Hudson O’Neal dominated the 40th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but it was Devin Moran and Ricky Thornton Jr. who had one of the most spirited battles during the race.

Following a restart with 14 laps to go that saw Brandon Overton appear to jump the inside curb and lose wholesale ground, Thornton was able to get past Moran on the bottom through 1 and 2. However, Moran countered with a crossover down the back stretch and into 3 and 4. Thornton went to the very top while Moran moved to the middle lane. As they exited the corner, Moran squeezed Ricky and pinched him into the wall. After the contact, Moran quickly moved down the track and they continued to battle into turn 1 and 2 as Thornton ran just a lane above him. 

It looked like Moran was going to complete the pass coming off of turn 2 as he motored past Thornton who drifted up the track. However, Thornton had other ideas as he threw a slider into 3 and 4 and got underneath Moran. It looked like Moran hit the curb in 3 and 4 and it got his car a little sideway allowing Thornton to complete the pass. Fortunately, for Moran a caution came out before they made it back to the start/finish line and the field was reracked with Moran reclaiming the second spot and he would ensure that’s where he would finish while Thornton settled for third.

In his post-race interview with FloRacing’s Dustin Jarrett, Moran revealed he apologized to Thornton for his initial slider in turns 3 and 4 where he only went halfway up the track instead of all the way to the fence.

He said, “I was really good until that one restart. I thought the top was going to be way better and he got the bottom and got me. And then we had another restart and I got a really good run in 1 and 2 and slid him in 3 and 4. And I really messed up both of us. So I apologized to him about that. I should’ve just committed and went all the way to the fence and gave him a chance to crossover. Didn’t want to race him like that.”

As for Thornton, he informed Jarrett, “It was just racing. I got out of the car and told him, ‘We’re not going golfing together anymore.’ No, it was just racing. Nothing to be mad about.”

NEXT: Hudson O’Neal Captures Ralph Latham Memorial Victory At Florence