Another Dakota double down for Thornton, this time at Dickinson

Feature

Ricky Thornton Jr. swept a second straight Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour program, win­ning IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car features at Southwest Speedway Wednesday night. (Photo by Byron Fichter)

By Jackson Braun

DICKINSON, N.D. (July 10) – Ricky Thornton Jr. looks absolutely unbeatable right now.

The Iowa racer, transplanted from Arizona, found Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour victory lane at Southwest Speedway in both the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars for the second event in a row.

The last time any other driver found victory lane on tour was all the way back on Sunday when Matt Speckman held off Thornton in the Stock Car portion of the evening. Thornton has won six out of a possible eight features between the two classes.

An all-North Dakota front row of Robert Hellebust and Travis Hagen led the 28-car field to the Modified green flag. Hellebust jumped out to the lead early as Thornton loomed behind him from the fourth starting spot. Hellebust was able to make the high line work and get enough momen­tum to keep his car in the top spot by as little as two-thousandth’s of a second for a few laps in the early running.

Several bobbles by Thornton helped Hellebust to create some space and Jason Wolla to contend for second. Thornton was still too smooth, however, as he was able to slide around Hellebust to grab the top spot. 

As the laps wound down, 17th starting Hunter Marriott was hustling his way to the runner-up spot.

With a few more laps, Marriott could have made a race-changing move but Thornton held on to grab the $2,400 victory. Hellebust secured third with Wolla and Jason Hughes behind him.

Elijah Zevenbergen and Joe Flory, brought the Stock Car field to green. Flory was in contention early but Thornton eventually found his way to the top spot from his third place starting position. 

Flory’s son Dalton was Thornton’s toughest competitor around the 3/8 mile oval, as Dalton found some grip in the low-to-middle groove of the racing surface. Thornton ran his machine up around the high line and made a spectacular move, splitting two lap cars to maintain his lead over Flory. 

Dalton was able to maneuver lap traffic just as well as Thornton but did not get a good enough run to catch the leader before the $800 checkers flew. Austin Daae, Speckman and Joe Flory completed the top five. 

Going into championship night Thursday at Dacotah Speedway, opening night winner Tom Berry Jr. holds a 14-point lead in the Modified standings over Thornton. Marriott sits third, 24 points back, while Lucas Schott holds fourth 26 points behind. Justin O’Brien sits 29 points behind Berry.

Thornton has had a near-perfect tour in the Stock Cars, with 159 points out of a possible 160. Dalton Flory still sits only seven points behind Thornton, with Speckman nine behind, Daae 10 behind, and five-time champion Zevenbergen in danger of having his four-year streak of being the top dog snapped while he sits in fifth with a 14-point deficit behind Thornton. 

Feature Results

Modifieds – 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, Iowa; 2. Hunter Marriott, Brookfield, Mo.; 3. Robert Helle­bust, Minot; 4. Jason Wolla, Ray; 5. Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.; 6. Jeff Taylor, Cave City, Ark.; 7. Joel Rust, Grundy Center, Iowa; 8. Tom Berry, Newburg; 9. Travis Hagen, McGregor; 10. Tracy Domagala, Bismarck; 11. Mike Hansen, Dickinson; 12. Tanner Black, Otis, Kan.; 13. Justin O’Brien, West Union, Iowa; 14. Shawn Strand, Mandan; 15. Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.; 16. Alex Stanford, Chowchilla, Calif.; 17. Brad Hartigan, Dickinson; 18. Marcus Tomlinson, Turtle Lake; 19. Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.; 20. Travis Olheiser, Dickinson; 21. Spencer Wilson, Minot; 22. Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas; 23. Tyler Hall, Fertile, Minn.; 24. Hank Berry, Sidney, Mont.; 25. Don Gumke, Jamestown; 26. Billy Kendall, Baxter, Minn.; 27. Travis Mosley, Bearden, Ark.; 28. Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa.

Stock Cars – 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, Iowa; 2. Dalton Flory, Williston; 3. Austin Daae, Es­tevan, Sask.; 4. Matt Speckman, Sleepy Eye, Minn.; 5. Joe Flory, Williston; 6. Elijah Zevenbergen, Ocheyedan, Iowa; 7. Jace Iverson, Tioga; 8. Michael Swallers, Minot; 9. Aaron Aaseth, Wash­burn; 10. Keith Mattox, Ray; 11. A.J. Zimmerman, Cleveland, Minn.; 12. Scott Gartner, Jamestown; 13. Justin Bachmeier, Williston; 14. Aden Clark, Surrey; 15. Chase Davidson, Macoun, Sask.; 16. Hunter Fears, Riverdale; 17. Randy Schultz, Swift Current, Sask.; 18. Hunter Preston, Dickinson; 19. Gary Goudy Jr., Stoughton, Sask.; 20. Joe Schrodt, Coleharbor. 

Related Articles

News

IMCA.TV bonuses paid to Dakota Tour Modified drivers defending home tracks

MANDAN, N.D. (July 7, 2022) – Modified drivers defending their home track(s) will earn nearly $2,000 in bonuses during the upcoming Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour powered by Industrial Electric.  The top three finishing drivers appearing in local track standings coming into the night at July 9-14 tour events each receive $110 IMCA.TV DCMT Defender Awards. Where they finish in the feature doesn’t matter: The sole requirement is that they have competed and earned weekly points at that track/or tracks this season. Bonuses totaling $330 will be paid each night. Checks will be mailed from the IMCA office when results are official. The 33rd annual Dakota Classic Tour for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars opens July 9 at Jamestown Speedway and travels to Nodal Speedway in Minot on July 10, Williston Basin Speedway on July 11, Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on July 12 and Dacotah Speedway in Mandan July 13 and 14.  Modifieds race for $2,000 to win along with Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility each night. Stock Cars run [Read More]

Feature

Emotions flow at Mandan as Wolla scores Modified finale, Lund lands Stock Car prize

By Mike Spieker MANDAN, N.D. (July 12) – The defending national champion let his emotions show when the 29th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour came to a close Thursday at Dacotah Speed­way. Jason Wolla claimed a hard-fought Modified win after 30 laps, as Hunter Marriott successfully concluded his bid for a third straight title with a second-place finish. “Hell yeah! We won!” Wolla exclaimed from victory lane. “To every single one of the fans up in the stands, it means a hell of a lot for me to be able to win this race on our home track. All these guys from out of town can pack it up, we won tonight.” Outside front row starter Wolla grabbed the lead on the opening circuit as third row starters Ricky Thornton Jr. and Marriott made their way up to second and third, respectively. Thornton slid up briefly to take the lead on lap 12 but Wolla came back to retake the top spot on the other end of the speedway. The lead duo swapped the [Read More]

Events

Online registration begins for Dacotah Classic Tour

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Online registration is now open for IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers planning to follow the 29th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour. Drivers in both divisions can go to the drivers tab on the www.dakotamodtour.com website to pre-register. Modified drivers must be pre-entered to become eligible for provisionals during the tour as well as to compete in the $10,003 to win Corral Sales Legendary 50 on July 13 at Dacotah Speedway. Modified features pay $2,400 to win, a minimum of $300 to start and are qualifying events for the 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Stock Car features pay $800 to win and a minimum of $125 to start. Opening night is Saturday, July 7 at Jamestown Speedway. The tour is at Nodak Speedway in Minot on July 8, Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway on July 9, Williston Basin Speedway on July 10, Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on July 11 and Da­cotah Speedway at Mandan on July 12. Title sponsor Kupper Chevrolet provides tour point funds of $2,000 for the [Read More]