Eldora Speedway
Title out of reach, RTJ seeks DTWC cash grab
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Ricky Thornton Jr. and his big Eldora check. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Oct. 10) — Ricky Thornton Jr. might not have anything to race for in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship picture anymore. He hasn't for much of the season, really, having fallen 165 points behind following Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, 390 points back entering June and now 410 points behind with only the season finale remaining. | RaceWire
But there's still a sizable fortune awaiting the 34-year-old at the season finale. As much as $345,000, in fact.
That's the potential haul for the Chandler, Ariz., driver at the Oct. 16-17 Dirt Track World Championship at West Virginia Motor Speedway, where a $100,000 winner's purse, another $120,000 in potential bonuses and a $125,000 fourth-place championship points-fund payout could push Thornton's total Lucas Oil earnings beyond $670,000.
Such a windfall would surpass even his 2024 championship season, when he amassed $642,169 on the tour, and would project him to finish as the highest series earner despite being out of the title hunt.
For a driver whose championship aspirations unraveled virtually from the outset, that would be quite the consolation prize.
And after sweeping Eldora Speedway's UNOH Clash on the Wabash with $65,000 in purse and bonus money, Thornton couldn't be entering the lucrative finale with much more momentum.
“At least we're making up a little bit of the money that we've lost the car owner all year,” Thornton said. “Hopefully, we can do good the next few weeks and get that down to a minimum. … There's a lot of money next week, so hopefully we can put our cars in the right area and be good.”
The largest bonus at stake is $100,000 through the Big River Steel Bonus Program presented by ARP, a $275,000 incentive program for the top-five Lucas Oil drivers in the standings following Aug. 29's event at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, rewarding their performances across the season's final five crown jewel races. Thornton trails Devin Moran by 20 points in the bonus standings entering the finale.
Thornton, meanwhile, leads Moran by 15 points in the Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup, a separate season-long points competition among Lucas Oil regulars at events paying at least $50,000 to win. The Crown Jewel Cup champion earns $15,000, while another $5,000 awaits the highest-finishing eligible Lucas Oil driver in the DTWC through the Big River Steel Bonus Program.
Thornton is among the few national touring drivers yet to compete on the shortened third-mile layout at WVMS in Mineral Wells, W.Va., which hosted the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on June 12-13 and the Hillbilly Hundred last month.
But considering his recent surge — a sterling 2.5 average finish over his last 11 features and semifeatures — he's arguably the most consistent driver in the country right now and figures to be a formidable threat regardless of his unfamiliarity with the track.
If anything, Thornton sure wishes the Lucas Oil season had a few more months left.
After a frustrating year in which winning opportunities too often slipped away, he's finally enjoying the results to match the speed he knew was there all along.
“I just feel like our whole package has been really good the second half of the year,” Thornton said. “It's unfortunate that it's at the end of the season, but that's how seasons go. Hopefully, we can at least finish strong the rest of the year and look forward to next year.”
To Thornton, the recent resurgence isn't necessarily the product of newfound speed. And while his winning streak has coincided with Sept. 28’s departure of crew chief Anthony Burroughs, Thornton maintains that his Koehler Motorsports team had been capable of winning throughout the season. Justin Tharp has since taken over as crew chief, with Seth Hunter handling tire duties.
“I feel like it's not that we've been off. We just haven't had the right luck all year,” Thornton said. “I feel like the second half, our luck's been good and we've had fast cars.”
Thornton pointed to Florence Speedway's North-South 100 on Aug. 8, where battery problems derailed a third-place run on lap 41, and Batesville Motor Speedway's Topless 100 on Aug. 16, where he led a race-high 53 laps before a flat tire on lap 76 relegated him to sixth, as examples of a season that hasn't always rewarded his team's speed.
He even started from the pole of Sept. 26's Jackson 100 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway and Oct. 3's Pittsburgher at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, only to settle for fourth- and fifth-place finishes.
“I felt like we were really good at Florence and we had battery problems. Same thing, we were good enough to win Batesville and it just didn't work out for us,” Thornton said. “That's part of racing. That's why we love it and do it.”
At Eldora, however, there were no such missed opportunities.
A month removed from his runner-up finish in the World 100, Thornton returned to the famed half-mile oval and delivered what he considers his most complete weekend yet at the track aboard a brand-new Longhorn Chassis.
“I feel like in years prior, I've had moments where we were really good on Saturday, but we weren't always good on Saturday. Where this year, we've been really good on every Saturday,” Thornton said of his weeks at Eldora this season. “Last year, we were good on every Saturday.
“And really, this weekend was the best I've ever qualified here. Had a really good heat race and was good during the features. That's what it takes to be really good here. If you can start yourself so much farther forward, it just makes it a lot easier. Luckily, we were able to do that.
“Honestly, I'm looking forward to coming back here for the Dream next year. Hopefully, we can stay at the pace we've got now and just keep going.”
Indeed, Thornton's improved starting positions have been a defining characteristic of his recent resurgence. After averaging a 10.2 starting spot through his first 34 Lucas Oil events, he's improved that mark to a remarkable 2.3 over his last nine series races dating back to mid-August’s Topless 100.
In fact, it's the best nine-race stretch of his Lucas Oil career, surpassing even his finest such stretch during his 23-win campaign in 2023 on the series, when he averaged a 2.7 starting position.
Interestingly, Thornton doesn't attribute his Eldora success to any significant change in equipment, either. His newest Longhorn, part of the China Grove, N.C., manufacturer's latest generation of race cars, debuted at Eldora and promptly went undefeated. But Thornton said the differences between it and his previous cars were hardly noticeable.
“I mean, I didn't notice a huge difference between them. I feel like our package is really good,” Thornton said. “The nice part is we took the equation of everything else out. We're identical to how I normally race, minus a few little frame differences. So it just shows how good all of our stuff is.”
Now Thornton heads to WVMS, where he won in his most recent visit in June 2023, when the track was still a sprawling 5/8-mile oval. The reconfigured track presents one final unknown in his pursuit of a potentially season-defining payday — one that could redeem a year overrun by missed opportunities, fewer victories than expected and dashed title hopes.
“I've watched a few races there, and you never know what you're going to get,” Thornton said. “Obviously, they've improved it every time they've had a race. So hopefully it's really good for us next week. And if not, it just wasn't meant to be.”
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