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Ricky Thornton Jr. Grabs $10,000 in Spring 50 at Florence

Ricky Thornton Jr. powered his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Dyno One Inc./ Excel Floor Covering/ Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model to a $10,000 payday on Saturday.

Regaining the lead with seven laps remaining, Thornton cruised to his third victory of the season in Florence (Ky.) Speedway’s 45th Annual Spring 50.

After qualifying fourth overall, Thornton went on to win a battle with Tyler Erb to claim a 10-lap heat race victory – earning him the pole position for the 50-lap A-Main.

Thornton led the first three laps, but after fellow front-row starter Jimmy Owens went around him in turn four on the fourth circuit, Thornton dropped all the way back to fifth a lap later.

“My crew guy was yelling at me early, like, ‘Slow down, just let those guys go,’ ” Thornton said.

After rough and tumble track conditions knocked out several other front runners, Thornton found himself back in contention as the race entered the late stages. He moved up to second and began stalking Owens when the leader’s car hit a rough patch in turn two and violently bounced, forcing the leader to try and gather his car while Thornton dove into the lead in turn three.

Thornton nipped Owens at the line on the 44th lap, then led the rest of the way for a $10,000 victory. He took the checkered flag ahead of Bobby Pierce, Owens, Darrell Lanigan, and Tyler Erb.

“Our gameplan there was just to kind of ride around the bottom as long as we could, and kind of save our stuff,” Thornton said in victory lane, adding that he did his best to find the smoothest way round the track.

“I think I was way worse if I was hitting the holes,” he added, but “overall, it really wasn’t that bad. You could still race. So that part was really nice.”

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