Rice Wins Cowboy Classic on Friday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway

WHEATLAND, MO (May 22, 2026) – Josh Rice of Crittenden, Kentucky led the final six laps Friday night to capture the Cowboy Classic at Lucas Oil Speedway, earning his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the 2026 season.

Rice, the current O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year points leader, collected $10,000 for his third career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.

Garrett Alberson, who was forced to a backup car after flipping while leading his heat race, finished second. Chris Ferguson stormed from the 14th starting position to take the lead on lap eight and ultimately rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third.

Current Midwest Sheet Metal championship points leader Hudson O’Neal finished fourth, while Brandon Overton completed the top five.

Overton led the opening seven laps of the 45-lap feature, which had been postponed 24 hours due to Thursday night rain. Ferguson then charged from the outside of row seven to the lead in just eight laps and appeared poised for victory after pacing the field for the next 25 circuits.

Alberson took command on lap 33, setting up a thrilling three-car battle between Alberson, Ferguson, and Rice. Working the bottom groove to perfection, Rice surged past both drivers on lap 40 and held on the rest of the way for the victory.

Rice’s previous two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins both came at his home track, Florence Speedway, where he is a two-time Ralph Latham Memorial winner. Friday’s triumph came in his first-ever start at Lucas Oil Speedway.

“I can’t thank James Ratliff enough for sticking with me,” Rice said in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. “I was doubting myself and wondering what in the world I had done. We tried some things Thursday, and this car has been so good. We just missed it on tires in that first race, and I thought we’d be much better than we were.”

“This place is awesome. If you didn’t enjoy that race, you probably need to go home because that was a good one. Coming here, I didn’t think this was a place we could win at - I just wanted to survive the weekend. I definitely didn’t think my first Longhorn win would come in a Lucas Oil race.”

Alberson overcame a difficult night and still put himself in position to contend for the win.

“I really wanted that one bad,” Alberson said. “It’s been a long day, and I made too many mistakes there late and knocked the spoiler off. But my dad always taught us to keep a good attitude. The first time I crashed a race car, they told me to get right back in another one. That’s just racing.”

Ferguson, who earlier in the evening finished second to Jonathan Davenport in the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson feature, led a race-high 25 laps before fading late.

“This race car was awesome,” Ferguson said. “We broke some stuff there at the end and just couldn’t race with those guys the last couple laps. But it was definitely ‘cowboy up’ tonight, and honestly I had a blast. We passed a lot of really good cars. Congrats to Josh and Garrett - that was a fun race.”

Rice’s winning James, Jennifer, and Justin Ratliff/Ratliff Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and backed by Glenwood Electric, MC Tank, Rice Excavating and Plumbing, Chain Locker, MGL Auto Sales, Jessie Insurance Agency, Lonkard Construction, JRR Motor Sales, JRR Trucking, Berea Collision, Keltner Contracting, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Big Al’s Guns and Outdoors.