ST. LOUIS — Late model ace Ricky Thornton Jr. returned to his roots Thursday night and won the modified feature on the opening night of the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals at The Dome of the Americas.
Thornton defeated Michael Ledford by 1.736 seconds in the 20-lap event.
Dave Hess Jr. finished third, with Brayden Watson and Trevor Neville rounding out the top five.
Treb Jacoby was fast qualifier for the 28-car field.
The finish:
Ricky Thornton Jr., Michael Ledford, Dave Hess Jr., Brayden Watson, Trevor Neville, Treb Jacoby, Kenny Wallace, Jeremy Nichols, Tyler Peterson, Michael Long, Clay Money, Jimmy Owens, Trey Harris, Zach Johnson, Scott Bintz, Dillon Nusbaum, Tim Nash, Trent Young.