Ricky Thornton Jr.
Another Friday night this past weekend produced another Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature win for Chandler, Arizona native Ricky Thornton Jr. This current season is beginning to take on the look of other great campaigns pieced together by superstar Dirt Late Model competitors over the past decade.
When the great seasons of the past are recalled, Jonathan Davenport in 2015 and 2022, Brandon Sheppard in 2019, and Brandon Overton in 2021 come readily to mind.
Thornton has already won 12 features so far in 2023. Keep in mind too that he crossed the finish line ahead of the field in the Show-me 100 only to be stripped of that victory because of a droop rule infraction discovered by Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials in the post-race inspection.
The measuring stick of a great racing season is determined by the winning of a championship or the accumulation of crown jewel wins. In some cases, drivers have done both. Davenport in 2015 and Sheppard in 2019 were examples of drivers who did both while Davenport in 2022 and Overton in 2021 achieved greatness by amassing crown jewel trophies without earning a national touring series title.
As of the middle portion of the 2023 season approaches, Thornton very much looks like he is on his way to a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship by holding a lead of 165 points over second-place Hudson O’Neal. He also has scored more wins on the series than any other driver having amassed six trophies with the next highest number being the three wins of O’Neal.
But as stated above, for a season to be considered great, there have to be multiple crown jewel victories included. Thornton has shown in the past that he has the ability to win on the sport’s biggest stages having taken the 2021 Dirt Track World Championship at Portsmouth Raceway Park. And again, he did cross the finish line ahead of the pack in this year’s Show-me 100 even though that win did not stand.
The Dirt Late Model season is just now about to enter its most prestigious and lucrative stretch with big races coming up beginning this weekend with the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway. Events such as the Prairie Dirt Classic, the USA Nationals, the North-South 100, the World 100, and the Lucas Oil championship determining Dirt Track World Championship will be contested over the next few months.
Ricky Thornton Jr. in his SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis
If Thornton continues running the way he has been up to this point, he should go into those events as either the outright favorite or one of the favorites. Winning three or more of those crown jewels along with a national series championship would absolutely have him in the conversation of those such as Davenport, Overton, and Sheppard of having had one of Dirt Late Model racing’s dominating seasons.
But there is much work to be done before that conversation can take place.
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