Dirt on Dirt - First Charlotte victory pays Thornton $15,000

November 3

The Dirt Track at Charlotte,

Concord, NC

Sanction: World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series (World Finals) - $15,000

Information provided by: Kevin Kovac, Kyle McFadden, series and track reports (last updated November 4, 10:27 am)

First Charlotte victory pays Thornton $15,000

World Finals

Ricky Thornton Jr.
Dale McDowell
Chris Madden
Tim McCreadie
Brian Shirley
Mike Marlar
Scott Bloomquist
Garrett Smith
Cade Dillard
Daulton Wilson
Bobby Pierce
Hudson O'Neal
Jimmy Owens
Nick Hoffman
Carson Ferguson
Spencer Hughes
Chris Ferguson
Brandon Overton
Brandon Sheppard
Kyle Bronson
Dennis Erb Jr.
Shane Clanton
Brent Larson
Jonathan Davenport
Tanner English
Ethan Dotson
Ryan Gustin
Drake Troutman

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Zach Yost

The SSI Motorsports team in victory lane at Charlotte.

What won the race: Taking advantage when polesitter and race-long leader Chris Madden opened the door on lap 19, third-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., led the rest of Friday’s 35-lap World Finals feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for a $15,000 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series victory. Thornton took the checkers 0.375 of second ahead of Dale McDowell for his second WoO victory of the season and third of his career.

Quotable: My boys worked their butt off today. We pretty much had this thing destroyed last night,” Thornton said. “The car’s been really good. It’s the third weekend on it. We had a bunch of doubters that said we only had one good car. It kind of shows we’ve got more than one."

Key notes: Winning his first Charlotte feature, Thornton notched his 32nd Late Model victory of the season (including a record 19 full-field victories on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series). ... Thornton's previous WoO victories came in 2020 at Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex and earlier this season at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway's Prairie Dirt Classic. ... Competing at Charlotte for the first time since 2014, Thornton rebounded from his car getting banged up in a first-lap pileup the previous night. ... Chris Madden finished on the podium for the second straight night, slipping out of second when McDowell ducked under him with two laps to go. His said his car's handling got loose in the second half of the race. ... Thornton and runner-up Dale McDowell twice swapped second in the early laps with Madden out front. ... Thursday's feature winner Mike Marlar improved five positions in finishing sixth. ... A single caution slowed the action on lap nine when Jonathan Davenport headed to the pit to change a flat left-rear tire. ... Thursday and Friday performances set Saturday's heat lineups. ... Saturday's WoO finale pays $25,000-to-win. ... On-track activity begins at 3 p.m. ... Watch live on DIRTVision.

On the move: Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., started 19th and finished 10th.

Winner's sponsors: Thornton’s SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements engine and sponsored by Dyno One, Hoker Trucking, Certified Inspection Service, Coltman Farms, High Performance Lubricants, Big River Steel, Van Meter Insurance Group, Murty Farms, D&E Outside Services, West Side Tractor Sales, Bilstein Shocks, FK Rod Ends, Allstar Performance, Barnes Pumps, Performance Bodies, Winters Performance, Strange Oval, Accu-Force, Quickcar, Sunoco Race Fuels and Sub-Surface of Indiana.

Points chase: After Charlotte Friday: 1. Bobby Pierce (5,590); 2. Chris Madden (5,472); 3. Brandon Sheppard (5,348); 4. Kyle Bronson (5,268); 5. Brian Shirley (5,256); 6. Nick Hoffman (5,250); 7. Ryan Gustin (5,240); 8. Tanner English (5,192); 9. Dennis Erb Jr. (5,188); 10. Cade Dillard (5,006); 11. Shane Clanton (5,004); 12. Brent Larson (4,832); 13. Gordy Gundaker (4,806); 14. Todd Cooney (4,454); 15. Dustin Walker (4,314).

Current weather: Clear, 45°F

Car count: 74

Fast qualifier: Scott Bloomquist

Time: 15.648 seconds

Polesitter: Chris Madden

Heat race winners: Drake Troutman, Chris Madden, Ricky Thornton Jr., Dale McDowell, Cade Dillard, Garrett Smith

Consolation race winners: Daulton Wilson, Jonathan Davenport, Dennis Erb Jr.

Provisional starters: Brandon Sheppard, Ryan Gustin, Tanner English, Brent Larson

Next series race: November 4, The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Concord, NC) $25,000

Editor's note: Corrects Thornton's victory total and date of previous event appearance.

From staff reports

CONCORD, N.C. — Updates from Friday’s third night of the 17th annual World Finals, featuring a 35-lap, $15,000-to-win semifeature for World of Outlaws-sanctioned Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Taking advantage when polesitter and race-long leader Chris Madden opened the door on lap 19, third-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., led the rest of Friday’s 35-lap World Finals feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for a $15,000 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series victory. Thornton took the checkers 0.375 of second ahead of Dale McDowell for his second WoO victory of the season and third of his career.

Feature lineup

(35 laps)

Row 1: Chris Madden, Dale McDowell
Row 2: Ricky Thornton Jr., Cade Dillard
Row 3: Garrett Smith, Drake Troutman
Row 4: Scott Bloomquist, Tim McCreadie
Row 5: Brian Shirley, Nick Hoffman
Row 6: Mike Marlar, Carson Ferguson
Row 7: Brandon Overton, Jimmy Owens
Row 8: Bobby Pierce, Spencer Hughes
Row 9: Shane Clanton, Kyle Bronson
Row 10: Daulton Wilson, Jonathan Davenport
Row 11: Dennis Erb Jr., Chris Ferguson
Row 12: Ethan Dotson, Hudson O'Neal
Row 13: Brandon Sheppard, Ryan Gustin
Row 14: Tanner English, Brent Larson

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation: Daulton Wilson, Chris Ferguson, Gavin Cowan, Chase Junghans, Tyler Erb, Robby Hensley, Brent Larson, Cody Overton, Bryan Bernheisel, Daniel Adam, Mike Lupfer, Tyler Carpenter, Carson Brown, John Garvin Jr., John Eller, Brandon O'Neil, Brian Ledbetter, Chuckie Lepsch, Freddie Carpenter. Scratched: Joey Leavell.

Second consolation: Jonathan Davenport, Ethan Dotson, Matt Cosner, G.R. Smith, Logan Roberson, Mason Zeigler, David Breazeale, Ryan Gustin, Zack Mitchell, Benji Hicks, Jordan Koehler, Austin Kirkpatrick, Gordy Gundaker, Ross Bailes, Ricky Weiss, Dalton Jacobs, Colin Knaub, Dustin Walker, Keith Jackson

Third consolation: Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O'Neal, Ben Watkins, Mike Benedum, Kyle Strickler, Trent Ivey, Donald McIntosh, Tanner English, Forrest Trent, Dan Stone, David McCoy, Haiden Cowan, Anthony Sanders, Jack Harmon, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Wyant, John Price, Todd Cooney

Consolation race lineups

(10 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation
Row 1: Daulton Wilson, Tyler Erb
Row 2: Chris Ferguson, Cody Overton
Row 3: Chase Junghans, Robby Hensley
Row 4: Bryan Bernheisel, John Garvin
Row 5: Freddie Carpenter, Tyler Carpenter
Row 6: Brent Larson, Gavin Cowan
Row 7: Mike Lupfer, John Eller
Row 8: Daniel Adam, Brandon O'Neil
Row 9: Brian Ledbetter, Carson Brown
Row 10: Joe Leavell, Chuckie Lepsch
Second consolation
Row 1: Ricky Weiss, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Benji Hicks, Zack Mitchell
Row 3: Ethan Dotson, Mason Zeigler
Row 4: Logan Roberson, Ryan Gustin
Row 5: Gordy Gundaker, G.R. Smith
Row 6: David Breazeale, Austin Kirkpatrick
Row 7: Dustin Walker, Matt Cosner
Row 8: Colin Knaub, Jordan Koehler
Row 9: Keith Jackson, Dalton Jacobs
Row 10: Ross Bailes
Third consolation
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 2: Hudson O'Neal, Trent Ivey
Row 3: Mike Benedum, Dan Stone
Row 4: Donald McIntosh, Ben Watkins
Row 5: David McCoy, Forrest Trent
Row 6: Anthony Sanders, Kyle Strickler
Row 7: Todd Cooney, Tanner English
Row 8: Jack Harmon, Tyler Wyant
Row 9: John Price, Haiden Cowan

Heat notes

The first heat was controlled by 18-year-old Drake Troutman, who outgunned his much more experienced front-row mate — 59-year-old Hall of Famer Scott Bloomquist — to emerge victorious. … Bloomquist held on to finish second, putting him into a feature starting field for the first time in his abbreviated 2023 season. … Cody Overton was in line to start directly behind his older brother Brandon in the feature with a third-place finish in the second heat, but he slipped back to fifth and missed the cut. … After coming off the outside pole to lead every lap of Thursday’s feature, Mike Marlar will take the green flag from the 11th starting spot in tonight’s 35-lapper following a runner-up finish to Ricky Thornton Jr. in the third heat. … Heat 2 winner Chris Madden drew the pole position for the A-main. … The fourth heat was a race for veterans: Dale McDowell, 57, won the prelim over Tim McCreadie, 49, and Jimmy Owens, 51, while the just-turned-40 Jonathan Davenport fell one spot short of transferring. … Brandon Sheppard switched to his backup car due to mechanical discovered after his fourth-place finish in Heat 5. He will use a WoO provisional to start the feature.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top three transfer)

First heat: Drake Troutman, Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Overton, Daulton Wilson, Chris Ferguson, Chase Junghans, Bryan Bernheisel, Freddie Carpenter, Brent Larson, Mike Lupfer, Daniel Adam, Brian Ledbetter. Scratched: Joey Leavell.

Second heat: Chris Madden, Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce, Tyler Erb, Cody Overton, Robby Hensley, John Garvin Jr., Tyler Carpenter, Gavin Cowan, John Eller, Brandon O’Neil, Carson Brown, Chuckie Lepsch.

Third heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Marlar, Shane Clanton, Ricky Weiss, Benji Hicks, Ethan Dotson, Logan Roberson, Gordy Gundaker, David Breazeale, Dustin Walker, Colin Knaub. Scratched: Keith Jackson.

Fourth heat: Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Zack Mitchell, Mason Zeigler, Ryan Gustin, G.R. Smith, Austin Kirkpatrick, Matt Cosner, Jordan Koehler, Dalton Jacobs, Ross Bailes.

Fifth heat: Cade Dillard, Nick Hoffman, Spencer Hughes, Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal, Mike Benedum, Donald McIntosh, David McCoy, Anthony Sanders, Todd Cooney, Jack Harmon. Scratched: John Price.

Sixth heat: Garrett Smith, Carson Ferguson, Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb Jr., Trent Ivey, Dan Stone, Ben Watkins, Forrest Trent, Kyle Strickler, Tanner English, Tyler Wyant, Haiden Cowan.

Friday’s heat race lineups

(Eight laps; top three transfer)

First heat
Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Drake Troutman
Row 2: Daulton Wilson, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Chase Junghans, Bryan Bernheisel
Row 4: Chris Ferguson, Freddie Carpenter
Row 5: Daniel Adam, Brent Larson
Row 6: Mike Lupfer, Brian Ledbetter
Row 7: Joe Leavell
Second heat
Row 1: Chris Madden, Brian Shirley
Row 2: Cody Overton, Tyler Erb
Row 3: Bobby Pierce, Robby Hensley
Row 4: Carson Brown, Tyler Carpenter
Row 5: John Garvin Jr., Gavin Cowan
Row 6: Chuckie Lepsch, John Eller
Row 7: Brandon O’Neil
Third heat
Row 1: Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Marlar
Row 2: Shane Clanton, Ethan Dotson
Row 3: Benji Hicks, Logan Roberson
Row 4: Ricky Weiss, Gordy Gundaker
Row 5: David Breazeale, Dustin Walker
Row 6: Colin Knaub, Keith Jackson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie
Row 2: Mason Zeigler, Jimmy Owens
Row 3: Zack Mitchell, Jonathan Davenport
Row 4: Matt Cosner, Austin Kirkpatrick
Row 5: Ryan Gustin, Jordan Koehler
Row 6: G.R. Smith, Ross Bailes
Row 7: Dalton Jacobs
Fifth heat
Row 1: Nick Hoffman, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Cade Dillard, Donald McIntosh
Row 3: Spencer Hughes, Hudson O’Neal
Row 4: Mike Benedum, David McCoy
Row 5: John Price, Anthony Sanders
Row 6: Todd Cooney, Jack Harmon
Sixth heat
Row 1: Garrett Smith, Trent Ivey
Row 2: Carson Ferguson, Kyle Bronson
Row 3: Dennis Erb Jr., Forrest Trent
Row 4: Tanner English, Kyle Strickler
Row 5: Ben Watkins, Tyler Wyant
Row 6: Dan Stone, Haiden Cowan

Friday’s schedule

(All times local)
9 a.m. - Pit pass sales begin
11 a.m. - Pits open
Noon - Souvenir and display areas open (midway)
2:30 p.m. - Grandstands open, ticket sales begin
2:30 p.m. - Race Day Live radio show (Sage Fruit stage)
3:45 p.m. - Sprint car motor heat
4 p.m. - Opening ceremonies, on-track activity
- Late Model heat races 1-3 (8 laps)
- Sprint car non-qualifier (8 laps)
- Late Model heat races 4-6 (8 laps)
- Sprint car heat races (8 laps)
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
- Sprint car C-main consolation (10 laps)
- Sprint car dash (6 laps)
- Sprint car B-main consolation (12 laps)
- Modified consolations (10 laps)
Four-wide, three series parade lap
Feature events
- Modifieds (30 laps)
- Sprint cars (25 laps)
- Late Models (25 laps)