Thornton Wins a Nail-Biting Deer Creek Debut
Dylan Thornton scored victory in thrilling fashion Friday night as the Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing Series made their debut at Deer Creek Speedway.
The fifth round of the Dirt Track Bank Elite 8 Series saw the tour at a bran- new location. For the first time ever, the series visited the state of Minnesota at the high-banked, 3/8-mile Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley. A stout field of 35 cars packed the pits for the first of 2 nights for the Dirt Track Bank Labor Day Duel.
Blair Nothdurft topped everyone in Keyser Manufacturing Qualifying. The lone South Dakota native in the field laid down a 14.469 second lap in the first group of drivers. Bill Leighton Jr. was fastest in the second group as the reigning West Series Champion clocked in at 14.665 seconds. Four-Time Series Champion Tad Pospisil was quickest in group 3 with a time of 14.642 seconds, while East Series Point Leader Dylan Thornton led the fourth and final group with a lap of 15.039 seconds.
Four of the most action-packed heat races of the entire 2025 season were won by Dallon Murty, Dustin Sorensen, Brian Kosiski, and Chad Simpson. Sorensen would return as the top point driver and accepted the Skyline Materials Lucky 6th Place Starter challenge. The former USRA and USMTS Modified National Champion turned late model driver had a shot at an $800 bonus should he become the first Minnesota driver to win with the Malvern Bank Series.
Kyle Berck and Jesse Sobbing won the two Predator Custom Trailers B Features on the night with Andrew Kosiski and Jason Hahne also advancing to the big show. After provisionals were decided, a 26-car field took to the speedway for the 30-lap Malvern Bank Main Event.
Dylan Thornton capitalized on his pole position starting spot, and the California native jumped to the lead while Blair Nothdurft tried to chase him down. Jake Timm, who was making his first Malvern Bank Series start, charged his way to second ahead of Nothdurft while Sorensen made his way to fourth around Dallon Murty.
The first of 2 cautions came out on lap 9 when East Series Regular C J Horn was off the power in turn 2. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native would end up 21st in the final running order.
Just three laps later, Chad Simpson, who was second in the East Series point standings, suffered nose damage and dropped off the racing pace. His team tried to make repairs in the hot pit, and despite Simpson making it back out for the restart, he would pull back to the infield resulting in a 24th-place finish.
The race stayed green from there to the end, and in the meantime, Dylan Thornton continued to lead while Jake Timm and Dustin Sorensen tracked him down and challenged him for the lead. The two Minnesota drivers Timm and Sorensen did everything they could to get around Thornton, but the East Series Points Leader was able to keep enough distance and get by lapped cars when it mattered, and he would go on to score the win.
Thornton notched his seventh win of the season making him the winningest driver with the Malvern Bank Series in 2025. With the win, Thornton also officially won in four different states on the tour as he now has victories in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
Jake Timm and Dustin Sorensen took second and third in their first-ever appearances with the series while Blair Nothdurft took fourth, and Tad Pospisil finished out the top five.
Both East and West Series stars are back in action on Saturday for the finale of the Dirt Track Bank Labor Day Duel at Deer Creek Speedway. After that, the tours will have a 3-week break before heading to the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa for the Maaschman Memorial on September 20th.
