Thornton Jr. Completes Weekend Sweep; Crowned Champ

11/16/2024

Castrol FloRacing Night in America

Thornton Jr. Completes Weekend Sweep; Crowned Champ

Arizona Native Also Claims $75,000 Champion’s Title

SENOIA, Ga. (Nov. 16, 2024) — Fresh off a $20,000 victory in Friday night’s opener, Ricky Thornton Jr. stormed into Saturday’s Peach State Classic finale and raced to the $30,000 victory and ultimately the $75,000 Castrol® FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota 2024 championship.

His clean sweep of the weekend netted him over $125,000 along with his first miniseries title. He led all 75 laps of the finale.

“We set out with a goal coming into this weekend and knew that if we gave 110% effort to all the factors that we controlled, that we’d put ourselves in a position to not only win races but also contend for the championship. Ricky (Arnold) had a different idea on what direction to go with the tires for the feature than I was thinking and man it worked perfectly. This car was great from the drop of the green, and I could go anywhere I needed to. Hats off to Bubba Pollard and everybody here at Senoia (Raceway) for all the hard work they put into giving us a great track tonight,” Thornton Jr. said. “A huge shoutout to Bobby and Jessica Koehler for the opportunity to drive for them. They are just the best.

“I wish my wife and kids could’ve been here tonight because this is so special. Thank you to my team and all our sponsors for all they do.”

Zack Mitchell and Ricky Thornton Jr. brought the field to the green flag for the 75-lap finale with Thornton Jr. edging ahead down the backstretch on the opening circuit to take control of a lead he’d never surrender.

Meanwhile, the second position was contested for much of the feature with Mitchell, Garrett Alberson, and Jonathan Davenport all taking their turns in the position before Mitchell eventually took control of the possession late in the feature. He crossed the finish line 2.880 seconds behind Thornton Jr.

Tenth-starting Jonathan Davenport finished third with Hudson O’Neal fourth and Garrett Alberson fifth.

The win was Thornton Jr.’s fourth with the miniseries in 2024 and seventh all time.

Bobby Pierce entered the night with a 21-point advantage atop the series standings, but struggles in qualifying, heat race, and B-Main action forced him to utilize a series provisional to start the main event in the 26th position. Going to a backup car, Pierce rallied to finish 11th but still fell short of keeping Thornton Jr. behind him in the final standings.

Pierce finished second in the final points with Daulton Wilson, Jason Feger, Garrett Alberson, Spencer Hughes, Tyler Erb, Hudson O’Neal, Dennis Erb Jr., and Carson Ferguson rounding out the final Top 10 in the standings.

Scheduling is currently underway for the 2025 Castrol® FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota season, which will mark the fifth for the miniseries. Details will be release in the coming weeks.

Stay abreast of the latest series news and updates by visiting www.FloSeries.com .

For more information on Castrol® FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota sponsors, visit the company websites at www.castrol.com; www.kubotausa.com; www.integrashocksandsprings.com; www.k1racegear.com; www.buzzeracing.com; www.eibach.com; www.sweetmanufacturing.com; www.md3race.com; www.deatherageopticians.com; www.sunocoracefuels.com; www.coltmanfarms.com; www.poske.com; www.rocketchassis.com; www.dirtdraft.com; www.impactracegear.com; www.hoosiertire.com; and www.fkrodends.com.

For complete Castrol® FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota details, visit the series website at www.FloSeries.com. For other questions, contact Ben Shelton at msrmafia@gmail.com or 901-335-3037.

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota
Senoia (Ga.) Raceway
November 16, 2024

A Feature 1 (75 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 57-Zack Mitchell[1]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[10]; 4. 71-Hudson O'Neal[5]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 6. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 7. 18X-Michael Page[7]; 8. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[18]; 10. 76-Brandon Overton[9]; 11. 32-Bobby Pierce[26]; 12. 25-Jason Feger[12]; 13. 10-Joseph Joiner[8]; 14. 44D-Dalton Cook[14]; 15. 18D-Daulton Wilson[25]; 16. 23-Cory Hedgecock[17]; 17. 38-Wil Herrington[11]; 18. 14JR-Trey Mills[15]; 19. 66K-Dylan Knowles[22]; 20. (DNF) 19M-Spencer Hughes[13]; 21. (DNF) 40B-Kyle Bronson[24]; 22. (DNF) F1-Payton Freeman[21]; 23. (DNF) 11-Austin Smith[19]; 24. (DNF) 16H-Austin Horton[20]; 25. (DNF) 12-Ashton Winger[16]; 26. (DNF) 25C-Shane Clanton[23]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 11-Austin Smith[1]; 2. 66K-Dylan Knowles[3]; 3. 58V-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 5. 14-Haiden Cowan[2]; 6. 51-Chad Tuten[11]; 7. 38T-Matthew Taylor[9]; 8. 629-Landon Gentry[4]; 9. 18-Derek Dent[8]; 10. 99-JR Moseley[6]; 11. (DNS) 20-Jimmy Owens; 12. (DNS) 74X-Ethan Dotson

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 16H-Austin Horton[1]; 2. 25C-Shane Clanton[2]; 3. 4-Max McLaughlin[3]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[6]; 5. J1-Jake Jackson[5]; 6. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 8. 7-Montana Dudley[10]; 9. 388-Jackson Hise[9]; 10. 17H-Lamar Haygood[11]; 11. (DNS) 2-Tyler Stevens

B Feature 3 (12 Laps): 1. F1-Payton Freeman[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 79-Donald McIntosh[2]; 4. 31-Tyler Millwood[4]; 5. 24-Zach Leonhardi[5]; 6. 42-Cla Knight[9]; 7. (DNF) 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 8. (DNS) 1JT-JT Seawright; 9. (DNS) 16-Sam Seawright; 10. (DNS) 1N-Jordy Nipper; 11. (DNS) 2G-Hadley Greene

Entries: 52
Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fast Time: Brandon Overton (14.512 sec.)
Sunoco Race Fuels Fast Qualifier Group A: Zack Mitchell (15.212 sec.)
Sunoco Race Fuels Fast Qualifier Group B & Overall: (Ricky Thornton Jr. (14.682 sec.)
Integra Racing Shocks Heat Race #1 Winner: Zack Mitchell
K1 Race Gear Heat Race #2 Winner: Chris Madden
Buzze Racing Heat Race #3 Winner: Hudson O’Neal
Eibach Springs Heat Race #4 Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr.
Sweet Manufacturing Heat Race #5 Winner: Garrett Alberson
Dave Poske Performance Race #6 Winner: Tyler Erb
Coltman Farms B-Main Winners: Austin Smith, Austin Horton, Payton Freeman,
Provisionals: Bobby Pierce, Daulton Wilson
Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton Jr. (1-75)
Hoosier Tire Winners: Austin Horton, Chad Tuten
$150 Drawing Winners: Dennis Erb Jr., Dylan Knowles

2024 Castrol FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota Final Standings
(Updated 11/16/24)