4/1/2023
Ricky Thornton Jr
Ricky Thornton Jr. banks MLRA opener at Lucas Oil Speedway
Ricky Thornton Jr. pocketed the $5,000 triumph on Friday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) action behind the wheel of his SSI Motorsports / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Dyno One Inc. / Excel Floor Covering / Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.
“We were really good there. We practiced really good yesterday, I was super comfortable and kinda the same there,” said winner Ricky Thornton Jr., in Victory Lane. “I was waiting for the track to slow down a little bit, then it really kinda took off, so it shows how hard our guys work.”
Pulling an audible after wet weather axed the Illini 100 weekend at Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, Ill.), Ricky Thornton Jr. invaded Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, Mo.) on Friday afternoon to compete in the Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) doubleheader.
Drawing 48 entries for the Lucas Oil Spring Nationals opener, Ricky outdueled fellow front-row starter Tyler Stevens in his heat race to pick up the win. Overtaking early leader Dillon McCowan on lap 14 of the feature, Thornton won by more than a four-second margin to capture his fourth win of the season and a $5,000 prize.
He finished ahead Bobby Pierce, Jonathan Davenport, Tanner English, and McCowan.
The following night, Thornton raced his way into the $10,000-to-win Spring Nationals finale via a consolation win after missing a transfer spot by one car in his heat. Starting in 20th, Ricky inched forward five spots in the 40-lap affair to finish 15th.
Full results from the weekend are available at www.MLRAracing.com .
The team is currently watching the latest weather forecasts as they evaluate where they’ll be racing this week. Their current, tentative plans include a trip to Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, Tenn.) on Thursday night for the $20,000-to-win Kyle Larson Presents FloRacing Dirt Late Model Challenge along with a Friday and Saturday venture south to All-Tech Raceway for the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series weekend, which includes $5,000-to-win and $20,000-to-win races.
Article Credit: Todd Boyd image
Article Media
