Dirt on Dirt - Turning up the heats, Thornton nabs I-80 pole

July 24

I-80 Speedway,

Greenwood, NE

Sanction: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals ) - $53,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 25, 1:40 pm)

Turning up the heats, Thornton nabs I-80 pole

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Ricky Thornton Jr. topped passing points in the first round of heats.

Quotable: “We had two really good heat races there,” Ricky Thornton Jr. said. “I could kind of move around and try some different things and we were really good. As long as (Saturday) we get out and kind of set a pace — maybe even if Jimmy (Owens) gets out in front of me — just kind of stay with him and don’t kill myself. It’s going to be 100 laps, so 100 laps here is probably going to feel like forever."

Key notes: Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., earned the most passing points in two sets of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heat races Friday at I-80 Speedway to earn the pole for Saturday's $53,000-to-win Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals finale. ... The 10th annual race's winning purse is the biggest thus far in 2020. ... Friday’s preliminary night action featured two rounds of heat races with passing points from both rounds determining the lineups for Saturday’s consolation races and feature. … Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., won the race in 2019.

Who to watch: Series points leader and 2013 Silver Dollar Nationals winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., won Thursday’s tuneup event at I-80.

Points chase: Before I-80 Friday: 1. Jimmy Owens (5,125); 2. Jonathan Davenport (4,760); 3. Josh Richards (4,610); 4. Tyler Erb (4,590); 5. Tim McCreadie (4,520); 6. Kyle Bronson (4,465); 7. Devin Moran (4,405); 8. Shane Clanton (4,355); 9. Billy Moyer Jr. (4,165); 10. Tanner English (4,060); 11. Shanon Buckingham (3,920); 12. Earl Pearson Jr. (3,870); 13. Tyler Bruening (3,640); 14. Hudson O'Neal (3,355); 15.Stormy Scott (3,215).

Current weather: Clear, 82°F

Car count: 45

Polesitter: Ricky Thornton Jr.

Heat race winners: Scott Bloomquist, Chase Junghans, Mason Zeigler, Chad Simpson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Ricky Weiss, Jimmy Owens, Josh Richards, Kyle Bronson, Tim McCreadie

Next series race: July 25, I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, NE) $53,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From series reports

GREENWOOD, Neb. — Updates from Friday's opening night of the Imperial Time Silver Dollar Nationals with two sets of heat races setting the field for Saturday's $53,000-to-win main event on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (results unofficial):

Friday recap

Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., earned the most passing points in two sets of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heat races Friday at I-80 Speedway to earn the pole for Saturday's $53,000-to-win Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals finale.

He'll start alongside series points leader Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn.— the driver who edged Thornton to win Thursday's Lucas Oil event at I-80 — with 16 other drivers locked into the first nine rows of Saturday's lineup, including previous Silver Dollar Nationals winners Tim McCreadie, Scott Bloomquist and Jonathan Davenport.

The rest of the 45 entries must transfer into the main event through Saturday consolation races (or take provisional starting spots) for the 101-lap feature that's scheduled to start at least 30 cars.

Saturday's feature lineup

Row 1: Ricky Thornton Jr., Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Devin Moran, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Kyle Bronson, Chad Simpson
Row 4: Tim McCreadie, Tyler Erb
Row 5: Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards
Row 6: Billy Moyer Jr., Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Chase Junghans, Ricky Weiss
Row 8: Earl Pearson Jr., Shanon Buckingham
Row 9: Mason Zeigler, Justin Zeitner
Row 10: Consy transfers
Row 11: Consy transfers
Row 12: Consy transfers
Row 13: Consy transfers
Row 14: Provisional starters
Row 15: Provisional starters

Second round heat recap

Three heat winners from the first round (Ricky Thornton Jr., Chase Junghans and Mason Zeigler) were in the first heat, but none could outrun Ricky Weiss. … Becoming the heat’s third leader, eighth-starting Jimmy Owens overtook Earl Pearson Jr. with two laps remaining to win the second heat. … Josh Richards rebounded from a fifth-place run in his opening heat to capture the third heat in a runaway. … Tyler Smith got into the turn-three wall in the fourth heat. … Devin Moran came from the tail to third in the fourth heat. … Tim McCreadie went from third to first on the opening lap of the final heat and cruised to victory; runner-up Brandon Sheppard made some daring move in rallying from the rear.

Heat race results (second round)

(Combined passing points totals from both rounds of time trials set Saturday's feature and consolation lineups; the top 18 drivers will be locked into the main event)

First heat: Ricky Weiss, Shane Clanton, Ricky Thornton Jr., Bobby Pierce, Billy Moyer Jr., Chase Junghans, Mason Zeigler, Cody Laney, Jeremy Conaway.

Second heat: Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Tyler Erb, Chris Ferguson, Tyler Bruening, Tad Pospisil, Terry Phillips, Allan Hopp, Nick Deal.

Third heat: Josh Richards, Tanner English, Kyle Strickler, Chad Simpson, Cory Dumpert, Scott Bloomquist, Stormy Scott, Colton Horner, Joel Callahan.

Fourth heat: Kyle Bronson, Johnny Scott, Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Shanon Buckingham, Justin Zeitner, Jake Neal, Andrew Kosiski, Tyler Smith.

Fifth heat: Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, Chris Simpson, Ben Schaller, Bill Leighton Jr., Jake Timm, Shannon Babb. Scratched: Brian Kosiski, Josh Leonard.

First round heat recap

Scott Bloomquist, who had electrical problems in his primary car one night earlier, fielded one of the cars driven previously by his former teammate Chris Madden, who left the team last month. Bloomquist raced to victory in the first heat. … Second-heat winner Chase Junghans is using a throwback graphics scheme on the weekend. … Mason Zeigler overtook Shanon Buckingham on the final lap to win the third heat. … Cody Laney got into the turn-two wall in the fourth heat, drawing a caution when he didn’t make it back to the pits. … In the fifth heat, Ricky Thornton Jr. emerged from the middle spot of a three-wide backstretch battle on the first lap to grab a lead he’d never give up. … Johnny Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., piloted his brother Stormy’s backup car, finishing last in the second heat. …. Last year’s winner Bobby Pierce’s team made an engine swap after Thursday’s action; he finished sixth in the third heat. … Among drivers scratching from their first-round heat: Josh Leonard and Brian Kosiski. ... Drivers entering Friday who didn’t compete in Thursday’s Lucas Oil action: Nick Deal and Josh Leonard. Junior Coover entered Thursday but wasn’t in action Friday.

Heat race results (first round)

(Combined passing points totals from both rounds of time trials set Saturday's feature and consolation lineups; the top 18 drivers will be locked into the main event)

First heat: Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Bill Leighton Jr., Ricky Weiss, Joel Callahan, Chris Simpson, Allan Hopp.

Second heat: Chase Junghans, Jake Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Tad Pospisil, Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips, Kyle Strickler, Shane Clanton, Johnny Scott.

Third heat: Mason Zeigler, Shanon Buckingham, Colton Horner, Tim McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., Bobby Pierce, Cory Dumpert, Tyler Smith. Scratched: Josh Leonard.

Fourth heat: Chad Simpson, Justin Zeitner, Tyler Erb, Nick Deal, Josh Richards, Ben Schealler, Andrew Kosiski, Cody Laney. Scratched: Brian Kosiski.

Fifth heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Devin Moran, Stormy Scott, Kyle Bronson, Chris Ferguson, Tyler Bruening, Jake Timm, Tanner English, Jeremy Conaway.

Heat race lineups

(Combined passing points totals from both rounds of time trials set Saturday's feature and consolation lineups; the top 18 drivers will be locked into the main event)
FIRST ROUND
First heat
Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Billy Moyer Jr., Bill Leighton Jr.
Row 3: Jonathan Davenport, Joel Callahan
Row 4: Allan Hopp, Ricky Weiss
Row 5: Chris Simpson
Second heat
Row 1: Tad Pospisil, Chase Junghans
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Jake Neal
Row 3: Kyle Strickler, Terry Phillips
Row 4: Shane Clanton, Shannon Babb
Row 5: Johnny Scott
Third heat
Row 1: Mason Zeigler, Josh Leonard
Row 2: Shanon Buckingham, Colton Horner
Row 3: Earl Pearson Jr., Bobby Pierce
Row 4: Tim McCreadie, Tyler Smith
Row 5: Cory Dumpert
Fourth heat
Row 1: Brian Kosiski, Justin Zeitner
Row 2: Chad Simpson, Nick Deal
Row 3: Cody Laney, Ben Schaller
Row 4: Andrew Kosiski, Josh Richards
Row 5: Tyler Erb
Fifth heat
Row 1: Devin Moran, Stormy Scott
Row 2: Tyler Bruening, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 3: Jake Timm, Kyle Bronson
Row 4: Tanner English, Chris Ferguson
Row 5: Jeremy Conaway

SECOND ROUND
First heat
Row 1: Jeremy Conaway, Ricky Weiss
Row 2: Shane Clanton, Bobby Pierce
Row 3: Cody Laney, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 4: Billy Moyer Jr., Chase Junghans
Row 5: Mason Zeigler
Second heat
Row 1: Tyler Erb, Chris Ferguson
Row 2: Allan Hopp, Terry Phillips
Row 3: Earl Pearson Jr., Nick Deal
Row 4: Tyler Bruening, Jimmy Owens
Row 5: Tad Pospisil
Third heat
Row 1: Cory Dumpert, Josh Richards
Row 2: Tanner English, Joel Callahan
Row 3: Kyle Strickler, Colton Horner
Row 4: Chad Simpson, Stormy Scott
Row 5: Scott Bloomquist
Fourth heat
Row 1: Johnny Scott, Tyler Smith
Row 2: Andrew Kosiski, Kyle Bronson
Row 3: Jonathan Davenport, Jake Neal
Row 4: Shanon Buckingham, Justin Zeitner
Row 5: Devin Moran
Fifth heat
Row 1: Chris Simpson, Shannon Babb
Row 2: Tim McCreadie, Ben Schaller
Row 3: Jake Timm, Bill Leighton Jr.
Row 4: Brandon Sheppard, Josh Leonard
Row 5: Brian Kosiski

Tentative numerical roster

Driver (car no.), hometown
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn.
Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas
Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla.
Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill.
Chad Simpson (1), Mount Vernon, Iowa
Johnny Scott (2j), Las Cruces, N.M.
Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M.
Tad Pospisil (04), Norfolk, Neb.
Ricky Weiss (7W), Headingley, Manitoba
Kyle Strickler (8), Mooresville, N.C.
Devin Moran (9), Dresden, Ohio
Jake Neal (14), Omaha, Neb.
Josh Richards (14), Shinnston, W.Va.
Jeremy Conaway (F15), Springfield, Ill.
Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill.
Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan.
Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn.
Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz.
Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark.
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C.
Bill Leighton Jr. (24), La Vista, Neb.
Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga.
Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa.
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill.
Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa
Cody Laney (32B), Torrance, Calif.
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y.
Joel Callahan (40), Dubuque, Iowa
Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla.
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga.
Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn.
Shanon Buckingham (50), Morristown, Tenn.
Brian Kosiski (52), Papillion, Neb.
Andrew Kosiski (53), Omaha, Neb.
Nick Deal (55), Harlan, Iowa
Colton Horner (56jr), Katy, Texas
Justin Zeitner (62), Malvern, Iowa
Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo.
Allan Hopp (80), Harlan, Iowa
Tanner English (81e), Benton, Ky.
Josh Leonard (85), Gibbon, Neb.
Ben Schaller (98), Omaha, Neb.
Tyler Smith (112), Gibbon, Neb.