He’ll be going full-time on the tour this season as a rookie and there aren’t much better ways to start off the season than picking up a win during Speedweek.
Ricky Thornton Jr. – an Arizona native that now resides in Iowa – held off Mike Marlar during Monday night’s 40-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series main event at Bubba Raceway Park.
The win his Thornton’s second career victory with the series, his first one coming late last season as part of a stretch that saw him podium four out of his final five event with tour.
Now, he’ll embark on the meat of the schedule in his rookie season with some momentum coming away from Speedweek.
Thornton Jr. becomes the seventh different winner in the first eight races for the series in a stretch that really has kept most of the drivers from harnessing some momentum.
The main event saw its fair share of tradeoffs, but none bigger than the lock-up from Jonathan Davenport’s No. 49.
The right-rear tire appeared to stop moving, forcing Davenport to end his run to the front and spin out, and also collecting the likes of Jimmy Owens and Brandon Sheppard all in the same sequence.
The accident put both drivers out of contention and actually ended Owens’ night.
The series concludes Speedweek on Tuesday night as it goes for one more show at Bubba Raceway Park, beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT on MAVTV Plus.
LOLMDS Winter Nationals Race 8 Results
1. Ricky Thornton Jr.
2. Mike Marlar
3. Hudson O’Neal
4. Devin Moran
5. Brandon Overton
6. Mark Whitener
7. Kyle Bronson
8. Bobby Pierce
9. Tanner English
10. Tim McCreadie
11. Tyler Bruening
12. Shane Clanton
13. Josh Richards
14. Brandon Sheppard
15. Billy Moyer Jr.
16. Earl Pearson Jr.
17. Jonathan Davenport
18. Dennis Erb Jr.
19. Ross Robinson
20. Tony Jackson Jr.
21. Tyler Erb
22. Kyle Strickler
23. J. Baker
24. Rick Eckert
25. Frank Heckenast
26. J. Mathews
27. Brian Shirley
28. Jimmy Owens