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| Thornton Wins First Career Hillbilly Hundred |
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| SARVER, PA (August 30, 2025) – Ricky Thornton Jr. led wire-to-wire, winning the 57th Annual Summit Racing Equipment Hillbilly Hundred presented by Arizona Sport Shirts on Saturday night at Lernerville Speedway. Thornton’s 13th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season was worth $30,000 and marked his first victory in dirt late model racing’s oldest, ongoing race that began in 1967. Thornton faced a tough challenge from Jonathan Davenport after a lap 90 caution when the top two in the series championship points made contact in a side-by-side battle. Thornton was able to pull away from Davenport in the final nine laps to win by 1.397 seconds. Max Blair, who started 13th, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third after passing Devin Moran right before the final caution of the race. Moran finished fourth. Brandon Overton earned the Hoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race as he finished fifth after starting 21st. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 55th time in his career, Thornton has now won three of the last four Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing events. “I am glad that the first yellow came out. I really didn’t get a great start; I let JD get out in front of me. I felt like whoever got out front would be the one to beat, whether your car is better or not. We tried a bunch of different things today, and I felt we were a lot better. I still think we need to improve a lot once it finally cleans off, but overall, it was a really good night for us. You have to start the night off well with good qualifying, have a solid heat race, and a good start to the feature, said the Chandler, Arizona native who now resides in Indianola, Iowa. “I felt like I was kind of sliding myself into three and four, then they took away the top line, making it so I couldn’t get out there where they could hail Mary around me. I got to traffic and felt almost better around the bottom, and I think you slow your pace down so much when you get to a lapped car, so I needed to stay down there. On that last restart, I felt like I got a decent restart; I saw JD under me and thought, alright, drive it in hard into one and slide myself, and I got a run off of two. By the time I heard him, it was already too late, and I was into him. Obviously, I know he was going to be mad; you definitely don’t want to run a competitor off the track like that.” Davenport was seeking his third career Hillbilly Hundred victory. He took home $15,000 for a second-place finish and gave his viewpoint on the lap 91 restart. “I got a pretty good restart, and I was planning to slide him when I got into one, but just like a few other times when I’d get a run on him, Thornton was going to come all the way to the bottom. So I was either going to crash us both or do something else, and I didn’t want to do that. I moved back to the top and got a really good run. I doubt he saw me, but if he heard me, you know, whatever, he says he didn’t. It is what it is; as he said, whoever gets out in front is going to be really hard to beat.” Blair, who also finished third in the track’s signature event, the Firecracker 100, in June, worked his way methodically to a podium finish after starting on the inside of row number seven. “I love this place when it gets slippery like that. I need to improve in the heat races so I can start a little higher than 13th. We were really strong at the end of the race, so congrats to Ricky — he’s on a roll. It’s getting down to crunch time in this championship, and it’s cool to see him racking up all these wins. Hopefully, he can keep it up and go back-to-back.” The winner’s Koehler Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Ultimate Towing and Recovery, Hoker Trucking, Knight’s Companies, Coltman Farms Racing, Elite Ready Mix, Capital Waste, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, EMD Wraps, and Certified Inspection Services. Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Carson Ferguson, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, and Tyler Erb. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 57th Summit Racing Equipment Hillbilly Hundred presented by Arizona Sport Shirts | Night 2Saturday, August 30, 2025Lernerville Speedway | Sarver, PA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Jonathan Davenport | 15.357 seconds (Overall)Fast Time Group B: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 15.406 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 19M-Joseph Joiner[2]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 4. 111-Max Blair[3]; 5. 1Z-Logan Zarin[5]; 6. 9-Tim McCreadie[10]; 7. 24-Tyler Wyant[7]; 8. 10L-Gary Lyle[9]; 9. 14H-Haiden Cowan[8]; 10. 14R-Clay Ruffo[6] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 3. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[3]; 4. 555-Brock Pinkerous[4]; 5. 60-Dan Ebert[6]; 6. 77-Tyler Dietz[8]; 7. 76-Brandon Overton[5]; 8. 14-Dan Angelicchio[9]; 9. 55-Chris Schneider[7] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 4. 22*-Drake Troutman[4]; 5. 1*-Chub Frank[6]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 7. J4-John Garvin Jr[8]; 8. 93L-Cory Lawler[10]; 9. 79-Donald McIntosh[7]; 10. B22-Bump Hedman[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 2. 99B-Boom Briggs[1]; 3. 1C-Alex Ferree[3]; 4. 48-Colton Flinner[6]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[8]; 6. 66L-Levi Yetter[5]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 8. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[9]; 9. 66-Justin Kann[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 9-Tim McCreadie[3]; 2. 1Z-Logan Zarin[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 5. 14H-Haiden Cowan[9]; 6. 14-Dan Angelicchio[8]; 7. 24-Tyler Wyant[5]; 8. 14R-Clay Ruffo[11]; 9. 55-Chris Schneider[10]; 10. 77-Tyler Dietz[4]; 11. 10L-Gary Lyle[7] UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 4. 1*-Chub Frank[1]; 5. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[8]; 6. B22-Bump Hedman[10]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[7]; 8. 66L-Levi Yetter[4]; 9. 79-Donald McIntosh[9]; 10. J4-John Garvin Jr[5] 57th Summit Racing Equipment Hillbilly Hundred presented by Arizona Sport Shirts | Night 2 Feature Finish (100 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 2 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $31,3002 – 1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $16,1003 – 13 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $7,0004 – 3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $6,5005 – 21 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $5,2006 – 7 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $3,5007 – 10 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $3,7008 – 17 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $2,5009 – 6 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $3,10010 – 18 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $2,30011 – 8 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $2,20012 – 9 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,80013 – 23 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,80014 – 25 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,60015 – 15 – 555 – Brock Pinkerous – Ellenville, NY – $1,80016 – 4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,55017 – 5 – 19M – Joseph Joiner – Milton, FL – $2,40018 – 14 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $1,65019 – 27 – 29 – Ken Schaltenbrand – Sarver, PA – $1,60020 – 20 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,25021 – 19 – 1Z – Logan Zarin – Hookstown, PA – $1,55022 – 11 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $2,20023 – 26 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $2,20024 – 16 – 48 – Colton Flinner – Allison Park, PA – $1,50025 – 12 – 1C – Alex Ferree – Saxonburg, PA – $1,50026 – 22 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $1,50027 – 28 – 77 – Tyler Dietz – Saxonburg, PA – $1,50028 – 24 – 1* – Chub Frank – Bear Lake, PA – $1,500 Race Statistics Entrants: 38Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Jonathan DavenportMD3 Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-100)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Margin of Victory: 1.397 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Garrett Alberson, Daniel Hilsabeck (Initial Start); Colton Flinner (Lap 2); Kyle Bronson (Lap 15); Donald McIntosh (Lap 16); Joseph Joiner (Lap 18); Tim McCreadie (Lap 26); Ken Schaltenbrand (Lap 37); Cory Lawler (Lap 39); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 43); Ken Schaltenbrand (Lap 90)Series Provisionals: Donald McIntosh; Cory LawlerFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: Ken Schaltenbrand; Tyler DietzBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Max Blair Penske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Max Blair, Devin Moran, Brandon OvertonPEM 4th Place Feature: Devin MoranDMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Carson FergusonWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Boom BriggsDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Dan EbertMD3 24th Place Feature: Colton FlinnerHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Brandon Overton (Advanced 16 positions) MD3 Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (100 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Dan EbertPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | Lap 1 | 17.615 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr.Fresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Daniel HilsabeckOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Zack FrieldsARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Jonathan Davenport | 15.251 secondsTime of Race: 1 hour 5 minutes 27 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Pay1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 7735 – $455,8502 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 7695 – $399,4003 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 7270 – $273,7494 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 7185 – $275,2255 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 6965 – $232,1006 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 6910 – $171,4507 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 6645 – $146,9008 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 5980 – $115,1259 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 5825 – $99,12510 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – 5705 – $86,15011 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 5485 – $79,65012 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 5240 – $76,87513 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 5085 – $71,80014 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 4460 – $47,225 |