8/7/2023
Ricky Thornton Jr
Thornton snags a pair of top-fives in USA Nationals prelims, sidelined in Saturday's finale
Rolling onto their next stop, SSI Motorsports and Ricky Thornton Jr. visited Boone Speedway (Boone, Iowa) on Tuesday afternoon for World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series-sanctioned Hawkeye 100.
Earning the sixth-starting position for the $15,000-to-win A-Main via a runner-up run in his heat race, Thornton made a late charge to contest front-runner Bobby Pierce in the closing laps but fell 1.277-seconds short at the line.
For the opening round of the 36th annual USA Nationals on Thursday at Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, Wis.), Ricky raced to his 11th consecutive top-five finish in the 25-lap preliminary feature with a third-place showing. He also took part in the F.A.N.S Fund Dash where he raced to the $2,500 victory.
On Friday, Thornton followed up the second-fastest lap in his 24-car group with a heat race win. Chasing another $6,000 payday in Friday’s prelim, Ricky jumped up two positions to place fourth.
With preliminary results from Thursday and Friday placing him on the pole for Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win USA Nationals finale, Ricky suffered rear-end issues while running third on lap 72 that brought an early end to his weekend.
Thornton’s northern stint wrapped up on Monday with a trip to Gondik Law Speedway (Superior, Wis.) for the XR Super Series-sanctioned Superior Showcase. Rolling off 15th for the feature that was boasting $20,000 top prize, Ricky advanced forward 12 spots in the 50-lap affair to register a third-place finish. He followed Bobby Pierce and Chris Madden across the line.
Full results from the events are available at www.WorldofOutlaws.com and www.RaceXR.com.
Article Credit: Todd Boyd image
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