News

PRP PRESS RELEASE
By Chuck Greenslate

Ricky Thornton, Jr. took the checkers at Carl Short's 41st Annual General Tires Dirt Track World Championship presented by Optima Batteries Saturday at Portsmouth Raceway Park.

The Adel, IA driver became the 26th different winner of the $100,000-to-win event. Twenty-six drivers representing 13 different states started Saturday night's 100-lap race, which witnessed three different leaders, four lead changes, seven cautions, and took just over 50 minutes to complete.

In total, there were 228 race teams on hand for the DTWC which hosted Modifieds, Steel Block Late Models, and Legends Cars to go along with the Lucas Oil Dirt Car Series Super Lates. Chris Wilson from Louisa, KY claimed victory in the Mods. Tazewell, TN's Austin Neely took the win in the Steel Blocks, and Waverly's Josh Dietz was the winner in the Legends.

The three-day spectacle kicked off Thursday with the first night of action being all about the Modified Division with heats, B-Mains, and a non-qualifiers race. Friday was supposed to bring Super Lates, Steel Blocks, and Legends but instead brought nothing but heavy rain forcing a busy day on Saturday.

Friday and Saturday's itinerary were all rolled into one on Day 3. Hot laps started Saturday afternoon at 1:45 and the final checkered flag fell around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. In between, there were all kinds of plot twists from a fight in the pits between two Late Model crews to a nationally-renowned Modified driver getting disqualified during post-race tech.

The 100-lap Late Model Feature served as the headliner for the DTWC. Sixty Late Model drivers were on hand all hoping to win the race that again served as the finale for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Car Series.

After six exciting heats, the front of the field was set. Chris Ferguson from Mt. Holly, NC won the fifth heat and was slated to start on the outside pole. However, after his heat, his crew had a run in with Brandon Sheppard's crew.

Sheppard, a four-time DTWC winner from Illinois, finished fifth in Heat 5 and entered the weekend looking for what would've been a record-tying fifth DTWC victory. As a result of the altercation in the pits between the two crews, the Lucas Series wound up suspending both Ferguson and Sheppard for the remainder of the weekend.

Early on in the 100-lap feature, the lone Ohioan in the race, Devin Moran, looked to be the driver to beat. The Dresden, OH native led the first 35 laps. With 64 to go, Brandon Overton would take command, and the Evans, GA driver would lead the next 15 laps before Ricky Thornton Jr would get by to lead lap 52. The very next lap, Overton would re-take the lead, and the Evans, GA driver would lead up until 18 laps to go. Then on a re-start, Thornton would get the jump and would hold on to claim his highest pay day as a Dirt Late Model driver.

Overton would have to settle for second. Jonathan Davenport climbed from 17th to third. Rounding out the top 10 were Mike Marlar, 2021 Lucas Oil champion Tim McCreadie, Tyler Erb, Earl Pearson Jr, Spencer Hughes, Hudson O'Neal, and Jimmy Owens. Pearson was the race's biggest mover as he climbed 17 positions from 24th to seventh.

Parkersburg, WV's Colton Burdette won the Jim Dunn Non-Qualifier Late Model Race. Making up the rest of the top 10 were Zack Dohm, Max Blair, Jared Hawkins, Matthew Lux, Colton Flinner, RJ Conley, Rod Conley, Kevin Wagner, and Shane Bailey.

The conclusion of the Barbour Auto Parts, Wix Filters, Auto Value Parts Stores & Bosch Brakes and Sensors Modified A-Main had plenty of drama, but it didn't actually occur until after the conclusion of the actual race. Mooresville, NC's Nick Hoffman took the lead on lap 3 from Drake Troutman and would run away with it. However, Hoffman, a three-time UMP National Points Champion, would fail post-race inspection and Louisa, KY's Chris Wilson would be credited with the win.

Wilson, the 2011 PRP Late Model Track Champion and a driver who had an horrendous crash at the 2009 DTWC, started seventh before charging his way to the front. Troutman, KC Burdette, Tyler Carpenter, and Aaron Branham completed the top five. Jeremy Rayburn, Eddie Carrier Jr, Jacob Hall, Seth Daniels, and Brandon Smith made up the rest of the top 10.

In total, 89 Modified drivers were on the scene for the 41st DTWC. A pair of teenagers made up the front row at the race's start... 16-year-old Drake Troutman who was the runner-up and 18-year-old Brayden Berry who would place 17th.

Austin Neely would dominate The Premier Pre-Cast Products/Pickett Concrete Steel Block Late Model A-Main. Kyle Lear, Jared Hawkins, Brandon Brown, and Wayne Francis rounded out the top five. The next five were Matt Melvin, Daniel Hill, Tyler Riggs, Pete Crum, and Joe Brewer[13]. There were 59 Steel Blocks in attendance to participate in the race that was sanctioned by The Steel Block Late Model Series Presented by Impact RaceGear.

There were 20 Ohio Valley Roofers Legends Car Series drivers on hand. In their feature, Waverly's Josh Dietz would take the lead from Nathan Young on the second lap and would hold on to win. Bryce Swango would finish second. Jerren Perdue placed third. Nathan Young slipped to fourth, and Garrett Schuler rounded out the top 5. Steve Partin charged from 19th to sixth. John Gutman, Blake Skaggs, Zach Schuler, and Scott Chaney rounded out the top 10.

Over a quarter of a million dollars was paid out to drivers in Portsmouth this weekend. Carl Short announced that the DTWC, which has been held in Portsmouth since 2012, will return again in 2022.

Dirt Super Late Models 60 Entries
A-Main DTWC 100 Laps | 00:54:26.970

1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[8]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[17]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[12]; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie[13]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[19]; 7. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[24]; 8. 11H-Spencer Hughes[3]; 9. 71-Hudson O'Neal[18]; 10. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 11. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[21]; 12. 14-Josh Richards[23]; 13. 81E-Tanner English[11]; 14. 0-Scott Bloomquist[6]; 15. 12J-Jason Jameson[14]; 16. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 17. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[16]; 19. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 20. 25-Shane Clanton[9]; 21. 2S-Stormy Scott[22]; 22. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 23. 11R-Josh Rice[26]; 24. D8-Dustin Linville[20]; 25. 1G-Devin Gilpin[10]; 26. 81F-Brandon Fouts[25]

B-Main 1 LINE-X 10 Laps

1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 3. 11R-Josh Rice[4]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 5. 11J-Jared Hawkins[5]; 6. 17D-Zack Dohm[6]; 7. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 8. 33K-Kevin Wagner[13]; 9. 10-Nathon Loney[11]; 10. 144-Anthony Kinkade[15]; 11. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8]; 12. 81F-Brandon Fouts[14]; 13. 20B-Todd Brennan[17]; 14. 21H-Robby Hensley[20]; 15. 5M-Ryan Markham[10]; 16. 32A-Robert Starret[19]; 17. 21E-Richie Edwards[18]; 18. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[12]; 19. 15B-Dean Bowen[9]; 20. 1L-Corey Lewis[16]; 21. (DNS) KC44-KC Burdette

B-Main 2 UNOH 10 Laps | 00:04:41.000

1. D8-Dustin Linville[1]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 3. C9-Steve Casebolt[2]; 4. 44B-Colton Burdette[5]; 5. 71C-RJ Conley[3]; 6. 111V-Max Blair[6]; 7. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 9. 71R-Rod Conley[11]; 10. 18C-Chris Carpenter[17]; 11. 1B-Nick Bocook[10]; 12. 48-Colton Flinner[12]; 13. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[7]; 14. CJ1-Charlie Jude[13]; 15. 1SB-Shane Bailey[15]; 16. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[19]; 17. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[16]; 18. (DNS) 2M-Allen Murray; 19. (DNS) 6T-Tim Dohm

Heat 1 Penske Shocks 8 Laps | 00:04:22.000

1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 5. 11R-Josh Rice[5]; 6. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 7. 5M-Ryan Markham[8]; 8. 33K-Kevin Wagner[9]; 9. 1L-Corey Lewis[6]; 10. (DNS) 21H-Robby Hensley

Heat 2 Summit Racing Equipment 8 Laps | 00:04:15.000

1. 11H-Spencer Hughes[1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 4. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 5. 11J-Jared Hawkins[4]; 6. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8]; 7. 10-Nathon Loney[5]; 8. 81F-Brandon Fouts[7]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[10]; 10. 32A-Robert Starret[9]

Heat 3 Simpson Race Products 8 Laps | 00:05:02.000

1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[4]; 5. 17D-Zack Dohm[5]; 6. 15B-Dean Bowen[6]; 7. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[7]; 8. 144-Anthony Kinkade[8]; 9. 21E-Richie Edwards[9]; 10. (DNS) KC44-KC Burdette

Heat 4 Ohlins Shocks 8 Laps | 00:11:43.000

1. 9-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 12J-Jason Jameson[4]; 4. D8-Dustin Linville[6]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 6. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[8]; 7. 1B-Nick Bocook[9]; 8. CJ1-Charlie Jude[10]; 9. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 10. 6T-Tim Dohm[7]

Heat 5 Fast Shafts 8 Laps | 00:04:02.000

1. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 2. 1G-Devin Gilpin[4]; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 4. C9-Steve Casebolt[5]; 5. 44B-Colton Burdette[8]; 6. 111M-Matthew Lux[7]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[9]; 8. 2M-Allen Murray[10]; 9. (DQ) 22F-Chris Ferguson[1]; 10. (DQ) 1S-Brandon Sheppard[2]

Heat 6 Lucas Oil 8 Laps | 00:04:23.000

1. 0-Scott Bloomquist[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 3. 71-Hudson O'Neal[5]; 4. 71C-RJ Conley[8]; 5. 111V-Max Blair[4]; 6. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 7. 48-Colton Flinner[2]; 8. 1SB-Shane Bailey[9]; 9. 18C-Chris Carpenter[6]; 10. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[10]

Jim Dunn Non-Qualifier 25 Laps | 00:16:17.688

1. 44B-Colton Burdette[2]; 2. 17D-Zack Dohm[5]; 3. 111V-Max Blair[6]; 4. 11J-Jared Hawkins[3]; 5. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[18]; 7. 71C-RJ Conley[4]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[12]; 9. 33K-Kevin Wagner[9]; 10. 1SB-Shane Bailey[24]; 11. 10-Nathon Loney[11]; 12. 18C-Chris Carpenter[14]; 13. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 14. 144-Anthony Kinkade[13]; 15. 5M-Ryan Markham[21]; 16. CJ1-Charlie Jude[22]; 17. 32A-Robert Starret[23]; 18. 1B-Nick Bocook[16]; 19. 20B-Todd Brennan[17]; 20. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[20]; 21. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[15]; 22. (DNS) C9-Steve Casebolt; 23. (DNS) 66C-Matt Cosner; 24. (DNS) 21H-Robby Hensley; 25. (DNS) 145-Chase Frohnapfel

Modifieds 89 Entries
A Feature 1

1. 17-Chris Wilson[7]; 2. 7D-Drake Troutman[1]; 3. 44-KC Burdette[6]; 4. 96-Tyler Carpenter[23]; 5. 38-Aaron Branham[9]; 6. 11-Jeremy Rayburn[5]; 7. 13C-Eddie Carrier Jr[14]; 8. 43J-Jacob Hall[4]; 9. S21-Seth Daniels[12]; 10. 244-Brandon Smith[18]; 11. 20H-Tyler Hendrix[8]; 12. 2-Anthony Slusher[15]; 13. 34-Derek Richmond[21]; 14. 10-Kyle Bond[22]; 15. 00-Cruz Vandall[24]; 16. 10BS-Brian Skaggs[25]; 17. B75-Brayden Berry[2]; 18. 21X-Jason Montgomery[19]; 19. 0-Mark Dickson[17]; 20. A85-Brandon Hutchinson[13]; 21. 1-Kenny Johnson[10]; 22. 22D-Spencer Flowers[20]; 23. P20-Ervin Vance[11]; 24. 24H-Michael Howard[16]; 25. (DQ) 2H-Nick Hoffman[3]

Limited Late Models 59 Entries
A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:31:53.382

1. 3-Austin Neely[1]; 2. 151-Kyle Lear[8]; 3. 68-Jared Hawkins[5]; 4. B4-Brandon Brown[10]; 5. 37F-Wayne Francis[9]; 6. 81M-Matt Melvin[11]; 7. 1G-Daniel Hill[2]; 8. 99T-Tyler Riggs[4]; 9. 34C-Pete Crum[6]; 10. 316-Joe Brewer[13]; 11. C2-Corey DeLancey[23]; 12. G5-Garet McCloud[14]; 13. 10M-Mike Meyers[25]; 14. 5M-Zach Milbee[3]; 15. 31-Travis Brown[12]; 16. 11P-Dakota Pennington[21]; 17. 95-Nicky Pennington[17]; 18. 33K-Devin Hart[16]; 19. 43-Dustin Sprouse[19]; 20. 3B-Thomas Baker[15]; 21. 5C-Jacob Curnutte[18]; 22. 77-William Rose[20]; 23. 97C-Kevin Terry[24]; 24. 44-KC Burdette[7]; 25. 7S-Billy Staker[22]

B Feature 1 10 Laps

1. 43-Dustin Sprouse[2]; 2. 11P-Dakota Pennington[3]; 3. 34-JR Crum[4]; 4. 21-Jakob Piper[8]; 5. 49-Ray Ciccarelli[5]; 6. 55-TJ Watson[18]; 7. 148-Gunner Johnson[9]; 8. 22-Joe Mayabb[13]; 9. 1B-Josh Baker[6]; 10. 01-Collin Holmes[7]; 11. 81-John Melvin[14]; 12. C2-Corey DeLancey[16]; 13. 15-Adam McClain[12]; 14. 11DW-Danny Wilson[15]; 15. 25J-Ted Johnson Jr[19]; 16. 5T-Bryan McDaniel[10]; 17. 24B-Brandon Urban[1]; 18. (DNS) 58M-Corey Morgan; 19. (DNS) 13-Vern Lefevers; 20. (DNS) 9-Derrick Meadors; 21. (DNS) 23-Jason Salmons

B Feature 2 10 Laps | 00:11:58.639

1. 77-William Rose[1]; 2. 7S-Billy Staker[4]; 3. 19-BJ Branham[2]; 4. 702-Kent Keyser[9]; 5. CJ7-CJ Branham[10]; 6. 17R-Jesse Lyons Jr[16]; 7. 1PM-Dakota Rayburn[8]; 8. 24-Jimmy Morey[5]; 9. 4B-Cale Boggs[13]; 10. 00-Dustin Booth[7]; 11. 90-Jarrod Cassley[11]; 12. 00SR-Glynn Booth SR[17]; 13. 09-Daniel Gillum[12]; 14. 10M-Mike Meyers[20]; 15. 1-Lucas Crooks[18]; 16. 97C-Kevin Terry[3]; 17. W1-Cory Workman[6]; 18. (DNS) 0-Troy Frazier; 19. (DNS) 75-Ronnie Souders Jr; 20. (DNS) 58-Evyian Terry

Heat 1 8 Laps

1. 3-Austin Neely[1]; 2. 44-KC Burdette[2]; 3. 316-Joe Brewer[5]; 4. 24B-Brandon Urban[8]; 5. 34-JR Crum[7]; 6. 01-Collin Holmes[6]; 7. 5T-Bryan McDaniel[10]; 8. 22-Joe Mayabb[9]; 9. C2-Corey DeLancey[3]; 10. (DNS) 23-Jason Salmons

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:13:21.000

1. 1G-Daniel Hill[1]; 2. 151-Kyle Lear[2]; 3. G5-Garet McCloud[7]; 4. 77-William Rose[6]; 5. 7S-Billy Staker[3]; 6. 00SR-Glynn Booth SR[8]; 7. CJ7-CJ Branham[5]; 8. 4B-Cale Boggs[9]; 9. 17R-Jesse Lyons Jr[4]; 10. 25J-Ted Johnson Jr[10]

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:12:27.000

1. 5M-Zach Milbee[1]; 2. 37F-Wayne Francis[10]; 3. 3B-Thomas Baker[8]; 4. 43-Dustin Sprouse[3]; 5. 49-Ray Ciccarelli[4]; 6. 21-Jakob Piper[7]; 7. 58M-Corey Morgan[9]; 8. 81-John Melvin[5]; 9. 13-Vern Lefevers[6]; 10. 0-Troy Frazier[2]

Heat 4 8 Laps

1. 99T-Tyler Riggs[1]; 2. B4-Brandon Brown[5]; 3. 33K-Devin Hart[2]; 4. 19-BJ Branham[7]; 5. 24-Jimmy Morey[4]; 6. 1PM-Dakota Rayburn[8]; 7. 90-Jarrod Cassley[10]; 8. 58-Evyian Terry[9]; 9. 00-Dustin Booth[6]; 10. 9-Derrick Meadors[3]

Heat 5 8 Laps

1. 68-Jared Hawkins[3]; 2. 81M-Matt Melvin[2]; 3. 95-Nicky Pennington[4]; 4. 11P-Dakota Pennington[7]; 5. 1B-Josh Baker[8]; 6. 148-Gunner Johnson[9]; 7. 15-Adam McClain[10]; 8. 11DW-Danny Wilson[6]; 9. 55-TJ Watson[5]; 10. 10M-Mike Meyers[1]

Heat 6 8 Laps

1. 34C-Pete Crum[3]; 2. 31-Travis Brown[1]; 3. 5C-Jacob Curnutte[2]; 4. 97C-Kevin Terry[5]; 5. W1-Cory Workman[6]; 6. 702-Kent Keyser[8]; 7. 09-Daniel Gillum[9]; 8. 75-Ronnie Souders Jr[7]; 9. 1-Lucas Crooks[4]
   Legends 20 Entries
   A Feature 1 20 Laps
2. 32D-Josh Dietz[4]; 2. 18-Bryce Swango[5]; 3. 91-Jerren Perdue[18]; 4. 43-Nathan Young[2]; 5. 4S-Garrett Schuler[3]; 6. 4X-Steve Partin[19]; 7. 7-John Gutman[9]; 8. 8-Blake Skaggs[1]; 9. 1S-Zach Schuler[8]; 10. 13C-SCOTTY CHANEY[7]; 11. 80-Levi Morris[10]; 12. 26-Ronold Scurlock[13]; 13. 07-shawn tucker[15]; 14. 32-Ashley Tackett[16]; 15. 29-Rob Schuler[17]; 16. 214-Dailyn Bobb[12]; 17. 88-Tyler Scott[6]; 18. 17M-CALE MAYBIN[11]

Heat 1 8 Laps

1. 8-Blake Skaggs[2]; 2. 4S-Garrett Schuler[4]; 3. 18-Bryce Swango[5]; 4. 13C-SCOTTY CHANEY[6]; 5. 7-John Gutman[7]; 6. 17M-CALE MAYBIN[3]; 7. 26-Ronold Scurlock[9]; 8. 07-shawn tucker[1]; 9. 29-Rob Schuler[8]; 10. 4X-Steve Partin[10]

Heat 2 8 Laps

1. 43-Nathan Young[1]; 2. 32D-Josh Dietz[6]; 3. 88-Tyler Scott[7]; 4. 1S-Zach Schuler[2]; 5. 80-Levi Morris[9]; 6. 214-Dailyn Bobb[4]; 7. 12-Anthony Bumgarner[8]; 8. 32-Ashley Tackett[3]; 9. 91-Jerren Perdue[5]