ROSSBURG, Ohio — Live updates from the two-day 45th annual Dirt Track World Championship presented by ARP, starting with Friday’s time trials and heat races preceding Saturday’s 100-lap, $100,000-to-win feature for Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature lineup

(100 laps)

Row 1: Chris Ferguson, Chris Madden
Row 2: Devin Moran, Garrett Alberson
Row 3: Brandon Sheppard, Dale McDowell
Row 4: Carson Ferguson, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 5: Nick Hoffman, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 6: Hudson O'Neal, Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Bobby Pierce, Brandon Overton
Row 8: Clay Harris, Jason Jameson
Row 9: Daulton Wilson, Joseph Joiner
Row 10: Consolation transfers
Row 11: Consolation transfers
Row 12: Consolation transfers
Row 13: Provisional starters

Heat race recap

Second-starting Chris Ferguson passed his younger cousin, Carson Ferguson, out of turn four and beat him to the line by 0.405 of a second to win the first heat race, with fourth-starting Bobby Pierce grabbing the third and final transfer spot into Saturday’s 45th annual Dirt Track World Championship. … Devin Moran overcame several cautions and restarts to lead all 10 laps in winning heat two by 2.469 seconds over fourth-starting Nick Hoffman finishing second. Fifth-starting Clay Harris grabbed third on a lap-five restart for the final transfer position. The second prelim lasted nearly 20 minutes after the opening incident drew a lengthy red flag when Tyler Erb and Max Blair made contact entering turn one, sending both cars spinning and making hard wall contact, with Blair’s car ending up on top of the front of Erb’s machine. The incident collected Michael Leach; all drivers were OK, but could not continue. … Sixth-running Ryan Gustin slowed on lap five with a soft right-rear tire, then shredded the same tire on the ensuing restart attempt; he continued to finish fifth. … Brandon Sheppard earned a flag-to-flag victory in the third heat, leading the entire distance and taking the checkers 4.441 seconds ahead of Hudson O’Neal. Daulton Wilson held serve in starting and finishing third. … The race’s lone yellow flag flew on the first lap when R.C. Whitwell slowed with a flat left-rear tire and heavy damage following an opening start stackup involving Ryan Montgomery; Montgomery continued to finish seventh while Whitwell, who pitted, could only complete a couple of laps before calling it a night. … Chris Madden overcame an early restart and cruised to win the fourth heat by 6.690 seconds over Ricky Thornton Jr., who overcame opening lap wall contact to finish a distant runner up. Third-starting Brandon Overton held off fourth-starting Zack Dohm by 0.023 of a second to claim the transfer. … The lone slowdown came when Tanner English spun on the opening lap and retired. … Garrett Alberson overcame a couple of early restarts to win the fifth heat by 2.248 seconds over eighth-starting Dennis Erb Jr. with Jason Jameson starting and finishing third. … The race’s first two cautions came for debris (lap three and four). … Dale McDowell led all 10 laps to win the sixth and final heat race, crossing the line 1.395 seconds ahead of a closing Jonathan Davenport. Joseph Joiner started and finished third for the race’s final transfer spot. The lone caution flew when Michael Chilton slowed from second on the opening lap with apparent suspension issues. He could not continue. … The six prelims combined to last for 45 minutes of on-track action.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First heat: Chris Ferguson, Carson Ferguson, Bobby Pierce, Mike Marlar, Brian Shirley, Jimmy Owens, Clint Keenan, Rod Conley, Tyler Carpenter, Tyler Wyant.

Second heat: Devin Moran, Nick Hoffman, Clay Harris, Ethan Dotson, Ryan Gustin, Jerry Bowersock, Jon Hodgkiss, Max Blair, Tyler Erb, Michael Leach.

Third heat: Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O'Neal, Daulton Wilson, Dan Ebert, Colten Burdette, Josh Rice, Ryan Montgomery, Forrest Trent, Brandon Moore, R.C. Whitwell.

Fourth heat: Chris Madden, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, Zack Dohm, Haiden Cowan, Mike Spatola, Garrett Smith, Matt Miller, Brody Smith, Tanner English.

Fifth heat: Garrett Alberson, Dennis Erb Jr., Jason Jameson, Tim McCreadie, Donald McIntosh, Brenden Smith, Kyle Bronson, Cory Lawler, Eli Johnson.

Sixth heat: Dale McDowell, Jonathan Davenport, Joseph Joiner, Jordan Koehler, Daniel Hilsabeck, Caden McWhorter, Evan Koehler, Chris Stotts, Michael Chilton.

Pre-race notes

The first night of Dirt Track World Championship action for the Lucas Oil Series begins with overcast but dry conditions following an afternoon high temperature that reached the low 70s. … Saturday’s forecast calls for a high temperature in the low 80s, but an approaching weather front is bringing an increasing threat of rain towards midnight. Eldora and Lucas Oil Series officials announced that Saturday’s hot laps will be moved up two hours to 4 p.m. in an effort to complete the action before precipitation enters the picture; Lucas Oil Series director Rick Schwallie said last year’s DTWC finale took four hours so it’s hoped racing will be checkered by 8 or 9 o’clock. … The 59-car field is down two from last year’s DTWC turnout. … A press conference featuring three of the four drivers in the Lucas Oil tour’s Chase for the Championship — Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., and Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind. — was held at 2 p.m. on Friday in Eldora’s infield media center. Missing from the quartet was Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who was not yet at the track because his flight to Dayton landed only at 1:30 p.m. … Davenport, who is seeking his first-ever DTWC victory, has new doors and a fresh wrap (accented with the color orange) on his tried-and-true Eldora Longhorn Chassis. … The last hauler to pull into Eldora’s infield belonged to Tyler Carpenter of Parkersburg, W.Va., who arrived as the drivers’ meeting was taking place. He said he left his shop later than he planned but was also held up for about 20 minutes when he had to stop for a passing freight train just a few miles from the track. … Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., is behind the wheel of his Ronnie Delk-owned Longhorn Chassis for the second straight weekend after last month’s World 100 marked his final appearance with Greg Bruening’s Skyline Motorsports team. … Maryland’s Bruce Kane has a pair of brand-new Rocket Chassis machines entered in the weekend’s action with Colten Burdette of Parkersburg, W.Va., driving the Super Late Model and Josh Rice of Crittenden, Ky., piloting the Steel Block Late Model in the undercard. A post on Kane’s Facebook page said his 2025 driver, Wil Herrington of Hawkinsville, Ga., was unable to make the trip north because he was feeling under the weather, but Herrington posted on social media Friday that he wasn’t sick and was spending the weekend running a Crate Late Model in the $30,000-to-win Powell Memorial at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla. … Former Dream winner Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio, is entered in Rick Delong’s No. 3. He drove Delong’s machine to an eighth-place finish in Aug. 31’s Baltes Classic at Eldora but didn’t run the World 100 a few days later; this weekend marks the first time the 54-year-old Miller has competed in an Eldora crown jewel since 2018 (the Dream and World 100) and his first DTWC attempt since 2010 at West Virginia Motor Speedway. … Friday’s hot laps were rough on a couple drivers: Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., wheel-hopped and smacked the turn-three wall — giving his Rattliff Racing crew right-side damage to repair before qualifying — while Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., experienced terminal engine trouble and was forced to pull out his backup Koehler Motorsports car.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 15.940
2. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 15.965
3. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 16.011
4. Chris Ferguson (22F), Mount Holly, N.C., 16.055
5. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 16.059
6. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 16.247
7. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 16.279
8. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 16.294
9. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 16.344
10. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 16.350
11. Nick Hoffman (9H), Mooresville, N.C., 16.369
12. Forrest Trent (101), Morristown, Tenn., 16.385
13. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 16.401
14. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 16.422
15. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 16.533
16. Rod Conley (71R), Wheelersburg, Ohio, 16.535
17. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 16.587
18. R.C. Whitwell (69), Tucson, Ariz., 16.642
19. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 16.657
20. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., 16.687
21. Ryan Montgomery (12m), Fairmont, W.Va., 16.691
22. Clint Keenan (29), Pataskala, Ohio, 16.723
23. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 16.740
24. Colten Burdette (15k), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.777
25. Tyler Carpenter (28T), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.810
26. Jerry Bowersock (95J), Wapakoneta, Ohio, 16.883
27. Brandon Moore (39), Bryan, Ohio, 16.953
28. Tyler Wyant (24), Oil City, Pa., 17.088
29. Jon Hodgkiss (69J), Pittsburgh, Pa., 17.434
30. Josh Rice (11R), Crittenden, Ky., 25.733
Group B
1. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 15.998
2. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.053
3. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 16.254
4. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 16.313
5. Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., 16.341
6. Michael Chilton (6m), Salvisa, Ky., 16.428
7. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 16.448
8. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 16.452
9. Joseph Joiner (19m), Milton, Fla., 16.482
10. Zack Dohm (17D), Cross Lanes, W.Va., 16.510
11. Donald McIntosh (79), Dawsonville, Ga., 16.527
12. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 16.601
13. Haiden Cowan (14H), Rincon, Ga., 16.652
14. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 16.734
15. Caden McWhorter (99m), Fairbury, Ill., 16.779
16. Matt Miller (3), Whitehouse, Ohio, 16.853
17. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 16.882
18. Jordan Koheler (114), Mount Airy, N.C., 16.953
19. Garrett Smith (10), Madison, Ga., 16.975
20. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 16.980
21. Evan Koehler (11k), Mount Airy, N.C., 16.992
22. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 17.051
23. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 17.200
24. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 17.260
25. Brody Smith (17sr), Dade City, Fla., 17.455
26. Eli Johnson (55E), Clewiston, Fla., 17.704
27. Chris Stotts (s8), Shade, Ohio, 17.816
28. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 19.395
29. Dustin Nobbe (5n), Batesville, Ind., no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
8-11 a.m. - Breakfast buffet (Ballroom)
11 a.m. - Ticket office opens, racer registration opens
Noon - Gates open
2 p.m. - Outreach service (fan zone barn)
3:15 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting (victory stage)
3:45 p.m. - Opening ceremonies (victory stage)
4 p.m. - On-track activity
- Super Late Model hot laps (consolation entrants)
- Limited Late Model hot laps (feature entrants)
- Super Late Model consolations (10 laps)
- Super Late Model hot laps (feature entrants)
- Late Model non-qualifiers’ race (25 laps)
- 45th annual Dirt Track World Championship (100 laps)
Postrace ceremonies
- Limited Late Model feature (25 laps)

Friday’s schedule

10 a.m. - Ticket office opens, racer registration opens
11 a.m. - Pits open
Noon - Technical inspection opens
4 p.m. - Grandstands open, technical inspection closes
4:15 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
5 p.m. - On-track activity
- Limited Late Model hot laps
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Limited Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Super Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Modified hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Super Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Limited Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified feature (25 laps)
- Limited Late Model consolations (10 laps)