---

Ricky Thornton sweeps Desert Thunder Nationals at Central Arizona

Weekend action found Ricky Thornton Jr. continuing his recent red-hot streak aboard his Tanner Racing / Excel Floor Covering No. 20RT Certified Inspection Services / Lethal Chassis Modified.

In fact, he raced to three-straight Modified triumphs during the weekend’s Desert Modified Nationals at Central Arizona Speedway, including a $3,000 triumph in Sunday’s finale.

“Wow, this Modified has been an absolute hot rod over the past few weeks. Between Arizona and Nevada, we scored nine wins and a second in 10 races. Not too bad at all,” Thornton Jr. shared. “It’s been a lot of fun racing out West because we got to be around a lot of family and friends, who we don’t get to see as much anymore now that we live out East. Now, we’re gearing up for the Dome (Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals) in a little over a week. I’m looking forward to taking the Late Model and the Modified into battle and seeing what we can do.”

Continuing his western swing, Ricky Thornton Jr. visited Central Arizona Speedway (Casa Grande, Ariz.) on Friday evening to kick off the eighth annual Desert Thunder Nationals.

With 46 IMCA Modifieds entered for the opening round of the triple header, Thornton’s eighth-to-third run in his heat race relegated him into the B-Main. Streaking to a 12-lap consolation victory, Ricky locked into the 11th-starting position for the opening night feature.

Charging to the front, Thornton rolled to his 12th win of the 2021 campaign.

On Saturday, Ricky held off a charging Jeremy Thornton in his heat race to pick up the 10-lap victory. Outrunning Zach Madrid in the feature, Thornton soared to his second in as many nights, which came ahead of Madrid, Kollin Hibdon, Tim Ward, and Matt Aukland.

For the finale on Sunday, Thornton advanced two spots in his heat race to pick up the 10-lap victory. Securing the Desert Thunder Nationals sweep and bagging a $3,000 prize, Ricky charged to his 14th win of the season in the 25-lap finale. He finished ahead of Kollin Hibdon, Spencer Wilson, Kelsie Foley, and Matt Aukland.

Back to News