Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: RTJ's surge and B-Shepp's championship
After Ricky Thornton Jr. (DTWC winner) and Brandon Sheppard (Lucas Oil champion) cashed in at West Virginia Motor Speedway, our roundtable convenes for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Discuss second-time Dirt Track World Champion Ricky Thornton Jr.’s late-season surge.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: This is the Thornton everybody has come to expect — winning races, and big ones, in bunches — which is why one of 2026’s mysteries was how he just wasn’t reaching victory lane with his usual regularity nor flair. It just seemed like one of those years for RTJ where he couldn’t put it all together as usual. He wasn’t instinctively making the right move at the right time. He wasn’t hitting on adjustments. He wasn’t getting the breaks. He’s too talented, though, for it to continue indefinitely. I’ve been feeling like Thornton was a ticking time bomb ready to explode all season, and the Eldora sweep was the explosion that righted him. I’d say he’s back in his perfect flow once again after his DTWC performance — yes, Ricky Thornton Jr. doing Ricky Thornton Jr. things.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: I’ve been saying for nearly two months that Ricky Thornton Jr. is back to himself. That may have been harder to sell in August, but signs were there. We’ve come to use his overwhelming win totals from 2023 and ’24 as the benchmark, so anything short of that can obscure how well he’s running. For weeks now, though, Thornton has looked like a driver who can control his own destiny again. He’s making the right decisions, racing with confidence and getting the breaks that any driver will tell you are part of a run like this. Four straight Lucas Oil victories and a second DTWC make it much easier to see, but this surge has been building. Safe to say we’ll have a new No. 1 in our Top 25 poll this week.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: This is what it looks like when Thornton puts it all together and things begin to fall his way — a scary prospect for the competition. The RTJ of the moment is the same driver who has been among the sport’s best in recent seasons, but inconsistency became his hallmark in 2026. How inconsistent? Think of the rarity that a driver who finishes fourth in series points on a national tour is tour's winningest driver. At least for now, Thornton has put that inconsistency behind him with just one finish worse than sixth since Aug. 8 and a lucrative four-race winning streak that’s helped push his 2026 earnings into the stratosphere.
Bryan Ault, DirtonDirt contributing writer: It has to be concerning for those planning to run the Lucas Oil Series in 2027 that Ricky Thornton Jr. was back to his normal, dominant self over the past month. Thornton always kept Hudson O’Neal within reach during the 100-lap DTWC, and you have to think he was just busy saving his tires before finally passing the Hoosier State driver when the moment was right. Thornton is becoming one of the best drivers especially when it comes to managing his equipment during long-distance races. Capping off his season with four straight tour victories has to give him and the Koehler Motorsports crew a huge boost of confidence to close out the year, and eager to kick off 2027 with a strong start.
And consider Brandon Sheppard’s first Lucas Oil Series title.
Turner: If life’s certainties are death and taxes, Dirt Late Model racing’s certainties are …. let’s say dust and the Rocket1. Boiled down to a one-off race where Sheppard has to finish fourth of better to guarantee the Rocket Chassis house car team’s title, the Mark Richards-led team is who you’d bet on to accomplish that task, without fanfare or drama. And here we are with Sheppard's runner-up DTWC finish that gives the team $250,000 and its 10th national touring title. Last year's champ Devin Moran made a valiant late-season challenge,, but unless something out of Sheppard’s control came about, he wasn’t going to hold onto his crown.
McFadden: He’s the champion for good reason. Sheppard personifies the adage of never letting the highs get too high or the lows get too low. His demeanor barely changed from when the title hung in the balance to when he celebrated securing it Sunday night. That steadiness matters over a long season, especially when the pressure builds and every position has championship implications. His first Lucas Oil title is merely a reflection of how consistently he carries himself through all of it. And to think, Sheppard could’ve had the title wrapped up earlier if not for a horrendous Georgia-Florida Speedweeks in which he had four finishes of 15th or worse. He had two such finishes the rest of the season, one being the 15-car pileup at the North-South 100. That’s how you win championships.
Ault: Brandon Sheppard is a worthy champion during a season which saw a few different leaders and definitely made for a compelling chase as the series returned to a year-long points title. With Moran making a late-season push, I felt Sheppard could have faltered at WVMS, but I was wrong: he proved beyond a doubt that he was the series champ with his runner-up finish to Thornton. Before his postrace interview last night, I kind of forgot that he was mired back in seventh or eighth in the series title chase after Speedweeks, which is a tough hole to climb out of. Consistency is key to winning big-money championships, and Sheppard proved he’s had the goods over the summer and early-autumn months.
Kovac: Despite Devin Moran’s late-season surge, I just had a feeling that Sheppard was going to do what was necessary to hold on to the title. He’s too calm and experienced to be shaken by the points pressure, and his Rocket1 team is too savvy to overlook any potential pitfalls. And there was Sheppard on Sunday, doing exactly what he needed to do, never falling more than one spot behind Moran and, late in the race, even passing Moran to finish second. That’s six national titles at the age of 33 for B-Shepp as he becomes just the fourth driver to win both World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil crowns, and it’s seven national championships in the last 11 seasons (and 10 overall) for the Mark Richards Racing Rocket Chassis house car team. All but one of Sheppard’s national titles have come with Rocket1, obviously one of Dirt Late Model racing’s all-time great pairings.
Has the DTWC found a permanent home back in West Virginia?
McFadden: I think WVMS made a compelling case. The DTWC needs a setting that makes it feel like one of the sport’s biggest events, and WVMS delivered that atmosphere. It just feels right it’s back in West Virginia. The camping, the crowd support and the energy throughout the grounds gave the weekend an identity. Add entertaining racing on a track with its own distinct character, and there’s plenty to build on. It felt like a destination people were excited to visit, which matters when you’re asking fans to commit several days and likely several hundred dollars to an event. “Permanent” is a big word, though. One successful weekend gives you a promising start. Establishing a lasting home takes that consistency over several years. There are always things to learn from and improve, especially with an event this vast and rich in history. But from what we could see this weekend, the appetite is there. Fans embraced it, and the place felt worthy of the occasion. I came away thinking WVMS deserves the opportunity to build on that.
Ault: I would say so. I thought Kyle penned a great story on the WVMS track crew’s efforts to get the oval back into shape for the DTWC’s big return, and how much they cared about giving the drivers what they wanted. You really have to hand a lot of credit to Mackie Flood’s crew and how much progress has been made since a rough-and-tumble early start to the season, which had some drivers questioning whether they could run a six-figure race at the reconfigured track. The smooth surface provided plenty of action all weekend with multiple grooves and plenty of passing. The race had a few more cautions than I would prefer, but all in all, the DTWC came back to the Mountain State with a roar, and I don’t see it leaving anytime soon.
Kovac: I believe so. Something felt right about the DTWC being in West Virginia again, especially at a facility like WVMS that Mike Hurley and his staff have put so much work into bringing back to life. The event felt “big” with campers galore and both the frontstretch hillside and new backstretch stands filled with fans. And it was once again a crown jewel with its own identity, not a third-wheel like during its three-year stint at Eldora, which already has two majors. WVMS just provides the DTWC the venue it needs to stand out on the Dirt Late Model calendar.
Turner: Considering Mike Hurley’s investment, enthusiasm and progress in transforming West Virginia Motor Speedway, it’s hard to imagine Carl Short’s crown jewel going anywhere soon. We’ve discussed that the Mountain State is the rightful home to a race that’s been something of a vagabond over twentysomething years, and WVMS is the natural place to inherit Pennsboro’s legacy. The WVMS coming out party was a success. It’s great the smaller layout opens the door for lower-budget teams to compete, but if we’re picking nits, that contributed to far too many cautions in preliminary events. I’ll trust the top-to-bottom quality of the field improves in coming years.
Another DTWC topic no one has mentioned?
Ault: The past few weekends had to be tough for Hudson O’Neal to swallow: a seventh-place finish at Brownstown’s Jackson 100 (his home track); a DNF at the Clash on the Wabash finale; and running over a mod clod while leading the DTWC. What has to sting the most is that he won preliminary events at Brownstown and WVMS but couldn’t capitalize. That’s a hard way to end the season for a driver who appeared to be primed for the best season of his career. He looked so strong throughout the winter and spring, piloting several wins and podiums for his SSI Motorsports team during Speedweeks and dominating in the otherworldly-fast Kevin Rumley No. 6 on select weekends.
McFadden: Support classes are essential to dirt racing’s ecosystem, but with Sunday’s checkered flag waving around 9:15 p.m., you have to wonder whether a Lucas Oil-only program could become the DTWC’s format moving forward. I talked with both Carl Short and Mike Hurley about it. While Hurley emphasized that he advocates for support classes, he’s strongly considering giving the modifieds, sport mods and steel-block Late Models their own special DTWC weekend separate from the Lucas Oil portion. Short loved Sunday’s earlier finish, and there’s certainly appeal in that these days. The tradeoff is track progression. Hurley felt his third-mile oval was just coming to life over Sunday’s final 30 laps. A support class would have drawn out the program, but the additional laps might also have helped the surface develop sooner and made the racing more compelling. There’s definitely a line between giving fans more racing and getting them home at a reasonable hour. It’ll be interesting to see whether the DTWC sticks with a standalone Super Late Model program or brings back a support class in 2027.
Kovac: How about the DTWC weekend turned in by North Carolina’s Benji Hicks? He’s one of those lower-dollar regional guys who were given more hope for success on a big stage with the event’s running on the smaller, third-mile WVMS, and he gained attention both days. In Saturday’s prelim he was competing for a top-three spot when he spun after a scrape with Tyler Carpenter. On Sunday he lost a shot at transferring in a B-main after some back-and-forth with Ryan Montgomery, but he came back to win the non-qualifiers’ race and forfeited the $3,000 winner’s prize to start 28th in his first DTWC. Then, even though he lost power steering at the start of the race, he made it all the way up to sixth place before contact blew out his left-rear tire. Hicks also lost his brakes, but he persevered through the remaining laps, intent on finishing the 100-lap distance and he did. He was credited with 20th, but he deserves credit for showing so-called “little guys” have a chance in a crown jewel at WVMS.
Turner: First, I find it amazing the whopping six-figure checks handed out among race purses, bonuses and points payouts for the finale on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The sport has come a long way in a short time and part of me thinks that, even 10 years ago, a winner’s reaction to such largesse would’ve been of utter disbelief. I wouldn’t stay we take this lucrative era for granted, but I’m not sure our brains have caught up with the impressive payouts at the highest levels of the sport. Secondly, props to Zack Dohm for finishing fourth in a two-victory season with barely a dozen starts. That’s the kind of home-state underdog fans can get behind.
Preview WoO’s debut at Modoc (S.C.) Speedway or another upcoming event.
McFadden: Cody Overton has won the last two events at Modoc, so could he grab his first career World of Outlaws victory this weekend? I like his chances. Brother Brandon figures to be in the mix, too. The Overtons sure do love Modoc. Another question: After Bobby Pierce failed to qualify for both the World 100 and DTWC, is the two-time WoO champion’s 96-point lead more vulnerable than we think? A finish of 20th or worse coupled with a Nick Hoffman victory would produce at least a 40-point swing before heat-win bonuses. Hoffman needs to gain 97 points over the final five races to win outright — roughly 20 per night. That’s the difference between winning and finishing 10th, or finishing 10 positions apart elsewhere in the field. It’s a considerable deficit, but one bad night for Pierce could change the complexion of this title race.
Ault: Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. has been on my bucket list for a long time, but I just wasn’t able to attend a race there this year with scheduling conflicts for my day job. If I had the time, I would absolutely be making the trip to East Tennessee on Thursday for FloRacing Night in America action … potentially the track’s final race? The high-banked oval looks so unique and fast. With its long-term status as a racetrack in limbo, I really hope this week’s race isn't the last time we’ve seen Dirt Late Models make circles there. If not, I’ll definitely make it down to East Tennessee in 2027.
Kovac: Get ready for Modoc to be overrun with Overton people. It’s basically a hometown race for brothers Brandon and Cody Overton from nearby Evans, Ga., and I guarantee they’re going to be swarmed with supporters. I was at Screven earlier this year for the Winter Freeze and was amazed by how many family members, friends and sponsors spent the weekend hanging around Brandon’s car. Seeing one of the Overtons — or how about both of them? – win at Modoc will produce an especially cool scene. Having a national tour come to the rebuilt Modoc is a big deal, but successful outings for the Overtons would really give the doubleheader some juice.
Turner: As Kyle and Kevin mentioned, Modoc may turn into the Overton Brothers vs. everyone else for the track’s biggest-ever weekend. Otherwise there are an interesting array of events, as happens late in the season as tracks hope for good weather for one last biggie. MLRA’s $20,000-to-win show is among the richest in West Liberty (Iowa) Raceway history, Whynot’s $20,000-to-win Coors Light Fall Classic often produces dazzling racing and the Southern All Stars wrap up the year at Cherokee’s $30,000-to-win Blue-Gray 100.
