UNION, Ky. — Ricky Thornton Jr. and Bobby Pierce collected Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins during Friday’s portion of the 41st annual Sunoco North/South 100 at Florence Speedway.
Thornton picked up his 14th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season as the series points leader passed early race leader Daulton Wilson on lap 12 for the victory. Wilson came home second, followed Ryan Gustin, Mike Marlar and Chris Ferguson.
Pierce was the third different leader of the second 25-lap A-Main as he passed Jonathan Davenport with five laps to go for his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the weekend. Davenport, the reigning event winner was second followed by Stormy Scott, Cory Hedgecock and Matt Cosner.
Thornton stalked Wilson for the first 11 laps for the Group A A-Main before taking over the top spot going on to a 1.807-second victory over Wilson.
“Man, it’s a pleasure to drive this thing all the time,” said the 32-year-old Martinsville, Indiana resident. “Daulton was pretty good there early and I just kind of maintained around the bottom and finally once that middle slowed down a little bit, I felt like I had a good enough pace.”
Wilson was left still looking for his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win.
“I really feel good about this team we have been progressing and our trajectory is in the right direction. We have really struggled here in the past and to come over here and be up front, leading laps and to run second to him [Thornton] he is the best guy in the country right now. We have 100 laps tomorrow and we will see what we can do.”
Completing the top ten in the first 25 lapper were Tim McCreadie, Garrett Smith, Earl Pearson Jr., Garrett Alberson and Max Blair.
Pierce Claims Nightcap
In the second 25-lap A-Main of the night Cory Hedgecock jumped to the lead and led the first four laps of the race until Davenport, who started in third, took over the top spot. Davenport would hold the lead until he and Pierce would duel for several laps before Pierce was finally able to take the lead on lap 20.
It was Pierce’s fourth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season as the 2016 Sunoco North/South 100 winner has now won the two preliminary A-Mains he has been in this weekend.
“As it got slicker and slicker the car got better. I have raced at Fairbury and Cedar Lake the last two weeks, and this has been the same quarter-panel and spoiler I haven’t had to change it yet and now here we have to change it after getting into the wall a few times,” Pierce said. “It was a fun night JD [Jonathan Davenport] did a heck of a job. I think we were about even through the middle, and I knew if I was going to catch him and pass him, I was going to have to figure something out.”
Davenport, the 2022 Sunoco North/South 100 winner said: “He [Pierce] runs the fence better than about anybody. I felt like we made some gains tonight over last night. We just went a little too far. It didn’t drive perfect and to beat somebody running the wall as good as he [Pierce] does you have to be about perfect through the middle. I felt like we got better the longer the race went in those conditions.”