Story By: JEREMY PETERS / RICKY THORNTON JR. RACING – MOUNT AIRY, NC – Ricky Thornton Jr. entered the fourth annual Peach State Classic weekend at Senoia Raceway with a 27-point deficit behind Bobby Pierce in the Castrol FloRacing Night in America point standings.
However, the Chandler, Arizona, native scored a near sweep of the doubleheader to close the gap and claim the $75,000 championship – marking his 29th victory of the 2024 season.
The pilot of the Ultimate Towing & Recovery / Capital Waste / Coltman Farms Racing / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Longhorn Chassis Late Model backed up a $20,000 triumph on Friday night with a flag-to-flag victory in Saturday’s $30,000-to-win finale.
Thornton successfully defended his 2022 Peach State Classic title after Mother Nature washed out the two-day event in 2023.
“We set out with a goal coming into this weekend and knew that if we gave 110% effort to all the factors that we controlled, that we’d put ourselves in a position to not only win races but also contend for the championship,” Thornton said. “Ricky (Arnold) had a different idea on what direction to go with the tires for the feature than I was thinking and man it worked perfectly. This car was great from the drop of the green, and I could go anywhere I needed to. Hats off to Bubba Pollard and everybody here at Senoia (Raceway) for all the hard work they put into giving us a great track tonight. A huge shoutout to Bobby and Jessica Koehler for the opportunity to drive for them. They are just the best.”
The doubleheader weekend at the 3/8-mile oval kicked off on Friday with Thornton claiming the overall fast time honors amongst a stout crowd of 51 Super Late Models. After soaring to a flag-to-flag victory in his heat race, Ricky repelled a charging Bobby Pierce late in the 40-lap feature to claim the $20,000 top prize and his 28th win of the season.
On Saturday, Ricky set the pace in time trials with a blistering 14.862-second lap before placing first in his heat. Leading flag-to-flag in the 75-lap Peach State Classic main event, Thornton cruised to the weekend sweep and the Castrol FloRacing Night in America championship.
With Saturday’s $30,000 victory, Thornton’s weekend earnings inflated to $125,000 after capturing the $75,000 series title.
Thornton and the Koehler Motorsports team are now in preparation for their final race of the 2024 season. Thursday’s Gateway Dirt Nationals preliminary at The Dome at America’s Center kicks off the eighth annual event with Saturday’s finale paying $30,000 to the victor.