CONCORD, N.C. — Heading into Saturday’s World Finals finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, all eyes were on the anticipated World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series championship battle between Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce.

By night’s end, Sheppard vs. Pierce didn't match the drama — with Sheppard claiming the title comfortably — that developed between the race winner and runner-up.

Tempers flared between winner Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., and runner-up Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., as the pair ruffled each other’s feathers on the racetrack, escalating into a skirmish in victory lane between Madden’s Team 22 Inc. crew and Thornton’s Koehler Motorsports team diffused by security personnel.

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Three weeks removed from clinching a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship together for Koehler Motorsports — Thornton as the driver and Madden as the crew chief — it appeared there was no love lost between the two.

Thornton confronted Madden in victory lane for “how I got ran over earlier in (Saturday’s) race,” contact on lap four that “killed (Thornton’s) left-front” suspension and therefore his ability to steer the rest of the feature.

Madden knew exactly what Thornton accused him of, but the 49-year-old insisted that Thornton “left the door open in (turns) one and two, and I filled the hole. And he tried coming on back when I was there.”

“We barely touched,” Madden said sharply. “If he calls that something, then he has a lot ahead of him in the racing world. He tried to crash me twice after that. That’s not racing, man.”

The climax of the Madden-Thornton kerfuffle came during postrace festivities when the podium finishers were called forward by WoO officials for photos in front of Madden’s race-winning No. 44 Longhorn Chassis. That’s when Thornton walked right up to Madden and confronted him face-to-face, a moment that was captured by contributing DirtonDirt.com photograph Zach Yost — RTJ and Madden look like two boxers staring each other down while third-place Mike Marlar stands nearby with a quizzical look on his face — and in turn drew the ire of Madden and his Team 22 Inc. crew.

Instead of ceremonial podium photographs, the situation deteriorated between team members.

“We were discussing the race. He wasn’t happy with me. I wasn’t happy with him,” Thornton said. “We left it at that and parted ways, and then his crew guy wants to start fighting. Kind of is what it is.”

When Madden was asked about his exchange with Thornton that escalated into the skirmish on the frontstretch that required speedway security to get involved, he said: “I ain’t listening to nobody’s mouth.”

No penalties were warranted for either team or driver, WoO series director Steve Francis confirmed to DirtonDirt.com.

Because of the spat, Madden didn't seem to fully enjoy the reward of Saturday’s $25,000 victory, his first national touring triumph since scaling back from full-time racing in July because of his bout with diverticulitis.

Madden did say that the win is “pretty awesome,” praising his team for having a “good car and program the whole time” at the World Finals. Madden also said he never felt like the race was his to lose, nor did he feel truly threatened by Thornton.

“I didn’t feel challenged. I didn’t feel challenged at all,” Madden said. “I was most worried about the traffic and loose dirt, having to get through traffic, and we was fortunate enough to get a caution most of the time. It worked out great.”

Things didn't go as well for Thornton, who said Madden “clobbered me” and “instead of my steering being straight, it was turned to the right by a quarter of a turn.

“It knocked it pretty far out. After that, I got to him a couple times, and he kind of chopped me,” Thornton said describing his bid for the lead on lap 32 when he sailed his No. 20rt race machine into turn three and collided with Madden’s left-rear quarterpanel.

“When he chopped me, it killed the nose and knocked the whole right-front bumper way up,” Thornton added. “After that, I couldn’t turn down the corner like I needed to. This place, you need so much speed, any time you lose part of your nose like that is not ideal. Other than that, if we could’ve got to traffic, we might’ve had a shot to try something.”

Madden said he “doesn’t take it personal” when Thornton accuses him of driving carelessly “because (Friday) he spun out up here in (turns) one and two. I’m in the middle of the racetrack, and he comes back across the racetrack. And he’s plumb sideways.”

“I guess he thinks I ran into him then,” Madden added. “He’s the one that spun out, was all up in the cushion, whatever. It is what it is. He can think what he wants to. I ain’t going to lose no sleep over it.”

While Thornton didn’t confess he’ll also lose sleep over the multiple run-ins with Madden at World Finals, he broke down his race in greater detail, and with greater disappointment, than Madden.

“It’s unfortunate he got into me (on lap four). … After that I was riding around behind Bobby in third,” Thornton said. “Then had a restart (on lap 18) and was able to get around Bobby, but he had a flat tire at that point. Was able to get to second, but couldn’t ever close enough to make a move other than like a restart, a turn-one bomb or something like that.

“I guess I probably shouldn’t have used him like he used me, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. Like I said, I thought we had a really good car: A first, fourth and second (in three races at the World Finals is) nothing to be ashamed about. We really have this team turned around. We changed stuff quite a bit, stuff I didn’t realize was going on that I wanted to have changed. Since then, our program has been really good.”

Thornton thought that with a race car at full strength he could’ve found his way around Madden eventually.

“I think so. Even with it messed up, there were a few times I’d get all the way to him,” Thornton said. “Really, at the start of the race, I was cruising around. It was unexpected for them to run as hard as they did that early. It didn’t make sense to me. They got by either way, and as I said, I was able to get close to Bobby. Then he got moving around some, and that disrupted my air. I slowed down right behind him, then once he got his flat, I was out in front of him and running the pace that I wanted.”

Madden, however, doesn’t agree with Thornton insinuating that his hard-nosed driving is over the line and unnecessary. Madden insisted that he “didn’t have to be aggressive” because “they left the doors open and I drove by them.” From his vantage point, Madden even said Thornton wasn’t the only driver trying to retaliate.

“Bobby tried to wreck me in the dash. I just drove by them,” Madden said. “I didn’t have to be aggressive with nobody.”

Thornton said the roughhousing “is unfortunate for the car owners” because “it gets to the point where you start wrecking each other until someone gets hurt or something like that, honestly.

“The car owners are the ones that pay. I ain’t paying for it and (Madden) ain’t paying for his. It sucks for the car owners, obviously,” Thornton said. “We got some damage. I’m sure he got some damage. He kinda ran over Bobby the first lap of the feature, too. I’m sure Bobby got damage from him also. Kind of unfortunate, but at the end of the day, it’s racing. Tensions are always going to be high.”

When Madden was asked if Saturday had been no different than any other dust-up he’d been part of across his long racing career, the veteran said, “Yeah, but act like grown-ups and not no spoiled brats. It don’t matter. This conversation is over.”

Thornton’s parting words to DirtonDirt.com were more pointed toward his team’s World Finals effort rather than toward Madden: “It happens. It sucks to run second, but overall, a good weekend for us.”

But Thornton’s final words to DIRTVision pit reporter Hannah Newhouse, albeit emotions running high, are perhaps some to remember heading into Nov. 15-16’s Castrol FloRacing Night in America season finale at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway: “Hopefully he goes to Senoia next week and we’ll take care of it.”