UNION, Ky. — On a night when so many loud, raucous and I-don’t-believe-that-just-happened moments bedazzled fans at Florence Speedway’s 44th annual Sunoco North-South 100, it was the quietest of moments that made the biggest impression.

Exhausted and about to collapse in victory lane after a nearly two-hour marathon for a $75,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory at his home track, Florence winner and favorite son Josh Rice couldn’t hold back tears after overtaking Jonathan Davenport to lead the final two laps.

“It's a dream come true. We've talked about doing this forever,” the 28-year-old Crittenden, Ky., driver said with his voice cracking, thanking all part of the journey to his career pinnacle. “It’s a dream come true, but I'm in shock really.”

While Rice’s victory wasn’t shocking for the Florence faithful — the Lucas Oil Series Rookie points leader has mastered the half-mile oval for a dozen years — the topsy-turvy turn of events over 100 laps shocked even the most seasoned of observers with a frontstretch fiasco involving half the field, crashed-out drivers rallying back to the front and seven lead changes among five drivers, including Rice leading just two circuits amid a back-and-forth, contact-filled slugfest with Davenport.

"I can't even remember everything that happened,” Davenport said.

The crux of it: Rice took the checkers 0.574 of a second ahead of Davenport after crossing under him exiting turn four for the richest victory of his career and a crowning achievement for Campbellsville, Ky.-based JRR Motorsports, which tapped Rice to drive last fall.

“I never would I have thought in a million years I'd be doing this for a living,” Rice said, “and I never thought I'd win this race either.”

Blairsville, Ga.’s Davenport, who led three times and crashed into the infield backstretch wall on lap 51 while battling with leader Kyle Bronson, settled for second while race rookie Luke Morey of Denver, N.C., rallied from 19th for a third-place finish despite spraining his right wrist in the early pileup. Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, who led laps 63-82 and again on lap 85 while dueling Davenport, settled for fourth while Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., rounded out the top five.

Among contenders not around at the finish: Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., who departed after 41 laps with battery issues while running third, and three racers (Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar and Bobby Pierce) eliminated on the lap-11 restart when the broken lift arm on the second-running Dan Ebert’s car broke his driveshaft, leaving his car powerless in front of onrushing competitors and triggering a mess on the frontstretch that involved half the field. Pierce’s attempt at his fourth straight North-South 100 and fifth overall ended with a thud.

"I just hate for a quarter of the field or half the field or whatever got taken out there, and that definitely changed the complexion of the race,” said Davenport, grateful he’d overtaken Ebert a few laps earlier.

Davenport led laps 8-24, but the high-flying Bronson took command on lap 25 and dared the field to keep up amid many of the more than dozen slowdowns in the race overall. Davenport rose to challenge Bronson again midrace, but their backstretch contact sent Davenport into a spin that briefly appeared to end his race during a midrace flurry that included a caution-inducing flat tire for Rice.

Bronson led through lap 62 when Moran, a survivor of the early wreck, rallied to take command. But Davenport, who restarted 16th on lap 51, quickly made his way back to the front and won a back-and-forth duel with Moran to regain the lead on lap 86. Rice moved into third on the same lap and began tracking down Davenport, taking second from Moran on lap 92 and hounding Davenport in the race’s final moments.

"I could see the front straightaway (fans) start standing up,” Davenport said, “then when I come down the back straightaway, I could start seeing them standing up — so I knew he was coming. And then I just got excited and started trying to run harder in the corner and just trying to beat him to the corner because I knew he was going to try to slide me.”

Josh Rice got into position to take the lead on lap 99 with Davenport nosing under Rice’s car as they took the white flag.

“All the way down the backchute, man, I didn't know what to do,” said Rice, who eventually went back to the high side and allowed Davenport to slide underneath with plans to go back past.

“The right-rear tire hit the cushion perfect and it launched me and I knew it was over,” Rice said.

It was among the few perfect moments for Rice in a race where he pitted three times and endured the difficulties of a broken right-front shock.

"We got four different tires, wrecked three times,” Rice said, fighting a struggling car and wishing they could’ve changed the bad shock. “I was like, what the hell are we doing? Why did I pit?”

But it all worked out in a race where Rice had finished better than 14th a single time with a fifth in 2021.

“We've made a mess of this race so many times,” he said.

Davenport knew he was fortunate to even be in the mix at the end after his midrace brush with Bronson, after which he changed tires and made repairs during a pit stop.

He debated whether he made the right moves on the final lap, but Davenport said he didn't want to wreck Rice.

“This is his home track and you know he done a hell of a job,” Davenport said. “Both of our cars weren't perfect after getting the front ends knocked out of both of them, but just a lot of grit and determination and two good race cars.”

Morey’s third-place finish came in his first Lucas Oil Series points race for his best crown jewel finish.

“We started seventh in our heat today and like the last thing I thought we'd be doing right now is standing on the frontstretch (for a third-place interview) or let alone even being in the feature,” said Morey, who didn’t even make the starting lineup for a Friday preliminary feature but found himself just behind the Rice-Davenport battle late. "I blew (turn) three a few times there just watching them come out of the corner and the fans are on their feet. So I was just hoping they would wreck each other honestly, but I'm just really grateful for third.”

Notes: Before heading to victory lane, Rice climbed atop his car on the backstretch to salute his home-track fans. … Two red flags appeared, the first for the lap-11 restart mess and again on a lap-61 restart when Garrett Alberson suffered a laceration above his eye and stopped his car for medical attention. … Otherwise, there were another dozen cautions, the first for Justin Rattliff's lap-11 flat tire. ... Second-running Tyler Erb slowed with a lap-21 flat. ... Daniel Hilsabeck spun in turn-three after the lap-21 restart. ... On the 42nd lap, Dillon McCowan spun in turn two after contact from Thornton. ... Max Blair slowed with a flat on the 61st lap and five laps later lost a driveshaft. … Debris drew cautions on lap 64, 76 and 82. ... The 1-hour, 52-minute feature concluded at 11:46 p.m. ... Ebert won the $5,000-to-win Ron and Madeleine Jerger dash presented by Cincinnati Investment Advisors, earning the feature's pole. ... In prelim action, Jason Jameson and Trevor Landrum tangled at the entrance of turn three on the third lap of the second heat race, sending both flipping wildly and landing on their roof; both drivers were reported as uninjured. … Devin Gilpin led the final two laps of the non-qualifiers’ race in the Blackwood Racing entry.