After the Checkers
Breakdown, analysis of Thornton's Eldora sweep
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Ricky Thornton Jr. in victory lane. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Oct. 10) — Takeaways and analysis from Saturday’s Clash on the Wabash finale at Eldora Speedway, a $50,000-to-win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature captured by Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz. (RaceWire):
RTJ DAZZLES: Finally, Ricky Thornton Jr. sweeps a weekend, winning back-to-back features for the first time since August 2025. RTJ’s uneven season has been well-documented, with crew chief Anthony Burroughs’s departure from Koehler Motorsports marking the latest turn. But Thornton’s talent, his aptitude for figuring out the complex and ever-evolving demands of Dirt Late Models and his willingness to study race footage and apply what he learns to his racecraft shouldn’t be questioned. RTJ is at his best when he can stay on the fuel and wind his car up on momentum-oriented tracks. When he’s in the groove, it’s hard to shake him from that rhythm, when he’s buzz-sawing through traffic and setting a rip-roaring pace. He swept the weekend for two reasons — his brand-new Longhorn Chassis, now 2-for-2, was dialed in from the jump, and he ran mistake-free. Devin Moran and Josh Rice were just as fast in the final laps, but Moran’s slow start to the night and Rice’s B-main hiccup were the difference. We may not see 30-plus-win-season RTJ like we did in 2023 simply because it’s so difficult to go on heaters in the current ultra-competitive climate, but he’s back to the frontrunning ways we’ve been waiting for all season. I've been saying it with assurance since the end of August. The signs are there — and they have been for more than two months now.
TITLE FIGHT: Second. Eighth. Fifth. Sixth. Second. Sixth. Those are Brandon Sheppard’s last six finishes in Lucas Oil points races, which on any given night can be more frustrating than satisfying because when a driver is that close to the front, he typically wants more. And Sheppard certainly does. But that consistency has preserved a 45-point lead over Devin Moran heading into the Dirt Track World Championship, where that kind of consistency can amount to a his first Lucas Oil title. If Sheppard manages to finish on the podium, he’ll capture the championship no matter what Moran does. Hudson O’Neal, meanwhile, was running 10th when he pulled off after 11 laps Saturday. His DNF dropped him 140 points behind Sheppard, mathematically eliminating him. Moran has a victories and three straight podiums in his brand-new Longhorn Chassis — plus won the Hillbilly Hundred at West Virginia Motor Speedway last month. If he can win again at WVMS, it would put Sheppard in a must-perform situation. The Rocket1 Racing bunch has pulled through when it matters most this season and shouldn’t be expected to falter. Either way, the unwavering Sheppard and the surging Moran figure to put on quite the battle next weekend.
BRONSON BUILDING: The Anthony Burroughs era at Kyle Bronson Motorsports is off to an encouraging start, as the Brandon, Fla., driver recorded back-to-back top-five finishes at the national touring level for the first time since last May 15-16 at Eagle (Neb.) Raceway, where he finished third twice. Bronson’s fourth- and fifth-place finishes at Eldora came in his first two races aboard a brand-new Longhorn Chassis. He even nipped Brandon Sheppard on the final restart with three laps to go Saturday to steal fifth from the Rocket1 Racing driver. So far, adding Burroughs’s mechanical prowess is paying off.
MORE LAPS, PLEASE: We talked about it a little on the Dirt Reporters Podcast, and I’ll say it again after Saturday — I really wish races paying $50,000-to-win or more ran longer than 50 laps. We’re not asking for 100, but 60 should be the bare minimum. Saturday’s 50-lapper felt like it was just getting good around lap 40. Fifteenth-starting Devin Moran had cut a 5.5-second deficit to less than two seconds by lap 41. Twenty-third-starting Josh Rice powered into third on lap 43. But just as those charges were unfolding, the laps were running out. Ricky Thornton Jr. might’ve stayed on the top step even with more laps. I just wish we’d had the opportunity to find out.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Thornton’s Eldora victory extended his streak to 11 straight top-five finishes in features he qualified for — his sixth stretch of 10 or more since becoming a full-time Dirt Late Model racer in 2020. It’s two shy of his career-best 13, achieved in 2023 and ’24. The count excludes his DNQ in the Sept. 10 World 100 prelim.
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