heath Lawson/LOLMDS photo)

MINERAL WELLS, W.Va. (Oct. 18, 2026) - Ricky Thornton Jr. won his second ARP Dirt Track World Championship on Sunday night at West Virginia Motor Speedway, earning $100,000 for Koehler Motorsports.

His victory in the 46th annual event, which returned to West Virginia for the first time in 16 years, was his first in the crown jewel race since 2021.

Brandon Sheppard’s runner-up finish secured his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national championship by 55 points over Devin Moran, who finished third. The title was worth $250,000 to the West Virginia-based Rocket 1 team.

West Virginia native Zack Dohm was the highest-finishing driver from the Mountaineer State, advancing from 14th to fourth. Jonathan Davenport rounded out the top five.

Thornton started from the pole, but Hudson O’Neal jumped to the early lead in the 100-lap race. O’Neal and Thornton ran first and second for the opening 32 laps before Thornton took the lead for the first time.

Thornton led for just two laps before O’Neal regained the top spot. The pair continued to run one-two until O’Neal ran over a mud clod, damaging the right front of his car and causing him to push up the track.

O’Neal pitted, dropping him to the tail of the lead lap. Thornton regained the lead and remained in front when a caution with 10 laps to go set up a single-file restart with Moran and Sheppard directly behind him.

Sheppard passed Moran for second on lap 91, putting himself in position to claim the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship. He stayed ahead of Moran to the checkered flag to secure the title.

Meanwhile, Thornton celebrated his 66th career series victory in Wieland Victory Lane after winning his fourth straight LOLMDS race to close the season. He earned a total of $220,000 in winnings and bonuses for the night.

“He (O’Neal) was definitely better tonight. Really, early on, I was a little better than he was, and I could dictate his speed,” said Thornton. “The only way I could do that was to stay close enough and run the top whenever he went to the bottom, and the bottom whenever he went to the top. You can start getting them to run harder. He figured out the top, and I thought I wasn’t going to get a shot at him again. 

“I just cooled myself back down during that caution. I showed my nose and kept running harder and harder. I don’t know if he just got tight or what. I saw him kind of turn backward at the wall, and I got by him. I was hoping to come out as the leader.”

Completing the top 10 were Dan Ebert, Max Blair, O’Neal, Dennis Erb Jr., and Josh Rice.

Brandon Sheppard and crew celebrate the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship. (Heath Lawson/LOLMDS photo)

The finish:

LOLMDS A-Main (100 laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr. [1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [6]; 3. 99-Devin Moran [4]; 4. 17-Zack Dohm [14]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport [3]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert [7]; 7. 111-Max Blair [11]; 8. 71-Hudson O'Neal [2]; 9. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr. [8]; 10. 11-Josh Rice [9]; 11. 76-Brandon Overton [19]; 12. 22F-Chris Ferguson [10]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson [17]; 14. 6-Clay Harris [20]; 15. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck [26]; 16. 58-Garrett Alberson [12]; 17. 3S-Brian Shirley [25]; 18. 1T-Tyler Erb [16]; 19. 8-Dillon McCowan [5]; 20. 75-Eddie Carrier Jr. [13]; 21. 5T-Drake Troutman [23]; 22. 55-Benji Hicks [28]; 23. 93F-Carson Ferguson [18]; 24. 44-Dave Hess Jr. [24]; 25. 25Z-Mason Zeigler [22]; 26. 19R-Ryan Gustin [15]; 27. 17SS-Brenden Smith [27]; 28. 99H-Kyle Hardy [21].

ARTICLE CREDIT: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series