SARVER, Pa.— Hot as a firecracker.

Little else need be said about Ricky Thornton Jr. at the moment. He’s simply the hottest Dirt Late Model driver in the country. The Chandler, Ariz., native continued to run rough shod over Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competition with a convincing victory in the 17th annual Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway on Saturday, recording his second consecutive victory worth $50,000.

Thornton’s drive to his 10th Lucas Oil Series win of the season didn’t have quite the flavor as five of the last six Firecracker 100 features. It was not a flag-to-flag romp like four of those events at the Sarver, Pa., oval have been, but it was convincing nonetheless in that he led five times for a total of 47 laps — including the final 20 — and finished a whopping 4.912 seconds ahead of Martinsville, Ind.’s Hudson O’Neal, who led four times for nine laps after starting 11th.

In four of the last six Firecracker 100 features, the race winner has led 410 of the 450 laps, including green-to-checkered runs by Brandon Overton (2017), Chris Madden (’18), Cade Dillard (’20) and Tim McCreadie (’22). And in the 2021 main event Overton led the final 60 laps. Instead, Saturday’s main event was a dandy, right up until Thornton decided it was time to stop messing around.

He pulled away from the back-and-forth battle with O'Neal and regained the point for good on lap 81 to capture his first-ever Firecracker 100. The third-starting Thornton, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader, lapped through the seventh-place car of Sarver’s Michael Norris and was bering down on sixth-finishing and two-time Firecracker 100 winner Brandon Overton, finishing 17.540 seconds ahead of the star from Evans, Ga.

WATCH REPLAY

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series At Lernerville Speedway Highlights

VIDEO: Watch Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Firecracker 100 highlights from Lernerville Speedway. 

Winning Quote From Ricky Thornton, Jr. 

“Oh man, I really didn't know what to do on those restarts,. I’m like, you know what? I know I was running around the bottom if I can just keep (O’Neal) pinched down there, maybe late in the race I could roll the middle and get back by him. I don't know, I guess I just saved my stuff long enough where whenever I needed to use it I really could.”

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Results At Lernerville Speedway

1. Ricky Thornton Jr.

2. Hudson O'Neal

3. Jonathan Davenport

4. Gregg Satterlee

5. Devin Moran

6. Brandon Overton

7. Michael Norris

8. Ken Schaltenbrand

9. Mason Zeigler

10. Max Blair

11. Tyler Erb

12. Ross Robinson

13. Daulton Wilson

14. Spencer Hughes

15. Colton Flinner

16. Earl Pearson Jr.

17. Tyler Dietz

18. Logan Zarin

19. Chub Frank

20. Tyler Bruening

21. Levi Yetter

22. Boom Briggs

23. Garrett Alberson

24. Alex Ferree

25. John Garvin Jr.

26. Tim McCreadie

27. Gary Lyle

28. Ryan Montgomery

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Point Standings

Following his 10th win of the season, Ricky Thornton, Jr. leads the championship standings by 205 points over Hudson O'Neal. Brandon Overton sits third in the standings, while Tim McCreadie holds a 40-point advantage over Jonathan Davenport for the all-important fourth position. 

Updated Point Standings

Last Race: June 17 - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Smoky Mountain Speedway

Next Race: June 30 - July 1 - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Muskingum County Speedway