Ricky Thornton Jr. Completes Lucas Oil Weekend Sweep After Highway Crash
Ricky Thornton Jr. Completes Lucas Oil Weekend Sweep After Highway Crash
After being involved in a highway crash Friday night, Ricky Thornton Jr. drove to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory lane Saturday at 34 Raceway.
Up. Down. And back up again.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series’s Iowa doubleheader was a whirlwind 24-plus hours for Ricky Thornton Jr., who shined brightly by sweeping the Friday-Saturday events at Farley’s 300 Raceway and West Burlington’s 34 Raceway but in between experienced a nightmarish moment on the highway.
After completing his perfect weekend — on the track, at least — with a $15,000 triumph in Saturday’s CRST Transportation Solution 50 at 34 Raceway, he stood in victory lane shaking his head over arguably the wildest two-day stretch of his racing career.
“We won last night there at Farley and when I was leaving I just barely got the trailer off the road (about 20 minutes from West Burlington) and I ended up flipping my apparel trailer (which he was pulling with his motorhome). Luckily me and my family (his three young children were riding with him in the camper that stayed upright in the accident) and everybody was safe.”
The crash en route to 34 Raceway that effectively destroyed his merchandise trailer didn’t bring down Thornton on Night 2 of the national tour’s Hawkeye State swing. He simply picked up where he left in winning $12,000 at Farley.
Lucas Oil Late Models At 34 Raceway Highlights
VIDEO: Watch highlights from Saturday's Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature at 34 Raceway.
Winning Quote From Ricky Thornton Jr.
“It’s nice to be able to bounce back from that (highway accident). I gotta give a big thanks to everybody who cheered and bought stuff today. It definitely helps us out.”
Lucas Oil Late Models At 34 Raceway Results
Position | No. | Driver |
1 | 20RT | Ricky Thornton Jr. |
2 | 76 | Brandon Overton |
3 | 11 | Spencer Hughes |
4 | 46 | Earl Pearson Jr. |
5 | 32 | Chris Simpson |
6 | 1H | Hudson O’Neal |
7 | 25Z | Mason Zeigler |
8 | 1T | Tyler Erb |
9 | 20 | Jimmy Owens |
10 | 111B | Max Blair |
11 | 58 | Garrett Alberson |
12 | 39 | Tim McCreadie |
13 | 99 | Devin Moran |
14 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport |
15 | 18D | Daulton Wilson |
16 | 99B | Boom Briggs |
17 | 7 | Ross Robinson |
18 | 22 | Daniel Hilsabeck |
19 | 49T | Jake Timm |
20 | 25C | Chad Simpson |
21 | 16 | Tyler Bruening |
22 | 51 | Matt Furman |
23 | 29 | Spencer Diercks |
24 | 33 | Rickey Frankel |
Lucas Oil Late Models Point Standings After 34 Raceway
A win on Saturday night shoots Ricky Thornton, Jr. back to the top of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point standings. RTJ now leads Hudson O'Neal by 40 points, with Brandon Overton 90 points back in third.
Last Race: May 19 - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at 300 Raceway
Up Next: May 25-27 - Show-Me 100 Weekend at Lucas Oil Speedway