05/30/2026
THORTON JR. WINS LONEWOLF 40 IN WAYNE COUNTY DEBUT; RAYBURN TOPS WHITLEY, GAHM & RAYBURN 20 IN HIS FIRST VISIT
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Written By: Mike Swanger
Ricky Thorton Jr. went to Wayne County Speedway in need of a breakout night, and that's exactly what he got. The Chandler, AZ native had amassed three wins in his first 40 Late Model starts of 2026 prior to Thursday's Lonewolf 40 with the World of Outlaw Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision. Most racers would gladly take that number, but not the man who has been among the winningest drivers in the sport over the last three years. Rolling into Wayne County Speedway for the first time, the was fast off the trailer and led the field to green but the start was anything but calm as Hudson O'Neal and Daulton Wilson made it 3 wide for the lead on the opening lap, the 40 lap contest turned into a battle of attrition as O'Neal had to surrender second place due to a flat tire six laps in then Brandon Sheppard suffered the same fate while running in the same spot later in the race. Ahead of the final restart with two laps remaining, Thorton remained out front as he was now being trailed by, Nick Hoffman, who set a new track record of 16.012 in qualifying, and Bobby Pierce, who had worked his way foward from the 16th starting spot. Neither of the two title contenders could find a way around Thorton though, as 'RTJ' blasted around the cushion to take the checkers for the sixth time in his career with the World of Outlaws and the first since the 2024 Finals. Tyler Erb crossed the line fourth while Dustin Sorenson collected his second straight top five.
Lucasville's Jeremy Rayburn was making his first visit to 'Orrville's Historic Oval' in the Flynn's Tire & Auto UMP Modifieds and would find the Summit Racing Victory circle in a hard fought race to capture the Whitley, Gahm & Rayburn 20. As the green flag dropped, Kyle Moore and J.P. Roberts stayed side by side on the start, but coming out of turn four, Roberts had a malfunction on his car that put him into the front stretch wall that collected Jimmy Humphrey, Nate Young and Vinnie DePizzo as all four cars were badly damaged. As the race resumed, Moore would take the lead with Rayburn in hot pursuit that would turn into a back and forth battle as Rayburn used the low side of the track to edge ahead but Moore used the high side and lead down the straight aways lap after lap. Coming out of turn four with three laps to go, Moore's lost the left rear tire to end his run. Driving the Whitley, Gahm & Rayburn CPA's, Sinclair Real Estate and Jacobs Excavating , Rayburn would be followed across the finish line by Mikey Wilson, Jesse Wisecarver, Jason Brennan, and Ryan Markham.
The next action at Wayne County Speedway will come on Saturday, June 6 as the Joyride Transport Sport Compacts will take to the track followed different divisions of Demolition Derby's including the Bumper Swap Compacts, Motor Swap v8's, MWFA, Stock mowers and Kid's Power Wheels. For more information on the derbies go to Stixx Up Promotions.
Super Late Models 45 Entries
WoO Late Model Feature 40 Laps | 00:46:24.102
1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[16]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[5]; 5. 19-Dustin
Sorensen[11]; 6. 99-Devin Moran[8]; 7. 6-Hudson O'Neal[3]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[9]; 9. 14-Trey Mills[17]; 10. 28-Dennis
Erb Jr[20]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[14]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[25]; 13. 9M-Tim McCreadie[10]; 14. 31-Lincoln Smith[18];
15. 555-Brock Pinkerous[7]; 16. 19R-Ryan Gustin[23]; 17. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 18. 74X-Ethan Dotson[12]; 19.
20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 20. 58V-Daulton Wilson[2]; 21. 157-Mike Marlar[21]; 22. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[19]; 23. 5L
Jon Lee[13]; 24. 55E-Eli Johnson[26]; 25. 217-Eric Wilson[15]; 26. 44-Dave Hess Jr[22]
Last Chance Showdown 1 10 Laps | 00:14:22.937
1. 14-Trey Mills[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[4]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[15]; 4. 9S-Breyton Santee[10]; 5. 5M-Ryan
Markham[5]; 6. 14C-Corey Conley[6]; 7. 59-Larry Bellman[7]; 8. 19S-Cody Scott[1]; 9. 7-Nick Cox[9]; 10. 14G-JR
Gentry[3]; 11. 96F-Justin Chance[11]; 12. 24X-Jason Skelly[12]; 13. 81B-Matthew Bee[8]; 14. 20TC-Tristan
Chamberlain[13]; 15. 55E-Eli Johnson[14]
Last Chance Showdown 2 10 Laps | 00:04:51.500
1. 31-Lincoln Smith[1]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 3. 44-Dave Hess Jr[4]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 5. 1*-Kyle Moore[8]; 6. 57
Caiden Black[11]; 7. B1-Brent Larson[3]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[10]; 9. 12-Ryan Montgomery[13]; 10. 79-Doug Drown[5];
11. 50-Ryan Missler[7]; 12. 12R-Race Gardiner[9]; 13. 21-Wes Morrison[12]; 14. U2-Kristin Uhler[14]
WoO Late Model Heat Race 1 8 Laps | 00:10:36.852
1. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 1-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 1Z-Logan Zarin[7]; 4. 5L-Jon Lee[8]; 5. 19S-Cody Scott[9]; 6. 14G-JR
Gentry[6]; 7. 5M-Ryan Markham[5]; 8. 59-Larry Bellman[10]; 9. 7-Nick Cox[11]; 10. 96F-Justin Chance[12]; 11. 20TC
Tristan Chamberlain[3]; 12. 157-Mike Marlar[4]
STAKT Products Heat Race 2 8 Laps | 00:08:25.468
1. 58V-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[6]; 3. 19-Dustin Sorensen[5]; 4. 217-Eric Wilson[7]; 5. 14-Trey
Mills[2]; 6. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 7. 14C-Corey Conley[8]; 8. 81B-Matthew Bee[10]; 9. 9S-Breyton Santee[9]; 10. 24X
Jason Skelly[11]; 11. 55E-Eli Johnson[4]
Keyser Mfg Heat Race 3 8 Laps | 00:02:32.770
1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 9M-Tim McCreadie[3]; 4. 22*-Drake Troutman[4]; 5. 31
Lincoln Smith[10]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[8]; 7. 79-Doug Drown[7]; 8. 50-Ryan Missler[9]; 9. 12R-Race Gardiner[11]; 10.
57-Caiden Black[5]; 11. 12-Ryan Montgomery[6]
Jarrett Rifles Heat Race 4 8 Laps | 00:02:33.822
1. 6-Hudson O'Neal[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 74X-Ethan Dotson[4]; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 6.
44-Dave Hess Jr[5]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 8. 1*-Kyle Moore[8]; 9. 71R-Rod Conley[9]; 10. 21-Wes Morrison[10]; 11.
U2-Kristin Uhler[11]
Group A Qualifying 2 Laps | 00:00:45.646
1. 9-Nick Hoffman, 16.012[3]; 2. 58V-Daulton Wilson, 16.165[7]; 3. 1-Tyler Erb, 16.401[15]; 4. 14-Trey Mills, 16.405[14];
5. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain, 16.419[23]; 6. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 16.432[5]; 7. 157-Mike Marlar, 16.481[1]; 8. 55E-Eli
Johnson, 16.578[21]; 9. 5M-Ryan Markham, 16.844[16]; 10. 19-Dustin Sorensen, 16.879[12]; 11. 14G-JR Gentry,
16.883[6]; 12. 555-Brock Pinkerous, 16.946[4]; 13. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 17.029[20]; 14. 217-Eric Wilson, 17.084[8]; 15. 5L
Jon Lee, 17.112[13]; 16. 14C-Corey Conley, 17.232[18]; 17. 19S-Cody Scott, 17.373[17]; 18. 9S-Breyton Santee,
17.394[2]; 19. 59-Larry Bellman, 18.080[9]; 20. 81B-Matthew Bee, 18.415[11]; 21. 7-Nick Cox, 18.619[22]; 22. 24X
Jason Skelly, 18.857[19]; 23. 96F-Justin Chance, 19.005[10]
Group B Qualifying 2 Laps | 00:01:11.556
1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 16.341[5]; 2. 6-Hudson O'Neal, 16.364[19]; 3. 1S-Brandon Sheppard, 16.445[4]; 4. 99-Devin
Moran, 16.491[18]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie, 16.638[11]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce, 16.657[12]; 7. 22*-Drake Troutman,
16.660[17]; 8. 74X-Ethan Dotson, 16.823[10]; 9. 57-Caiden Black, 16.959[13]; 10. 44-Dave Hess Jr, 17.027[1]; 11. 12
Ryan Montgomery, 17.052[21]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 17.153[7]; 13. 79-Doug Drown, 17.224[9]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb Jr,
17.228[6]; 15. B1-Brent Larson, 17.278[14]; 16. 1*-Kyle Moore, 17.283[2]; 17. 50-Ryan Missler, 17.415[20]; 18. 71R
Rod Conley, 17.743[8]; 19. 31-Lincoln Smith, 17.873[16]; 20. 21-Wes Morrison, 18.564[3]; 21. 12R-Race Gardiner,
18.669[15]; 22. U2-Kristin Uhler, 18.669[22]
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds 35 Entries
A Feature 1 20 Laps
1. 12R-Jeremy Rayburn[3]; 2. 17-Mikey Wilson[5]; 3. 101-Jesse Wisecarver[7]; 4. 11-Jason Brennan[4]; 5. 5*-Ryan
Markham[13]; 6. 92-Joel Watson[16]; 7. 18-Michael Amick[18]; 8. RV1-Travis Dickson[15]; 9. 12-Kevin Davis[19]; 10. 9
Mike Foggin[20]; 11. 21D-Kyle Moore[1]; 12. 89-Jason King[14]; 13. 13-Brandon McGrady[11]; 14. 14-Dalton Lane[17];
15. 75-Tristen Bickford[9]; 16. 1-Vinnie DePizzo[12]; 17. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[2]; 18. 60-Jimmy Humphrey[8]; 19. 42-Nate
Young[10]; 20. 5X-Jerry Bowersock[6]
B Feature 1 10 Laps | 00:03:32.634
1. 14-Dalton Lane[7]; 2. 12-Kevin Davis[1]; 3. 76JD-Darrick Hubbard[4]; 4. 25S-Tim Siddle[6]; 5. 22G-Jesse Griffitts[5];
6. 21-Dwayne Powell[8]; 7. 17J-Jarrod Klay[2]; 8. (DNF) 1DJ-DJ Miller[3]; 9. (DNS) 16H-Ron Hamlin; 10. (DNS) 77J
Jaden Ritchea
B Feature 2 10 Laps | 00:03:37.556
1. 18-Michael Amick[1]; 2. 9-Mike Foggin[3]; 3. 69-Ryan Robey[2]; 4. 327-Josh Hlad[5]; 5. 187-Took Wiles[4]; 6. 185
Ron Miller[6]; 7. 77-Nick Large[8]; 8. 42JR-Chaz Dawson Jr[7]; 9. (DNS) 309-Conner Blair
Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:56.107 | Henthorn Golf Cart Sales
1. 21D-Kyle Moore[1]; 2. 17-Mikey Wilson[5]; 3. 75-Tristen Bickford[3]; 4. 5*-Ryan Markham[4]; 5. 12-Kevin Davis[6]; 6.
1DJ-DJ Miller[7]; 7. 22G-Jesse Griffitts[8]; 8. 14-Dalton Lane[2]; 9. (DNS) 16H-Ron Hamlin
Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:03:11.799 | TruForm Race Products
1. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[1]; 2. 5X-Jerry Bowersock[2]; 3. 42-Nate Young[4]; 4. 89-Jason King[3]; 5. 18-Michael Amick[5]; 6.
9-Mike Foggin[6]; 7. 327-Josh Hlad[9]; 8. 42JR-Chaz Dawson Jr[7]; 9. 309-Conner Blair[8]
Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:02:51.250 | Hutch Xtreme Race Photos
1. 12R-Jeremy Rayburn[1]; 2. 101-Jesse Wisecarver[4]; 3. 13-Brandon McGrady[3]; 4. RV1-Travis Dickson[2]; 5. 17J
Jarrod Klay[5]; 6. 76JD-Darrick Hubbard[6]; 7. 25S-Tim Siddle[7]; 8. 21-Dwayne Powell[8]; 9. (DNS) 77J-Jaden Ritchea
Heat 4 8 Laps | 00:02:57.682 | Summit Racing Equipment
1. 11-Jason Brennan[2]; 2. 60-Jimmy Humphrey[3]; 3. 1-Vinnie DePizzo[1]; 4. 92-Joel Watson[5]; 5. 69-Ryan Robey[4];
6. 187-Took Wiles[6]; 7. 185-Ron Miller[7]; 8. 77-Nick Large[8]
Qualifying 1 3 Laps | 00:03:00.000
1. 21D-Kyle Moore, 18.126[24]; 2. 9R-JP Roberts Jr, 18.188[28]; 3. 12R-Jeremy Rayburn, 18.287[33]; 4. 1-Vinnie
DePizzo, 18.474[34]; 5. 14-Dalton Lane, 18.547[11]; 6. 5X-Jerry Bowersock, 18.561[21]; 7. RV1-Travis Dickson,
18.642[18]; 8. 11-Jason Brennan, 18.675[14]; 9. 75-Tristen Bickford, 18.686[9]; 10. 89-Jason King, 18.786[32]; 11. 13
Brandon McGrady, 18.816[19]; 12. 60-Jimmy Humphrey, 18.900[12]; 13. 5*-Ryan Markham, 18.901[26]; 14. 42-Nate
Young, 18.901[1]; 15. 101-Jesse Wisecarver, 18.910[2]; 16. 69-Ryan Robey, 19.164[13]; 17. 17-Mikey Wilson,
19.196[4]; 18. 18-Michael Amick, 19.222[25]; 19. 17J-Jarrod Klay, 19.263[15]; 20. 92-Joel Watson, 19.354[22]; 21. 12
Kevin Davis, 19.462[20]; 22. 9-Mike Foggin, 19.533[7]; 23. 76JD-Darrick Hubbard, 19.862[8]; 24. 187-Took Wiles,
20.043[17]; 25. 1DJ-DJ Miller, 20.050[6]; 26. 42JR-Chaz Dawson Jr, 20.200[35]; 27. 25S-Tim Siddle, 20.290[29]; 28.
185-Ron Miller, 20.375[23]; 29. 22G-Jesse Griffitts, 20.388[16]; 30. 309-Conner Blair, 20.640[27]; 31. 21-Dwayne
Powell, 21.279[5]; 32. 77-Nick Large, 21.918[3]; 33. 16H-Ron Hamlin, 27.541[10]; 34. 327-Josh Hlad[31]; 35. 77J
Jaden Ritchea[30]
