OCALA, Fla. — Most people agree about what's "the most wonderful time of the year." But don't bother trying to convince Devin Moran with Christmas trees, bow-tied gifts and Santa Claus. For the Dresden, Ohio, driver, Georgia-Florida Speedweeks is where it's at.

And winning at Speedweeks is even better.

Coming from his seventh starting spot Saturday at Ocala Speedway, the 30-year-old driver won a back-and-forth duel with outside front-row starter Jonathan Davenport and collected the $25,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory, a track-record payday in front of a track-record crowd at the Bubba Clem owned trioval.

Moran, whose activities at Speedweeks include playing a little golf and watching live streams of races from other Florida tracks, was excited to reach victory lane for the third time this season and second at Ocala after winning Tuesday's opener.

"This is the reason why we come to Florida for Speedweeks," a beaming Moran said in victory lane. "This is my favorite time of year, and we just put on one hell of a show for the crowd here and everybody watching at home."

Blairsville, Ga.'s Davenport dominated the first half of the race, but after three mid-race cautions, Moran got rolling on the high side, inching ahead on lap 33. Davenport crossed under Moran exiting turn four to maintain the lead, but five laps later Moran made his next challenge stick, exiting turn four with a lead he'd never give up.

How did he do it, announcer Ben Shelton asked him when he climbed from his car. "Just gassing on it, you know?!"

Davenport, a flag-to-flag winner at Ocala on Wednesday and Thursday, settled for second in the finale, unable to take advantage when Moran got a little too high exiting turn four heading for the checkers. Pole-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., settled for third after running second in the first half of the race with Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., and Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., rounding out the top five in a race slowed by seven cautions, all for single-car slowdowns and six of them for flat tires.

Davenport, who blitzed out to nearly a three-second lead early, benefitted from a clean racetrack after frequent cautions, but when Moran got past Thornton at halfway and began swinging wide exiting turn four on multiple restarts, he figured out a way to get rolling.

"My biggest problem is I just could not restart good all weekend," Moran said. "Well, I just found the track that could make me restart better. I just went wherever they weren't and J.D. was turning down enough that I could somewhat get a run and I just thought (that) last one was really good. I felt like I was really good. I just needed long runs and we just kept having caution after caution, so I had to worry about Ricky (Thornton Jr.) underneath of me."

But once Moran began mixing it up with Davenport for the lead, Thornton could only spectate.

"I almost wish I had an in-car (camera) on. It was pretty good to watch their race even though I wasn't in it," the third-place finisher said.

Moran was surprised he was able to gain six positions and land atop the podium on a racing surface that had kept drivers guessing much of the week.

"I did not expect us to come from seventh to win tonight. I gotta give Bubba (Clem) and Rob (Platfoot) and all them guys props. I told him last night it was the best track condition they had, but we had to work on it a little bit still. And they did that. They just provided us an amazing racetrack," Moran said. "I knew he was eventually going to go up (in turns one and two), but I figured (Davenport would) never worry about the top of (turns) three and four. I could just get that little bit of run off the top."

Davenport's tire choice — softer rubber than Moran — mostly committed him to the low groove, giving him little ammunition to fight off the high-flying winner.

"We went with a soft tire there, so I think there was one other car in the field (with a soft tire). I don't know if that had something to do with it, but we might not ever get the lead without the soft tire, so I don't know," Davenport said. "Devin done a great job. I knew (the groove) was gonna be moving around. I just got slower and slower on the bottom and it's kind of where I was married to with that tire. I couldn't really move around a lot. (When) I moved all the way to the top. I was OK, but it's just a long way around there and it's pretty treacherous.

"It was my tire choice there. I don't know if it was wrong or if it was right, but at least it got us a second anyway."

Thornton went with a harder tire but finished thinking he'd made the wrong call, too.

"The racetrack was awesome. Bubba told us he was gonna get us for running on the wall and literally I think one lap I was on the wall. So hat's off to these guys. They busted their butt all week. Tonight was probably the best racetrack we had all week, too," said Thornton, Friday's feature winner. "In the end, I think the driver probably made the wrong tire call. We went hard and (the track) just didn't slow down as much as I needed it to, but congrats to Devin and J.D., they drove a great race."

With the conclusion of nine Speedweeks events among three tracks, the Lucas Oil Series takes a six-week break before returning to action March 21-22 at Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio, and Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway.

Notes: The feature ended at 9:25 p.m. ... Devin Moran won his 17th career full-field Lucas Oil Series victory.  ... Tim McCreadie's slowdown and retirement on lap 31 was the only caution that wasn't for a flat tire. ... Flats drew yellows for Carson Ferguson on lap 17, Brandon Sheppard on lap 18 (for two left-side flats), Daniel Hilsabeck on lap 26, Dan Ebert on lap 28 and Tyler Erb on lap 30. ... Brian Shirley, whose Speedweeks has been marked by misfortune, didn't make the feature. The Chatham, Ill., driver got into the frontstretch wall on a heat-race restart and spun with Donald McIntosh getting a piece of Shirley's stalled machine. … Blair Nothdurft broke a lower rear end shaft while running fourth in the third heat. ... A 10-minute red flag delayed action after third-running Ross Robinson hopped the cushion and stopped in turn one, leaving Freddie Carpenter nowhere to go. Robinson drove back to the pits, while Carpenter exited his car before being helped to the ambulance for observation and precautionary reasons. ... Carpenter had a sore right forearm and thumb, but was otherwise OK. ... Chase Junghans scratched after hitting the wall in hot laps.

Feature lineup

(50 laps)

Row 1: Ricky Thornton Jr., Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Drake Troutman
Row 3: Garrett Alberson, Brandon Overton
Row 4: Devin Moran, Carson Ferguson
Row 5: Tyler Erb, Tim McCreadie
Row 6: Brenden Smith, Hudson O'Neal
Row 7: Mark Whitener, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 8: Daulton Wilson, Daniel Hilsabeck
Row 9: Tanner English, Dan Ebert
Row 10: Max Blair, Donald McIntosh
Row 11: Clay Harris, Jimmy Owens
Row 12: Ross Robinson, Boom Briggs
Row 13: Spencer Hughes

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Tanner English, Max Blair, Clay Harris, Wil Herrington, Kyle Bronson, Tyler Bruening, Ryan Gustin, Matt Tifft, Seth Zacharias, Boom Briggs. Scratched: Bobby Pierce, Dillon McCowan, Jack Riggs, Jason Riggs, Michael Leach, Matt Nailor.

Second consolation: Dan Ebert, Donald McIntosh, Jimmy Owens, Carson Brown, Cory Lawler, Spencer Hughes, Tyler Wyant, Blair Nothdurft, Derrick Stewart, Ross Robinson. Scratched: Freddie Carpenter, Brian Shirley, Austin Smith, Jason Jack, Chase Junghans.

Heat race recap

Ricky Thornton Jr. fired off from the outside front row and led all eight laps to win the first heat by 1.272 seconds over pole-starting Garrett Alberson, earning the pole starting position for Saturday’s $25,000-to-win finale. Fifth-starting Tyler Erb finished third, while Mark Whitener started and finished fourth, the last driver to punch his ticket into the main event. The race’s lone caution flew on the sixth lap for apparent debris. Tanner English stopped to communicate with an official, but continued to finish fifth. Kyle Bronson pulled into the infield before taking the green, forfeiting his sixth starting spot. Bronson's crew appeared to look in the left-front area before he tagged the field and finished ninth. … Second-starting Brandon Sheppard scored a flag-to-flag victory, winning the second heat by 1.852 seconds over pole-starting Devin Moran. Brenden Smith slipped by Daulton Wilson on the second lap, finishing third and relegating Wilson to fourth. The only slowdown came on the second lap after Michael Leach and Boom Briggs tangled in turn three while battling for 10th. Leach retired, while Briggs continued to a ninth-place finish. … Jonathan Davenport endured several stoppages and restarts, leading the entire distance and winning heat three from the pole by 0.877 of a second over sixth-starting Brandon Overton, with fifth-starting Tim McCreadie and ninth-starting Dennis Erb Jr. completing the top-four finishers. The first yellow flag came out on lap five when Blair Nothdurft slowed from fourth and required a push back to the pits after a broken lower rear end shaft. The second stoppage came when Brian Shirley's right-front got stuck in the frontstretch wall on the ensuing restart, cutting the tire and causing Shirley's car to turn sideways before getting clipped by Donald McIntosh, with Shirley pulling straight into the pits. McIntosh continued to finish fifth. A 10-minute red flag came on the next lap-five restart attempt after third-running Ross Robinson hopped the cushion and came to a stop in turn one before Freddie Carpenter piled in. Robinson was able to drive back to the pits, while it took several minutes for track officials to cleanup what was left of Carpenter’s heavily damaged car. Carpenter exited his car, but was helped to the ambulance for observation and precautionary reasons. ... Freddie has a sore right forearm and thumb, but is otherwise OK. Robinson will resort to a backup car for the rest of the night. … Drake Troutman led all eight laps from the pole to win the fourth and final heat race by 0.929 of a second over second-starting Carson Ferguson. Fifth-starting Hudson O’Neal took third, with Daniel Hilsabeck claiming the fourth and final transfer spot into the 50-lap feature.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Mark Whitener, Tanner English, Clay Harris, Wil Herrington, Dillon McCowan, Kyle Bronson, Jack Riggs, Jason Riggs, Seth Zacharias.

Second heat: Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran, Brenden Smith, Daulton Wilson, Max Blair, Ryan Gustin, Bobby Pierce, Tyler Bruening, Boom Briggs, Matt Tifft, Michael Leach. Scratched: Matt Nailor.

Third heat: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, Dennis Erb Jr., Donald McIntosh, Tyler Wyant, Ross Robinson, Freddie Carpenter, Brian Shirley, Blair Nothdurft. Scratched: Austin Smith, Chase Junghans.

Fourth heat: Drake Troutman, Carson Ferguson, Hudson O'Neal, Daniel Hilsabeck, Jimmy Owens, Dan Ebert, Spencer Hughes, Carson Brown, Cory Lawler, Derrick Stewart. Scratched: Jason Jack.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.398
2. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 14.478
3. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 14.483
4. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 14.595
5. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 14.611
6. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 14.644
7. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 14.648
8. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 14.685
9. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 14.718
10. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 14.722
11. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 14.747
12. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 14.768
13. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 14.770
14. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 14.777
15. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 14.811
16. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 14.840
17. Wil Herrington (15k), Hawkinsville, Ga., 14.904
18. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 14.922
19. Jack Riggs (81J), Nolensville, Tenn., 14.948
20. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 14.961
21. Jason Riggs (81), College Grove, Tenn., 15.000
22. Matt Tifft (57), Cleveland, Ohio, 15.318
23. Seth Zacharias (17z), Vestal, N.Y., 15.489
24. Matt Nailor (000), Shermansdale, Pa., no time
Group B
1. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 14.497
2. Drake Troutman (22*), Hyndman, Pa., 14.696
3. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 14.734
4. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 14.759
5. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 14.809
6. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 14.834
7. Blair Nothdurft (76n), Renner, S.D., 14.872
8. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 14.902
9. Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., 14.931
10. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 15.021
11. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.028
12. Derrick Stewart (43), Ainsworth, Iowa, 15.045
13. Donald McIntosh (79), Dawsonville, Ga., 15.060
14. Spencer Hughes (19m), Meridian, Miss., 15.211
15. Freddie Carpenter (c4), Parkersburg, W.Va., 15.225
16. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 15.334
17. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 15.365
18. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 15.396
19. Tyler Wyant (24), Oil City, Pa., 15.722
20. Carson Brown (28B), New London, N.C., 15.738
21. Austin Smith (11), Cedartown, Ga., no time
22. Jason Jack (32J), Tampa, Fla., no time
23. Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
2 p.m. - Pits open
2:30 p.m. - Registration and tech opens
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
5:15 p.m. - Registration and tech closes
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature event
- Late Models (50 laps)