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| KNOXVILLE, IA (September 18, 2025) – Garrett Alberson led all 19 laps of the rain-shortened Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing event on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway. It was the opening night of a three-race weekend for the 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center. Tyler Erb finished in second, followed by Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Jonathan Davenport. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fourth time in 2025 and for the first time ever at Knoxville, the Las Cruces, New Mexico native earned $10,000 for the win. “This is huge, especially for Ken and Beth. They have been coming here for so long, and this is an Iowa deal. It means a lot to get this red car into victory lane here in Knoxville. First off, I hope everybody involved in those wrecks is okay. It was a weird race; the restarts were really hard to judge. I didn’t feel like I could accelerate very well – my gearing felt a little bit off. It’s so tough to judge if you’re doing the right thing with your speed because you could be in the correct lane, but if you don’t do it just right, you lose so much speed. I was just trying to keep my speed up and hit the lanes.” Erb, who swept two preliminaries in 2021 at Knoxville, came from the 10th starting spot to finish second to Alberson. “By making a lot of laps here, you’re not going to pass them on the outside when the cushion is that low. I had a couple of restarts that worked out once I finally got past Joiner, and then I was kind of biding my time, not trying to hurt myself there, just had two or three restarts. The one I got by Perm and Sheppy was pretty good; we made 19 of 25, and Garrett did a good job. Everything played out well.” Wilson, in his first Lucas Oil race since Port Royal in August, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “Running third feels good. We definitely need to work on our race cars a bit, but with the setup we have for tonight’s race, we’ll take it. The biggest thing is trying to stay out of air on those restarts; my car wouldn’t take off on those starts at all, so I know I was holding up the whole field. Like I said, we made the most of it, and luckily, we ended up here.” The winner’s Roberts Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Low Voltage Solutions, Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, Sunoco Race Fuels, Titan Racing Products, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Bill’s Sport Shop, Done Right TV, Dickie’s Doghouse, Cheap Cars, Fertilizer Equipment Specialists, Roemer Machine, Degano Powersports, Bilstein Shocks, and Mitchell Ranch. Completing the top ten drivers were Aaron Marrant, Joseph Joiner, Devin Moran, Donald McIntosh, and Dan Ebert. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center | Night 1Thursday, September 18, 2025Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brian Shirley | 16.689 seconds Fast Time Group B: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 16.566 seconds (Overall – New Track Record) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[1]; 2. 19M-Joseph Joiner[3]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 6. 25-Chad Simpson[7]; 7. 99X-Dallon Murty[4]; 8. 38T-Dylan Thornton[9]; 9. 6H-Al Humphrey[10]; 10. (DNS) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 79-Donald McIntosh[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 6. 15-Clay Stuckey[9]; 7. 93-Carson Ferguson[6]; 8. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[8]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[10]; 10. 99S-Jesse Sobbing[7] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 3. 01-Tyler Erb[4]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[8]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[2]; 8. 45D-Dan Battaglia[10]; 9. 18C-Chase Junghans[7]; 10. (DNS) 51C-Dean Carpenter Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 6J-Jake Neal[1]; 2. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 5. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[6]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 51-Matt Furman[8]; 8. 21B-Rich Bell[9]; 9. 75-Daniel Adam[3] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 3. 15-Clay Stuckey[2]; 4. 99S-Jesse Sobbing[9]; 5. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[6]; 6. 38T-Dylan Thornton[5]; 7. 10-Junior Coover[8]; 8. 6H-Al Humphrey[7]; 9. (DNS) 99X-Dallon Murty; 10. (DNS) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (6 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 3. 51-Matt Furman[4]; 4. 21B-Rich Bell[6]; 5. 93L-Cory Lawler[3]; 6. 45D-Dan Battaglia[5]; 7. (DNS) 18C-Chase Junghans; 8. (DNS) 75-Daniel Adam; 9. (DNS) 51C-Dean Carpenter 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center | Night 1 Feature Finish (19 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 2 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $10,0002 – 10 – 1 – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $5,5003 – 4 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $3,5004 – 8 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,7005 – 18 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,5006 – 6 – 1XM – Aaron Marrant – Richmond, MO – $2,3007 – 9 – 19M – Joseph Joiner – Milton, FL – $2,2008 – 11 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,1009 – 19 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,05010 – 22 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,10011 – 12 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $1,60012 – 13 – 32S – Chris Simpson – Oxford, IA – $1,40013 – 14 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $1,20014 – 17 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,00015 – 16 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $95016 – 1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $92517 – 24 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,00018 – 23 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $97519 – 5 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $85020 – 15 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $82521 – 21 – 25 – Chad Simpson – Mt. Vernon, IA – $90022 – 3 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $80023 – 7 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $80024 – 20 – 6J – Jake Neal – Omaha, NE – $800 Race Statistics Entrants: 39Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Brandon SheppardMD3 Lap Leaders: Garrett Alberson (Laps 1-19)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Garrett AlbersonWieland Feature Winner: Garrett AlbersonMargin of Victory: 0.956 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Brian Shirley (Lap 8); Tyler Bruening (Lap 13); Chad Simpson (Lap 15); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 15 restart); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 16); Ryan Gustin (Lap 19); Carson Ferguson (Lap 19 restart)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Daulton Wilson Penske Shocks Top 5: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan DavenportPEM 4th Place Feature: Ricky Thornton, Jr.DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Jonathan DavenportWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Joseph JoinerWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Bobby PierceMD3 24th Place Feature: Jake NealHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Advanced 13 positions) MD3 Most Laps Led: Garrett Alberson (19 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Garrett AlbersonMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Garrett Alberson | Lap 1 | 16.809 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Tyler ErbFresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Hudson O’NealOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Zach HustonARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 16.7375 secondsTime of Race: 48 minutes 54 seconds 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center Point Standings | After Night 1: |
| Alberson Wins Late Model Knoxville Nationals Opener |
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| KNOXVILLE, IA (September 18, 2025) – Garrett Alberson led all 19 laps of the rain-shortened Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing event on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway. It was the opening night of a three-race weekend for the 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center. Tyler Erb finished in second, followed by Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Jonathan Davenport. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fourth time in 2025 and for the first time ever at Knoxville, the Las Cruces, New Mexico native earned $10,000 for the win. “This is huge, especially for Ken and Beth. They have been coming here for so long, and this is an Iowa deal. It means a lot to get this red car into victory lane here in Knoxville. First off, I hope everybody involved in those wrecks is okay. It was a weird race; the restarts were really hard to judge. I didn’t feel like I could accelerate very well – my gearing felt a little bit off. It’s so tough to judge if you’re doing the right thing with your speed because you could be in the correct lane, but if you don’t do it just right, you lose so much speed. I was just trying to keep my speed up and hit the lanes.” Erb, who swept two preliminaries in 2021 at Knoxville, came from the 10th starting spot to finish second to Alberson. “By making a lot of laps here, you’re not going to pass them on the outside when the cushion is that low. I had a couple of restarts that worked out once I finally got past Joiner, and then I was kind of biding my time, not trying to hurt myself there, just had two or three restarts. The one I got by Perm and Sheppy was pretty good; we made 19 of 25, and Garrett did a good job. Everything played out well.” Wilson, in his first Lucas Oil race since Port Royal in August, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “Running third feels good. We definitely need to work on our race cars a bit, but with the setup we have for tonight’s race, we’ll take it. The biggest thing is trying to stay out of air on those restarts; my car wouldn’t take off on those starts at all, so I know I was holding up the whole field. Like I said, we made the most of it, and luckily, we ended up here.” The winner’s Roberts Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Low Voltage Solutions, Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, Sunoco Race Fuels, Titan Racing Products, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Bill’s Sport Shop, Done Right TV, Dickie’s Doghouse, Cheap Cars, Fertilizer Equipment Specialists, Roemer Machine, Degano Powersports, Bilstein Shocks, and Mitchell Ranch. Completing the top ten drivers were Aaron Marrant, Joseph Joiner, Devin Moran, Donald McIntosh, and Dan Ebert. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center | Night 1Thursday, September 18, 2025Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brian Shirley | 16.689 seconds Fast Time Group B: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 16.566 seconds (Overall – New Track Record) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[1]; 2. 19M-Joseph Joiner[3]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 6. 25-Chad Simpson[7]; 7. 99X-Dallon Murty[4]; 8. 38T-Dylan Thornton[9]; 9. 6H-Al Humphrey[10]; 10. (DNS) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 79-Donald McIntosh[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 6. 15-Clay Stuckey[9]; 7. 93-Carson Ferguson[6]; 8. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[8]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[10]; 10. 99S-Jesse Sobbing[7] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 3. 01-Tyler Erb[4]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[8]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[2]; 8. 45D-Dan Battaglia[10]; 9. 18C-Chase Junghans[7]; 10. (DNS) 51C-Dean Carpenter Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 6J-Jake Neal[1]; 2. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 5. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[6]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 51-Matt Furman[8]; 8. 21B-Rich Bell[9]; 9. 75-Daniel Adam[3] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 3. 15-Clay Stuckey[2]; 4. 99S-Jesse Sobbing[9]; 5. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[6]; 6. 38T-Dylan Thornton[5]; 7. 10-Junior Coover[8]; 8. 6H-Al Humphrey[7]; 9. (DNS) 99X-Dallon Murty; 10. (DNS) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (6 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 3. 51-Matt Furman[4]; 4. 21B-Rich Bell[6]; 5. 93L-Cory Lawler[3]; 6. 45D-Dan Battaglia[5]; 7. (DNS) 18C-Chase Junghans; 8. (DNS) 75-Daniel Adam; 9. (DNS) 51C-Dean Carpenter 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center | Night 1 Feature Finish (19 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 2 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $10,0002 – 10 – 1 – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $5,5003 – 4 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $3,5004 – 8 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,7005 – 18 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,5006 – 6 – 1XM – Aaron Marrant – Richmond, MO – $2,3007 – 9 – 19M – Joseph Joiner – Milton, FL – $2,2008 – 11 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,1009 – 19 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,05010 – 22 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,10011 – 12 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $1,60012 – 13 – 32S – Chris Simpson – Oxford, IA – $1,40013 – 14 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $1,20014 – 17 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,00015 – 16 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $95016 – 1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $92517 – 24 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,00018 – 23 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $97519 – 5 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – $85020 – 15 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $82521 – 21 – 25 – Chad Simpson – Mt. Vernon, IA – $90022 – 3 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $80023 – 7 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $80024 – 20 – 6J – Jake Neal – Omaha, NE – $800 Race Statistics Entrants: 39Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Brandon SheppardMD3 Lap Leaders: Garrett Alberson (Laps 1-19)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Garrett AlbersonWieland Feature Winner: Garrett AlbersonMargin of Victory: 0.956 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Brian Shirley (Lap 8); Tyler Bruening (Lap 13); Chad Simpson (Lap 15); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 15 restart); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 16); Ryan Gustin (Lap 19); Carson Ferguson (Lap 19 restart)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Daulton Wilson Penske Shocks Top 5: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan DavenportPEM 4th Place Feature: Ricky Thornton, Jr.DMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Jonathan DavenportWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Joseph JoinerWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Bobby PierceMD3 24th Place Feature: Jake NealHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Advanced 13 positions) MD3 Most Laps Led: Garrett Alberson (19 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Garrett AlbersonMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Garrett Alberson | Lap 1 | 16.809 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Tyler ErbFresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Hudson O’NealOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Zach HustonARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 16.7375 secondsTime of Race: 48 minutes 54 seconds 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by All Makes Collision Center Point Standings | After Night 1: |
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