Ok…What’s he got that the others dont?

[Live4DLM]

I like Ricky Thornton. Does anyone wonder what’s going on. What the hell does he have? You don’t win this many races without having something better on the car side than the rest. Overton, Davenport too in the years past excluding the Davenport/Rumley experiment car. Just curious

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

That's a good question. Others racing against him would like to know also

[ftfiowa]

RTJ has the most feel in his butt pure and simple. he did the same thing in mods. HES THAT GOOD.

[KTMLew]

Cantilevered leaf springs on a swingarm. Obviously.

[Pennsboro32]

RTJ has the most feel in his butt pure and simple. he did the same thing in mods. HES THAT GOOD.

If it was talent alone, then Overton would still be winning like he was a couple years ago. Davenport would be winning like he was last year. Their talent didn’t just go away. Ricky is good too but the common denominator with all of these great seasons is that they’ve hit on something that nobody else has..

[Flathead]

I think it’s just his year. Good backing and good crew that obviously gels together. Rarely has a DNF or gets in a wreck. His setup that works for him may not work for others, it happens a lot in racing. The competition will catch up to him sooner or later.

[Live4DLM]

Excluding Bloomquist because I feel he was just leaps and bounds ahead in the thinking category plus top equipment. There seams to be guys that have these years. Lanigan, Owens, Moyer when he brought out the victory circle. I remember Clint Smith winning several in 2006 because he was on tires nobody else was using in Woo. And of course the Earl Pearson and Ricky Weeks tire doctoring years. It’s always something little extra these guys got

[Live4DLM]

I mean we were ready to claim Brandon Overton the second coming couple years ago now he is mediocre. Owens was most feared driver out there now he can barely race against mid level competition. Same for Babb….when the swing arm went bye bye so did his wins

[Mod Runner]

RTJ is just so smooth out there and does not get rattled. He knows how to find a good racing line and does not abuse his car. I must also add that he has adapted to driving a late model quicker than anyone I have seen.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I don't care what anyone from the modified world says, he's not that much better than anyone else. I've personally watched him lose a lot more mod races than he won. His car clearly handles a bit different and that clearly leads to a bit of an advantage.

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

^It's the same case with JD. Lol, nobody seems to get that though.

Too funny. Lol!

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

RTJ is just so smooth out there and does not get rattled. He knows how to find a good racing line and does not abuse his car. I must also add that he has adapted to driving a late model quicker than anyone I have seen.

Ricky seems to be a great kid but he ain't all that great behind the wheel. I get it a lot of people don't understand that but he's not as smooth as some try to portray him. He's as good as many but he's not as good as some...

He's no Jimmy Owens coming out of a mod but he's good...

[Pennsboro32]

I think it’s funny people think it’s just beating everyone on talent.

[King1]

If Thornton was to get in McCreadie’s car, he would produce the same results as McCreadie.

[Highside Hustler25]

It's interesting that whenever someone gets a new Longhorn, they're instantly fast out of the box. Then they start tweaking on them and seemingly get slower. I think that's a lot of guys problem.

[ftfiowa]

RTJ did things in a shaw modified you wouldnt have believed if you didnt see it yourself. then he ran other chassis and still dominated. Anyone who thinks he isnt super talented simply either never watched him race much or is a hater. jimmy owens doesnt have his resume in mods and didnt race against the level of competition he did either. Overton is good also but he isnt RTJ good. and yes RTJ can still get better and more polished. But i think the RTJ doubters were the same people who said kyle larson wouldnt do well in a late model. you were wrong then and you're wrong now. RTJ is a flat out wheelman. im a T mac fan 1st but ill admit RTJ is probably already better than him.

[Pennsboro32]

^

I don’t think anyone is saying he’s not good. He’s definitely good, but he’s not any better behind the wheel than the other sports best, and even if he was a tad bit better than them, he’s not win every race in dominating fashion better than them. He won just a handful of races last season. You can clearly watch the car and tell the car is really good.

[84wedge]

I'll be impressed if he can do it a few years in a row. One good season is an anomaly, multiple good seasons are a pattern.

[ftfiowa]

84wedge are you saying RTJ and his 22 wins(in Lucas alone) vs everyone in 2023 isnt impressive? this isnt "1 good season" , this is the best season ever by almost all metrics. only the little whiner 32p is even close. this year is better than any of supermans, overtons, t macs, pierce, bloomer, moyer, moran, swartz, purvis, inmon, phillips, farmer, owens, pearson jr, marlar, boggs, duvall, etc....its the best season ever and its not over. and tho i dont like him the little whiner is having a great season as well that might be the 2nd best season ever. I respect and know LM history and i cant think of a season better than RTJ is having. Davenport last year was great but i dont think he was this dominant.

[TS FAN]

Driver dominating a season is of course nothing new. The only thing that really gets my attention this year is how the car is good but often not great at the beginning of the race, but then comes on like gang busters the second half. The team has found something that other teams have not concerning that.

That is impressive.


Brownstown was a great example of this. Hudson passes him and takes control of the race. Whoops, the last few laps he comes back and it is not even a race to the finish.

[Pennsboro32]

84wedge are you saying RTJ and his 22 wins(in Lucas alone) vs everyone in 2023 isnt impressive? this isnt "1 good season" , this is the best season ever by almost all metrics. only the little whiner 32p is even close. this year is better than any of supermans, overtons, t macs, pierce, bloomer, moyer, moran, swartz, purvis, inmon, phillips, farmer, owens, pearson jr, marlar, boggs, duvall, etc....its the best season ever and its not over. and tho i dont like him the little whiner is having a great season as well that might be the 2nd best season ever. I respect and know LM history and i cant think of a season better than RTJ is having. Davenport last year was great but i dont think he was this dominant.

It’s not the best season ever. Sure he may have the most Lucas wins in a season but his biggest wins are the PDC, Knoxville, and the Firecracker. There are guys who had more and bigger crown jewel wins in a season. He really needed one of the Eldora biggies or the north south 100. Still very impressive.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Driver dominating a season is of course nothing new. The only thing that really gets my attention this year is how the car is good but often not great at the beginning of the race, but then comes on like gang busters the second half. The team has found something that other teams have not concerning that.

That is impressive.


Brownstown was a great example of this. Hudson passes him and takes control of the race. Whoops, the last few laps he comes back and it is not even a race to the finish.

He sandbags a lot of times. He's often toying with them. He doesn't show what he's got the whole race, just as Davenport didn't in 2015. If you study the lap times, he picks up a bunch when he has to have it.

[Henry Every]

Ever notice liars assume everybody else is lying too? Or people who cheat convince themselves everyone else is cheating too. It could just be he has a yet un-named Kevin Rumley type dude thats massaging his car or maybe he himself is tweaking things to work better for himself. It use to be that the good guys did their own things to the cars to get an advantage, nowadays it seems everyone wants or needs the manufacturer to tell them what to do, unable to think for themselves or just too lazy or afraid to do for themselves. Having said that, streaks happen and at some point they end or in more stupid scenario's the sanctioning body kneejerk reacts and start throwing out DA rules that hurt everyone, like a coke snorting politician looking for votes. I don't think 95% of the peeps running/working at these sanction even understand racing. It must be like that old maxim about teachers, "Those who can, do. The rest teach." Well in racing its, "Those who can, do. The rest write rule books."

[84wedge]

84wedge are you saying RTJ and his 22 wins(in Lucas alone) vs everyone in 2023 isnt impressive? this isnt "1 good season" , this is the best season ever by almost all metrics. only the little whiner 32p is even close. this year is better than any of supermans, overtons, t macs, pierce, bloomer, moyer, moran, swartz, purvis, inmon, phillips, farmer, owens, pearson jr, marlar, boggs, duvall, etc....its the best season ever and its not over. and tho i dont like him the little whiner is having a great season as well that might be the 2nd best season ever. I respect and know LM history and i cant think of a season better than RTJ is having. Davenport last year was great but i dont think he was this dominant.Of course it's impressive. So was the one year Jimmy Owens was super fast, then he won almost nothing the year after. Being fast and dominant season after season is far more rare don't you think?Regardless, it's a lot of fun to watch a car that is on another level, like watching Usain Bolt race against some guy off the street.

[klemmabyna]

if they found something, good for them. no doubt he is a racer with exceptional talent. it always takes the perfect mixture of driver, team, and equipment to be successful.

ever wonder if there was some mediocre race team that had a technological discovery that would have worked miracles if someone else was using it?

don't know what they have going but is is extraordinary. hope it continues. and it should make you appreaciate what moyer and bloomquist did year after year after year.

[jog49]

"What the hell does he have?"

TALENT and a big set of cahoonas!

[ZERO25]

Burroughs is the new Rumley/Gadget man!

Perhaps a chemical engineer!

[Tireguy17]

Heard 1 rumor that there is some modified technology applied to it, using a pullbar. Who knows.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

ever wonder if there was some mediocre race team that had a technological discovery that would have worked miracles if someone else was using it?


I don't wonder because I know it happens. Some of the smartest people in dirt late model racing have a real job. Going Lucas racing is too hard and financially unrewarding.

[MIdlmfan]

He is a top shelf driver but his car out handles everybody like tonight you could tell JD was skating bad trying to hold the lead and Thornton’s car you could basically point it anywhere you wanted and it went there to diamond corners like he was doing and nobody else could it has to be digging that’s not driver that is car set up

[Tnewton]

RTJ has the most feel in his butt pure and simple. he did the same thing in mods. HES THAT GOOD.Obviously you are clinically insane…NOBODY has ever been that dominant on a national tour….NOBODY!

[Josh Bayko]

They’ve figured out exactly what RTJ wants in a car. Are there some setup “tricks” in play to make that happen? Of course. Will he continue this level of dominance in 2024? Probably not.

[Dlmfan123]

Burroughs is the new Rumley/Gadget man!Perhaps a chemical engineer!Lol and 3 years ago everybody on here was saying he was a terrible crew cheif.

[Mod Runner]

I never heard of Burroughs before this year. I think RTJ is one very intelligent racer who knows where to place his race car on the track. He knows how hard to press the gas pedal when needed and how to ease into the gas pedal. He has to be a real quick thinker when coming upon lapped cars. In conclusion, I am saying RTJ is smarter on the race track than his competitors. To adapt to a late model in such a short time and become so dominant is unheard of with so many fast race cars today.

[In The Gas]

What ever they have figured out Bobby Pierces team has as well. DTWC is going to be great when they both show up.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I never heard of Burroughs before this year. I think RTJ is one very intelligent racer who knows where to place his race car on the track. He knows how hard to press the gas pedal when needed and how to ease into the gas pedal. He has to be a real quick thinker when coming upon lapped cars. In conclusion, I am saying RTJ is smarter on the race track than his competitors. To adapt to a late model in such a short time and become so dominant is unheard of with so many fast race cars today.

I heard people calling him Wrecky Thornton just a year ago. It's amazing how quickly he got smooth and wise. 😏

[chopter33]

I heard people calling him Wrecky Thornton just a year ago. It's amazing how quickly he got smooth and wise. i dont remember what started wrecky thornton but i know it was a joke. dude sold alot of wrecky t shirts.

[jog49]

He's probably just that good when seated in a car with excellent setup. Last I looked, none of those cars are equipped with cruise control.

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

He's probably just that good when seated in a car with excellent setup. Last I looked, none of those cars are equipped with cruise control.

Or some kind of traction control.🤫🤔

[crownman25]

ok I can tell yall what it is....ITS THE RR TIRE TEMP the 49 has had a bad probb all year backing up 76 also,I dont think 20 rt gets faster during race but other cars drop off more ...this happens when your rr tire gets hot did you see davenport keep running harder and harder got loser and into the wall. it could be a thousand diff things but the bottom line is rr tire temp....32 car has this figured out too...I have some very good ideas but dont want to say...

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

ok I can tell yall what it is....ITS THE RR TIRE TEMP the 49 has had a bad probb all year backing up 76 also,I dont think 20 rt gets faster during race but other cars drop off more ...this happens when your rr tire gets hot did you see davenport keep running harder and harder got loser and into the wall. it could be a thousand diff things but the bottom line is rr tire temp....32 car has this figured out too...I have some very good ideas but dont want to say...

Ricky ran his best lap of the race on lap 74 on Saturday night. Nearly a full second faster than lap 65.

The #2 tire does fall off bad with heat. The harder ones don't mind it so much.

On Friday night, he was at least a half second a lap faster than anyone behind him, without even being pressured to run his best.

[crazyt]

I don't wonder because I know it happens. Some of the smartest people in dirt late model racing have a real job. Going Lucas racing is too hard and financially unrewarding.

Josh mcguire is one that comes to mind if some these high dollar guys knew what kind of equipment (let’s just say multiple 10k+ wins came in cars out of a chassis builders scrap pile)they were getting there azz kicked by compared to there own they would’ve had a stroke. He just knew how to get every drop out of it and wasn’t afraid to try anything even if he wasn’t convinced himself that it would work. Sucks that he wasn’t in a position to race for a living until right before his accident

[Snake X3]

Preseason I had picked Ricky for a breakout year and the Lucas title, but I never expected this. The team has to have hit on something. Good for them. That's what it's all about. You can't take anything away from Ricky though. He still won all those races. It will be a travesty if he doesn't win at Eldora. He earned this title.

[riddle28]

RTJ did things in a shaw modified you wouldnt have believed if you didnt see it yourself. then he ran other chassis and still dominated. Anyone who thinks he isnt super talented simply either never watched him race much or is a hater. jimmy owens doesnt have his resume in mods and didnt race against the level of competition he did either. Overton is good also but he isnt RTJ good. and yes RTJ can still get better and more polished. But i think the RTJ doubters were the same people who said kyle larson wouldnt do well in a late model. you were wrong then and you're wrong now. RTJ is a flat out wheelman. im a T mac fan 1st but ill admit RTJ is probably already better than him.

if thats the case then hoffman should be dominating this year and thats not the case. hes good but hes also not racing against farmers on the lucas tour

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

Preseason I had picked Ricky for a breakout year and the Lucas title, but I never expected this. The team has to have hit on something. Good for them. That's what it's all about. You can't take anything away from Ricky though. He still won all those races. It will be a travesty if he doesn't win at Eldora. He earned this title.

You are absolutely correct sir, but I don't think anybody's trying to take anything away from Ricky. It's more about how some individuals are claiming he's the greatest thing that ever hit the dirt tracks. That just isn't so. He's good but he ain't that good, his car is.

I think most people on here including myself wish him further success and nothing but the best. He's good people, the sport can only benefit from that.

[Highside Hustler25]

if thats the case then hoffman should be dominating this year and thats not the case. hes good but hes also not racing against farmers on the lucas tour
That modified that Hoffman ran was unique. All car. Not knocking Nick, good pilot, but that car was a huge advantage.

[chopter33]

rtj is that dude. better get used to it.

[TS FAN]

RTJ and Pierce are that dude this year. I like them both, but we will see who that dude or dudes are next year. There is been a long line of that dudes over the years. Right?

[moonshine]

Burroughs is the 🐐

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

rtj is that dude. better get used to it.

Absolutely, until the rest of them figure out what he's doing...

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Bum to goat in the blink of an eye! I remember when RTJ had the genius Taylon Center and he was "just a guy" and not dat dude. Facts change really fast.

[Highside Hustler25]

the Dude abides.

[Kromulous]

Seems like to me he can keep the car accelerating down the straights, which in turn makes corner speed.

A lot of Cars its hard to make traction down on the big end the car will begin to spin and you stop making speed.

Could be the Engine, cam profile etc.

He's really good at carrying speed thru the corner as well, fun to watch !

[Mod Runner]

I know of a lot of farmers who are really good racers. Farmers develop good mechanical skills that they use to make their cars run really well. The crop farmers have time on their hands during the Winter and spend time on their race cars to make them fast. If a racer can out run the farmers he is a talented racer.

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

the Dude abides.

This statement, at some point will be proven wrong most likely. Grin

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

HH, and many others are in for a shocker when, and someone will, figure out what RTJ is doing and odds are dirty bobby's daddy has figured it out...

[Raceready]

HH, and many others are in for a shocker when, and someone will, figure out what RTJ is doing and odds are dirty bobby's daddy has figured it out...Don't ya think in the case of that meddling young Pierce lad that it could be that he is that good of a WHEELMAN ? ? That boy can drive the wheels on off of anything ! !

[SLlDlNG SIDEWAYS]

Don't ya think in the case of that meddling young Pierce lad that it could be that he is that good of a WHEELMAN ? ? That boy can drive the wheels on off of anything ! !

Isn't that to be determined as in the case of rtj? Time will spill them thar beans, ya hear me?<

[Henry Every]

ok I can tell yall what it is....ITS THE RR TIRE TEMP the 49 has had a bad probb all year backing up 76 also,I dont think 20 rt gets faster during race but other cars drop off more ...this happens when your rr tire gets hot did you see davenport keep running harder and harder got loser and into the wall. it could be a thousand diff things but the bottom line is rr tire temp....32 car has this figured out too...I have some very good ideas but dont want to say... Very true. Tire Management is key, both setup wise and smoothness with the controls. Mod guys are use to running with less rubber so it makes sense RTJ would have exceptional throttle control and steering inputs. Perhaps a new, "Mr Smooth"?

[Kromulous]

I seen where Bobby Pierce was selling a 480 cubic Inch Engine, and was told he is now running a 522 Cubic Inch.

RTJ may of found some sort of advantage here, these Engines have changed wildly in the last few years.

522 Cubes could produced well over a 1000 hp, but where is the TQ curve etc.

Crazy how things have changed.

[james777777]

Brodix says the max bore and stroke on their 4.5 block is 4.25 x 4.5. That results in 510 cubic inches.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

A guy isn't winning in the slick because he has a huge engine, even in these days of max down force.

[Drop Shock]

A guy isn't winning in the slick because he has a huge engine, even in these days of max down force.

Exactly, if these people would pay attention they’d see after qualifying almost every Lucas team has the carb off choking the motor down. RTJ is fast cause he has the most stuck car, if everyone else would drive in the corner as hard as he does they’d be leaving on a rollback

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Exactly. Even in the state we are in now, 700 HP can win most Lucas features. The problem is, it won't get you in the show, let alone starting in those first 2 rows.

[King1]

There is no tire saving with him. I watched him throw sliders the entire feature at Portsmouth but they didn’t look like sliders, just blast the bottom, never change lanes, never stopped digging……nothing. Car was clearly driving off the RR while everyone else looked smooth and straight with the nose down.

I guess the new tire loves the abuse. Which explains why he and Bobby are all of a sudden winning races

[KTMLew]

I seen where Bobby Pierce was selling a 480 cubic Inch Engine, and was told he is now running a 522 Cubic Inch.

RTJ may of found some sort of advantage here, these Engines have changed wildly in the last few years.

522 Cubes could produced well over a 1000 hp, but where is the TQ curve etc.

Crazy how things have changed.

Remember the time when a 377 was the hot ticket. Then the car owners whined about tacky tracks being too hard on everything. Que the dry slick tracks. I find the cu. in. numbers above very hard to believe. Especially when GM's 525 is pretty (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)ed competitive a lot of nights.

[Kromulous]

I hear ya MBR, but Im thinking there is a reason they are using these Large Cube engines.

Are they lowering the RPM, and TQ curve then ? Its probably a combo of choking it off and the cubic inches working together better to produce a smoother curve.

A few years ago 430s was the norm, and MAX.

I know in Mods, a 13 Degree engine on pump gas is the Hot combo, pump gas to smooth it out and make it drivable.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Remember the time when a 377 was the hot ticket. Then the car owners whined about tacky tracks being too hard on everything. Que the dry slick tracks. I find the cu. in. numbers above very hard to believe. Especially when GM's 525 is pretty (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)ed competitive a lot of nights.

There are quite a few monsters out there now. They can use it to qualify, then they choke it down.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I hear ya MBR, but Im thinking there is a reason they are using these Large Cube engines.

Are they lowering the RPM, and TQ curve then ? Its probably a combo of choking it off and the cubic inches working together better to produce a smoother curve.

A few years ago 430s was the norm, and MAX.

I know in Mods, a 13 Degree engine on pump gas is the Hot combo, pump gas to smooth it out and make it drivable.

There's still a lot of 23 degree engines winning big mod races.

[jog49]

And Clements builds a pretty good piece, whether it's Thorton or others. In a year's time, they win gobs of races around the country.

[KTMLew]

HTF has a 465? Randy Clarey SB2 in the back-up car. Think they've only run 3 or 4 features with it. Joseph says it's a good smooth engine. No complaints. Now they have a fresh 430ish (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)ens in primary, getting replaced with a brand new Clements and a (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)ens freshened/updated Draime as a back-up. Not sure what will happen with the SB2 when they eventually pull it. Think they said Clarey had some ideas/parts and would like to test them.

I was hoping they'd get a new Horn for the Clements and send the newest car down the road. It's never been the same since Overton plowed into it at Eldora. No fault deal.