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Ricky Thornton Jr. collects Dream prelim at Eldora Speedway

Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up the 16th feature win of the ’24 campaign on Thursday evening at Eldora Speedway with his his SSI Motorsports / Coltman Farms / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Dyno One Inc. / Excel Floor Covering / Sub-Surface of Indiana / Longhorn Chassis / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.

The triumph was worth $25,000 and came during preliminary action for the 30th running of the Dirt Late Model Dream. After leading early in the feature, Ricky surrendered the lead to Bobby Pierce, but was able to reassume the point after a mechanical failure sidelined Pierce.

“I was kind of riding there and he (Bobby Pierce) got by me,” Thornton said. “I could see on the board (Pierce) got to second and then he took off. He was better in traffic than I think I was. I started running pretty hard, and then I got up to him some. … You definitely don’t like seeing that (with Pierce’s demise). I’ve definitely been on both sides of that, and tonight it fell our way and we got the win.”

Back at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Thursday after Wednesday's Castrol FloRacing Night in America event rained out, Ricky Thornton Jr. joined a field 48 Super Late Models to kick off his preliminary night for the 30th annual Dirt Late Model Dream weekend.

Aboard his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Super Late Model, Thornton drove into Thursday's prelim with a fourth-to-second run in his 10-lap heat race.

With a $25,000 top prize up for grabs, Thornton regained the lead on lap 38 and controlled the remaining 13 circuits to secure the five-figure payday.

He recorded his 16th win of the season ahead of Hudson O'Neal, Josh Rice, Chris Madden, and Max Blair. Via his performance on his preliminary night Thornton Jr. was the high point driver, and spun the ‘wheel of misfortune’ for Saturday’s heat race inversion, which proved to be a four.

For Saturday night’s Dream XXX, Thornton stormed into the $100,030-to-win finale with a fourth-to-second showing in his heat. Lined up on the fourth row, Ricky surrendered one spot in the 100-lap affair to finish eighth.

Thornton Jr.’s week drew to a close on Monday with a $15,000-to-win XR Super Series Super Late Model event. Ricky raced into the feature, where he started fifth before retiring early to a 13th-place finish.

Full results from the events can be found at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and www.XRSuperSeries.com.

Thornton Jr. now turns his attention to this weekend’s Mountain Moonshine Classic at Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.). The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) weekend includes a $10,000-to-win program on Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Ricky currently holds an 85-point advantage atop the latest series’ standings as he pursues his first LOLMDS title.

For more information on the weekend, please visit www.LucasDirt.com.

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