---

Thornton repeats in Mod in Duel in the Desert at LVMS

Ricky Thornton Jr. had a stellar outing over the weekend in the Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He scored a total of four Modified wins during the week, including his second-straight victory in the $10,000-to-win finale aboard the Tanner Racing / Excel Floor Covering No. 20RT Certified Inspection Services / Lethal Chassis Modified.

Additionally, he registered a podium finish in the $50,000-to-win Super Late Model finale on Saturday night in his No. 20RT Dyno One Inc./ Excel Floor Covering/ Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.

“We would’ve obviously have loved to win at least one of the Super Late Model features, but it was still a great week of racing for us in both the Modified and the Super Late Model. It’s pretty cool to win four races in one week against such a tough field of Modified competitors,” Thornton Jr. said. “We’re looking forward to racing the Mod this weekend at Casa Grande (Central Arizona Speedway), and then from there we’ll take the Mod and the Late Model into battle at The Dome to wrap up the year.

“As always a big thank you goes out to everyone, who supports our race team!”

Lifting the lid on the 2021 edition of the Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert, Ricky Thornton Jr. was one of 138 IMCA Modifieds entered at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nev.) on Tuesday afternoon for a round of preliminary events.

Improving seven spots in his heat race to pick up the win, Thornton Jr. locked into the pole for one of four qualifiers. Outdueling fellow front-row starter Ricky Alvarado, Ricky stormed to his eighth win of the 2021 campaign. His victory secured his spot into Saturday’s main event.

For another round of qualifiers on Wednesday, Ricky’s sixth-to-first run in his heat positioned him on the pole for his qualifier. Cruising to his second win in as many nights, Thornton Jr. topped Peyton Taylor, Dominic Ursetta, Tim Ward, and Bricen James at the line.

On Thursday, Thornton Jr. passed five cars in his heat race to register a second-place finish. Going three-for-three in qualifiers, Ricky stormed to his 10th win of the season, which came ahead of Chaz Baca, Cody Laney, Grey Ferrando, and Mike McKinney.

Entering his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Late Model in competition on Friday, Ricky followed up a sixth-place finish in his heat with a 10-lap consolation victory. With $25,000 on the line in the feature, Thornton passed 10 cars in the 40-lapper to finish seventh.

For the $50,000-to-win Duel in the Desert Super Late Model program on Saturday, Thornton Jr. clocked in fastest in his group before picking up a heat race win. Locked into the pole for the main event, Ricky overcame a lap-8 flat right rear tire to rally to a third-place finish the 70-lap affair. He followed Bobby Pierce and Josh Richards across the line with Billy Moyer and Johnny Scott rounding out the Top 5.

Rolling off on the pole for the Modified finale, Ricky won the battle over Zack VanderBeek to claim his 11th win of the season. He earned $10,000 for his second straight Duel in the Desert title.

Back to News