CASA GRANDE, Ariz, — The 20th-annual Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts kicked off Saturday evening as more than 160 cars filled the pits at Central Arizona for opening night.
Ricky Thornton Jr., Cade Dillard and Blake Adams took opening night victories.
Teaming up with Adam Family Motorsports for the event, Arizona native Ricky Thornton Jr. wasted no time taking the spotlight in his home state, collecting the $25,000 winner’s check in the opening round along with $13,000 in Rio Grande Waste Services Lap Leader Loot for a $38,000 payday.
Thornton Jr. led the opening 16 circuits of the late model feature before Hudson O’Neal took command on lap 17. O’Neal held the lead for 24 laps to earn $12,000 in lap money before RTJ reclaimed the top spot and pulled away to the checkered flag.
“I could tell he (Hudson O’Neal) was running about 75%, and I was running pretty hard,” Thornton Jr. said. “Whenever I slid him, I knew he was going to cross me, and I figured if I could race him hard into three … and catch enough traction, I could ride back by him.”
RTJ earned his second Wild West Shootout triumph, adding to his 2021 victory at Arizona Speedway, with Adam Family Motorsports collecting its first WWS trophy.
Hudson O’Neal took runner-up honors in the Rumley Enterprises machine, while Cade Dillard stormed from the 16th-starting position to finish third. Ryan Gustin and Mike Marlar completed the top five.
In the Shocker Hitch X-Modifieds division presented by Border Tire, second-row starter Blake Adams took the lead on lap eight and led the final 18 circuits to a $1,000 payday over Jake Smith and Rob Mosely.
The Mesilla Valley Transportation Modifieds closed out the first night of action with Cade Dillard leading all 25 laps from the pole position. Reece Solander, Tanner Mullens, Dustin Sorensen, and Gary Christian rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 6-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard[16]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[18]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[8]; 6. 15S-Clay Stuckey[7]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 8. 22*-Drake Troutman[10]; 9. 74X-Ethan Dotson[9]; 10. 86-Kyle Beard[23]; 11. 1-Tyler Erb[6]; 12. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 13. 32-Bobby Pierce[13]; 14. 0-Jake O’Neil[19]; 15. 96-RC Whitwell[12]; 16. 75A-Daniel Adam[15]; 17. 13-Bricen James[20]; 18. 82-Eston Whisler[5]; 19. 128-Kylan Garner[25]; 20. 18-Chase Junghans[21]; 21. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[22]; 22. B5-Brandon Sheppard[11]; 23. 48-Billy Moyer Sr[24]; 24. 19-Dustin Sorensen[14]; 25. 49-Jonathan Davenport[17]
