Tanner Thomas is carrying on with a winning family tradition.
The Oviedo, FL racer delivered his first World of Outlaws Bike Week Jamboree Feature win after dueling against his father, Patrick Thomas, and the field of Factory Stocks that visited the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” Monday night.
The father and son duo led the field to the green flag, with the two drivers staying even with each other around the 1/2-mile oval for the first five laps. Patrick held the straightaway advantage on the bottom, but Tanner’s momentum through the corners helped him stay even.
Their battle opened the door for Rich Pratt, Mikey Kopka, and Willy Cuddy to join the battle for the top spot. Pratt stayed behind Patrick until he was clear ahead of Tanner on the high side. Entering Lap 6, Patrick’s No. 25T slid up in Turn 1, and Pratt capitalized by driving around the bottom for the lead.
Pratt led through the end of the first half as Tanner began to reel the No. 0 Factory Stock into his crosshairs. On Lap 11, the younger Thomas powered to the middle lane through Turns 1-2, reached his outside into Turn 3, and drove away with the lead as Patrick followed his son’s tracks to retake second place on Lap 13.
Securely at the helm with the lead, Thomas broke away from his 49-year-old father to a 2.1-second command as he scored a $750 payday to complete the two-night event.
“I knew the track was gonna be bottom-dominant there at the end of the (World of Outlaws) Sprint Car race,” Tanner said. “So, I knew starting side-by-side to be on his door. It was really good, I found a line that I really liked in (Turns) 1-2, and in 3-4, I was just hanging on. It was pretty good there.”
Despite finishing with a second-place result, Patrick was more proud to witness his son celebrating in Victory Lane as he prepares to chase a $2,098-to-win Feature in the track’s season-opening Benny Corbin Memorial on March 21.
“He’s wearing me out here lately,” Thomas said. “I tried everything I could. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I was hoping I could move him up a little bit, get around him, and get gone. Then I let (Pratt) by me too, and I’m like, ‘I guess we’re not as good as we thought we were.’
“He’s turned into a really good racecar driver. He learned it on his own. You put him in an open racetrack, and he’s better than I am. I mean, he’s plain ol’ faster than I am. Maybe that means I’m getting old, I don’t know.”
RESULTS: Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1T-Tanner Thomas[2]; 2. 25T-Patrick Thomas[1]; 3. 0-Rich Pratt[4]; 4. 01-Jason Garver[10]; 5. 1-Dustin Turnage Sr[9]; 6. 23-Willy The Kid Cuddy[5]; 7. 182-Bud Chancey[8]; 8. 69-Derrick Wood[12]; 9. 91-Bubba Christian[7]; 10. 21M-Mayson Mossow[11]; 11. 118-Ron Adams[3]; 12. 41L-Mikey Kopka[6]
Up Next: Volusia Speedway Park will open the championship hunt for the “Fab 5” in 2026 with the return of the Benny Corbin Memorial on Saturday, March 21. Grandstand gates will open at 4 p.m ET, and Hot Laps will start at 6 p.m. Friday will highlight open practice for all divisions to test and tune their machines from 6 p.m to 9 p.m.
How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.