7/14/2024
Ricky Thornton Jr
RTJ drives to fourth in Koehler Motorsports debut at 34 Raceway
Ricky Thornton’s debut with the Koehler Motorsports team kicked off on Thursday with a trip to 34 Raceway (West Burlington, Iowa) for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) sanctioned Slocum 50.
Starting the $15,555-to-win A-Main in 13th via a fourth-place heat showing, Thornton advanced forward nine spots in the 50-lap feature to register a fourth-place finish.
After losing Friday’s and Saturday’s LOLMDS events to inclement weather, Ricky trekked to west to Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, Neb.) to make a pair of last-minute starts. His plans to compete solely in Logan Zorn-owned Micro were quickly changed after getting offered a ride in a Keith Kunz Motorsports Midget. He raced into the $10,000-to-win Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship via a B-Main but faded to 17th in the 40-lapper after mid-race contact while running in 13th.
Thornton’s weekend concluded with a pair of podium finishes at Beatrice (Neb.) Speedway for the Joey Hergott Memorial Race. After finishing third in the Stock Car feature, Ricky scored a runner-up photo-finish in the Modified feature aboard the Jordan Grabouski-owned entry against the Nebraska driver.
Full results from the events can be found at www.LucasDirt.com and www.USACRacing.com.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson image