6/12/2023
Ricky Thornton Jr
Red-hot Thornton claims Dream prelim at Eldora, fourth in finale
Ricky Thornton Jr. continued his winning ways on Thursday evening with a $12,000 Dirt Late Model Dream XXIX prelim win at Eldora Speedway in 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.
Weekend action at Eldora Speedway went on to find him finishing third in Friday’s prelim feature before adding a fourth-place finish in Saturday night’s mega finale. Additionally, he was in contention early for the $100,000 victory at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway before mechanical woes nixed his chances.
“We hit the ground running on Thursday at Eldora (Speedway) and with the win it gave us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the weekend. We had another podium on Friday, and on Saturday we were on the move before the track took rubber so it’s hard to say if we had anything for the leaders, but I guess we’ll never know,” Thornton Jr. said. “Kokomo (Speedway) was for sure a bummer with the mechanical failure, but that’s part of it. We’re looking forward to return to Lucas Oil (Late Model Dirt Series) action this weekend at Smoky Mountain Speedway.”
Taking part in the 29th annual Dirt Late Model Dream, Ricky Thornton Jr. unloaded his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Longhorn Chassis Late Model at the famed Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Thursday as a pair of prelims kicked off the three-day event.
With the 95-car field split into two groups, Thornton clocked in 15th-fastest in his qualifying group, however, earned the pole for his heat via the four-car invert. Following a convincing 10-lap heat triumph, Ricky led flag-to-flag in his 25-lap prelim to record his third-straight victory and 13th overall of the season. He collected a $12,000 payday ahead of Devin Moran, Mike Marlar, Josh Rice, and Jonathan Davenport.
On Friday, Ricky raced his way into the final prelim with a third-to-first run in his heat. With $12,000 on the line, Thornton faded one spot in the 25-lapper to finish third. He trailed race-long pacesetter Mike Marlar and Jonathan Davenport to the checkers.
Starting on the second row of his heat race on Saturday, Thornton secured his spot into the $129,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream XXIX with a runner-up finish. Working forward early, Ricky was up to sixth by lap 19 but his momentum slowed once the track took rubber. He went onto place fourth in the 100-lap affair, which came behind Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden, and Bobby Pierce with Mason Zeigler completing the Top-5 finishers.
Meanwhile, for the XR Super Series-sanctioned 100K Upgrade on Monday afternoon at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Ind.), Ricky topped his 21-car group in time trials before placing first in his heat race. Starting the $100,000-to-win A-Main in the second position, Thornton challenged for the top spot early but suffered a broken shock on lap 18 that brought a disappointing end to his night.
Full results from the events available at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and www.XRSuperSeries.com.
Next on tap for the RTJ and the SSI Motorsports Team is a trek south to Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) this weekend for the Mountain Moonshine Classic. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) weekend includes twin $5,000-to-win programs on Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday at the recently-reconfigured oval.
Thornton Jr. holds a 165-point advantage atop the latest LOLMDS point standings.
More information on the weekend is available at www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Josh James image
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