5/13/2024
Ricky Thornton Jr
RTJ collects $25,000 Farmer City 74, widens lead atop LOLMDS standings
Runner-up finish on Saturday at Fairbury Speedway
Ricky Thornton Jr. rolled to his third-straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory over the weekend in Friday night's Farmer City 74 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway aboard 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.
Thornton earned a $25,000 payday for his first-career victory at the Illinois oval and his ninth overall on the season.
“I got to second behind J.D., and I’m like, ‘Man, second will be a really good night for us,’” Thornton said. “We got to traffic and I was able to close up on him a little bit and I’m like, ‘Man, I got a shot here.’ Me and him, that’s probably the hardest we’ve drove in a while. I think we gave each other plenty of room. I gotta thank J.D. for leaving us a lane every time and the same with Shannon (Babb) there (in the late stages). It was a wild one.”
With Wednesday’s opener at Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Ill.) rained out and Thursday’s stop at Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, Ill.) postponed to July 8th, Ricky Thornton Jr. and the SSI Motorsports team rejoined the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) on Friday for the Farmer City 74 at Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, Ill.).
Taking on a stacked field of 55 Super Late Models, Ricky followed up the second-fastest time in his group with a runner-up showing in his heat race. Charging from the fourth in the feature, Thornton overtook late pacesetter Shannon Babb on lap 71 and paced the final three circuits to record his third straight LOLMDS triumph and 34th of his career. The $25,000 payday marked his ninth win of the 2024 season.
On Saturday evening at Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.) for the FALS Spring Shootout, Thornton raced his way into the $30,000-to-win weekend finale with a second-place finish in his heat race. He started in seventh and challenged Devin Moran for the lead late but couldn’t make the pass on the surface, which had become bottom dominant.
Brandon Sheppard, Jason Feger, and Jonathan Davenport completed the Top-5 finishers in the 60-lap affair.
Ricky has increased his margin atop the LOLMDS standings to 130 points.
Full results from the events can be found at www.LucasDirt.com.
Thornton is set to compete in only one event this weekend with Friday’s Northern Allstars Late Model Series sanctioned event at Circle City Raceway (Indianapolis, Ind.). The third annual C.J. Rayburn Memorial pays $10,000 to the winner.
Article Credit: Josh James image
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