FAIRBURY, Ill. (May 11) — Sometimes timing is everything.

Devin Moran thought he might be in trouble when Jason Feger glided by him to take the lead on lap 19 of Saturday night’s 60-lap FALS Spring Shootout at Fairbury Speedway. But when the quarter-mile oval’s inside groove began to lock down late in the distance, Moran was in just the right spot to take advantage.

Regaining command from the high-riding Feger on lap 45, Dresden, Ohio’s Moran stuck to the bottom over the remaining circuits to repel a hungry Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., and grab his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of 2024.

Moran, 29, beat Thornton to the finish line by 0.760 of a second, snapping the Lucas Oil Series points leader’s three-race win streak on the national tour. Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., finished third, while Bloomington, Ill.’s Feger, who led laps 19-44, settled for fourth after failing to move into the traction quick enough and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., completed the top five.

Finding that strip of rubber before Feger proved to be worth $30,000 for Moran, who previously earned an identical payoff at Fairbury for winning the 2018 Prairie Dirt Classic.

“Man, I won at Fairbury,” Moran said in victory lane. “I love it. It makes me ready to come back for the PDC (on July 26-27).”

Moran started from the outside pole and surged ahead of front-row mate Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., for the lead at the race’s initial green flag. The driver of Roger Sellers’s Double Down Motorsports Longhorn Chassis paced the first 18 circuits before the cushion-running Feger moved in front.

Seeking his first Lucas Oil Series triumph since May 2, 2015, at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, Feger looked strong through the middle stages as he circled the bullring’s top side. But the home-state standout who celebrated his 46th birthday on May 7 didn’t know the bottom lane was becoming faster until it was too late.

“I was just trying to be patient and save my tires a little bit because (Feger) was railing the top really hard,” Moran said. “Then I saw like 25 to go and I knew it was time to go. There about five or six laps before I passed him (for the lead on lap 45) I felt a little bit of rubber (laying down) getting into (turn) one, and then it just got rubbered, like, quick, and he just never moved down thank goodness. It worked out for us.”

Thornton, 33, also slipped underneath Feger on lap 46 to take second place, putting him in position to bid for a fourth consecutive victory. Moran was well aware of his high-profile pursuer.

“It’s really hard when you see the 20 (of Thornton’s SSI Motorsports Longhorn car) on the scoreboard right behind you, but fortunately the track did rubber up — for me — and we all just rode around the bottom,” Moran said. “I was trying to keep enough distance from (the slower) Shannon (Babb) there (in the final circuits) that he didn’t mess up and it cost me and Ricky would get by me.”

Moran held on, giving him a satisfying triumph.

“It’s a great start to the year, man,” said Moran, whose previous Lucas Oil Series score this season came March 23 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway. “This just keeps it rolling. These tracks out here in Illinois, I was good when I first started coming out here and then the last couple years I’ve just been struggling.”

Thornton, who started seventh, fell short of duplicating his come-from-behind victory in last year’s Prairie Dirt Classic. He understood what would have been the best way for him to emerge a winner.

“I think probably win my heat race,” Thornton said, acknowledging that his runner-up finish in the second heat cost him two rows in the starting lineup.

The race became a tough march forward for Thornton.

“I didn’t fire off as good as I needed to and it kind of took me a few laps to get going,” Thornton said. “Daulton (Wilson) moved off the bottom and slides Mikey (Marlar) there, and (then) we just kind of slowly, methodically worked our way forward before it rubbered.

“Once it rubbered it was kind of one-lane around the bottom. I tried a couple times to move out a little bit (including rounding the final set of corners) just to see if I could sneak around (Moran) but it didn’t work out.”

The 31-year-old Sheppard made several attempts to run outside the rubber after reaching third on lap 48 but couldn’t make it work.

“I knew it was a long shot, but they were all single-file down to the bottom,” said Sheppard, who asserted that Saturday was the best he’s felt at Fairbury with his Longhorn Chassis. “I figured I’d give it a whirl once at least.

“I think I could’ve been more aggressive at the beginning of the race, but Ricky kind of showed us that rubber there when he got around us and we were able to get down.”

Two caution flags slowed the race. The first was for Brian Shirley slowing on lap 14. Two circuits a chain-reaction scramble saw Jimmy Owens and Bobby Pierce spin on the homestretch after sixth-running Shannon Babb slowed with a flat left-rear tire.

Notes: Moran’s second Lucas Oil Series win of ’24 matched his total number of victories on the circuit last year. It was 10th career triumph on the tour. … Thornton was one driver who realized how raucous a Feger victory would have been. “There for a while I thought Feger was gonna win the thing,” he said. “He took off like a rocket, so I was kind of thinking, Man, if Feger does win this thing, this is gonna be a big ol’ party here tonight.” … Tim McCreadie was the race’s hard charger with a 24th-to-eighth run in the Rocket Chassis house car, including a six-position gain after the final restart on lap 16. He had to use a provisional after a heat-race scrape with Thornton flattened his left-rear tire. … Sixth-place finisher Mike Marlar overtook Hudson O’Neal, who placed 21st, for the fourth spot in Lucas Oil points.

Feature lineup

(60 laps)

Row 1: Mike Marlar, Devin Moran
Row 2: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Cody Overton, Jason Feger
Row 4: Ricky Thornton Jr., Shannon Babb
Row 5: Brenden Smith, Allen Weisser
Row 6: Mike Harrison, Bobby Pierce
Row 7: Chris Simpson, Brian Shirley
Row 8: Garrett Alberson, Nick Hoffman
Row 9: Gordy Gundaker, Kyle Bronson
Row 10: Max Blair, Tanner English
Row 11: Hudson O'Neal, Jimmy Owens
Row 12: Daulton Wilson, Tim McCreadie
Row 13: Tyler Erb, Carson Ferguson
Row 14: Drake Troutman, Ross Robinson

Consolation results

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Gordy Gundaker, Max Blair, Hudson O'Neal, Daulton Wilson, Tim McCreadie, Jake Little, Trevor Gundaker, Drake Troutman, Ryan Gustin, Clay Harris, Billy Hough, Boom Briggs, Austin Howes, Carson Ferguson. Scratched: Jason Riggs, Jeffrey Ledford

Second consolation: Kyle Bronson, Tanner English, Jimmy Owens, Dennis Erb Jr., Kyle Hammer, Frank Heckenast Jr., Ross Robinson, Garrett Smith, J.C. Waller, McKay Wenger, Cory Lawler, Ryan Unzicker. Scratched: Tyler Erb, Kye Blight, Cole Perine

Heat race recap

After slipping as low as third, pole-starting Mike Marlar muscled by race-long leader Cody Overton, beating him to the checkers by 0.273 of a second to win the first heat race. Eighth-starting Brenden Smith placed third, with Chris Simpson finishing fourth to grab the race’s final transfer spot. The first caution flew on lap four when Jake Little spun. He continued and finished eighth. Carson Ferguson made contact with Marlar on the lap-five restart, sending Ferguson spinning. He could never recover and was credited with 11th. … Jonathan Davenport dominated heat two, leading all 10 laps and winning by 0.680 of a second over Ricky Thornton Jr. Sixth-starting Mike Harrison finished third, with Garrett Alberson claiming the fourth and final transfer position. The lone yellow was displayed on lap eight when Tim McCreadie slowed from third with a flat left-rear after he and Thornton banged doors on the backstretch. McCreadie settled for 10th after changing the tire. … Devin Moran led green-to-checkered to win heat three by 1.620 seconds over third-starting Jason Feger. Allen Weisser and Brian Shirley rounded-out the top-four finishers. … Second-starting Brandon Sheppard ran the Fairbury Speedway cushion to perfection, powering around the outside of Shannon Babb and beating him to the line by a scant 0.058 of a second. Babb led laps 3-9 before settling for second. Fifth-starting Bobby Pierce took third, with sixth-starting Nick Hoffman placing fourth. The lone stoppage came on lap four when Pierce threw a slide job for third, forcing Tyler Erb high and into the turn-two wall. Erb pulled straight to the hauler, so his Best Performance Motorsports team could begin repairs.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Mike Marlar, Cody Overton, Brenden Smith, Chris Simpson, Clay Harris, Max Blair, Hudson O'Neal, Jake Little, Jason Riggs, Boom Briggs, Carson Ferguson, Austin Howes.

Second heat: Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Harrison, Garrett Alberson, Gordy Gundaker, Daulton Wilson, Drake Troutman, Ryan Gustin, Trevor Gundaker, Tim McCreadie, Billy Hough. Scratched: Jeffrey Ledford

Third heat: Devin Moran, Jason Feger, Allen Weisser, Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., Kyle Hammer, Ryan Unzicker, Ross Robinson, Frank Heckenast Jr., J.C. Waller. Scratched: Kye Blight, Cole Perine

Fourth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Shannon Babb, Bobby Pierce, Nick Hoffman, Tanner English, Jimmy Owens, Kyle Bronson, McKay Wenger, Garrett Smith, Cory Lawler, Tyler Erb.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 13.403
2. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 13.450
3. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 13.521
4. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 13.547
5. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 13.558
6. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 13.584
7. Tim McCreadie (1), Watertown, N.Y., 13.623
8. Cody Overton (97c), Evans, Ga., 13.630
9. Jason Riggs (81), College Grove, Tenn., 13.645
10. Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 13.667
11. Max Blair (111) Centerville, Pa., 13.773
12. Mike Harrison (33), Highland, Ill., 13.781
13. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 13.816
14. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 13.821
15. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 13.823
16. Trevor Gundaker (11T), St. Charles, Mo., 13.842
17. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 13.854
18. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 13.855
19. Austin Howes (17A), Lewistown, Mo., 13.943
20. Drake Troutman (7T), Hyndman, Pa., 14.072
21. Jake Little (38J), Springfield, Ill., 14.076
22. Billy Hough (33-4), Thomasboro, Ill., 14.162
23. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 14.198
24. Jeffrey Ledford (8L), Pontiac, Ill., 14.365
Group B
1. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 13.609
2. Garrett Smith (10), Eatonton, Ga., 13.800
3. Allen Weisser (25w), Peoria, Ill., 13.839
4. Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 13.864
5. Jason Feger (25F), Bloomington, Ill., 13.865
6. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 13.873
7. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 13.885
8. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 13.887
9. Kyle Hammer (45), Clinton, Ill., 13.954
10. Bobby Pierce (32p), Oakwood, Ill., 13.970
11. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 13.975
12. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., 13.999
13. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 14.052
14. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 14.055
15. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 14.083
16. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 14.177
17. Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 14.227
18. McKay Wenger (99w), Fairbury, Ill., 14.229
19. J.C. Waller (7w), Atoka, Tenn., 14.323
20. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 14.382
21. Kye Blight (31), Katanning, Western Australia, 14.706
22. Cory Lawler (93), Hanover, Pa., 14.807
23. Cole Perine (c8), Lowell, Ohio, no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
Noon - All gates open
5:30 p.m. - On-track activity begins
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot lap/qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Modified consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (60 laps)
- Modifieds (30 laps)