Highlights | 2026 Lucas Oil Firecracker 100 Friday Prelims at Lernerville Speedway
Lernerville Speedway welcomes the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for a pair of split-field 25-lap features ahead of the Firecracker 100.
Video Transcript
As they come at the east door in hollick and Ricky started zoning.
It'll count in career wins, but it will not count toward the steering buddy dark horse, though, as they come out of turn number two.
No championship points either.
They go three wide out of two.
Here comes Dan Ebert and Hudson O'Neal as they split Carson Ferguson.
And here comes the 11R and a frantic first lap.
But who's going to lead it?
It's Hudson O'Neal.
Dan Ebert second, Carson Ferguson third, Ricky Thornton Jr. fourth somehow, and then Josh Rice rounds out the top five, two by two by two, nearly the entire way through the field.
That 60's been really good here as of late.
Does he have a run on Hudson O'Neal for the lead?
No, O'Neal holds him off.
Good battle into turn number one.
Ferguson third, Thornton.
Josh Rice now goes to fourth in the 11R.
And the James and Justin Ratliff 11 car down the back straightaway.
Dan Ebert staying right there with the current midway.
She's been a points leader.
O'Neal tomorrow night will have the points lead by 20 over Shepard as we head to the firecracker.
But all eyes on this race for a good starting spot.
And he raced tomorrow night, Dustin Barrett.
Three-tenths of a second, the advantage for Hudson O'Neal as they cross the stripe that time.
Three laps in the books, 22 laps remaining.
Hudson O'Neal unable to pull away.
He's going to change his line now through turns three and four.
Meanwhile, Carson Ferguson just got too high.
He slipped right off your screen in the 93 because he got too high down in turns three and four.
And that allowed two more drivers to slide by.
And here comes RTJ.
Yeah, meanwhile, Rice has moved to second.
The Cowboy Classic winner, RTJ to the top shelf.
The two-time Firecracker 100 winner, here he comes down the main straightaway in 20 RT.
Heartbreak Hotel last week, mechanical issues.
But down the back straightaway, here he comes.
He's going to go to second as the crowd comes to its feet into turn three.
He may not be done trying to get two for the price of one on this lap, but he gets too hot into three and four and allows Josh Rice to get that by in a high-speed game of cat and mouse.
This is exciting.
At turn four, always interesting here at Lernerville.
O'Neal, Rice, Thornton into one.
Ebert is right there in fourth.
Now they're going to pick up the tail end of the field, the 42 of Chad Shearer.
And at turn two down the back straightaway.
And in front of them, there's four cars, and they're running two by two in front of them.
Battle for the lead out of four.
O'Neal still has it.
And we've got a hell race for Jack's caution.
Yeah, Charlie Pals, he slowed to almost a stop directly in front of the leaders coming off corner number four.
Bring the field to the ace door and restart zone, and we're back underway.
Back underway.
Good restart.
They get together almost.
Rice and Thornton into one.
Thornton trying to get back to the top.
They go three wide on a two.
Here comes Dan Ebert, and Dan Ebert goes from fourth to second on the restart.
A good run for him.
Carson Ferguson on the inside.
Brandon Overton on the inside.
Lernerville on point here tonight.
Hudson O'Neal stays out front, and Dan Ebert moves up to second that time by the scoring loop.
And the 20 RT to the top down the back straightaway.
He will get the run, and the two-time Firecracker winner, he goes to second.
I don't know how they're going to stop him.
If they all stay on the bottom, he might go right around him, and Josh Rice goes to the top at 11R as we head down the main straightaway with 11 scored.
Josh Rice to the top.
What else is new?
I'm telling you, man, Lernerville, when it gets that razor-thin line like that, it is fun, and don't look now, but Ricky Thornton Jr. stalking your race leader, Hudson O'Neal.
There's Rice and Ebert.
But at the front of the field, you got a dandy brewing here at the Ville.
As Thornton goes to the inside, he'll throw a slider.
I'm going to cross him over.
Here comes Are you serious?
Are you kidding me?
This is just a 25 lap.
Oh!
Rice got in there hot, and he backs out of O'Neal over the cushion.
That was O'Neal into the cushion.
And he brings it back on, and Thornton takes the lead.
What the hell just happened?
They're three wide into one.
Here comes Brandon Overton.
This Bud's for you, 150 years of Budweiser in the country.
Thornton gets sideways, and Ebert loses it.
I need a Budweiser after this.
They wrecked five times on that lap, and we're still green.
Holy smokes, and Thornton leads with 10 to go coming up.
What did I just watch?
What did you say?
I don't know what happened, but Thornton's got the lead, and Rice is second, and Overton is third.
Wow.
All right, get it back together, DJ and James.
10 to go, and Rice is now stalking your race leader, Ricky Thornton Jr. That's a battle for the lead.
There's a battle for third.
We double it up for you.
Oh, no.
And Hudson on the slider.
No.
He ended up on two wheels.
Meanwhile, for the lead, Rice for the lead, and Thornton jumps the cushion, and Rice spins out.
He gets sideways.
He gets his train back up.
We stay green.
He was completely sideways.
Got the first major win of his career here at Lernerville down the back straightaway, and Overton goes to second.
He is the Crown Vic points leader of the Lucas Oil Series right now, looking for a win down the main straightaway.
Thornton over, then an O'Neal.
Dance with danger on the high side of this 410th mile oval.
Now they go to the bottom through turns three and four.
Rice slides way up high, and that allows O'Neal to get by, and Ebert to third.
Move over, dancing with wolves.
We got a race for the lead.
Overton slides in front of Overton, or in front of He might have slid himself.
Overton in front of Thornton as they come out of turn number four.
Six to go.
Dan Ebert on the bottom.
O'Neal up top.
They're trying to go two by two down the straightaway.
Are you serious, Lernerville?
Get out of here.
They're trying to go three wide.
Dan Ebert may win this thing.
I mean, he may win this race.
There will be five to go this time, and if this don't get your heart pumping, move over.
Ebert on the bottom.
Thornton stays out front.
Five to go in your first feature at Lernerville, and it's a dandy.
Who needs 10,000 likes when you got Lernerville?
Right now, Thornton, one secondly advantage.
If this thing stays green He looks good right now as he heads the Baron's Performance white flag, one lap to go.
He looks good, but how many times have we seen someone jump the cush on this racetrack?
Baron's Performance white flag, final time around for Ricky Thornton Jr., Dan Ebert, and Brandon Overton remain side by side for the second spot as they head down the back stretch for the final time.
And they're still gonna be side to side.
Overton has an edge right now.
Ricky Thornton Jr. coming out of turn number four.
He's gonna get the win as they close on him quickly out of four.
Here comes Ebert to the bottom.
Did Ebert get second?
And he does.
Oh, my.
Overton third.
Oh, my.
Devon Moran and Alex Ferree bring him to the Ace Doran hauling and rigging starting to.
Give us 25 more.
Give us 25 laps to the- Minus the telestrator.
Oh, on the bottom, Dylan McCowan at eight.
You give us 25 laps and a telestrator and it's hard to tell what's gonna happen.
Alex Ferree to the outside of Max Blair.
Look at Brandon Shepherd already up through the field.
Three on the bottom.
Ooh.
Got a little loose, brings it back down.
One in the books.
Out in front is Devon Moran.
Devon Moran looking good.
He likes Lernerville.
He mentioned that to Ben Shelton in his heat race interview.
How about Dylan McCowan running second?
And here comes Max Blair in third.
Down the back straightaway.
That's fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh all on your screen.
Brandon Shepherd, Alex Ferree, Kyle Bronson, Mike Norris, and the rest of the field.
On the outside, Max Blair in the 111ing.
Bill Emig Memorial winner twice in his career with the RUSH crate late models would love nothing more than to get a firecracker win tomorrow night.
Right now he falls back to fourth.
They all still trail Devon Moran, James.
Five in the books, 20 to go.
Shepherd from seventh to third already in this race.
Caution free so far.
Shepherd trying to track down McCowan, and- And Bronson off the pace on the back straightaway, and that's gonna draw a Hell Raiser Jack's caution flag.
Devon Moran, Dylan McCowan, Brandon Shepherd, your top three in the Ace Doran starting zone.
Well, Shepherd's got a good restart, Dustin Jarrett.
Brandon started seventh.
Again, no championship points on the line, but good starting spot tomorrow night.
They drag race down the back straightaway, and B-Shep goes to second.
Moran's gonna have competition as he cuts down on McCowan.
And working the top shelf is Alex Ferree into 1C down the main straightaway.
McCowan slips up.
They go three wide into turn one.
Ferree's got a good run right there.
You're gonna see him pop in and out of your screen, but at the front of the field, the Rocket One has closed in on the double now 99.
You got a battle for the lead in feature number two.
Devon Moran trying to hard, trying to hold off a hard-charging seventh starting Brandon Shepherd.
He will not.
Sheppy has him at the stripe.
Are you Can, can we do this back to back?
Let's run triple features tonight.
Down the back straightaway, Shepherd out in front, Moran back to second.
Blair is third.
Ferree and McCowan, they're side by side.
Moran battles back on the outside.
Down the straightaway, B-Shep still leads.
Three distinct grooves right here tonight.
Shepherd on the bottom, Moran up pound of the cushions.
And you aren't missing anything at the front of the field.
Brandon Shepherd just made quick work of two back markers and put those two cars between himself and Devon Moran.
Still a 1.4 second advantage for the Rocket One.
On the right side of your screen, that battle for third, Mike Norris trying to take it away from Max Blair.
Will he make it official this time at the line?
He does.
Six to go.
Final time around.
Rocket One, Brandon Shepherd out front from seventh here at Lernerville.
Moran second, third is Norris, Blair, Alberson, McCowan, Ferree, Wyant, Satterly, Bam Bam your top 10.
Final lap, Dustin Jarrett, for Brandon Shepherd.
Brandon Shepherd will roll down the back straightaway for the final time into turn three off corner number four.
The winner of your second A main is gonna be Brandon Shepherd.
Second will go to Devon Moran.
Third at the line, Max Blair will take it back away.
