Ricky Thornton Jr. Claims $12,000 Victory in DLM Dream XXIX Prelim
LOLMDS Mountain Moonshine Classic at Smoky Mountain Up Next

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (06/13/23) – Ricky Thornton Jr. continued his winning ways on Thursday evening with a $12,000 Dirt Late Model Dream XXIX prelim win at Eldora Speedway in his SSI Motorsports / Hoker Trucking No. 20RT Dyno One Inc. / Excel Floor Covering / Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.

Weekend action at Eldora Speedway went on to find him finishing third in Friday’s prelim feature before adding a fourth-place finish in Saturday night’s mega finale. Additionally, he was in contention early for the $100,000 victory at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway before mechanical woes nixed his chances.

“We hit the ground running on Thursday at Eldora (Speedway) and with the win it gave us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the weekend. We had another podium on Friday, and on Saturday we were on the move before the track took rubber so it’s hard to say if we had anything for the leaders, but I guess we’ll never know,” Thornton Jr. said. “Kokomo (Speedway) was for sure a bummer with the mechanical failure, but that’s part of it. We’re looking forward to return to Lucas Oil (Late Model Dirt Series) action this weekend at Smoky Mountain Speedway.”

Taking part in the 29th annual Dirt Late Model Dream, Ricky Thornton Jr. unloaded his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Longhorn Chassis Late Model at the famed Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Thursday as a pair of prelims kicked off the three-day event.

With the 95-car field split into two groups, Thornton clocked in 15th-fastest in his qualifying group, however, earned the pole for his heat via the four-car invert. Following a convincing 10-lap heat triumph, Ricky led flag-to-flag in his 25-lap prelim to record his third-straight victory and 13th overall of the season. He collected a $12,000 payday ahead of Devin Moran, Mike Marlar, Josh Rice, and Jonathan Davenport.

On Friday, Ricky raced his way into the final prelim with a third-to-first run in his heat. With $12,000 on the line, Thornton faded one spot in the 25-lapper to finish third. He trailed race-long pacesetter Mike Marlar and Jonathan Davenport to the checkers.

Starting on the second row of his heat race on Saturday, Thornton secured his spot into the $129,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream XXIX with a runner-up finish. Working forward early, Ricky was up to sixth by lap 19 but his momentum slowed once the track took rubber. He went onto place fourth in the 100-lap affair, which came behind Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden, and Bobby Pierce with Mason Zeigler completing the Top-5 finishers.

Meanwhile, for the XR Super Series-sanctioned 100K Upgrade on Monday afternoon at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Ind.), Ricky topped his 21-car group in time trials before placing first in his heat race. Starting the $100,000-to-win A-Main in the second position, Thornton challenged for the top spot early but suffered a broken shock on lap 18 that brought a disappointing end to his night.

Full results from the events available at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and www.XRSuperSeries.com .

Next on tap for the RTJ and the SSI Motorsports Team is a trek south to Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) this weekend for the Mountain Moonshine Classic. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) weekend includes twin $5,000-to-win programs on Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday at the recently-reconfigured oval.

Thornton Jr. holds a 165-point advantage atop the latest LOLMDS point standings.

More information on the weekend is available at www.LucasDirt.com .

Ricky Thornton Jr. would like to thank all of his marketing partners, which include: SSI Motorsports, Dyno One, Excel Floor Covering, 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)

Hudson O’Neal Pilots Rocket1 Racing Entry to Career Payday at Kokomo
Bags $100,000 Victory; Tops Eldora Prelim for $12,000 Triumph

SHINNSTON, W.Va. (06/13/23) – Hudson O’Neal raced to the $100,000 XR Super Series victory on Monday night at Kokomo Speedway aboard his Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.

The career payday for the 22-year-old driver paired with a $12,000 preliminary win a few days earlier at Eldora Speedway pushed his 2023-win total to nine.

“I don't know how to feel. Some may say I’m not excited. I just … I don’t even know what to do,” said O’Neal in Victory Lane. “Lapped traffic was crazy. I did Brandon (Sheppard) a little dirty to be honest with you. I hate that. I wish I could maybe go back and redo that one a little bit. I didn't see him out there. I thought I might have heard someone, but I didn't see him and it was just … yeah. But we're racing for 100-grand, too, man.

“I don't even know what to say. Lapped traffic was everywhere. I'm sure they were everywhere behind me. The cushion was big. The bottom was rough. I just can't thank my guys, Mark, Steve Baker, Rocket Chassis, Danny, Joel, Austin, Cody, my girlfriend (Tessa Sims), my Dad's here. Got some good people here with us, the Sharpley’s. I don't know. I've never done anything like this. I can't even put it into words.”

Rocket1 Racing and Hudson O’Neal returned to action on Thursday evening at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) as the 29th running of the Dirt Late Model Dream kicked off with a pair of preliminary features.

With the massive 95-car field divided into two groups, Hudson’s 16th-fastest lap in his time trial group placed him on the pole of his heat based off the four-car invert. Holding off Chris Ferguson in the caution-plagued 10-lapper, O’Neal locked into a front row starting spot for his prelim. Chasing a $12,000 top prize, Hudson led the opening 19 circuits before surrendering the top spot to Tim McCreadie on a lap-20 restart. He went on to place second behind McCreadie with Kyle Strickler rounding out the podium.

For another round of preliminaries on Friday, O'Neal laid down the second-fastest time in his 48-car group before going fourth-to-first in his heat. Whizzing past pole-starting Tim McCreadie on the 10th circuit of the feature, Hudson stormed to his eighth win of the season, which came ahead of Bobby Pierce, McCreadie, Joseph Joiner, and Brandon Sheppard. He collected a $12,000 payday for his winning performance.

Starting on the second row of his heat race on Saturday afternoon, Hudson secured his spot into the $129,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream finale with a convincing heat race victory by more than a three-second margin. Hanging onto a Top-10 finish after nearly getting spun on lap 36 of the 100-lapper, O'Neal recorded a seventh-place finish.

Back in action on Monday, Rocket1 Racing and O’Neal stopped at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Ind.) for the XR Super Series-sanctioned 100K Upgrade. With 42 competitors on the grounds, Hudson set the pace in time trials before capturing a heat race victory.

Turning back an early challenge from Ricky Thornton Jr. and a hard-charging Brandon Sheppard in the closing laps, O’Neal led 99 of the 100 laps to secure his ninth win of the season and the richest victory of his career, a $100,000 payday.

He recorded his first career XR Series triumph ahead of Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Ryan Unzicker, and Tanner English.

Full results from the events available at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and www.XRSuperSeries.com.

Rocket1 Racing’s attention now turns to the upcoming weekend and a return to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) competition with a visit to Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) for the Mountain Moonshine Classic. On Friday twin $5,000-to-win programs will be held followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Hudson is currently second in the series’ standings.

For more event details, please visit www.LucasDirt.com.

Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunter’s Honey, Performance Grading, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts & Decals, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage & Recycling, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Edelbrock, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, Maxima Racing Oils, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Safecraft, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.

For the latest information on Rocket1Racing please visit the team website at www.Rocket1Racing.com as well as their social media channels at www.facebook.com/Rocket1Racing, www.twitter.com/Rocket1_Racing, and www.instagram.com/rocket1racing .

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

Mike Marlar Banks $12,000 in DLM Dream XXIX Prelim
Smoky Mountain Speedway Visit Next on the Schedule

WINFIELD, Tenn. (06/13/23) – Mike Marlar banked a $12,000 payday on Friday evening at Eldora Speedway during the second round of preliminary action for the Dirt Late Model Dream XXIX behind the wheel of his Delk Equipment Sales / Petroff Towing No. 157 Can-Am Auto Salvage / Mesilla Valley Transportation / Longhorn Race Car / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.

“It was a busy weekend for our team, but overall a very successful one,” Marlar said. “We won on Friday night at Eldora (Speedway) and had a good car the other two nights as well, and then we had another strong run at Kokomo (Speedway) on Monday night. We’re looking forward to being home for a few days before heading to Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) for the $50,000 to win.”

The 29th running of the Dirt Late Model Dream kicked off for Mike Marlar on Thursday at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) as a pair of $12,000-to-win preliminary features opened the three-day event.

With the 95-car field split into two groups, Marlar followed up the fourth-fastest lap in his qualifying group with a third-place finish in his heat race. Advancing forward nine spots in his 25-lap prelim, Mike reeled in a third-place finish, which came behind Ricky Thornton Jr. and Devin Moran.

For Friday’s round of prelims, Mike’s impressive fifth-to-first showing in his heat race placed him on the pole for his preliminary feature. Leading flag-to-flag in the 25-lap affair, Marlar fended off Jonathan Davenport amid lapped-traffic late to capture his fifth win of the season and a $12,000 prize. He took the checkers ahead of Davenport, Ricky Thornton Jr., Chris Ferguson, and Kyle Strickler.

On Saturday, Marlar grabbed the third-and-final transfer spot in his 15-lap heat race, which positioned him on the ninth row for the $129,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream finale. Inching forward seven positions in the 100-lapper, Mike climbed to an 11th-place finish.

The extended weekend drew to a close on Monday for Marlar with the XR Super Series at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Ind.) for the 100K Upgrade. With a third-place finish in his heat race pinning him on the sixth row for the $100,000-to-win A-Main, Mike steered forward five positions to cap off the weekend with a sixth-place finish.

Full results from the events available at www.EldoraSpeedway.com and www.XRSuperSeries.com .

The team will enter another big-paying event this weekend, as their home state Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.) hosts the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) for the Mountain Moonshine Classic. The field will be divided into a pair of $5,000-to-win races on Friday night followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Full event details are available at www.SmokyMountainSpeedway.com and www.LucasDirt.com .

Mike Marlar Racing would like to thank their great marketing partners, which include Delk Equipment, Bilstein, Delk Marlar Racing Development, Can-Am Auto Salvage, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Petroff Towing, Paulson Stussy Construction, Total Power, PEM, VP Racing, Longhorn Chassis, Midwest Sheet Metal, Arizona Sport Shirts, GottaRace.com, Bell Helmets, Hoosier Tire, K1 Race Gear, Swift Springs, Winning Edge Carburetors, Allstar Performance, XS Power Batteries, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, PRO-FABrication Headers & Exhaust, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Wiles Driveshafts, Capital Signs, Stanley Best Heating & Air, JSR Properties LLC, PPM Racing Products, FK Rod Ends, Accu-Force Shock Dyno, Performance Bodies & Parts, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Winters Rearends, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.

For the latest information on Delk Marlar Racing Development and Mike Marlar Racing please visit the team website at www.MikeMarlar.com .

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

Ryan Timms Lands in Lawrenceburg Indiana Midget Week Victory Lane
Huset’s Speedway High Bank Nationals Up Next

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (06/13/23) – Ryan Timms rocketed to the $5,000 top prize on Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway aboard the Keith Kunz / Curb-Agajanian Motorsports / Mobil 1 No. 67 JBL Audio / Toyota Racing Development / IWX Motor Freight / Bullet by Spike / Speedway Toyota entry.

The victory came in his debut at the Indiana oval, and turned the Oklahoma driver’s luck around in what proved to be the Indiana Speedweek finale for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

“I’ve always thought this place was the coolest place ever, so to win here is awesome,” Timms explained.  “That was definitely one of the most fun times I’ve had in a midget.  I’m really glad we could get this deal in Victory Lane.”

Timms withstood a late race from Logan Seavey to claim the win.

“I knew he was going to be fast from the moment we went green,” Timms said of Seavey.  “I just had to be consistent and make as few mistakes as possible and I knew we could get it done.  I definitely made a lot of mistakes and about made one that cost us the race in (turns) three and four, but thankfully luck was on our side, and it all worked out.”

For the second round of the USAC Indiana Midget Week, Ryan Timms kicked off an action-packed slate on Monday at Circle City Raceway (Indianapolis, Ind.) aboard the Keith Kunz / Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 67 Midget.

Transferring into the opener via a fifth-place run in his heat, Timms got turned around running fifth that relegated him to 19th in the finishing order.

With the Indiana Midget Week off on Tuesday, Ryan trekked to Eagle Raceway (Eagle, Neb.) to compete with the High Limit Sprint Car Series. With the 40-car field divided into two groups for time trials, Timms timed in sixth-fastest in his group before placing third in his heat. Chasing a $23,023 payday, Ryan lost one spot in the 40-lapper to finish 12th.

Returning to the Midget ranks on Wednesday at Gas City I-69 Speedway (Gas City, Ind.), Timms followed up a third-place finish with a 20th-to-13th showing in the 30-lap feature.
On Thursday at Lincoln Park Speedway (Putnamville, Ind.), Ryan raced his way into the A-Main with a fifth-place finish in his B-Main after missing a transfer spot in his heat. Moving forward six spots, Timms crossed the line in 13th.

At Bloomington Speedway’s quarter-mile oval on Friday, Timms’ fourth-place finish in his heat race placed him on the second row for the main event. Losing ground late in the 35-lap affair, Ryan scored a sixth-place finish.

For the sixth round of the Indiana Midget Week on Saturday at Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, Ind.), Ryan locked his spot into the show with a fifth-place finish in his heat. Wasting no time working his way forward, Timms took the lead from Jake Andreotti on the fourth circuit and fended off Logan Seavey late to capture his fifth win of the season and a $5,000 payday. He finished 1.165 seconds ahead of Seavey with Jade Avedisian, Bryant Wiedeman, and Justin Grant rounding out the top-five.

Sunday’s Indiana Midget Speedweek finale at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Ind.) fell to wet weather.

Ryan finished 10th in the final USAC Indiana Midget Week point standings.

Full results are available at www.USACracing.com .

The team will be idle this week before rolling into Huset’s Speedway (Brandon, S.D.) next week – June 21-24 – with their CitGard Engine Oil / driveWFX.com No. 5T CITGO / Hampel Oil / Western Flyer Xpress / Mystik Lubricants / Eagle Chassis Sprint Car for the BillionAuto.com High Banks Nationals, which posts over $750,000 in prize money.

The World of Outlaws (WoO) NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series mega event features $20,000-to-win, preliminary programs on Wednesday – Friday followed by a whopping $250,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Full details are available at www.HusetsSpeedway.com and www.WorldofOutlaws.com .

Ryan Timms Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include CitGard, CITGO, Mystik Lubricants, Hampel Oil, Western Flyer Xpress, driveWFX.com, Xpress Truck Sales, Rider Racing Engines, Griffin Fishing Charters and Lodge, Premier Truck Group, K1 Race Gear, Durst Inc., Factory Kahne by Schure Built, 947-Eyes, Bell Helmets, KR Performance Fuels LLC, Outlaw Wings, Kahne Screen Printing, AFD Graphix, Inefte Sports, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.

For the latest information on Ryan Timms Racing please visit the team website at www.RyanTimmsRacing.com .

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