Ricky Thornton Jr. claimed his fourth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of 2025, winning the Buckeye Spring 50 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. The reigning series champion earned $15,000 for his dominant performance, leading all 50 laps while holding off Josh Rice by 0.541 seconds.

Early challenger Jonathan Davenport spun after contact with a lapped car on lap 10, forcing him to restart from the back. Rice moved into second and mounted several challenges but couldn't overtake Thornton despite closing the gap multiple times in the final 39 laps. Devin Moran finished third after starting ninth, followed by Mike Marlar and Hudson O'Neal.

The win marked Thornton's 46th career Lucas Oil victory and propelled him into the championship points lead heading into Saturday's race at Brownstown. His Koehler Motorsports Longhorn Chassis, powered by a Clements Racing Engine, proved dominant throughout the night.

"I knew Josh was going to be good - I thought he was actually a little better than me," Thornton said in victory lane. "I just managed to stay out front after some close calls with lapped traffic."

Rice acknowledged the strong run but needed a longer green flag stretch to challenge for the win. "We were a little harder on tires than he was. Ricky did everything he needed to do to win that one," Rice said after his runner-up finish.

The complete top 10:

1. Ricky Thornton Jr.
2. Josh Rice
3. Devin Moran
4. Mike Marlar
5. Hudson O'Neal
6. Garrett Alberson
7. Brandon Overton
8. Carson Ferguson
9. Donald McIntosh
10. Jonathan Davenport

The race featured six cautions over its 50-lap distance, with Thornton maintaining control through each restart to secure the victory in 26 minutes and 8 seconds.

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