6/17/2023
Ricky Thornton Jr
RTJ expands LOLMDS point lead with two-win weekend at Smoky Mountain
Ricky Thornton Jr. hit the ground running with a prelim win on Friday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway and then went back to Victory Lane on Saturday night to the tune of $50,000 in the finale of the Mountain Moonshine Classic aboard his SSI Motorsports / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Dyno One Inc. / Excel Floor Covering / Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.
With the winning performance he expanded his advantage atop the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) standings.
"I wish my wife, my kids were here," Thornton Jr. said in Victory Lane, already thinking of Lucas Oil's next $50,000 payday seven days later at Lernerville Speedway's Firecracker 100 in Sarver, Pa. "Hopefully we can get it again next week with them here.
"I'm glad they went out and worked (the track surface) there before the feature. It made it so you could run the top and both corners there for a while. Fergy (Chris Ferguson) got out in front and, that's kind of the downside of leading here — really leading anywhere, you can't move around — where I was able to move around and see (which line) was better or worse," Thornton Jr. continuedin Victory Lane. “I was able to get by him. Luckily no lapped cars were in the way or anything like that. So pretty cool.
“I'm just lucky enough to hold the steering wheel, because Anthony Burroughs, Christopher Jayko, D.J. Williams, and this whole team give me an amazing car every single night."
SSI Motorsports and Ricky Thornton Jr. rolled into Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) on Friday evening as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) sanctioned field competed in a pair of prelims for the two-day Mountain Moonshine Classic.
With recent rain in the area creating challenging track conditions, officials set the grid for the two features based on time trial results. Following the second-fastest qualifying effort in his group, Ricky outran overall fast-qualifier Kyle Strickler in his 25-lap prelim to claim his 14th win of the season. He stole the lead from Strickler on lap 18 and never looked back, en route to the $5,000 payday.
Locked into the six-car dash on Saturday, Thornton's fourth-place finish positioned him on the second row for the Mountain Moonshine Classic finale. With fellow prelim winner Chris Ferguson setting the pace early, Ricky found his line in the middle of the track as he overtook Ferguson for the top spot on lap 36.
Leading the remainder of the 60-lapper, Thornton bagged his second win in as many nights and a $50,000 prize. He finished 6.533 seconds ahead of Hudson O'Neal with Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport, and Kyle Strickler completing the top-five finishers in Thornton's 13th-career LOLMDS triumph.
Ricky holds a 185-point advantage over Hudson O'Neal atop the latest LOLMDS point standings.
Full results from the events are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
Ricky now has another $50,000 victory in his crosshairs as he prepares to invade Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, Pa.) this weekend – June 22-24 – for the 17th annual Big River Steel Firecracker 100. The weekend opens with twin $5,000-to-win programs on Thursday and Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday.
More information on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) weekend is available at www.Lernerville.com .
Article Credit: Josh James image