Ricky Thornton Jr Wins $50,000 Halloween Nationals at Portsmouth

Thornton Jr controls Portsmouth’s $50,000 feature

Ricky Thornton Jr turned a strong qualifying run into a commanding win at Portsmouth Raceway Park, taking the 60-lap Halloween Nationals and its $50,000 prize on October 31, 2026. Tyler Erb finished second and Josh Rice took third in the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series event on the Ohio track’s 3/8-mile oval.

Thornton Jr started alongside Rice on the front row and took the lead by driving deep on the outside into turn three. Erb soon moved past Rice for second, setting up a front-running order that held through the closing stages. At lap 20, Thornton Jr had begun to pull away while the field followed the bottom lane. By lap 30, the surface had taken rubber, and traffic on the bottom briefly put lap cars between the leader and clear track. Thornton Jr still held a half-lap advantage.

At lap 50, his lead over Erb was six seconds. A caution came with four laps remaining after Jason Jameson spun in turn two. Thornton Jr pulled clear again after the restart and went on to win. Erb and Rice completed the top three; Nick Hoffman and Zack Dohm rounded out the first five.

That margin tells the story of the night: Thornton Jr had both the pace to take the lead early and enough control to re-establish his advantage after the late caution. Erb’s second place and Rice’s third put the two drivers who started on the front row on the podium, though Thornton Jr’s qualifying position in Group B meant he had to build his way to the front from the second row.

Qualifying and heat races

Nick Hoffman was quickest in practice, posting a 14.491-second lap. Josh Rice was next at 14.519, with Thornton Jr third at 14.599. In Group A qualifying, Mike Benedum set the pace at 14.964, followed by Drake Troutman at 14.984 and Rice at 15.003. Hoffman topped Group B with a 14.876, ahead of Adam Stricker at 14.972 and Thornton Jr at 14.976. Erb qualified fourth in that group at 15.018.

Rice, Troutman, Thornton Jr and Erb each won a heat. Rice led Heat 1 ahead of Tristan Chamberlain; Troutman won Heat 2 over Zack Dohm; Thornton Jr beat Hoffman in Heat 3; and Erb led Heat 4 ahead of Dustin Sorensen. The two eight-lap B features went to Michael Chilton and Seth Daniels. Benedum finished third in the first B feature, while Levi Yetter was second in the other.

Halloween Nationals results

The finishing order below includes the 20 positions listed for the main event:

1. Ricky Thornton Jr; 2. Tyler Erb; 3. Josh Rice; 4. Nick Hoffman; 5. Zack Dohm; 6. Dustin Sorensen; 7. Eddie Carrier Jr; 8. Kyle Hardy; 9. Colten Burdette; 10. Mike Benedum.

11. Levi Yetter; 12. Rod Conley; 13. Miles Cook II; 14. Seth Daniels; 15. Tristan Chamberlain; 16. Jason Jameson; 17. Drake Troutman; 18. Michael Chilton; 19. Adam Stricker; 20. Henry Hornsby.

Practice times

Hot laps: 1. Nick Hoffman, 14.491; 2. Josh Rice, 14.519; 3. Ricky Thornton Jr, 14.599; 4. Mike Benedum, 14.663; 5. Drake Troutman, 14.692; 6. Tyler Erb, 14.692; 7. Adam Stricker, 14.695; 8. Tristan Chamberlain, 14.740; 9. Camaron Marlar, 14.765; 10. Michael Chilton, 14.768.

11. Dustin Sorensen, 14.861; 12. Jason Jameson, 14.905; 13. Derek Fisher, 14.960; 14. Eddie Carrier Jr, 15.010; 15. Colten Burdette, 15.083; 16. Shannon Thornsberry, 15.108; 17. Ryan Montgomery, 15.124; 18. David Webb, 15.131; 19. Kirk Phillips, 15.137; 20. Zack Dohm, 15.145.

21. Kenneth Howell, 15.152; 22. Henry Hornsby, 15.214; 23. RJ Conley, 15.289; 24. Levi Yetter, 15.375; 25. Kyle Hardy, 15.401; 26. Kevin Wagner, 15.431; 27. Eric Wilson, 15.465; 28. Breyton Santee, 15.720; 29. Travis Carr, 15.866; 30. Justin Cooper, 15.871.

31. Billie Haager, 16.052; 32. Avery Taylor, 16.203; 33. Josh Bocook, 16.258; 34. Miles Cook II, 16.405; 35. Austin Mullett, 16.758; 36. Rod Conley, 17.403. Seth Daniels did not start practice.

Qualifying results

Group A: 1. Mike Benedum, 14.964; 2. Drake Troutman, 14.984; 3. Josh Rice, 15.003; 4. Justin Cooper, 15.082; 5. Michael Chilton, 15.115; 6. Kirk Phillips, 15.125; 7. Tristan Chamberlain, 15.170; 8. Zack Dohm, 15.177; 9. Eddie Carrier Jr, 15.328; 10. Rod Conley, 15.364.

11. Colten Burdette, 15.369; 12. Josh Bocook, 15.453; 13. Shannon Thornsberry, 15.459; 14. Breyton Santee, 15.465; 15. Travis Carr, 15.617; 16. Kyle Hardy, 15.631; 17. Miles Cook II, 15.757; 18. Billie Haager, 15.917; 19. Austin Mullett, 16.928.

Group B: 1. Nick Hoffman, 14.876; 2. Adam Stricker, 14.972; 3. Ricky Thornton Jr, 14.976; 4. Tyler Erb, 15.018; 5. Jason Jameson, 15.034; 6. Dustin Sorensen, 15.066; 7. Ryan Montgomery, 15.156; 8. Henry Hornsby, 15.253; 9. Seth Daniels, 15.300; 10. RJ Conley, 15.303.

11. Levi Yetter, 15.365; 12. Derek Fisher, 15.474; 13. Camaron Marlar, 15.483; 14. David Webb, 15.498; 15. Kenneth Howell, 15.500; 16. Kevin Wagner, 15.692; 17. Avery Taylor, 15.792; 18. Eric Wilson, 15.800.

Heat and B feature results

Heat 1, 8 laps: 1. Josh Rice; 2. Tristan Chamberlain; 3. Eddie Carrier Jr; 4. Michael Chilton; 5. Colten Burdette; 6. Mike Benedum; 7. Shannon Thornsberry; 8. Miles Cook II; 9. Travis Carr; 10. Austin Mullett.

Heat 2, 8 laps: 1. Drake Troutman; 2. Zack Dohm; 3. Kyle Hardy; 4. Kirk Phillips; 5. Rod Conley; 6. Justin Cooper; 7. Josh Bocook; 8. Billie Haager; 9. Breyton Santee.

Heat 3, 8 laps: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr; 2. Nick Hoffman; 3. Jason Jameson; 4. Seth Daniels; 5. Levi Yetter; 6. Ryan Montgomery; 7. Avery Taylor; 8. Camaron Marlar; 9. Kenneth Howell.

Heat 4, 8 laps: 1. Tyler Erb; 2. Dustin Sorensen; 3. Adam Stricker; 4. Henry Hornsby; 5. David Webb; 6. Eric Wilson; 7. Derek Fisher; 8. Kevin Wagner; 9. RJ Conley.

B feature 1, 8 laps: 1. Michael Chilton; 2. Colten Burdette; 3. Mike Benedum; 4. Rod Conley; 5. Justin Cooper; 6. Miles Cook II; 7. Travis Carr; 8. Billie Haager; 9. Josh Bocook; 10. Breyton Santee; 11. Kirk Phillips; 12. Shannon Thornsberry. Austin Mullett did not start.

B feature 2, 8 laps: 1. Seth Daniels; 2. Levi Yetter; 3. Henry Hornsby; 4. Ryan Montgomery; 5. David Webb; 6. RJ Conley; 7. Eric Wilson; 8. Avery Taylor; 9. Kevin Wagner. Derek Fisher, Camaron Marlar and Kenneth Howell did not start.

For series and venue information, visit the American Late Model Iron-Man Series and Portsmouth Raceway Park.