America 250 Weekend in the Ohio Valley
July in the Ohio Valley doesn’t ease you in... it kicks the door off the hinges. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series rolls back into the region fresh off one of the wildest Buckeye Spring 50s we’ve seen in years, where Ricky Thornton Jr and Brandon Sheppard traded haymakers for the lead lap after lap until RTJ finally slammed the door and took the win. That momentum, that intensity, that fire... it’s carrying straight into Independence Weekend.
Three nights. Three tracks. Three pieces of Ohio dirt racing history colliding in one massive America 250 BASH!
Atomic... Muskie... PRP... This is the Ohio Valley cranked all the way TO THE MAX!
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟑𝐫𝐝 - 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐎𝐢𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟓𝟎 - 𝐀𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲
Lucas Oil returns to Atomic Speedway for the Independence 50, a race that once belonged to Portsmouth Raceway Park before PRP went quiet, and now lives on the high banks of Chillicothe. Last year’s Independence 50 was a war zone. The track had attitude, ruts big enough to swallow a front end whole, and a field of drivers who refused to lift.
And the storylines this year? They’re nuclear!
Ricky Thornton Jr. enters Atomic as a back-to-back Buckeye Spring 50 winner... this year's victory earned the hard way after fighting Brandon Sheppard for the lead lap after lap, throwing sliders, countering sliders, and finally shutting the door when it mattered. But Atomic hasn’t always been kind to RTJ. Last year he started on the pole in the Independence 50, ran second, hammered nearly every rut in Ross County, and was forced to the hot pit on lap 25 with a mechanical issue.
And now he arrives with extra heat after the Firecracker 100, where he called out Brandon Overton for jumping starts:
“I’m tired of the 76 getting to jump the start. I think that’s the fifth time this year. If his crew guys want to get mad, they know where our trailer’s at.”
Overton’s own Atomic history is a mix of brilliance and heartbreak. Second in the 2023 Buckeye Spring 50 behind Hudson O'Neal, then a brutal 2025 Independence 50 where he clawed to third from fifth before pulling off on lap 10 and finishing 19th.
Josh Rice is the Atomic whisperer. Twenty‑third in qualifying last year, eighth in his heat, clawed to sixth to transfer, started seventeenth... and finished second. Again. Two Lucas shows at Atomic in 2025, two runner‑up finishes. Seven wins here since 2022. Slick, rough, elbows‑up, glass‑smooth, he’s mastered every mood this track throws at him. The Kentucky Wildcard enters as a legitimate threat to earn his second Lucas win in his rookie season and his fourth overall after securing the win earlier this season in the Cowboy Classic.
Devin Moran enters the weekend hotter than he’s been in years fresh off winning the Firecracker 100 and finally breaking the streak of “almosts” that haunted him. Lucas Oil victory lane at Atomic has dodged him so many times, but he’s won here with Flo, won here with the Outlaws, and finished runner‑up to Marlar twice in The Night The Stars Come Out. Atomic hasn’t beaten him. She’s been waiting for the perfect moment.
And Hudson O’Neal? Two Lucas wins at Atomic. Buckeye Spring 50 victories in 2021 and 2023, and always up front when it matters.
The Independence 50 is loaded! History, drama, redemption arcs, and a track that never gives anything away for free.
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟒𝐭𝐡 - 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐎𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝟓𝟎 - 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲
We follow Lucas Oil as they push onward to Zanesville for the Freedom 50 - the America 250 bash at Donnie Moran’s House of Power!
Muskingum is a different animal. Atomic is chaos. Muskie is precision.
It’s the place where Devin Moran grew up watching legends, the place where he learned how to race, the place where he became “The Mailman.” And now he rolls into his home turf with a Firecracker 100 trophy in hand and momentum that feels like it’s been building for years.
The Freedom 50 is always a celebration... fireworks, Americana, and a track surface that rewards the brave and punishes the sloppy. And with America 250 in full swing, this year’s show is going to feel bigger, louder, and more emotional than ever.
Expect the Lucas heavy hitters to be elbows‑up. Expect our locals to be hungry. Expect the crowd to be massive... and expect James Essex to say “House of Power” at least six times!
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟓𝐭𝐡 - 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤
For the first time since Portsmouth Raceway Park went quiet after the 2024 Boone Coleman Gator 50, race cars will roar back to life on the banks of the Ohio River.
This isn’t just an open practice. This is the beginning of a resurrection.
PRP has a rich, deep, emotional history with Lucas Oil. River Days Rumbles, Independence 50s, countless tour stops, and of course the Dirt Track World Championship, one of the crown jewels of the entire sport. PRP has hosted legends, crowned champions, and built memories that define Southern Ohio racing.
And now, under the Jent family, the gates swing open again.
July 5th is the first heartbeat. The first rumble. The first breath of a track returning from silence.
It ties perfectly into the holiday weekend - Lucas Oil Friday, Lucas Oil Saturday, and PRP’s revival on Sunday. Three nights, three tracks, three pieces of Ohio Valley history colliding in one massive America 250 stretch.
PRP is back. PRP is "The Place To Be" once again. And July 5th is the moment the community has been waiting for.
