CHANDLER, Ariz. — As a child, Ricky Thornton Sr. loved racing on television, waiting patiently to get his fix via ABC’s “Wild World of Sports” series.
Then around age eight his father was a part time crew chief which created more interest in racing.
A few years later during summer break he had a job which would get him to Manzanita Speedway to watch bombers and streets. His second time ever at Manzanita he got to be a passenger during hot laps for his first time on a track.
At age 15 he drove an Impala in the bomber division and his first night racing he made the main out of his heat race. In those days 30-plus bombers would be on hand and only 20 made the main event.
After a couple of years in the bomber class he moved up to the factory stock division driving a Chevelle. Spending 10 years in that division preceded another move upwards to modifieds.
From there, it was an IMCA modified that RT Sr. raced, collecting championships at Tucson’s dirt track and Manzanita. The following year another Manzanita title was won and trips to Canyon were part of his schedule also.
All three of these tracks are no longer in existence.
Things changed along the way for Thornton when he married Tonja, a racer who won plenty of main events until retiring.
Thornton Sr. recalled, “Tonja raced against men and women at Manzanita, getting about 30 wins along the way, and Tonja won the majority of the time she raced against me.”
Changes led to Ricky Sr. racing less or not at all in Tonja’s case. Those changes were three boys, Jeremy, Ricky and Justin.
Jeremy now owns EMD Wraps in Pleasant Hill, Iowa and races less than in the past with the business keeping him busy. Justin still lives in Chandler and has raced pure stocks, sport mods, modifieds and late models.
He likes to race in Iowa and South Dakota when possible. Justin built his father’s hobby stock which he now races at Central Arizona Raceway.
Then there is the middle son, Ricky Thornton Jr. At a young age, RT Jr. knew what he wanted to do and that was race a late model. It took time to get there, but his success in late model racing is well known.
“Ricky began at age 8 when he would be sitting in the stands at Manzanita or Canyon with mom watching everything that was going on with the cars and the track,” Ricky Thornton Sr. said. “While he was watching every detail of the race, his brothers would be behind the stands playing with other kids.”
From age 14 on the only thing Thornton Jr. wanted to do was race a late model for a living. His racing began at age 14 when he was rookie of the year at Manzanita driving a Nova in the factory stock class. There were 21 rookies that year and at least half of them were his friends.
Next year he raced a modified and was rookie of the year and champion at Manzanita and five years later he had three more championships.
Jr. won the modified track title at Arizona Speedway, winning every race that season. An opportunity to race a late model came along when Jeff Manka put him in his backup car. Jr. won six races and the title at Canyon.
But as Sr. remembers, “He wanted to leave Arizona and make a career out of racing a late model.”
Despite the success Ricky Thornton Jr. had in Arizona in different divisions, making the big step to late models on the national level took some time.
“He left and decided to run USMTS,” Thornton Sr. said, “which led to being noticed but never got a break to run for someone. Taylon Center was a crew chief for Hudson O’Neal. O’Neal had shoulder surgery so Center got a break for Ricky.”
Eventually when O’Neal came back to racing it took just a short time before RT Jr. was hired by Koehler Motorsports and was racing a late model decorated by his No. 20rt.
“Ricky showed how much talent he had in a late model which has led to one hundred plus wins making it approximately 450 wins in all the divisions he has raced,” Thornton Sr. noted. “He has five wins this year so far in the Koehler car.”
It took time and effort, but the young boy who sat with mom in the grandstands and focused on the racing has gotten his wish. He has become a very successful late model driver and there is no doubt who RT Jr. is in the late model world.
