Ricky Thornton Jr., Max Blair win 25-lap features at Firecracker 100

Rain has been part of the story for the majority of Firecracker 100 weekends, and this year hasn’t been different.

But no matter how much Mother Nature has thrown the racetrack’s way, it has prevailed.

After a rain delay of more than two hours Friday night, cars returned to the track and those that stuck around were treated to an excellent show.

Ricky Thornton Jr. and Max Blair scored wins in the twin 25-lap features, each surviving an epic battle to do so.

The races finished shortly before midnight.

Thornton, the Lucas points leader, had to fend off a late challenge from Jonathan Davenport to earn his first win at Lernerville.

Davenport used a late-race restart to take the lead with four laps remaining, but Thornton pulled a slide job in turn two on the next lap, made contact with Davenport and retook the lead.

“I really didn’t know where I needed to be on the restart,” Thornton said. “I heard (Davenport) and I thought he was going to slide me on the bottom. I about ruined his night. I didn’t really want to slide him. I just wanted to get up next to him and my right rear caught his left front.”

Brandon Overton got past Davenport to take second. Gregg Satterlee was fourth and Hudson O’Neal rounded out the top five.

Davenport nearly earned two wins on the day after winning the make up feature from Thursday earlier in the day. He has put himself in position to be on the pole of a heat race for Saturday’s 100-lap $50,000-to-win finale.

He wasn’t pleased with Thornton’s slider.

“I got run off the track over there pretty much,” Davenport said. “I thought I passed him pretty clean, but it’s all right. It’s 50 grand tomorrow. It is what it is. He has a fast car and we’ve been throwing everything we can at ours to catch him. I wish he would’ve given me a little more room, but he was probably clear from his vantage point.”

In the second feature, Blair, a Centerville native, passed Devin Moran with five laps remaining and fended off challenges from Daulton Wilson and Moran.

“That was awesome. … I don’t even know what to say really,” Blair said. “I started running Devin down and I was like ‘No way. I think I’m better than him.’ I passed him and then I messed up every corner for the next three laps. I finally calmed myself down and rode it till the end.

“Hat’s off to Lernerville. They have worked their butts off to get two shows in today. There aren’t a lot of places that would’ve done that and we sure appreciate it.”

Wilson ended up second and Moran was third.

Moran led the first 20 laps before Blair got by.

Michael Norris recovered from an early spin to finish fourth and Tyler Breuning took fifth.

Blair also had a strong night in the Rush crate late models. He won his heat and the dash, putting him on the pole for Saturday’s $20,000-to-win Bill Emig Memorial

Overton set fast time in Group A and was fastest overall in qualifying at 15.736. Norris was fastest in Group B at 16.417. Following Lucas qualifying, the Rush crates took to the track for practice and heavy rain started to fall. Cars on the track slid over the banking from the sudden downpour.

After the brief downpour subsided, the track crew worked for two hours to get the racing surface back in shape.

Thornton, Davenport and Spencer Hughes won the Group A heats. Moran, Wilson and Blair took the Group B heats.

Josh Ferry, Joe Martin, Logan Zarin, Cody Overton, Charlie Sandercock and Blair won the Rush heats.