Ricky Thornton Jr. Covets Chili Bowl Golden Driller | Talkin' Tulsa

what up guys here we are do a little talking tulo with Ricky we'll get headed down the track I feel like you're like the biggest sensation in racing right now you kind of got the Open Wheel World captivated you obviously dominated The Late Model world what's it like almost like spring into the stardom it's almost like Taylor Swift Travis Kel you just right the scene I don't know it's different for me like I always felt like I wanted to be that guy that that got to run stock car stuff and got to run Open Wheel stuff too so I've been been fortunate last couple years been top quality rides I feel like and finally finally I feel like I'm getting noticed yeah it's uh yeah I mean you definitely are and it's huge in the Open Wheel World so kind of take me back you showed up at the shootout a little while back with micros and nothing on them at all and all of a sudden you're you know you're dominating basically and how did you get how'd you get into the micros you know what was that process you said you want to race Open Wheel but just kind of take us through the steps of that one was like one of those de was like I've always watched the shootout and just never never knew what it would take to be able to do it well then so it's two years ago uh one of my buddies uh pretty much got me a ride and I was running one of Trey or's cars and I got in it and I loved it right away so I'm like I went home I bought a car and just started racing as much as I could whenever we had an off weekend and and I loved it so I end up ended up buying a second car and then just kind of transition then in that first year I went to shootout like I I didn't make any shows but I was really good in the non-wing stuff and I just felt like they fit me a little bit better and then uh we came to came to Chili Bowl that next week and and I don't even know what what race i in it was like an F or something like that like I wasn't the best but I had a great time so they they decided to to try to come do CH Bowl again last year and I felt like we ran really well for for The Limited experience I really got yeah and I like that's the hardest part you come here I mean you got guys that it's no different when like someone comes run a late model I mean I got a million races in one it's like you know exactly what you need to do or I come run the here and I just I feel like I struggle for about 10 laps and then I kind of figure it out so it uh it's so different but I enjoy doing it just cuz cuz it's so different yeah what's that transition like like can you take anything late model wise and apply it to you know micros midgets or you know even if it's setup stuff is there anything that trans like transfers over at all or is it just completely two different things I mean it it's completely two different things but I feel like I haven't really got to mess with the a whole lot but the micro the more I made it kind of like my late model the more comfortable I got but then like you almost run into the problem where you try to get everything too perfect and then it's like that kind of hurt me like even this year I feel like my non-wing stuff was really good but then I struggled with my wing stuff just because I was overtight overthinking stuff so it driving wise I feel like every car drives the same Center off it's just you got to figure out how to get it down in the corner and it's like once you kind of figure that out then I think your your race is a little bit easier start earlier this a couple weeks ago I guess they were watching you on a curb about this nasty right here and felt like you were getting ready to walk the dog on the boys and we blew a motor what was you I'm sure you've told a million people but what what was that emotion like how much does that mean to you does it mean to you compared to what you've done you know pays $2,000 which is not uh compared to what you won all year but what does that mean I mean it's one of those deals like I'm here to win so it I feel like no no matter anytime you get to go and run one of these races and I mean there there's a million cars in the building and and to have a shot to win and then it pretty much getting taken away it definitely sucked but I feel like it uh it almost makes me wanted a little bit more for next year just I it didn't pay nearly as much as like some of my some of our other races but I feel like at the same time like The Prestige of this deal is so big it'd be like winning one of our big races so it's just one of those one of those deals that I ran second last year and was close to a win so then like have put yourself in position to win one this year and then something happens like I honestly don't know which one was worse like what makes you want it more whether you run second or blow up beding I feel like in your short experience you got to experience the kind of the highve shootout inable and freaking just shove you in the dirt doesn't owe you anything is kind of like even even we get get ready to go qualify for the race of Champions I heard him motor the first lap like so like that part really sucks cuz then it's like well then then I luckily enough we're still to change Motors but you start in the back of the race of Champions like you kind of wanted to use it for a test session and it's like at that point you're running hard but just trying not the rack yeah you uh so yeah you mentioned I blew up in the race the Champions qualifying you're teamed up with rinol Underwood Motorsports say you and Andy are a couple Arizona boys if you don't live in Arizona anymore but how does that come apart cuz Andy's got a top-notch team he won chili bow two years ago um the best of the best obviously you had a big year but still to go out I feel like on a limb a little bit and shove you in his race car how does that happen it was kind of a crazy thing so it's like I tried to talk him a little bit last year about doing something and and just nothing really lined up and then uh then this year we got about halfway through the year and he called me and and really just wanted me to to be in one like I don't know if if running as good as I did last year helped a little bit just so we and then we just kind of planned on it and and for me it's like it's I feel like there's four or five top teams here and he's his team's definitely one of them so it uh no brain that yeah it it was a no-brainer for me like we just everything worked out and hopefully I can capitalize on it do you ever want to have your own midet they do that or rental program or i' I've talked about doing a rental program but I feel like if if I ever get to the point I would almost have like a micro team just I don't know anything about a I I really don't know a whole lot about a micro but I feel like Nance wise the micro is a lot easier than a yeah in the world the rental program is huge is there opportunity for that in the late model world yes and no I feel like the problem you run into in the late model world is like most big teams have three or four cars where I feel like a team that there's 15 cars sitting there that like I feel like the transition is just so different like a lot of a lot of the younger kids almost not that their parents have money but they have a lot behind them like backing sponsors wise where it almost seems like it's easier to to get into a or a Sprint car or something at that point where where it feels like the late model world like it it I think you could do it I just don't know how successful you'd be the first few years and I don't know one just I think one day you could do it but overall it just be tough I got to ask like we're going to talk a little bit of late model stuff here first I guess before we talk that I know sw's going to blow me because this is one lap one beer I'm going to drink a couple beers like has he done one with you yet uh so I did one at Elora earlyer this year that's I kind you guys have to go watch that one on Flow we're doing this one here but what the hell is up with your guys's trucks and trailers you guys have it's like a full-blown house a full-blown house W cost 600,000 I see them for sale every year $600,000 $7 million whatever they cost like why can't you just have a regular truck and trailer like what we have or what we would call regular so the I feel like the problem we run into is like say if we say if we have a a Sprint car style trailer there really isn't enough room to have two cars in it and have it right so I mean we're fortunate enough so we're at just outside of Indianapolis that we get to come back to the shop all the time where I mean the RV in front it's nicer than my house it's kind of wild but I mean you're in it 200 days of the year so it's like you want to make it as comfortable as you can but it's kind of the pricing on them is outrageous but they really don't go down in value over the years as long as you take care of them so y it uh it is kind of kind of crazy like we'll we'll go to go to a race and it'll be us the sprint cars and afterwards all the Sprint car guys leave go wash and everything else we're like we don't really do any of that so it's like two Opposite Worlds where open whe people watch this like late model people never wash but I'm not going to lie I love it I try to make a couple trips a year to Alora whatever it is summer nationals just kind of bounce around you guys after the races are drinking beer playing cornhole like it's awesome yeah that's that's the vibe I want so I have Envy of that like going to the car wash sucks but yeah well like it's kind of the same thing like people ask all the time and they'll be an open will person be like you guys even work on your car during the day and I'm like we do you just don't see us like well I know I will say like the Open Wheel World they will not be able to party like you guys do and then get up in the morning and do the work that you guys do also so yeah you got to you got one up on us as far as that goes a lot of them love to party I don't party too much just I I've always wanted this to be my career so I don't want to do something dumb and cost myself but it uh I don't know it the worlds are so different but then it's like whenever it comes down to a race night like I feel we're almost identical like everyone wants to win but you're not going to go kill a guy to get the win so so let's keep going late model side of things you had obviously a career year not really sure how many races you won it was like seemed like every time I opened up Twitter you'd won that night um you don't win the championship though and for everyone back home they kind of had like a Chase format came down to one race at Elora which was insane and you just didn't come out on top how gut-wrenching was that or are you know you kind of go home knowing you know I should have been the champion you just don't get the big check at the end how tough is that it it was kind of one of those deals like you mentally prepared like essentially I had nothing to gain for for that deal like I had a huge point lead and and the part that I feel like sucked the most on it was the night we actually would have clinch the championship was our home race so it's like we we we won at Brownstown like essentially they had a clinch it all I had to do is show up for the last four races and so like that part kind of sucked just just for my owner like I mean he's only been in it 5 six years so like to be that new and then have a shot to to win a points I guess that part suck but it it was one of those deals I feel like if if we wouldn't had the year we had and then not like I guess the eest way I I felt like for winning as much RAC as we did this year and not winning the points made it a little bit easier than not winning any races and then winning the points like I feel like that that part of it would have been would have been yeah like think of 2023 we're going to think of the Year Ricky th had winning all the races yeah yeah and I almost feel like I I maybe gained more fans not winning the points than I did winning the points just cuz there were so many people mad about it but yeah like that part of it was kind of crazy but overall I mean it's one of those years like it probably will never happen again like we we won so many races and in big races and and really like I feel there's so much money getting thrown around now in the late model world that hopefully hopefully we can keep going like we are but I feel like every couple years there's like a new trick thing that comes out and one guy's really good yeah so about to head back up the ramp what would it mean to you whether it's this Saturday night next year shootout to be able to roll up this ramp with a golden driller in hand and be a shootout or trilly bolt Champion I mean it' be huge and uh that's why I'm here I I there's other stuff that I could go do but at the end of the day I want one of them Drillers yeah it it it sucks to be close a couple times in the shootout stuff but I mean you just you never know there's a there's a lot of really good people that that have been here year after year and never gotten one yep well thanks for uh hanging out with me talking a little bit TSO maybe we'll see if you'll uh pull it off come Saturday night that's the plan I appreciate it thanks

Channel: FloRacing

Views: 7,690

Keywords: car racing, chili bowl live stream, chili bowl midgets, chili bowl nationals 2021, dirt midgets chili bowl, dirt midgets racing, dirt track, dirt track racing, dirt track stream, midget car flip, motorsports, sprint car broadcast, sprint car racing, sprint car stream, sprint cars, tulsa shootout crashes, tulsa shootout live stream, world of outlaws

Id: Dlt9fSScGsg

Length: 12min 39sec (759 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 09 2024