While Brandon Sheppard and Devin Moran battle for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship, Ricky Thornton Jr. has his own six-figure opportunity in the Big River Steel Bonus Program presented by ARP at this weekend’s Dirt Track World Championship.
The Big River Steel Bonus program is new to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series this year. Following the Rumble by the River finale at Port Royal Speedway, the top 15 drivers in the points standings were locked into the program. However, they were divided into two separate points battles. The top five are chasing a $100,000 top prize bonus while 6th through 15th are chasing a top prize of $25,000. Second through fifth will receive $40,000, $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000, respectively.
That $100,000 prize is awarded to the driver who scores the most points across the final five Saturday Lucas Oil races. Those races were originally supposed to be the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, the Jackson 100, the Pittsburgher, the second night of the Clash on the Wabash, and the Dirt Track World Championship. Unfortunately, the Knoxville Late Model Nationals was rained out so it only includes the final four races now.
Entering the finale, Devin Moran leads the bonus standings with 695 points. Thornton sits second at 675, trailing by 20 points. Brandon Sheppard has 590. He’s 105 points behind. Brandon Overton (540), and Hudson O’Neal (500) are further back and cannot mathematically find their way to first with just the one race left.
Points in the bonus program are awarded the same way as the main series championship: solely based on finishing order in Sunday’s 100-lap A-main. No qualifying bonus points are available given the Dirt Track World Championship is a multi-day event with a split field on Saturday night and Lucas Oil rules dictate that only points for the finale will be rewarded. Since there is no qualifying on Sunday, there are no points available for qualifying.
Here’s how the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series awards points:
- 200
- 180
- 170
- 160
- 155
- 150
- 145
- 140
- 135
- 130
- 125
- 120
- 115
- 110
- 105
- 100
- 95
- 90
- 85
- 80
- 75
- 75
- 75
- 75
- 75
- 75
Because Thornton trails by only 20 points and holds the tiebreaker with eight points-paying wins to Moran’s six, he has a realistic path to the $100,000 payout if he finishes ahead of Moran. Here are the scenarios in which Thornton beats Moran:
| Thornton Finish | Moran Must Finish |
|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd or worse |
| 2nd | 5th or worse |
| 3rd | 7th or worse |
| 4th | 9th or worse |
| 5th | 10th or worse |
| 6th | 11th or worse |
| 7th | 12th or worse |
| 8th | 13th or worse |
| 9th | 14th or worse |
| 10th | 15th or worse |
| 11th | 16th or worse |
| 12th | 17th or worse |
| 13th | 18th or worse |
| 14th | 19th or worse |
| 15th | 20th or worse |
| 16th | 21st or worse |
A Thornton victory gives him the best chance, as he would only need Moran to finish second or worse. Even a solid top-five or top-ten run can be enough depending on Moran’s result. Thornton has been strong in recent weeks, including a sweep of the Clash on the Wabash at Eldora Speedway, and will look to carry that momentum into West Virginia Motor Speedway.
The $100,000 Big River Steel Bonus will be decided alongside the Lucas Oil championship in the 100-lap Dirt Track World Championship. It is scheduled to run on Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18. The Saturday program will feature qualifying, heat races, b-mains, and twin 25-lap features paying $5,000 to win. Sunday’s program will include last-chance races, the Jim Dunn Non-Qualifier and the 100-lap Dirt Track World Championship, which pays $100,000 to win and concludes the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season.
NEXT: How Devin Moran Can Win The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship
0 Comments