Anthony Burroughs tried warning everybody. It was, for the record, a year ago to the night he put the Dirt Late Model world on high alert about an escalating problem by the name of Ricky Thornton Jr.

“He is just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of,” Burroughs said after Thornton won the frontend of Ocala Speedway’s (then Bubba Raceway Park) doubleheader last Jan. 29. “It’s just like anything: The more you do it, the better you’re going to get. He’s extremely talented. He wants to win. His future is extremely bright.”

That was after Thornton’s 15th win over a six-year timeframe. Now 36 victories and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series single-season wins record later, the 33-year-old Thornton’s become every part of his crew chief’s prophecy: A hellbent will to win. A talent that’s distinct. A driver no longer living on the surface, both in personality and performance.

Has it been mentioned he won for the umpteenth time on Tuesday at Ocala? Thornton’s win rate of 48 percent in the Lucas Oil Series over the last year — 25 checkers the last 52 events — is indeed astounding. But again, Burroughs tried warning whomever cared to listen.

“Listen. There’s a lot of good race car drivers in this pit area,” Burroughs started. “But he is, in my opinion — now I’m biased — the best race car driver in this pit area. But you can ask Cory (Fostvedt with Jonathan Davenport) or ask Randall (Edwards with Brandon Sheppard) … they’re going to say their guy.

“But the moral of that story is, you have a lot of guys in this pit area who are really good. We’re fortunate to have one of them.”

How Thornton vanquished race-long leader and victory-hungry Tyler Erb — a tactful, timely go-ahead pass on the last lap — is a microcosm of the juggernaut that the SSI Motorsports team has grown to be.

Ricky Thornton Jr. dispatches Tyler Erb on Tuesday at Ocala Speedway. (Heath Lawson)

Erb looked destined to deliver a long overdue victory (a losing streak now over 70 races), yet circumstances couldn’t side with him.

Everything again fell Thornton’s way. But Thornton again didn’t let an opportunity go by the wayside. Of Thornton’s three-dozen triumphs the last year, many of them were of Tuesday’s complexion. Bide his time, pedal the car “80-85 percent” while others can’t afford to lift, and pounce at the right time.

That script essentially played out before Thornton’s eyes as the 40-lap feature unfolded.

“I feel like our car is balanced enough, we don’t slow down as the track slows down,” Thornton said. “Obviously, lap time wise, everybody slows down some. I feel like our falloff isn’t as bad. That’s all due to Burroughs. I know we have the best car whenever we roll out.

“My guys work their butts off to make sure nothing falls off. I feel like, as the longer races go, we finally have the car where we want it essentially. We can run hard, but you don’t have to run it 100 percent to try to keep up. Obviously that doesn’t happen every race.

“For the most part, we’ve got to this point where I can run 80-85 percent to keep up with the guys that are really running hard. And once their stuff does get hot and slow down, then I can go 100 percent and try to pounce on them. I feel like tonight was kind of one of those, but at the same time, a couple different lapped cars were there, and if not we’d run second pretty easily, or third.”

'Elbows Up Everywhere You Go'

It takes the complete package to fashionably dominate the headlines the way Thornton has really for the last year.

The complete package of confidence, team play, and good fortune. Jonathan Davenport can testify to that, especially now that emotions are cooled from Saturday’s skirmish with Thornton at Golden Isles Speedway, and the larger, peaceable picture comes into focus.

“Two years when I was on a roll, I couldn’t do anything wrong,” Davenport told DirtonDirt.com following Monday’s practice session at Ocala. “I was getting the right pill draw. On a restart, somebody would choose a line and I would get the right line, and slide up in front of them. So many things go your way that people don’t understand. It’s just racing luck. When it’s going your way, it’s going your way. When it’s not, it doesn’t matter what happens.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. sizes up the go-ahead run on Jonathan Davenport at Golden Isles Speedway. (Heath Lawson)

While Davenport doesn’t get hung up in the rivalry debate regarding Thornton — “I’m not singling anybody out. Do I race people different? Sure,” Davenport said following Monday’s practice session at Ocala — he isn’t ignorant to the problems that concern him.

On Saturday at Golden Isles, Davenport’s problem with Thornton was the rugged path he took to victory, using contact to dislodge him from the preferred bottom groove.

“It’s just frustrating that you have to worry about s— like that,” Davenport said as part of Monday's interview with DirtonDirt.com.

But Thornton’s train of thought is that the “slow, slick, and smooth” racers aren’t going to win the lion’s share of races in this ever-evolving day and age of Dirt Late Model racing. Times are changing, and changing swiftly.

“Our sport’s changed as if a guy had to be really good, you’d roll the car straight,” Thornton said after his Saturday win at Golden Isles. “Scott (Bloomquist), and not taking anything away from Scott now, but I feel like you used to roll the car straight, get through the corner, and drag race down the straightway.

“Where now, our stuff has gotten so glued to the racetrack, you’re elbows up everywhere you go. I feel like the younger guys who grew up on bullrings, stuff like that, that’s how you drive now. I wouldn’t classify myself as a bullring guy, but when I have to get up on the wheel, I feel like I can.”

Some label Thornton’s maneuver on Saturday as over-the-top aggression. Others see it as unabashed confidence. Thornton, by what he’s implying and living out alone, is a firsthand look at the quintessential modern day Dirt Late Model racer.

“I think the sport’s just so different now compared to where it was five, six years ago,” Thornton said. “As far as different tires, so many different suspensions and stuff, and all that. The guys who are up on the wheel are trending better as the year goes on. The guys who are slow, slick, and smooth aren’t not winning, but they’re not winning every night.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. flanked by Jonathan Davenport (right) and Chris Madden (left) on Saturday's podium at Golden Isles Speedway. (Heath Lawson)

Is Thornton lumping Davenport into that category? It sounds so. And Saturday’s skirmish between Davenport and Thornton is more than just a drama-charged, fleeting moment in time.

What Davenport encountered with Thornton on Saturday segues from the micro to macro. The micro being Davenport pushing back to how Thornton raced him is no longer the problem nor discussion.

The power that Thornton currently possesses as a racer — the wizardly influence he has to turn a race in his favor — is the real problem that confronts Davenport and his competitors. Guards have changed and Thornton’s showing off his figurative scepter for the world to see.

“If that’s what they want to say, that’s fine,” Davenport said. “But the year before (me), it was (Brandon) Overton. The year before that, it was Sheppard. Everybody goes on a streak and has a good year. Bobby (Pierce) had just as good of a year, if not better, than Ricky did. They didn’t really race together all the time, so who knows how they would’ve really measured up.

“They have us within a tight rules package now, if one person finds any little advantage — and it doesn’t even have to be two-tenths better; it can be a tenth better — he’s going to practically dominate because, then, he doesn’t have to make any big changes. He doesn’t have to gamble on tires. He doesn’t have to overdrive the car, which some of them still do. He doesn’t have to do all that stuff.”

'We're All One Big Family'

Ricky Thornton Jr. and his supporters, namely Anthony Burroughs (far left) and wife Shea (middle), after Ocala's win. (Heath Lawson)

Thornton’s driving prowess is a direct reflection of how good his cars are on a nightly basis. And his cars are a direction reflection of his supporting cast.

“We have a team. Our success is because of our team,” Burroughs said. “We believe in each other. We don’t fuss. We don’t gripe. We don’t pout. We work hard and we try to get better everyday.”

That is the Burroughs way. And the Burroughs way is also the Thornton way. The way of strict business. They’re so equally yoked they gave the same initial answer whether their akin businesslike temperament is what makes them so compatible.

“One-hundred percent,” Thornton said.

“We are … 100 percent,” Burroughs said.

When the successful crew chief and successful modified driver covered three years ago, the at-large speculation was that they’d divorce quickly. Well, that successful crew chief is now considered perhaps the best at his trade among any pit area.

“A lot of people misread (us). And it’s nothing personal,” Burroughs said. “Everybody thinks I’m a hard ass. This is our livelihood. We come here to work hard and try to run as good as we can. And win as many as we can. We all get along.”

And that once successful modified racer has taken the Dirt Late Model world by storm, rip-roaring through an entire sport he’s quite frankly still warming up to.

“Everybody told us we wouldn’t work well together because we’re both — I wouldn’t say assholes — but we want stuff done and we want it done right,” Thornton said. “Since the start of it, we haven’t had a fight yet. No arguments. No stuff like that. We both know what we want out of each other. … It’s a perfect match.”

Burroughs echoes Thornton’s impressions. Like sweet matrimony, they are better together than apart.

“We’re blessed. Ricky’s talent is unbelievable,” Burroughs said. “And my guys, they work hard. I told them down there in victory lane: It sucks we have to work as hard as we work, but this is why we work as hard as we do. It’s paying off. Hard work pays off.”

On Tuesday, Burroughs said he “had things on the car that we’ve never had on there before” simply because “we have to get better.”

“Everybody laughs when I say this: In life, you either get better or you get worse,” Burroughs said. "Nothing ever stays the same. We’re working really, really, really hard to get better.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. and his son do a clean sweep around the No. 20RT. (Heath Lawson)

To Davenport’s point, the large reason the SSI Motorsports team is so good is because they’ve found an edge and their cars are a cut above the rest.

“Everybody in this pit area is working hard,” Burroughs said. “And if you don’t, you’re going to get left behind.”

In that same vein, Burroughs does remind those when possible that Thornton has the Midas touch.

“We don’t have to give him the greatest car. We just have to get him close and he does the rest,” Burroughs said. “He’s just super talented. Very fortunate. Love my guys and we’re going to work hard to try and get better.”

This year, Burroughs has recruited Justin Tharp, former crew chief of Garrett Alberson, as SSI Motorsports’s car chief. Tharp’s addition has taken the team to a new level, Burroughs said, and his presence “adds more value to the package” that’s already in place.

“When I interview people to come to work here, the first thing I tell them is, if you every say anything bad about any employee or Ricky, you’re not going to be employed here anymore,” Burroughs said. “It takes all of us. Nobody’s job is more important than the other. We all jump in there and help each other. We all have each other’s back. I mean, we’re all one big family.”

'I Have His Back No Matter What'

Burroughs is so much more than a crew chief. Well after Tuesday’s feature had ended, while majority of the teams in the pit area had loaded up for the night, Burroughs was outside cooking a grill full of burgers.

“You can tell (FloRacing’s Michael) Rigsby and Ben (Shelton) this is way better than Wawa,” Burroughs said through a smile.

When Burroughs isn’t feeding his team literally, he’s feeding them encouragement or positive reinforcement. For instance, after Saturday’s chippy victory, he never hesitated to support Thornton’s self-assertive and, depending on the perspective, provocative way of driving to victory.

“I have his back no matter what,” Burroughs said. “That’s all I really have to say. We’re not going to sit here and talk a bunch of crap. It is what it is. We’re racing in the rubber. And it sucks. I hate controversy. You want to get along with everybody, but if we’d have a better track or if the move-over flag would’ve been thrown, there’s a lot of things that could’ve prevented that. But it’s racing in the rubber. People are going to cry. We’ve come out on the wrong end of this deal many times.

“Look, we were fortunate (Saturday) to come on the good. It is what it is. It sucks. But I 100 percent have my driver’s back. No matter what.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. throttles through the corner at Golden Isles Speedway. (Josh James)

Safeguarding his team’s focus level is vital, too, especially in the wake of Saturday’s uproar.

“I don’t get caught up in all that. I know there (was) people mad. I hate it,” Burroughs said on Saturday. “I hate it, but it is what it is. This sport, it’s brutal. Everybody has a lot of pressure on them and a lot of high hopes and expectations. Like I said, give us better tracks and we probably don’t have that. Let ‘em race.

“We worry about what we worry about, and everybody else worries about what they do. There’s always going to be boo birds and cheers. We obviously are cordial to the fans. If you have enough success, you’re going to get booed. That’s just the way it is. When you don’t have success, they cheer for you. That’s just the way the sport is. I don’t know.

“I hate all that happening. At the end of the day, we’re racing in the rubber. You do what you have to do. We’re racing for $25,000. It is what it is.”

But what Burroughs does exceptionally well is he’s a good shepherd, pacing his team with leadership. Over the winter, he made sure they were ready to hit the ground running in 2024 both tangibly and mentally.

“We had a team meeting and I said, ‘We’re going to celebrate 2023 because it was a great year. But after this banquet is over with, we’re not even going to think about 2023 again until we get old,’” Burroughs said. “It don’t guarantee us anything. So we got to work hard and try to get better.”

Hammering home the desire to get better isn’t robotic coachspeak for Burroughs. Just like the continual praise he builds up Thornton to be, he means what he says. Just like this time a year ago, Burroughs has another vision for his superstar of a racer.

“He’s only going to get better, as long as we do our job,” Burroughs said. “He and I are built a lot alike. That’s why we get along so well. He’s never going to give up doing the things he needs to do to get better. I mean, look at him … he’s really, really passionate. He’s serious about his job. He gives 180 percent. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”