Ricky Thornton Jr. wins Lonewolf 40 at Wayne County; sixth WoO victory

Ricky Thornton Jr. won the Lonewolf 40 at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, capturing his sixth World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory and his first Series win since the 2024 World Finals. Thornton started from the Bilstein Pole in his first World of Outlaws start at Wayne County and led the 40-lap feature to the checkered, surviving a chaotic three-wide opening sequence. A final restart with two laps remaining tightened the contest, and Thornton held off late charges from Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce to secure the victory. Hoffman finished second, Pierce — who charged from a 16th-place start — was third, Tyler Erb fourth and Dustin Sorensen fifth, marking Sorensen’s second straight top-five. Early incidents produced flat tires for Hudson O’Neal and Brandon Sheppard. The win ended a difficult stretch for Thornton: after opening May with a victory at Circle City Raceway, he had two top-five finishes and four results of 18th or worse across seven subsequent starts. The Lonewolf 40 was also Thornton’s third win in his first 40 Late Model starts this season.