PORT ROYAL — Ricky Thornton Jr. took the lead from Chris Madden, got shuffled to third on a restart, but charged back to win the Rumble by the River on Saturday night for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Port Royal Speedway.

Thornton, a native of Chandler, Ariz., earned $50,000 for his third straight Port Royal win, 12th series win of the season and the 54th series win of his career.

Madden settled for a $20,000 runner-up after starting second and taking the lead from Carson Ferguson on the first of 50 laps.

He had a comfortable lead when the yellow flew for Will Harrington on lap 10. Sixth starter Thornton was up to fourth.

Devon Moran passed Ferguson for second and Jonathan Davenport passed Thornton and Ferguson on the restart. Davenport challenged Moran for second as Thornton passed Ferguson.

Two of late model racing’s best drivers swapped the third spot before Thornton secured it. Following a lap 24 restart, Thornton grabbed the lead from Madden as he pounded the top off the second turn.

With 17 to go, Thornton saw a three-second lead erased. This time, Madden stayed with him on the restart running the middle as Thornton continued running the top.

And then a yellow flag with 13 to go. Madden threw a big slider at the leader entering turn one. He slid all the way to the cushion and Thornton drilled the back of his car. Moran would get by Thornton on the bottom as well. More close racing in turn two as Thornton tried to take second back.

A single-file restart ensued after a caution with nine laps left. Thornton grabbed second from Moran and a close third turn slider by Madden got him back out front for the final laps, eventually winning by 1.7 seconds. Madden and Moran ($12,500) completed the podium.

Much like the hard racing at Eldora Speedway last month between World of Outlaws point leader David Gravel and part-timer Kyle Larson, the driver racing for a points championship was not happy with the driver racing for the money.

“It was wreck or get wrecked,” Thornton said. “It was probably a good thing Devon got by me there because I didn’t check the throttle getting into turn three. Luckily, we had that yellow so I could cool off a little bit. I was running pretty hard against the wall. Once I got back by him, I ran as hard as I could and prayed the yellow didn’t come back out.”

Madden’s perspective, of course, was the fact he was racing for the big payday.

“It’s 50 grand,” Madden said. “We got a great run on the restart. I had him cleared in the middle of the corner. He could have turned left or hit the brake pedal. When he slid me in three and four, I had to get on the brake pedal. We had a great race at the end and we had a great racecar.”

“I can’t make speed around the top like Ricky can,” Moran said. “Overall, our car was good. We’re starting to figure this place out a little bit more.”

Brandon Sheppard and Jonathan Davenport completed the top five. Mike Marlar, 15th starter Max Blair, 17th starter Gregg Satterlee, Brandon Overton and Hudson O’Neal rounded out the top 10.

Carson Ferguson had overall quick time in qualifying with a lap of 17.822. Madden was fastest in Group B at 17.934. Ferguson, O’Neal, Madden, and Moran won the heat races. Satterlee and Herrington won the B-mains.

Marlar completed the sweep of the modified portion of the weekend. George Dixon, David Stremme, Ray Kable and Ty Norder completed the top five. Dan Davies, Michael Altobelli, Jonathan Taylor, Ryan Ayers and Evan Taylor rounded out the top 10.

RACING ROUNDUP

Brad McGinnis, of Huntington, was the limited late model feature winner Friday night at Port Royal. Port Royal’s Lane Snook, Matt

Murphy, Shaun Miller and Devin Hart completed the top five. Snook, the point leader and three-time winner, challenged McGinnis for the lead, but jumped the second turn cushion and lost ground with four laps to go. Ryan Zook, Devin Frey, DJ Myers, Jimmy Jesmer and 20th starter Spike Moore rounded out the top 10.

Danny Dietrich won the Jack Gunn Memorial for the sprint cars Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway. He earned $8,000. Chase Dietz, Anthony Macri, Cameron Smith and point leader Troy Wagaman Jr. completed the top five. Overall, it was Dietrich’s 11th win of the season.

Smith won the Kramer Klash and $7,300 Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in the sprint car main. Macri, Tyler Ross, point leader Wagaman and Dietz completed the top five.

Five-time Port Royal sprint car champion Logan Wagner, of Harrisonville, won the sprint car feature Saturday night at Lernerville Speedway, located about a half-hour north of Pittsburgh.