ALMA, OH (March 29, 2026) – Ricky Thornton Jr. took the lead with five laps remaining, passing Brandon Sheppard and holding him off by just 0.167 seconds at the finish line to capture his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season Sunday night at Atomic Speedway.

Thornton, who also won last year’s Buckeye Spring Classic at Atomic, earned $15,000 for his 57th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.

Sheppard, who led the opening 45 laps, finished second. Brandon Overton reclaimed third from Josh Rice on the final lap to round out the Big River Steel podium. Rice and Max Blair completed the top five.

Starting fourth, Thornton charged to his second overall win of 2026 and his first since the opening round of the Wild West Shootout in January.

“I felt like Tyler (Erb) was really good early, and then I was racing Brandon (Overton), and I’m not sure what happened to him,” said the Chandler, Arizona native. “He got back around me off turn two and then slowed down – didn’t look like anything broke. On the restart, I debated whether to go top or bottom. I felt like the top would be better, but if the bottom got a run, they’d slide you. So I chose the top and drove as hard as I could into turn one to make sure Overton couldn’t slide me.”

“I didn’t feel like I was any better than Shep, but once we got to lapped traffic, I thought those guys were racing hard and might hold me up. One of the lapped cars made a small mistake entering turn three, which slowed Shep just enough for me to get underneath him. From there, I just focused on not making a mistake. I wasn’t sure if we needed to go back to the bottom in turns one and two, but I tried it because Overton had almost passed me there earlier. It really picked up my pace. The track was different than usual, but it raced really well.”

Sheppard, who led a combined 59 laps between Brownstown on Saturday and Atomic on Sunday, came within half a car length of Thornton at the finish.

“We had a really good car – definitely capable of winning,” Sheppard said. “I got to the 19M and the 6, and they were running side-by-side and entering a little low. I couldn’t get enough of a run to make a move and got stuck there for too long. I knew someone had to be right behind me. Congrats to Ricky—he capitalized on my mistake. I’m disappointed in myself because my crew works their tails off and gives me a great race car every night. Still, this is the best we’ve been in the slick here in a long time, so we’re happy with the car.”

Overton held off Rice after briefly losing third place late in the race.

“I was catching the leaders by running a different lane,” Overton said. “I started ripping around the top and getting a good run. Josh slid me, so I knew I had to go. It was a heck of a race, and thanks to Josh for racing me clean. The track was awesome again – I’ve never been here when it wasn’t good.”

Thornton’s Koehler Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and backed by Knight’s Companies, Hoker Trucking, Capital Waste, Certified Inspection Services, Strange Oval, SI Towing and Recovery, Coltman Farms Racing, and Sunoco Race Fuels.

Completing the top ten were Hudson O’Neal, Garrett Alberson, Drake Troutman, Devin Moran, and Brian Shirley.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 

Race Summary 

Buckeye Spring 50

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Atomic Speedway | Waverly, OH

Allstar Performance Time Trials

Fast Time Group A: Drake Troutman | 13.217 seconds (Overall)

Fast Time Group B: Garrett Alberson | 13.223 seconds

Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[6]; 6. 71C-RJ Conley[5]; 7. B1-Josh Bocook[8]; 8. S21-Seth Daniels[7]

Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 3. 13-Dallon Murty[3]; 4. 28-Tyler Carpenter[6]; 5. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[8]; 6. C4-Freddie Carpenter[4]; 7. 19M-Brenden Smith[5]; 8. 6-Clay Harris[7]

Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 11-Josh Rice[3]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[4]; 5. 12J-Jason Jameson[5]; 6. 71R-Rod Conley[6]; 7. 00-Justin Cooper[7]; 8. 12L-Dave Loudin[8]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 111-Max Blair[1]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[7]; 7. (DNS) 1*-Kyle Moore

Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 12J-Jason Jameson[2]; 2. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[3]; 3. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 4. 71C-RJ Conley[5]; 5. C4-Freddie Carpenter[7]; 6. 8-Dillon McCowan[1]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[6]; 8. 93L-Cory Lawler[8]; 9. B1-Josh Bocook[9]; 10. 19M-Brenden Smith[11]; 11. 6-Clay Harris[15]; 12. S21-Seth Daniels[13]; 13. 00-Justin Cooper[10]; 14. 12L-Dave Loudin[14]; 15. (DNS) 1*-Kyle Moore

Buckeye Spring 50 Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings

• 1 – 4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $16,300
• 2 – 1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $7,900
• 3 – 3 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $5,900
• 4 – 10 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $4,900
• 5 – 8 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $3,971
• 6 – 7 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,800
• 7 – 6 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $3,300
• 8 – 5 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $2,300
• 9 – 14 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,600
• 10 – 9 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $3,071
• 11 – 12 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,900
• 12 – 11 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $1,800
• 13 – 20 – 71C – RJ Conley – Wheelersburg, OH – $1,600
• 14 – 23 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,400
• 15 – 17 – 12J – Jason Jameson – Lawrenceburg, IN – $1,400
• 16 – 16 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $2,200
• 17 – 24 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,100
• 18 – 19 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,100
• 19 – 13 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,900
• 20 – 22 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,900
• 21 – 21 – C4 – Freddie Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – $1,000
• 22 – 18 – 20TC – Tristan Chamberlain – Richmond, IN – $1,000
• 23 – 2 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,100
• 24 – 15 – 28 – Tyler Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – $1,000

NEXT: Pierce Reclaims Points Lead With Billy Clanton Classic Victory At Senoia