After the Checkers
Breakdown, analysis as Thornton grabs DTWC
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Ricky Thornton Jr. has plenty of checks to cash. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
MINERAL WELLS, W.Va. (Oct. 18) — Takeaways and analysis from Sunday’s 46th annual Dirt Track World Championship, a 100-lap, $100,000-to-win feature captured by Ricky Thornton Jr. (RaceWire):
RTJ’S REAWAKENING: Back in June, we were all wondering what the heck it would take for Ricky Thornton Jr. to start winning regularly again. The Silver Dollar Nationals victory came in July, but even that didn’t feel like an immediate breakthrough. August brought a promising Topless 100 showing and another victory at Port Royal. By then, something felt like it was coming alive. September produced no wins, but it did deliver a 2.5 average finish — nothing worse than fourth — one of the best months of RTJ's career off that metric. Now comes October’s eruption: four straight victories, $290,000 in winnings and the most lucrative four-race stretch of his career. The same RTJ we questioned four months ago has returned to dominant form through a turnaround that somehow feels both gradual and sudden. Yes, Hudson O’Neal’s misfortune opened the door Sunday. But there’s something to be said for Thornton’s approach of keeping himself in contention without relying on the treacherous cushion that ultimately proved O’Neal’s undoing. Being there to capitalize counts, too. He’s won four consecutive races for the first time, and his streak of 13 straight top-five finishes across features and semifeatures matches his career best. He’s making the right decisions in and out of the car, and the confidence clearly shows. Anything feels possible again for RTJ. For him, 2027 can’t come soon enough.
UNWAVERING CHAMPS: If you really thought Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing would let their guard down and allow the Lucas Oil title to slip away, you were kidding yourself. As I’ve written, all the props to Devin Moran for making this fight compelling down to the season’s final lap. But Sheppard was never going to let it get away through anything he could control. What’s remarkable is that they sealed it without winning another points race after July 16 at Shelby County Speedway. Sheppard finished outside the top 10 just three times after Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, and one of those came in the 15-car North-South 100 pileup. Sunday was the quintessential way for Rocket1 to clinch. Sheppard hung tough inside the top five all night. When it looked like he might slip back, he found more, picking off Jonathan Davenport and Moran to finish second. There isn’t a more reliable, steadfast team in the pit area than the Mark Richards-led Rocket1 group. Seasons of 20 or 25 wins might be harder to come by with the sport this competitive. But consistency like this never goes out of style.
OCTOBER BLUES: I don’t know what it is about October, but Hudson O’Neal can’t seem to shake its bad luck. After a carburetor problem knocked him out of contention at Eldora last Saturday — and effectively out of the Lucas Oil title race — Sunday felt like a chance for the racing gods to give one back. Instead, an apparent mud clod folded his right-front nose under the car, derailing a dominant DTWC run. O’Neal has an 11.8 average finish across 15 October features and semifeatures over the last three years, with just two podiums. That includes a rough 16.4 average last October, when he fell out of Lucas Oil playoff contention.
MY TWO CENTS: I haven’t spent much time on Facebook or social media since the DTWC ended, but I can already hear the keyboard warriors finding something to gripe about from afar. I’ll say this: I genuinely enjoyed the West Virginia experience this weekend. It passed the vibe check for me. The racing was entertaining, and the place had the energy and fan support — roughly 10,000 on Saturday — you want to see at an event of this magnitude. My dad came out for his first taste of WVMS, and he might’ve enjoyed it more than I did. That doesn’t mean everything was perfect. But if you’re judging the whole experience from home, understand there’s plenty a broadcast or Facebook comment section can’t capture. Dad told me that track owner Mike Hurley had approached him, without knowing his connection to me, and asked about his experience. When I talked with Mike later, he asked me the same thing. He said he’d been asking fans that question all weekend. Here’s a guy who’s poured more than $2 million into reviving a racetrack that was all but given up on, helped bring the DTWC back to West Virginia in its first full season, and spent the weekend seeking feedback from the people in the stands. Let that sink in before making some rash comment.
CASHING IN: By my math, Ricky Thornton Jr. will clear $670,000 in Lucas Oil tour earnings this year, surpassing the $642,169 he amassed during his 2024 championship season. That projects to make him the highest series earner despite finishing fourth in points. Sunday’s haul included the $100,000 winner’s purse, the $100,000 Big River Steel bonus, $15,000 from the Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup and another $5,000 as the highest-finishing Lucas Oil driver. Add his $125,000 fourth-place points-fund payout, and Thornton has plenty to show for a season that won’t end with a championship trophy.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Brandon Sheppard became the fourth driver with a career that includes Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws championships, joining Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards and Tim McCreadie. Sheppard's six combined titles across the two tours are the most all-time, breaking a tie with Richards. The championship also gives Rocket1 Racing its 10th national title and fifth with Sheppard, who delivered the team’s second Lucas Oil crown. Sheppard previously earned four WoO titles with Rocket1 in 2017, ’19, ’20 and ’21. Richards contributed four WoO championships in 2009, ’10, ’13 and ’16, while Hudson O’Neal added the 2023 Lucas Oil title.
