IMPERIAL, Pa. — Because he misunderstood a signal from the flagstand, Ricky Thornton Jr. made his final charge in Saturday's 75-lap Pittsburgher a little sooner than he'd planned. But just as most things have during his stellar 2023 season, it all worked out for the red-hot Chandler, Ariz., driver at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway as he outdueled Jonathan Davenport in the final laps for a $30,000 payday.

Winning his seventh Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race in his last nine starts, Thornton Jr. regained the lead for good from Davenport with four laps remaining and scored his 23rd overall series victory of the season and record 19th in full-field events.

"I think it was first time I've ever gotten a 10 (laps) to go signal —  so I thought it was five (laps) to go at that point," Thornton said. "I started driving a lot harder after that."

Turning up the wick, Thornton battled Davenport in traffic late, slipping by on the 70th lap but giving it up a lap later when Davenport fought back. Thornton regained the lead again exiting turn two on lap 72 as Davenport slapped the fence, causing damage that triggered a caution for debris and ended the tight battle.

"I guess I just wanted it a little bit more," said Thornton, whose battle with Davenport wasn't the only drama in the national tour's final regular-season event.

Thornton, fourth-place finisher Hudson O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind. (who charged from 16th), and Davenport clinched the top three spots in the tour's inaugural Big River Steel Big Four who will battle for the series title next month at Eldora Speedway's Dirt Track World Championship, but the fourth spot was up in the air with Brandon Overton entering the race with a narrow lead over Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie.

Overton ran among the leaders for 54 laps, but his hopes were dashed by power steering woes that forced him to pit, opening the door for Moran to grab a runner-up finish and clinch the No. 4 spot in the series points. Overton finished ninth and was left in a tie for fifth with McCreadie in series points.

The 35th edition of the half-mile oval's biggest Super Late Model event started with track regular Michael Norris of Sarver, Pa., leading the first 13 laps from the pole position, but he suffered right-rear damage to his car that allowed Thornton and Davenport to blitz past him on a lap-14 restart.

Thornton, Davenport and Norris held the top three spots through halfway when Davenport slipped past Thornton to take command just before a stretch of six caution flags over the next 11 laps.

While Norris slipped out of contention and eventually retired on lap 61, Thornton also slipped back to third from laps 42-48 when Overton chased Davenport from the runner-up spot. Thornton took second from Overton on a restart before his lap-54 pit stop, and within 10 laps was starting to pressured the leading Davenport.

"(Davenport) was way better than I was and then, on one of those restarts, I was able to get back by Brandon, and I just pretty much held it on the floor after that," Thornton said. "I've gotta thanks Clements for building us a bad-ass motor here. It held probably 60 laps flat on the floor."

Amid traffic, Davenport's car was "starting to get tight on entry and I just started moving my line around a little bit and I felt like I could get into the center (of the corner) way better than he could, and we kind of maintained on exit," said Thornton, thanking his SSI Motorsports crew that "definitely doesn't give up" on him.

"I don't know if I for sure caused J.D. to hit the wall over there," Thornton said of the lap-72 pass for the lead. "I figure whenever I slid (past) him it probably took the air off his nose and that's what that last caution was. It was definitely some hard racing."

Moran was the beneficiary of Davenport's late slide to an eighth-place finish with a runner-up showing that secured his critical spot among the Big Four.

"This is always just such a long race because it's a big track. The top got really, really good on both ends," said Moran, who was third or better for the fourth consecutive series event. "(It was) definitely not the way we wanted to make (the top four) there at the end with Brandon breaking, because he was really good, too. But we put ourselves in position and my guys would just worked their asses off all year, and especially the last two months. Kudos to them for preparing me a great race car — no problems — and coming up with these podium finishes."

Third-place finisher Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., the two-time and reigning tour champion, fell shy of a top-four spot that prevents him from being eligible for the tour-record $200,000 title, but he's pleased to be heading in the right direction after midseason struggles.

"It's one of them deals (where) we feel a lot better than we did a few months ago and we just got to keep going forward," said McCreadie, who will still have a crack at the DTWC's $100,000 winner's purse despite his points position. "You know, the beauty of going to Eldora is, I don't really have to worry about (the top four battling for the title). They gotta worry about us, so if I want to crowd somebody or do whatever, we can do whatever. We're there for money."

The race was slowed 10 times, starting with a red flag on the first lap when Matt Cosner spun and got upside down with a slow rollover in turn two amid a scramble that included Gary Stuhler and Boom Briggs. Cosner climbed out unhurt and walked to the ambulance to get checked out. All three drivers retired.

Other slowdowns in the form of yellow flags appeared first when the frontstretch pedestrian gate under the flagstand was found to be open on the 13th lap. Other yellows appeared for a slowing Tyler Erb (lap 37), Max Blair's flat right-rear tire (lap 41), another flat tire for Blair (lap 42), debris (lap 46) and when the frontstretch gate again was open (lap 47). A stalled Drake Troutman on the backstretch drew a caution just before the lap-47 restart.

The yellow for Overton flew on lap 54 and the last caution came out for debris from Davenport's car with three laps remaining.

Thornton's seven-victory September has him eager to get prepared for Oct. 20-21's DTWC, which will be held in Rossburg, Ohio, for the first time.

"As long as I can do my job, my boys are gonna make sure we've got the best car there," Thornton said. "I'm definitely not worried about that. As long as I don't do anything dumb (and) take us out of it, I think we're definitely still the one to beat."

Notes: Thornton also won the Pittsburgher  in 2020. ... A six-wide parade lap preceded the main event. ... Runner-up Devin Moran's brother and former crew chief Wylie is getting married Oct. 1. ... Fifth-place finisher Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., got his first top-five finish in a full-field Lucas Oil Series event since May 20 when he was fourth at 300 Raceway in Farley, Iowa.