A new rumor alleges that Ricky Thornton Jr. will run an independent schedule in 2025.
Ricky Thornton Jr. via DirtVision.com
Dirt late model insider Racin’ Jason dropped the rumor in the wake of Ricky Thornton Jr. winning the preliminary feature for the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.
He said, “And guess what? Gonna choose a hit and miss, pick and choose schedule in ’25. That’s what I’m hearing, I don’t know.”
Race recap @GatewayDirt night .#2.., pic.twitter.com/dtv6H9s4MZ
— 🇺🇸Racin jason 🇺🇸🏁”The_Red_Clay_Rebel”🏁🏁🇺🇸 (@ThonuesJason1) December 7, 2024
Thornton won the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship this past year beating out Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, and Tim McCreadie in the series’ playoff format. He beat Moran by 60 points, Davneport by 130, and McCreadie by 145.
The championship came after Thornton lost his ride at SSI Motorsports in the middle of the season, but found a new home at Koehler Motorsports.
Not only did Thornton win the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship, but he beat out Bobby Pierce in the Castrol FloRacing Night in America series by just 12 points.
Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Garrett Alberson at Shelby County. Photo Credit: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Thornton did reveal in an interview with DirtonDirt.com at the end of October that he would continue racing for Koehler and hopefully for years to come. He also noted that the partnership includes mentoring Koehler’s son Evan and Jordan.
He said, “Our plan was to kind of get through the year and then go from there. I talked to Bobby a few weeks ago and we’re for sure running next year together, and hopefully for many years after that. Hopefully we can develop a really strong team for the future, and at the same time help Jordan and Evan get really up to speed and help Jimmy get going a little bit better.”
“Hopefully, we can have a bad-ass four-car team,” Thornton concluded.
Chris Madden and Ricky Thornton Jr. battle for the lead at the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte
What do you make of Thornton running an independent schedule rather than sticking with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series?
NEXT: Bobby Pierce Does Not Commit To Running World Of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Models In 2025