LAKE CITY, Fla. Ricky Thornton Jr. took the lead on the 29th lap of the 50-lap Wieland Winter Nationals event Friday night at All-Tech Raceway and dominated the rest of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event.

The $12,000 triumph marked his second consecutive win and his fourth at the Florida speedplant, bringing his total to 44 career victories in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Daulton Wilson continued his strong start to the season, finishing as the runner-up after a hard-fought battle with Spencer Hughes in the final laps. Hughes completed the podium in third, having led a race-high 28 laps.

Completing the top five drivers were Hudson ONeal and Devin Moran, who regained the points lead after three completed events.

Thornton, who won by over 8 seconds, led the final 22 laps.

My crew was telling me to slow down, but the problem was I was so tight on entry that I really couldnt slow down, Thornton said. I dont know if we had 900 cautions, but I felt like we did, and with the rain coming, I was hoping to make it to halfway. I was terrible on the one restart. I felt like a ping-pong ball for a little bit there. I thought it was an awesome racetrack; you could run around the bottom, the middle, or even Hail Mary around the top. You could do whatever you wanted.

Wilson, who ran third on Thursday night, came back to finish second after getting past Hughes with six laps to go, having been in the mix the entire race.

Coming to the white there, the motor cut off. I flipped the ignition box, and it ran around there until coming to the checker, and then it died again, Wilson said. I was lucky it wasnt 51 laps, I guess. We could run on the bottom and the top; it had a little bit of character, but you could race all over it. I tried to give it to Ricky tonight, but I think I just made him mad; he just said, see you later, so good job to him.

Hughes, who started outside the front row, led the first 28 circuits while seeking his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.

It means a lot to be up here on the podium, Hughes said. We havent had the best go at Speedweeks so far. We finally felt like we had something working for us, and we qualified well, won a heat race, and led a little more than half of the race. Anytime you can get up front and race with these guys, it feels good, and its a big confidence booster. Hopefully, we can keep tuning on this thing and get a little better.

The finish:

Ricky Thornton Jr., Daulton Wilson, Spencer Hughes, Hudson ONeal, Devin Moran, Tyler Erb, Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Garrett Alberson, Clay Harris, Daniel Hilsabeck, Max Blair, Jackson Hise, Blair Nothdurft, Cory Lawler, Tyler Bruening, Ryan Gustin, Mike Marlar, Kyle Bronson, Ethan Dotson, Jonathan Davenport, Joseph Joiner, Tim McCreadie, Drake Troutman, Carson Ferguson, Shane Clanton, Jimmy Owens.