2/18/2023
Ricky Thornton Jr
Podium finish in DIRTcar Nationals finale at Volusia Speedway Park
The 2023 Speedweeks continued for SSI Motorsports and Ricky Thornton Jr. on Monday afternoon with the 52nd annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park (Barberville, Fla.).
Following a sixth-place run in his heat, Thornton raced his way into the opener with a consolation victory. Wheeling his way into the top-five, Ricky passed 17 cars in the 25-lapper to finish fifth. He chased Hudson O’Neal, Tim McCreadie, Chris Madden, and Nick Hoffman to the checkers.
On Tuesday, Ricky’s third-place finish in his heat race pinned him on the seventh row for the prelim feature. With $7,000 on the line, Thornton throttled to a seventh-place finish.
With the 52-car field split into three groups on Wednesday for a trio of preliminary features, Thornton locked into the sixth-starting position for his $5,000-to-win prelim via his qualifying effort. Rebounding from a flat tire on the 11th circuit, Ricky rallied to an eighth-place outing.
For the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series sanctioned event on Thursday, Ricky came in third in his heat before gaining five positions in the feature to finish ninth.
Thornton recorded a runner-up finish in his heat race on Friday evening but a late rain shower before the start of the fourth heat wiped out the program.
To cap off the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Saturday, Ricky raced his way into the feature with a sixth-to-first showing in his B-Main after finishing sixth in his heat. Battling for a $20,000 payday, Thornton advanced forward 17 spots in the 50-lap affair to register a third-place finish. He trailed Hudson O’Neal and Devin Moran to the checkers with Tim McCreadie and Brandon Overton completing the top-five finishers.
Full results from the events are available at www.DIRTcarNationals.com and www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
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