ZANESVILLE, Ohio (July 2) — Live updates from Saturday night’s preliminary program for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Elite Munitions Freedom 60 headlined by three 20-lap, $3,000-to-win semifeatures at Muskingum County Speedway (results unofficial):

Semifeature notes

Fifth-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. grabbed the lead from Hudson O’Neal on lap 10 and went on to beat the Indiana driver by 2.294 seconds in the first 20-lapper. ... Thornton’s victory put him on the pole position for Sunday’s 60-lap, $30,000-to-win finale, but he’s not sure what to expect in the longer race. “I don’t know how good we’ll be when we have to move off the bottom,” he said. “The track just kind of came to us the longer we ran.” … Thornton was the third different leader in the first semi-feature, following Tim McCreadie (lap one) and O’Neal (laps 2-9). … Lucas Oil Series points leader Brandon Sheppard ran away with the second semifeature, leading the entire distance and beating Spencer Hughes by 5.200 seconds. “Our car was really good,” Sheppard said of his Rocket Chassis house car. “I can’t ask for much more than that.” … Hughes’s runner-up finish was an excellent rebound for the Mississippi youngster who was involved in a hard wreck during Friday’s Lucas Oil event at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park that significantly bent his car’s front end. … Fifth-starting Brandon Overton, making his first-ever start at Muskingum County, nearly reached second place midway through the second race before falling back to a fifth-place finish. … Mason Zeigler, driving the Barry Wright Race Cars house car, spun out of sixth place on lap three of the second semifeature to bring out a caution flag. He finished 10th and will have to run Sunday’s B-main. … Tyler Erb led all but the first lap of Saturday’s nightcap, but he had to survive a furious last-turn challenge from Devin Moran — the driver who led the opening circuit — to beat the hometown favorite by 0.619 of a second. “If I had got wide (rounding the final turn) he may have crossed me at the checkered,” Erb said of Moran. … Garrett Alberson contended for victory in the late stages of the third race before settling for third. … The original start of the third semifeature was aborted by a red-flag incident that swept up five of the 12 starters in turn four. A jam-up that began when polesitter Moran’s left-front wheel locked up saw Dustin Smith barrel-rolled once over the rearend of Daulton Wilson’s car and Todd Brennan, Tim Vance and Caiden Black also involved. No injuries were reported. … The caution flew twice on lap two of the second race, first for Nathon Loney stopping on the inside of the track and then for Chad Frohnapfel’s spin. Later, on lap 17, a final caution flew when fifth-running Todd Brennan spun in turn two after Loney made contact with the rearend of Brennan’s car. … Despite the split 12-car fields, each race was counted as an official Lucas Oil Series feature win by tour officials (DirtonDirt.com's records will not include the victories). Drivers didn't earn series points, however.

Semifeature results

(20 laps; top six transfer to Saturday’s 60-lap finale)

First semifeature: Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Earl Pearson Jr., Tim McCreadie, Tyler Carpenter, Gregg Satterlee, Freddie Carpenter, Doug Drown, Cody Scott, Shawn Jett, Travis Carr, Kevin Smith.

Second semifeature: Brandon Sheppard, Spencer Hughes, Ashton Winger, Ross Robinson, Brandon Overton, Zack Dohm, Joe Petyak, K.C. Burdette, Rod Conley, Mason Zeigler, Kevin Davis, Anthony Kinkade.

Third semifeature : Tyler Erb, Devin Moran, Garrett Alberson, Nathon Loney, Daulton Wilson, Tim Vance, Todd Brennan, Levi Yetter, Clint Keenan, Chase Frohnapfel, Dustin Smith, Caiden Black.

Semifeature lineups

(20 laps; top six transfer to Saturday’s 60-lap finale)

First semifeature
Row 1: Hudson O’Neal, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 2: Tim McCreadie, Gregg Satterlee
Row 3: Ricky Thornton Jr., Tyler Carpenter
Row 4: Doug Drown, Freddie Carpenter
Row 5: Kevin Smith, Shawn Jett
Row 6: Cody Scott, Travis Carr
Second semifeature
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Spencer Hughes
Row 2: Ashton Winger, Ross Robinson
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Zack Dohm
Row 4: Mason Zeigler, K.C. Burdette
Row 5: Anthony Kinkade, Joe Petyak
Row 6: Rod Conley, Kevin Davis
Third semifeature
Row 1: Devin Moran, Tyler Erb
Row 2: Daulton Wilson, Garrett Alberson
Row 3: Todd Brennan, Nathon Loney
Row 4: Dustin Smith, Clint Keenan
Row 5: Caiden Black, Levi Yetter
Row 6: Tim Vance, Chase Frohnapfel

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, time

1. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 15.682
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.774
3. Devin Moran (9), Dresden, Ohio, 15.853
4. Earl Pearson Jr. (46), Jacksonville, Fla., 15.867
5. Spencer Hughes (11H), Meridian, Miss., 15.911
6. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 15.966
7. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 16.003
8. Ashton Winger (89), Hampton, Ga., 16.058
9. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 16.082
10. Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., 16.130
11. Ross Robinson (7R), Georgetown, Del., 16.179
12. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.183
13. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 16.201
14. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 16.241
15. Todd Brennan (20B), Zanesville, Ohio, 16.288
16. Tyler Carpenter (28), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.372
17. Zack Dohm (17D), Cross Lanes, W.Va., 16.430
18. Nathon Loney (10), Danville, Ohio, 16.470
19. Doug Drown (12d), Wooster, Ohio, 16.500
20. Mason Zeigler (9z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 16.510
21. Dustin Smith (88), Frazeysburg, Ohio, 16.599
22. Freddie Carpenter (K), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.608
23. K.C. Burdette (KC44), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.748
24. Clint Keenan (29), Pataskala, Ohio, 16.760
25. Kevin Smith (2), Caldwell, Ohio, 16.767
26. Anthony Kinkade (144), Zanesville, Ohio, 16.804
27. Caiden Black (57), New Concord, Ohio, 16.813
28. Shawn Jett (11J), Pennsboro, W.Va., 16.847
29. Joe Petyak (44P), Gallitzin, Pa., 17.021
30. Levi Yetter (9), Cabot, Pa., 17.055
31. Cody Scott (19), Ontario, Ohio, 17.063
32. Rod Conley (71R), Wheelersburg, Ohio, 17.072
33. Tim Vance (17T), Clover, S.C., 17.120
34. Travis Carr (6c), Stoutsville, Ohio, 17.156
35. Kevin Davis (12), West Lafayette, Ohio, 17.422
36. Chase Frohnapfel (145), Canal Winchester, Ohio, 17.563