Ricky Thornton, Jr's Breakout Season Continues With Jackson 100 Victory
Ricky Thornton, Jr's Breakout Season Continues With Jackson 100 Victory
Ricky Thornton Jr.'s breakout season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series continued with a win in the Jackson 100 at Brownstown Speedway.
Racing in his car owners’ backyard, Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., couldn’t be denied in Saturday’s 44th annual Jackson 100 at Brownstown Speedway.
The breakout driver of 2023 ceded the lead to Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., on lap 58 but rallied to regain command on the 86th circuit en route to capturing the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event for the first time in his career. He beat O’Neal to the finish line by 2.167 seconds to pocket a race-record $30,000 top prize while recording his 17th full-field triumph of 2023 on the national tour.
Thornton, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday on Sept. 28, was most pleased to win for the couple who field his SSI Motorsports operation.
The 23-year-old O’Neal, who brought the Burnses their first Jackson 100 checkered flag in 2019, settled for the runner-up check after advancing from the 10th starting spot to lead laps 58-85 in the Rocket Chassis house car.
Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, placed third in a race that saw him briefly run in second place (laps 1-2 and 26) and never fall out of the top three. Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who started 13th in a new Paylor Motorsports Longhorn car, cracked the top five on lap 83 and moved up one spot on the 91st circuit to finish fourth while Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, Tenn., completed the top five in his first Jackson 100 feature start.
Lucas Oil Jackson 100 Highlights From Brownstown Speedway
Winning Quote From Ricky Thornton, Jr.
“I just kind of kept my cool, kept my cool. (O’Neal) made that one mistake over there in turn two and it kind of broke his concentration a little bit and he started searching around.”
Lucas Oil Jackson 100 at Brownstown Speedway Results
1. Ricky Thornton Jr.
2. Hudson O'Neal
3. Devin Moran
4. Tim McCreadie
5. Cory Hedgecock
6. Michael Chilton
7. Daulton Wilson
8. Tanner English
9. Nick Hoffman
10. Max Blair
11. Brandon Overton
12. Garrett Alberson
13. Earl Pearson Jr.
14. Spencer Hughes
15. Dennis Erb Jr.
16. Jonathan Davenport
17. Tyler Erb
18. Josh Rice
19. Mike Marlar
20. David Webb
21. Ross Robinson
22. Boom Briggs
23. Trevor Landrum
24. Rod Conley
25. Jared Bailey
26. Jason Jameson
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Point Standings
Ricky Thornton, Jr. now leads Hudson O'Neal by 435 points at the top of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point standings. Jonathan Davenport continues to hold on to the third position, while Brandon Overton leads Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie by 80 points for the all-important fourth position.
Last Race: Lucas Oil Late Model C.J. Rayburn Memorial at Brownstown Speedway - September 23
Next Race: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Raceway 7 - September 29