5/24/2024
Ricky Thornton Jr
Thornton parks JGR Stock Car in victory lane; Grabs 400th win at Wheatland
Ricky Thornton Jr. returned to action on Monday as he was making a guest appearance aboard the Jordan Grabouski-owned No. 20RT Stock Car and the No. 3 Modified for The $250,000 Challenge at Clay County Fair Speedway (Spencer, Iowa).
With qualifying features set for Monday and Tuesday, Thornton backed up a third-place finish in his Modified qualifier with a fifth-to-first showing in his Stock Car prelim.
Persistent rain and an unfavorable forecast on Tuesday forced officials to shift the remainder of The $250,000-to-win Challenge to Wednesday.
Back at the 3/8-mile oval on Wednesday, Ricky outran Dallon Murty in the 30-lap main event to secure his 12th win of the season and the $16,667 payday for team JGR. He wrapped up the evening with an eighth-to-third run in the 20-lap IMCA Modified finale.
Joining a stout field of 63 Super Late Models on Thursday at Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, Mo.) for the opening round of the Show-Me 100 weekend, Thornton overtook race-long pacesetter Garrett Alberson on the final lap of the 45-lap A-Main to secure the $10,000 Cowboy Classic victory. The win marked his 400th career victory and 13th of his 2024 campaign.
In another dominant performance in Friday's preliminary night, Ricky raced into the Don & Billie Gibson Tribute A-Main with a heat race triumph. Taking the green in fourth, Thornton took control of the lead on the opening lap and never looked backed, pacing to his 14th win of the season and the $10,000 top prize. Devin Moran and Jonathan Davenport joined him on the podium.
Thornton's Show-Me 100 weekend concluded on Saturday with a fifth-place finish in the 100-lap, $50,000-to-win finale. He trailed Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, Daulton Wilson, and Ross Robinson across the line.
Ricky holds an 85-point advantage atop the latest LOLMDS point standings.
Full results from the events can be found at www.ClayCountyFair.com and www.LucasDirt.com.
Back to News