The Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series Fueled by VP would be in action for the first of two nights at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH for the opening night of the inaugural Halloween Nationals and Ricky Thornton, Jr. of Chandler, Arizona would lead the final five laps on the contest on his way to a $10,000 victory.

The win for the 36-year-old Thornton, Jr. would be his second career series victory and make him the nineteenth different winner with the series this season. His win came in the Koehler Motorsports owned Longhorn Chassis powered by a Cornett Race Engine with sponsorship from Knight’s Companies, Hoker Trucking, Capital Waste, Certified Inspection Service, Coltman Farms Racing, Elite Ready Mix, Five Star Metal Buildings, D&E Outdoor Services, SI Towing and Recovery, Velocity Manufacturing Group, Jones Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Hoosier Tire South.

Tyler Erb would grab the race lead with a high side move exiting turn two on the opening lap of the event, with polesitter Nick Hoffman, Drake Troutman, Ricky Thornton, Jr., and Josh Rice giving chase. With the lead trio putting a bit of distance back to Thornton, Jr., Rice would start rolling around the top side of the track and would take fourth from Thornton, Jr. on lap five and would grab third from Troutman on lap nine.

The front pair of Erb and Hoffman began to lap slower traffic on lap fourteen and Hoffman would take the top spot from Erb on lap fifteen, only to have Erb reclaim the race lead one circuit later. Rice would get in on the action and would snatch second from Hoffman on lap eighteen, only to have Hoffman retake the spot one circuit later and bring Thornton, Jr. along into third, regulating Rice to fourth at this point.

The lead duo of Erb and Hoffman continued to work lapped traffic smoothly, but disaster would strike for Erb as he began to slow, allowing Hoffman to grab the lead and draw the caution with a flat right-rear tire with twenty-five laps complete. The restart would see Thornton, Jr. challenge for the lead and Thorton, Jr. would execute a slidejob pass for the lead exiting turn four to complete lap twenty-six.

One final caution would slow the action on lap twenty-eight as set up a sprint to the finish, with Thornton, Jr. maintaining the lead, while Troutman would go to second and Rice to third, with that pair trading sliders over the final few laps. Thornton, Jr. would see the checkered flag first, with Rice winning the battle for second, with Troutman coming home third. Hoffman and Jason Jameson would complete the top five. The remainder of the top ten finishers would be Dustin Sorensen, Michael Chilton, Tristan Chamberlain, Ryan Montgomery, and Eddie Carrier, Jr.

In pre-race ceremonies, Miles Cook II of Wheelersburg, OH was honored as he was the 2026 FloRacing Rookie of the Year with the series, setting third in series points heading into the series finale on Saturday.

The next event for the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series Fueled by VP will be Saturday October 31 at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH for the final night of the inaugural Halloween Nationals, paying $50,000 to win.

For more information on the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP, please log on to www.IMDIRT.net or call (828) 361-5981.

The Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP is brought to the fans in the region by many important sponsors and partners: Official partners include, Valvoline Global Operations (Official Oil), VP Racing Fuels (Official Fuel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Coltman Farms Racing (Checkered Flag Sponsor & Battle of the Bluegrass DIRTcar Series Title Sponsor), Jail Breaker Brands (Official Potato Chip), STAKT Products, DIRTcar Racing, XS Power Batteries (Green Flag Sponsor), Todd Steel Buildings (Move of the Race Award), FloRacing (Rookie of the Year Award), DirtonDirt.com, MD3 (Hard Charger of the Race Award), Conley River Terminal (Hard Luck Award), Impact RaceGear (Official Outfitter), Allgaier Performance Parts & Racing Shocks, Domination Race Cars (Official Victory Lane Sponsor), C&W Sales, Joy Ride Transport, Curtis Towing, MAGA Lift (Official Droop Check Sponsor), Simpson Race Products (Official Safety Equipment), Shane Bailey Racing, Swafford Signs (Official Decals & Graphics), MyRacePass (Official Website), Deatherage Racing Opticians (Middleman Award), Wayne’s Auto Repair (Official Hot Pit Sponsor), Slicker Graphics, Jim & Nancy Viox, JD Enterprise & Dirt Empire Magazine.

Official Summary of Results

Portsmouth Raceway Park-Portsmouth, Ohio
Friday October 30, 2026

Feature Finish:
1. Ricky Thornton, Jr.-Chandler, Ariz.
2. Josh Rice-Crittenden, Ky.
3. Drake Troutman-Hyndman, Penn.
4. Nick Hoffman-Mooresville, N.C.
5. Jason Jameson-Lawrenceburg, Ind.
6. Dustin Sorensen-Rochester, Minn.
7. Michael Chilton-Salvisa, Ky.
8. Tristan Chamberlain-Richmond, Ind.
9. Ryan Montgomery-Fairmont, West Va.
10. Eddie Carrier, Jr.-Fairmont, West Va.
11. Levi Yetter-Sarver, Penn.
12. Colten Burdette-Parkersburg, West Va.
13. R.J. Conley-Wheelersburg, Ohio
14. Tyler Erb-New Waverly, Tex.
15. Adam Stricker-Batavia, Ohio
16. Miles Cook II-Wheelersburg, Ohio
17. Rod Conley-Wheelersburg, Ohio
18. Justin Cooper-Wheelersburg, Ohio
19. Seth Daniels-Jackson, Ohio
20. Kevin Wagner-Wheelersburg, Ohio
21. Mike Benedum-Salem, West Va.

Mike Benedum (Group B-14.807 seconds) set the Slicker Graphics Fastest Hot Lap.

Nick Hoffman (Group A) was the fastest in VP Racing Fuels “Challenge the Clock” Time Trials with a 14.764 second lap among 34 entries.

Nick Hoffman won Joy Ride Transport Heat-1.

Drake Troutman won C&W Sales Heat-2.

Tyler Erb won Curtis Towing Heat-3.

Ricky Thornton, Jr. won Jim and Nancy Viox Heat-4.

Eddie Carrier, Jr. won STAKT Products B-Main #1

Justin Cooper won Impact RaceGear B-Main #2

Dustin Sorensen won the MD3 Hard Charger Award advancing 15 positions.

Levi Yetter won the Deatherage Racing Opticians Middleman (11th Place) Award.

Miles Cook II was the FloRacing Rookie of the Race.

Kyle Hardy and Josh Bocook were the STAKT Products First Non-Transfer.

Lap Leaders: Tyler Erb 1-15, 17-24; Nick Hoffman 16, 25; Ricky Thornton, Jr 26-30

Allgaier Performance Halfway Leader was Tyler Erb

Swafford Signs White Flag Leader was Ricky Thornton, Jr.

Deatherage Racing Opticians Caution Flags: Two (lap 26, 28)

Time of Race: N/A

Provisional Starters: Miles Cook II and R.J. Conley (series), Mike Benedum (track)

Margin of Victory: N/A

Heat One Finish: Nick Hoffman, Dustin Sorensen, Jason Jameson, Adam Stricker, R.J. Conley, Kyle Hardy, Kirk Phillips, Breyton Santee (DNS-Travis Carr)

Heat Two Finish: Drake Troutman, Josh Rice, Seth Daniels, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Levi Yetter, Kenny Howell, Bill Haager (DNS-Shannon Thornsberry)

Heat Three Finish: Tyler Erb, Tristan Chamberlain, Michael Chilton, Kevin Wagner, Kyle Bond, Miles Cook II, Eric Wilson, Evyian Terry (DNS-Mike Benedum)

Heat Four Finish: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Ryan Montgomery, Colten Burdette, Justin Cooper, Rod Conley, Josh Bocook, Avery Taylor, Austin Mullett

B-Main One Finish: Eddie Carrier, Jr., Adam Stricker, Levi Yetter, Kyle Hardy, R.J. Conley, Kirk Phillips, Breyton Santee, Bill Haager, Shannon Thornsberry, Kenny Howell (DNS-Travis Carr)

B-Main Two Finish: Justin Cooper, Kevin Wagner, Rod Conley, Josh Bocook, Miles Cook II, Avery Taylor, Eric Wilson, Kyle Bond, Evyian Terry, Austin Mullett (DNS-Mike Benedum)

NEXT: What Drivers Said After Night 1 Of The Halloween Nationals At Portsmouth Raceway Park With The American Late Model Iron-Man Series