Ricky Thornton Jr. Bests Inaugural Nippy 50 Finale

Ricky Thornton Jr. Bests Inaugural Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Finale
Collects $20,000 for Maquoketa Speedway Triumph

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (04/02/24) – Ricky Thornton Jr. pushed his 2024-win total to six on Saturday night with a $20,000 triumph in his SSI Motorsports / Coltman Farms / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Dyno One Inc. / Excel Floor Covering / Sub-Surface of Indiana / Longhorn Chassis / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model during the finale of the inaugural Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 presented by D&E Outside Services.

“We weren’t as good as we needed to be last night, so we changed cars,” said Thornton Jr. in Victory Lane on Saturday night. “It’s nice to know our backup car is just as good as our other stuff. I just felt really good all night.

"I really didn’t know where I needed to be on the racetrack. I was trying to gauge off the lapped cars. I’d catch one and drive away, and then the line would move back to the top, then the bottom. Overall, it was awesome. Thanks to the Hoker family and everyone who put this event together. It was a fun weekend.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. took the SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Super Late Model into battle at Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway on Friday to compete in the opening round of the inaugural Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 at the quarter-mile oval.

With 26 Late Models entered, Thornton backed up the seventh-fastest qualifying effort with a third-place finish in his heat race. Chasing the $10,000 top prize in the A-Main, Ricky recorded a seventh-place finish.

On Saturday, Ricky outran Bobby Pierce in his heat race to pick up the 10-lap victory. Fending off numerous challenges from Pierce in the feature, Thornton led flag-to-flag in the 50-lap affair to capture his sixth win of the season and the $20,000 payday.

He finished 2.045 seconds ahead of Ryan Gustin with Brandon Sheppard rounding out the podium.

Full results from the event are available at www.MaquoketaSpeedway.com.

The upcoming weekend has SSI Motorsports and Ricky Thornton Jr. tentatively planning to compete in the XR Super Series Spring Thaw at Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, Tenn.). The weekend includes a $12,000-to-win program on Friday and a $30,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Full event details are available at www.VolunteerSpeedway.com.

Ricky Thornton Jr. would like to thank all of his marketing partners, which include: SSI Motorsports, Dyno One, Excel Floor Covering, Coltman Farms, Hoker Trucking, Certified Inspection Service (CSI), High Performance Lubricants, Big River Steel, Van Meter Insurance Group, Varsitee Screen Printing, West Side Tractor Sales Co., Sub-Surface of Indiana, Midwest Sheet Metal, D&E Outside Services, Lethal Chassis, Dylan Earven Foundation, EMD Wraps, Brembo, Keyser Manufacturing, Wiles Driveshafts, Barnes Systems, Strange Oval, Schoenfeld Headers, The Joie of Seating, Earnhardt Technologies, FK Rod Ends, BMRS, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hoosier Tire, Performance Bodies, Jones Racing Products, Simpson Racing Products, NAPA (Morgantown – Bargersville), Swift Springs, Bilstein, Winning Edge Carburetion, Longhorn Chassis, Clements Racing Engines, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.

Visit the team’s official website at www.TwentyRT.com often for the latest team information. You can also stay connected with Ricky Thornton Jr. on social media at https://www.facebook.com/rickythorntonjrracing on Facebook, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RThornton20rt.

PR Contact:
Ben Shelton (ben.shelton@myracepass.com)