Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Topsy turvy start to Lucas playoffs
With Ricky Thornton Jr. capturing Brownstown Speedway’s $50,000 Jackson 100 while solidifying his Lucas Oil points lead, our roundtable checks in for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Reset Lucas Oil's Big River Steel Chase for the Championship.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: Everyone knew this year’s change to the Chase format that gave bonus points for points-race wins would reduce the margin of error for each Big Four driver and that's definitely the case. If this was 2024 with all four contenders starting evenly, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Devin Moran would still be tied for the lead and Jonathan Davenport would be within 90 points despite a rough, frustrating weekend. Instead, Thornton is up 80 on Moran — exactly RTJ’s margin on Moran entering the weekend — and Davenport (170 points behind) and Hudson O’Neal (270 behind after an even worse start than J.D.) need significant help to even get back in contention. Thornton is absolutely in the driver’s seat now with a solid edge, great momentum and two big tracks ahead that suit him.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: I’m not sure anybody would’ve predicted the topsy turvy weekend that virtually narrowed the contenders to two from four after an array of scrapes, bad luck and poor finishes. That said, as I think we predicted last week, Thornton’s original 70-point lead helped keep him firmly in the driver’s seat (in reality, he was the lone driver among the Big Four that could’ve endured a subpar night and stayed in contention). I’d stick with Thornton and his 80-point lead on Moran as the clear favorite, but if two nights at PPMS are anything like Brownstown’s unpredictable weekend, who knows?
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: As we stated last week, it’s going to be difficult to unseat Ricky Thornton Jr., especially now that he carries an 80-point lead over Devin Moran and a 160-point advantage over Jonathan Davenport with three races remaining. Sorry, Hudson O’Neal, at 270 points behind, he’s virtually out of the running. Thornton could very well sweep Pittsburgher weekend, which would swell his lead to more than 100 points heading to Eldora. I’d say if Moran and Davenport want a realistic shot at the title heading into Eldora, they’ll need to be within 40 points of Thornton after this weekend. Of course, anything can happen, but this is RTJ’s title to lose, which I don’t see happening.
Bryan Ault, DirtonDirt contributor: It’s suddenly a two-horse race between Ricky Thornton Jr. and Devin Moran, barring disastrous finishes at Pittsburgh and Eldora for both drivers, which isn't impossible but hard to picture. I’m impressed with how Thornton saves his equipment and tires, turns up the wick at the right time, and takes advantage on restarts. Given his victory at Eldora's World 100 and his victories at the Pittsburgher in 2020 and 2023, along with his solid points lead, he’s the odds-on favorite.
What was your reaction to multiple incidents at Brownstown between playoff competitors that sent cars spinning?
Turner: If we had a handy database of driver spins, I’d quickly look up the number of times Jonathan Davenport’s car has been facing the wrong direction on consecutive nights. And hazarding a guess, I’d say it would be been nearly 30 years ago in the four-cylinder division at Tri-County Racetrack. Crazy. I’d written a story Friday afternoon about how non-playoff drivers discussed their efforts to avoid any calamities that might’ve ruined a playoff driver’s night, but I guess that story should’ve been targeted on whether the playoff drivers might end up tangling. The Thornton-O’Neal turn-one contact in Friday’s feature basically doomed O’Neal title chances, and the closer-call Moran-Davenport contact on the other end a night later cost Davenport a clear opportunity to win the weekend’s biggest prize. Two such instances? It would've been a long shot on Dirt Draft, for sure.
Ault: Shock immediately comes to mind. I can’t get over what a disastrous weekend it was for Jonathan Davenport and Hudson O’Neal. With a chance to really get into the Chase and close the gap on Thornton at his home track, O’Neal struggled to find his footing and contact with Thornton on Friday ultimately ended his championship bid. The weekend couldn’t have gone much worse for Davenport, who had a great car and looked primed to score his first victory at the quarter-mile oval since a FloRacing Night in America triumph in 2022. After the 100-lapper, Davenport was in no mood to talk about the contact with Devin Moran — or any aspect of the weekend — and I can’t blame him. Several fans I was sitting around openly gasped when the two tangled in turn three. I don’t think anybody could have predicted that two out of the Big Four would be essentially eliminated from contention for the series championship after just one weekend.
McFadden: I honestly thought the three major incidents of the weekend — Tyler Erb spun by Hudson O’Neal in Friday’s heat race, O’Neal spun by Ricky Thornton Jr. on Friday and Jonathan Davenport spun by Devin Moran on Saturday — were all a byproduct of quarter-mile racing. Look, the Big Four drivers are going to force the issue just a little more during these playoffs. They have those kind of rights. RTJ on Friday said he “caught the rut” entering turn one and that’s what resulted in contact with O’Neal. Moran and Davenport were battling hard for second until Moran rubbed against Davenport just enough entering turn three to send him spinning. Again, incidents like these will happen when drivers are racing with a lot on the line.
Kovac: Just one of those quirks that sometime happen in racing. The four Chase drivers happen to be very good, and that’s going to often put them in close proximity to each other on the track. And sometimes things are going to happen. Was there malice behind the scrapes that occurred between the contenders? I don’t think so. But it’s clear they’re racing hard and know that every position is especially critical at this point, and that raises the chances of an incident occurring.
Anything else catch your eye at Brownstown?
Ault: The crowd. I have plenty of critiques of my home track, but I’m wondering if the Jackson 100 has regained its status as a crown jewel event. It pays $50,000-to-win now (identical to the Topless 100 and Firecracker 100, typically considered crown jewels), it’s a multiday show, it had all of the top-ranked national drivers in attendance over the past weekend, the Jackson County Fairgrounds is packed with campers, and the past weekend provided fantastic races on both nights. Whether it “officially” becomes a crown jewel is up for debate, but the past weekend’s marquee event at the southern Indiana oval didn’t let anybody down and proves it belongs in the conversation.
McFadden: The emergence of Nick Hoffman as a true superstar in our sport is a welcomed one. He’s really turning into a well-rounded racer right before our eyes. He’s well-spoken and represents his partners, as well as team owner Tye Twarog, exceptionally well. He seems to respect his fellow racers and the intense Lucas Oil playoff race on the tight confines of Brownstown. Still, he managed to put it all together marvelously Friday in his feature victory. I think this time next year we could be assessing Hoffman’s prospects at overthrowing Bobby Pierce in the 2026 World of Outlaws title race.
Kovac: I was quite surprised that Josh Rice didn’t really make any noise all weekend, finishing a quiet sixth on Friday and an even quieter 13th in the Jackson 100. I thought he’d be more of a factor after running as well as he ever has at Brownstown this year (fifth in March’s Lucas Oil event, winning his first-ever at the track in May’s Northern Allstars action). Another surprise: Nick Hoffman never factoring into Saturday’s outcome after looking so strong Friday winning his first career Lucas Oil feature. I figured he’d be even stronger over the 100-lap distance but he just didn’t get rolling as he went backwards from his fourth starting spot, finishing eighth.
Turner: A couple of things. Carson Ferguson’s gutsy fourth-place finish is something he needs a lot more of to be a regular contender on the circuit. He’s got the skills, the team and resources to have more than three top-five finishes on the Lucas Oil season, so such a performance should be expected rather noteworthy. I’ll also say that, as a Brownstown old-timer, the harder-driving style of racing there is so radically different than my earliest memories. I know I should avoid get-off-my-lawn comments, but the layout lended itself to slicker-track style racing (and the dicey frontstretch ledge) that was always more compelling to me. Different times, different era, for sure.
Discuss another result, upcoming event, recent happening or news item.
McFadden: I was bummed about Potomac Speedway’s Fall Clash event on Saturday being rained out. Hopefully the Budds Creek, Md., track and Fall Clash organizer Jim Bernheisel can find a makeup date for the $10,000-to-win event. Even having grown up in Maryland only two hours north of the Potomac 3/8-mile oval, I have yet to see a race at the track just south of D.C. From what I’ve been seeing on social media, Potomac promoter David Williams has gone to great efforts to improve the 3/8-mile oval. Who knows, if all goes right, maybe the potential is there for a national touring series to return in Southern Maryland.
Kovac: The news that Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway will close after its remaining 2025 races following the sale of the property is unfortunate. It’s a stalwart Southeast track and one of just 10 ovals in the country that have hosted all four of the sport’s national tours (NDRA, Hav-A-Tampa, Lucas Oil, WoO) over the years. No longer having Fayetteville around will be a blow to the region’s racing. And it will be strange no longer seeing that concrete grandstand standing prominently just off I-95.
Ault: Zack Mitchell is quickly becoming one of the sport’s brighter young stars. Thanks to Saturday's victory at Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla., he has just a two-point deficit behind HTF series points leader Jimmy Owens for the title. Mitchell really gained familiarity with tracks in the Midwest while running a portion of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals last summer. Could he be on his way to becoming a national touring regular?
Turner: Along with many others in the dirt racing community, especially in the Southeast, we pass along our best wishes and prayers for healing to Jake Knowles and his family. The 40-year-old racer and Rome, Ga., racing business owner has been battling a serious health condition at a Marietta, Ga., hospital that began as pancreatitis as he fights extremely high levels of inflammation in his body. The Knowles family is beloved in the Atlanta area for years, and let’s hope there’s good news soon.
In light of Brian Birkhofer is assisting Ricky Thornton Jr.’s team, envision another retired driver whose return as a crew member would be entertaining.
McFadden: What about Darrell Lanigan? I feel like the three-time World of Outlaws champ would instantly boost any race program and driver with his wealth of experience and knowledge of getting around the race car. At 55 years young, there’s a few years left to hit the road as a crew member or even crew chief, right?
Turner: Give me former Arkansas Hall of Famer Bill Frye (who, while retired from racing, did win a super stock race at Lucas Oil Speedway this season). For starters, Frye’s forgotten more than most Dirt Late Model racers know about racing, and his creative approach to modern-day technology would be fascinating. But mostly this is a selfish request because Frye was also one of the best quotes in Dirt Late Model racing for many years (a memorable one from 2000’s World 100 that drew a mind boggling 261 entries: "We've taken the biggest race in the country and turned it into hot laps for the Million.”). I think a return of Missouri driver Logan Martin is the likely pairing for Frye … I can’t wait!
Kovac: I know the driver I’d want to enlist as a crew member: Bart Hartman, the 2009 World 100 winner from Zanesville, Ohio. Like Birkhofer, Hartman was not only a supremely talented racer, but also one of the division’s biggest personalities. Hartman would certainly be a fun addition to a race team, not to mention a guy with plenty of experience and knowledge that could be beneficial to driver and crew. If I’m looking for an addition to the crew who will make sure there’s never a dull moment, I’m dialing up the Bart Man, who, at 56, is just three years older than Birkhofer.
Ault: I think it would be neat to see Earl Pearson Jr. unite with Thornton to team up and take the younger driver to even loftier heights. Pearson won the championship four years in a row in the mid-2000s, serves as a part-time series official and knows his way around all the tracks. Although he still climbs in the cockpit from time to time, it would interesting (if unlikely) to see Chris Madden team up with Davenport. The two drivers have long faced off in the Southeast and at Eldora’s major events.
