SARVER, Pa. (June 27) — Devin Moran had been due. Not just for his first Firecracker 100 victory, but for a victory of any kind.

The reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion entered Saturday winless in his previous 20 starts — including 12 tour races — since his April 24 triumph at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, an unusual drought for one of the sport's most consistent front-runners.

Moran emphatically ended it Saturday at Lernerville Speedway.

The 31-year-old from Dresden, Ohio, tracked down race-long leader Brandon Sheppard and led 19 of the final 20 circuits of the 100-lap feature to capture his long-awaited first Firecracker 100 victory in his seventh career start in the crown jewel.

The way Moran earned the $50,000 payday — turning back Sheppard's furious challenges on laps 93 and 95, when the Rocket1 Racing driver twice pulled alongside exiting turn four before Moran answered each time, after Sheppard officially reclaimed the lead on lap 91 — made the triumph all the sweeter.

"Hell yeah, baby! Let's go!" Moran shouted, his first words to FloRacing pit reporter Ben Shelton after climbing from his car in victory lane.

Moran, who earned his first $50,000 payday since bagging $53,000 in the 2024 Silver Dollar Nationals at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., had been close at the Firecracker before. His bid for victory went by the wayside last year when he had to pit from fourth on lap 59. In 2024, he finished runner-up to Ricky Thornton Jr., a distant 12 seconds behind — but Moran did so from the 16th-starting spot.

On Saturday, nobody adapted to the ever-changing track conditions like Moran, who made most of his ground up around the top of turns one and two before needing to improvise down the stretch when the upper groove faded away.

“I was really using one and two really, really good. And then, from like the center off, it went over the crown, so I couldn't use it no more,” Moran said. “So I felt like I lost a lot of speed. And yeah, I was just watching (crew chief) Chuck (Kimble) the entire time, trying to just take Sheppy's air from him a couple times. I know I got close, and I chopped him, but that's what you gotta do to win the Firecracker, you know?”

Moran never truly entered the winning conversation until lap 48 when he dispatched Dan Ebert for second. Not long earlier — on lap 32 — he had slipped from the fourth-starting spot to seventh. A lap-31 caution for Mike Marlar allowed Moran to regroup, though, and make up that lost ground.

That’s when Moran worked the high side seemingly better than any driver, even Sheppard, the early leader who settled into the middle of the racetrack for a large majority of Saturday’s 100-lapper. At one point, Sheppard had built a 2.6-second lead over Moran on lap 60 — eight laps following a lap-52 restart for Thornton Jr., who slowed out of sixth.

Moran had cut that down to a half-second, though, once Sheppard reached traffic before Clay Harris drew the lap-75 caution. From there, Sheppard just didn’t have enough to finish the job — and he has a hunch as to why.

“(Moran) did a good job there. I was passing some lapped cars using that line. It got to where I couldn’t steer across the center very good — I think that’s because I had a soft tire on the right-front, I don’t really know,” Sheppard said. “Couldn’t steer into the center as good, so I was having to diamond my corner off a little bit. After he passed me, that got me right back to him there. Yeah, my car was really good. I probably could’ve did a few things different — maybe it would’ve changed the outcome, maybe not.”

For Sheppard, it’s another tantalizingly close finish in a crown jewel event. He finished second in May 24’s Show-Me 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., and had challenged eventual Dream XXXII winner Bobby Pierce in June 6’s 100-lapper at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, before a right-front tire failure on lap 80.

“We’re just thankful to be up here on the podium,” Sheppard added. “I hate it for my team — to lead that many laps and lose it late there. It is what it is now.”

Moran, meanwhile, called Saturday’s Firecracker victory “extraordinary.” He also added that his Double Down Motorsports team relied on an older but trusty race car to get them out of their mounting slump.

“This is our car we've had for a couple years, and it's been a really, really good race car,” Moran said. “We’ve just had our ups and downs, and we knew if we got this car out, we'd run good, and that's what we've done. I think this car's only ran outside the top five, like two or three times.

“So, just want to thank them guys, my amazing crew. Chucky, Houston (Null), Dyla (Morando) — this is Dylan's home track, so he had some few choice words if we won for the night. So I'd say we’ll be hanging out, having a good time.”

Moran and his crew planned to make the three-hour trek home to Dresden, Ohio, immediately after the feature, but those plans quickly changed.

"We were planning on leaving tonight," Moran said with a smile. "But I'd say that white hauler over there is gonna have to hang out for a little while and enjoy these fans."

Firecracker 100 presented by Experience Butler County
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, Longhorn, $50,000
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $20,000
3. Hudson O'Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Longhorn, $10,000
4. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., Longhorn, $8,000
5. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., Longhorn, $7,000
6. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., Longhorn, $6,000
7. Michael Norris (72), Sarver, Pa., Rocket, $4,500
8. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., Rocket, $4,000
9. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., Longhorn, $3,800
10. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., Longhorn, $3,600
11. Alex Ferree (1c), Saxonburg, Pa., Rocket, $3,400
12. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Longhorn, $3,200
13. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., Longhorn, $3,000
14. Ryan Montgomery (12), Pennsboro, W.Va., Longhorn, $2,500
15. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., Longhorn, $2,400
16. Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., Rocket, $2,300
17. Brock Pinkerous (555), Ellenville, N.Y., Rocket, $2,200
18. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $2,100
19. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., Longhorn, $2,000
20. Rick Eckert (24), York, Pa., Rocket, $2,000
21. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $2,000
22. Cory Lawler (93), Hanover, Pa., Longhorn, $2,000
23. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., Rocket, $2,000
24. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, Capital, $2,000
25. Tyler Wyant (24), Oil City, Pa., Longhorn, $2,000
26. Chub Frank (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., Longhorn, $2,000
27. Ken Schaltenbrand (29), Sarver, Pa., Longhorn, $2,000
Lap leaders: Sheppard 1-79, 91; Moran 80-90; 92-100
Preliminary feature winners: Thornton, Sheppard
Heat race winners (among 46 cars): Thornton, Sheppard, Ebert, Moran
Consolation winners: Marlar, Bronson
Provisional starters: Hilsabeck, Lawler, Schaltenbrand

Feature lineup

(100 laps)

Row 1: Ricky Thornton Jr., Dan Ebert
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran
Row 3: Hudson O'Neal, Josh Rice
Row 4: Max Blair, Dillon McCowan
Row 5: Brian Shirley, Chub Frank
Row 6: Garrett Alberson, Michael Norris
Row 7: Brandon Overton, Carson Ferguson
Row 8: Gregg Satterlee, Tyler Wyant
Row 9: Mike Marlar, Kyle Bronson
Row 10: Brock Pinkerous, Clay Harris
Row 11: Rick Eckert, Ryan Montgomery
Row 12: Alex Ferree, Brenden Smith
Row 13: Daniel Hilsabeck, Cory Lawler
Row 13: Ken Schaltenbrand

(12 laps; top four transfer)

First consolation: Mike Marlar, Brock Pinkerous, Rick Eckert, Alex Ferree, Cory Lawler, Ryan Scott, Colton Flinner, Eric Wilson, Ken Schaltenbrand, Daniel Hilsabeck, Gary Lyle. Scratched: Charles Powell Jr.

Second consolation: Kyle Bronson, Clay Harris, Ryan Montgomery, Brenden Smith, Breyton Santee, Bump Hedman, Braeden Dillinger, Levi Yetter, Jared Miley, Matt Martin, Chad Shearer, Dan Angelicchio. Scratched: Lane Snook.

Heat race recap

Ricky Thornton Jr. won the first heat after muscling the lead from fellow front-row starter Brandon Overton on the star. Heat runner-up Hudson O'Neal briefly dropped to fourth before regaining the spot from Brian Shirley late (the lone slowdown came for Eric Wilson's turn-four spin on the third lap). ... In the second heat, polesitter Brandon Sheppard cruised to victory in the nonstop 10-lapper. ... Winning his first Lucas Oil tour heat, Dan Ebert held off Josh Rice in a caution-free third heat with Chub Frank third in the No. 99B of his cousin Boom Briggs. ... In the final heat, Devin Moran won easily from the pole to take the checkers ahead of Dillon McCowan. Outside front-row starter Michael Norris slipped to fifth early but regained two positions. ... Drizzling rain was falling throughout the heats with Moran saying he'd never raced with that much precipitation.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O'Neal, Brian Shirley, Hudson O'Neal, Brandon Overton, Mike Marlar, Ryan Scott, Rick Eckert, Ken Schaltenbrand, Eric Wilson, Gary Lyle. Scratched: Chris Schneider, Clay Ruffo.

Second heat: Brandon Sheppard, Max Blair, Garrett Alberson, Gregg Satterlee, Alex Ferree, Brock Pinkerous, Daniel Hilsabeck, Colton Flinner, Cory Lawler, Charles Powell Jr. Scratched: Tyler Dietz, Josh Ferry.

Third heat: Dan Ebert, Josh Rice, Chub Frank, Carson Ferguson, Kyle Bronson, Brenden Smith, Jared Miley, Levi Yetter, Braeden Dillinger, Matt Mart, Chad Shearer.

Fourth heat: Devin Moran, Dillon McCowan, Michael Norris, Tyler Wyant, Clay Harris, Ryan Montgomery, Breyton Santee, Dan Angelicchio, Bump Hedman, Lane Snook. Scratched: John Garvin Jr.

Heat race lineups

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat
Row 1: Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton
Row 2: Hudson O’Neal, Brian Shirley

Row 3: Eric Wilson, Ken Schaltenbrand
Row 4: Ryan Scott, Mike Marlar
Row 5: Gary Lyle, Rick Eckert
Row 6: Chris Schneider, Clay Ruffo
Second heat
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Max Blair
Row 2: Garrett Alberson, Alex Ferree
Row 3: Gregg Satterlee, Brock Pinkerous
Row 4: Daniel Hilsabeck, Cory Lawler
Row 5: Colton Flinner, Charles Powell
Row 6: Tyler Dietz, Josh Ferry
Third heat
Row 1: Dan Ebert, Josh Rice
Row 2: Carson Ferguson, Chub Frank
Row 3: Brenden Smith, Jared Miley
Row 4: Levi Yetter, Braeden Dillinger
Row 5: Matt Martin, Chad Shearer
Row 6: Kyle Bronson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Devin Moran, Michael Norris
Row 2: Dillon McCowan, Tyler Wyant
Row 3: Ryan Montgomery, Clay Harris
Row 4: Breyton Santee, Bump Hedman
Row 5: Dan Angelicchio, Lane Snook
Row 6: John Garvin Jr.

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
2 p.m. - Pits open
2 p.m. - Church outreach service
2:15 p.m. - Tech and registration open
3 p.m. - Grandstands open
3:30-4:15 p.m. - Driver autograph session
4:30 p.m. - FloRacing broadcast begins
5 p.m. - On-track activity
- 604 Crate hot laps (consolation entrants)
- Late Model hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- 604 Crate consolations (12 laps)
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- 604 Crate hot laps (feature entrants)
Late Model driver introductions
- Late Model Firecracker feature (100 laps)
- 604 Crate Bill Emig Memorial (50 laps)
- 604 Crate non-qualifiers’ Race (20 laps)