Garrett Alberson has been a regular with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series since winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year in 2022. On Friday night, he was finally able to get his first career win with the tour in dramatic fashion at the Port Royal Speedway.
The Las Cruces, New Mexico native got underneath race leader Devin Moran coming off turn four and won a drag race to the finish line to become the 92nd different winner in the series’ 20-year history. The margin of victory was just 0.009 seconds.
Hudson O’Neal, who led one lap during the race finished in third followed by Jonathan Davenport, and Ricky Thornton Jr.
Tim McCreadie led the first four laps until he slowed suddenly in turn number two, drawing the first caution of the race with terminal mechanical issues.
With McCreadie sidelined for the rest of the race Moran would inherit the lead. Moran stayed out front until O’Neal was able to mount a challenge, diving to the lead on lap 34. O’Neal’s foray to the front ended a lap later when he made contact with a lapped car. Moran was able to get back by him as a lap was scored when the caution flew for a slowing Colton Flinner
On the restart, Moran, O’Neal, and Alberson—who was running in third—would settle the race in the final five laps as a single-file restart ensued.
Alberson quickly moved into second by O’Neal and had one last shot at Moran on the last lap. As Moran entered turn four, he drifted just high enough to allow Alberson to pull alongside and as the two raced down to the finish line Alberson was able to get enough grip to get the win.
Alberson became the 14th different winner of the year in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, earning a hard-fought and popular $10,000 victory on the opening night of the Rumble by the River presented by UNOH.edu.
“Oh man this is everything,” said the winner. “We have tried so hard, we have put so much time and Ken [Roberts] has put so much money into all this. This is so cool. What a cool race it was with Ricky, Hud, and Devin up there. Thank the Lord, this is a true blessing right here. I don’t know what to say. I have wanted this for a long time for as long as I can remember.”
Alberson described his position when he and Moran went side-by-side in heading to the checkers.
“I thought he would cut me off right there. As soon he went up on the track, I said don’t turn this wheel, keep this thing as straight as possible, and don’t spin the tires, and then once we came off of four there, I had a little edge there. I just pulled it down and floorboarded it. Man, what a cool track you don’t get a chance to do something like that at other tracks. This place gives you so much room, so much creativity and stuff like that,’ said Alberson after his long-awaited first win with the series.
Moran, who entered the weekend second in points led 34 of the 40 laps but couldn’t hold off Alberson heading down the front stretch to the finish line.
“It’s bittersweet because I am good buddies with Garrett and them, and I am happy for them, but I felt like I had that one in the bag, and I just messed up in three and four and pushed and shoved and got up the cushion too hard and came back down. It was just a really good race. Steve and all of them guys here at Port Royal, they do a great job with the race track, and we raced all over it.”
O’Neal like Moran thought he let one slip away in the final five laps.
“I went in there, and I thought I was going to have a good run [on the lapped car], and I just hit that little bit of hole, and it upset when I stuck my right rear, and I just kind of took off sliding. I felt like it cost me the race, but all-in-all it’s awesome to come here and have good speed, especially with a big paying race here tomorrow. I didn’t grow up on these big tracks, but ever since I have been coming here this place has really fit me good. I enjoy coming here every year.”
The winner’s Ken and Beth Roberts, Roberts Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Mesilla Valley Transportation, Roemer Machine and Welding, Bill’s Sport Shop, Orion Tire and Repair, Titan Racing Products, Dirt Car Lift, Mitchell Ranch, Sunoco Race Fuels, Fast Shafts, Bilstein Shocks, and Lucas Oil Products.
Completing the top ten were Daulton Wilson, Max Blair, Mason Zeigler, Mike Marlar, and Rick Eckert.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
The Rumble by the River Presented by UNOH.edu | Night 1
Friday, August 23, 2024
Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 18.097 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Tim McCreadie | 17.976 seconds (overall)
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 4. 66-Justin Kann[4]; 5. 20F-Trever Feathers[6]; 6. 06-Mike Lupfer[5]; 7. 2-Dan Stone[7]; 8. 25K-Kody Lyter[8]; 9. EZ1-Ron Fink[9]
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 9M-Hayes Mattern[2]; 3. 0-Rick Eckert[6]; 4. 1Z-Logan Zarin[3]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 6. 77-Tyler Dietz[4]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[9]; 8. 4-Gary Stuhler[8]; 9. 4S-Danny Snyder[7]
Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. 1C-Alex Ferree[2]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[5]; 5. 2T-Kyle Lee[4]; 6. 11H-Keith Jackson[8]; 7. 11C-Trevor Collins[6]; 8. 15-Scott Flickinger[7]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 66C-Matt Cosner[4]; 5. D19-Dillan Stake[6]; 6. 93F-Carson Ferguson[7]; 7. 15K-Jamie Lathroum[5]; 8. 11-Jason Schmidt[8]; 9. 22-Gregg Satterlee[9]
Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 7T-Drake Troutman[2]; 3. 48-Colton Flinner[5]; 4. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[4]; 5. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 6. 7Y-Andrew Yoder[6]; 7. 93-Cory Lawler[7]; 8. 5-Chad Julius[8]
Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 111-Max Blair[1]; 2. 2J-Justin Weaver[2]; 3. 24-Dylan Yoder[4]; 4. 91-Coleby Frye[3]; 5. 32J-Shaun Jones[5]; 6. 21-Chad Myers[8]; 7. 63-Nathan Long[7]; 8. 80D-Greg Diehl[6]
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 2. 1Z-Logan Zarin[2]; 3. 66-Justin Kann[1]; 4. 2T-Kyle Lee[6]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 6. 2-Dan Stone[10]; 7. 77-Tyler Dietz[8]; 8. 06-Mike Lupfer[7]; 9. 4S-Danny Snyder[17]; 10. 4-Gary Stuhler[14]; 11. 25K-Kody Lyter[13]; 12. 15-Scott Flickinger[15]; 13. EZ1-Ron Fink[16]; 14. 7-Ross Robinson[11]; 15. 20F-Trever Feathers[4]; 16. (DNS) 11H-Keith Jackson; 17. (DNS) 11C-Trevor Collins
UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 93F-Carson Ferguson[7]; 2. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[2]; 3. D19-Dillan Stake[4]; 4. 66C-Matt Cosner[1]; 5. 15K-Jamie Lathroum[10]; 6. 32J-Shaun Jones[6]; 7. 93-Cory Lawler[11]; 8. 21-Chad Myers[9]; 9. 63-Nathan Long[12]; 10. 80D-Greg Diehl[15]; 11. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 12. 91-Coleby Frye[3]; 13. 7Y-Andrew Yoder[8]; 14. 11-Jason Schmidt[13]; 15. 5-Chad Julius[14]; 16. (DNS) 22-Gregg Satterlee
The Rumble by the River Presented by UNOH.edu | Night 1 Feature Finish (40 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay
1 – 4 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $10,000
2 – 3 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $5,500
3 – 7 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,500
4 – 8 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,700
5 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – $2,600
6 – 5 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $2,300
7 – 6 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,200
8 – 14 – 25Z – Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – $2,100
9 – 13 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $2,050
10 – 15 – 0 – Rick Eckert – York, PA – $2,000
11 – 17 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,700
12 – 11 – 1C – Alex Ferree – Saxonburg, PA – $1,400
13 – 20 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,300
14 – 10 – 7T – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $1,000
15 – 19 – 20 – Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – $950
16 – 9 – 9M – Hayes Mattern – Beavertown, PA – $925
17 – 23 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $900
18 – 25 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $175
19 – 26 – 93 – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $150
20 – 18 – 24 – Dylan Yoder – Middleburg, PA – $825
21 – 16 – 48 – Colton Flinner – Allison Park, PA – $800
22 – 21 – 1Z – Logan Zarin – Hookstown, PA – $800
23 – 22 – 119 – Bryan Bernheisel – Jonestown, PA – $800
24 – 12 – 2J – Justin Weaver – Clear Spring, MD – $800
25 – 24 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $800
26 – 27 – 63Y – Andrew Yoder – Middleburg, PA – $800
27 – 2 – 1 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $800
Race Statistics
Entrants: 51
Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1-4); Devin Moran (Laps 5-33); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 34); Devin Moran (Laps 35-39); Garrett Alberson (Lap 40)
Wieland Feature Winner: Garrett Alberson
Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/a
Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/a
Margin of Victory: 0.009 seconds
Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: Debris (Lap 1); Tim McCreadie (Lap 4); Colton Flinner (lap 35); Debris (Lap 35 Restart)
LOLMDS Series Provisionals: Ross Robinson; Boom Briggs
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
LOLMDS Emergency Provisionals: Brenden Smith; Cory Lawler
Track Provisional: Andrew Yoder
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Garrett Alberson, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal
Penske Shocks Top 5: Garrett Alberson, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Carson Ferguson (Advanced 7 Positions)
PEM 4th Place Feature: Jonathan Davenport
Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Max Blair
Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Carson Ferguson
MD3 Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (34 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Garrett Alberson
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Clay Harris
Coltman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Lap 4 | 18.916 seconds)
Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Garrett Alberson
Miller Welders Hard Luck Award: Tim McCreadie
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: RC Whitwell (Garrett Alberson)
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (17.8995 seconds)
Time of Race: 26 minutes 45 seconds
Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:
Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Pay
1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 5405 – $340,349
2 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 5175 – $296,305
3 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 5150 – $246,850
4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 4710 – $158,703
5 – 1 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – 4685 – $189,125
6 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4590 – $129,225
7 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 4440 – $127,425
8 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 4430 – $144,925
9 – 20 – Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 4190 – $87,825
10 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 4080 – $90,600
11 – 7T – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 3695 – $75,325
12 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 3615 – $50,375
13 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – 3595 – $71,350
14 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – 3215 – $43,425
15 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 3135 – $30,350
16 – B5 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 2950 – $93,225
17 – 93 – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 2950 – $18,075
18 – 93F – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 2870 – $46,475
