Thornton, Jr., & Thompson Make it Two-for-Two in CAS Desert Thunder Nationals
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (November 21, 2020) – Ricky Thornton, Jr., and Cody Thompson stayed perfect in Seventh Annual Desert Thunder Nationals racing action atop the 3/8-mile Central Arizona Speedway clay oval by topping Saturday night’s IMCA Modified and IMCA Sport Modified feature events.
While Thornton, Jr., made it two in a row in the IMCA Modifieds and 2019 IMCA Sport Modified sweeper Cody Thompson made it two in a row as well, Nelson Morrow took Pure Stock honors with Cameron La Rose and Corbin Rueschenberg best in the Power 600 Micro Sprint ranks as 141 total cars took in the second of the weekend’s three Desert Thunder Nationals events.
Ricky Thornton, Jr., emerged from an early three-way battle for the point to make it two wins in as many nights in the 25-lap IMCA Modified feature.
Thornton, Jr., held down third in the early going as Jake O’Neill and Shawn Strand shared time leading the pack. Strand battled past O’Neill for the lead on the eighth round only to hand the baton back to O’Neill four laps later when he slipped off the top side of turn two and went directly pitside.
Thornton, Jr., took quick advantage of O’Neill in traffic by racing into the lead on the 14th lap. Thornton, Jr., was slipping away with O’Neill slipping off of turn four soon after to hand runner-up honors to Jeff Taylor with Tanner Black, 2019 CAS track campion Kelsie Foley and Zachary Madrid rounding out the top five.
“Jake got out there then Shawn got rolling and went right by him, he got too high one time and that’s all it took,” Thornton, Jr., said after cracking CAS Desert Thunder Nationals victory lane aboard the No. 20RT for the second night in a row.
After sweeping through all three legs of the IMCA Modified portion of last year’s Desert Thunder Nationals, Cody Thompson made it two-for-two thus far in 2020 by wiring the field in the 25-lap feature event.
Thompson started the main event in third, battled past Bo Partain in turns three and four on the opening round and never looked back en route to another convincing triumph ahead of Partain, David Jones, Michael Soboski and Taylor Kuehl who rallied from 18th to round out the top five.
“I had to make sure I got up there quick and set the pace,” the Sioux City sensation commented in victory lane after a second consecutive win for the weekend.
In the 20-lap Pure Stock feature, Nelson Morrow gunned into the early lead. Morrow held off challenges from Donald Comstock in the early going and then Virgil McArthur over the final rounds with McArthur fending off 11th-starter Steve Shumaker for third as Comstock and Bud Marshall rounded out the top five.
On the inner clay oval, Cameron La Rose made it two wins in as many nights of Power 600 Non-Wing Micro Sprint action by taking the checkered flag ahead of Shon Deskins and Logan Calderwood while Corbin Rueschenberg fought off Friday night winner J.W Henderson to take Power 600 Restricted feature honors with Elijah Gile in the show position.
Central Arizona Speedway’s Seventh Annual Desert Thunder Nationals wraps up with Sunday’s third and final round going green at 1:00 p.m. with another full slate of IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Pure Stocks and Power 600 Micro Sprints.
Central Arizona Speedway – November 21, 2020 Seventh Annual Desert Thunder Nationals Night Two Results:
IMCA Modifieds:
Heat One: 1. 5b-Brenda Kirby, 2. 44-Christy Barnett, 3. B1-Jeff Larson, 4. 4x-Dalon Helm, 5. 75-Spencer Wilson, 6. 10T-Don Geist, 7. 32ak-Tim Jauhola, 8. 82b-Sherman Barnett, 9. 97-Josh Sneed.
Heat Two: 1. 12-Guy Norton, 2. 15-Chris Carrell, 3. 10s-Rick Spencer II, 4. 71s-Brent Schlafmann, 5. 18JT-Jeremy Thornton, 6. 15s-William Slocum, 7. 93ar-Anthony Smith, 8. 18JR-Richard Olague, Jr.
Heat Three: 1. 44T-Tanner Black, 2. 99-Shawn Strand, 3. 118-Jesse Patterson, 4. 27-Mark Carrell, 5. 61-Chad Stevens, 6. 02-Kole Lamasney, 7. 8m-Doug Meeks, 8. 55b-Mike Brandon.
Heat Four: 1. 0-Jake O’Neill, 2. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 3. 5m-Zachary Madrid, 4. 77x-Austin Kuehl, 5. 93-Kelly Johnson, 6. M22-Sean Stacy, 7. 89-Tony Steward, 8. 18k-Jacob Pace.
Heat Five: 1. 5-Jeff Taylor, 2. 75jr-Chaz Baca, 3. 5k-Mike Kirby, 4. 19sb-Lance Mari, 5. 82-Easton Whistler, 6. 30-Adam Fischer, 7. 157-Joel King, 8. 18ak-Bob Jauhola.
Heat Six: 1. 55ak-Scott Sluka, 2. 44k-Kelsie Foley, 3. 12a-Matt Aukland, 4. 5w-Wes Meeks, 5. 2x-Roy Poeling, 6. 6-Eric Center, 7. 23c-Chuck Grohnke, 8. 138-Jon Peed.
“B” Main One: 1. 19sb-Lance Mari, 2. 27-Mark Carrell, 3. 82-Easton Whistler, 4. 55b-Mike Brandon, 5. 157-Joel King, 6. 30-Adam Fischer, 7. 8m-Doug Meeks, 8. 61-Chad Stevens, 9. 18ak-Bob Jauhola, 10. 32ak-Jim Jauhola, 11. 02-Koby Lamasney, 12. 97-Josh Sneed, 13. 4x-Dalon Helm, 14. 75-Spencer Wilson, 15. 10T-Don Geist, 16. 82b-Sherman Barnett.
“B” Main Two: 1. 77x-Austin Kuehl, 2. M22-Sean Stacy, 3. 18jt-Jeremy Thornton, 4. 2x-Roy Poeling, 5. 18k-Jacob Pace, 6. 93-Kellyl Johnson, 7. 138-Jon Peed, 8. 93ar-Anthony Smith, 9. 15s-William Slocum, 10. 18jr-Ricardo Olague, Jr., 11. 6-Eric Center, 12. 89-Tony Steward, 13. 23c-Chuck Grohnke, 14. 71-Brent Schlaffman, 15. 5w-Wes Meeks.
“A” Main (25 Laps): 1. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 2. 5-Jeff Taylor, 3. 44T-Tanner Black, 4. 44k-Kelsie Foley, 5. 5m-Zachary Madrid, 6. 44-Christy Barnett, 7. B1-Jeff Larson, 8. 75jr-Chaz Baca, 9. 15-Chris Carroll, 10. 77x-Austin Kuehl, 11. 5b-Brenda Kirby, 12. 55ak-Scott Sluka, 13. 10s-Rick Spencer II, 14. 19sb-Lance Mari, 15. 82-Easton Whistler, 16. 118-Jesse Patterson, 17. 27-Mark Carrell, 18. 0-Jake O’Neill, 19. M22-Sean Stacy, 20. 18jt-Jeremy Thornton, 21. 99-Shawn Strand, 22. 12-Guy Norton, 23. 5k-Mike Kirby, 24. 12a-Matt Aukland.
IMCA Sport Modifieds:
Heat One: 1. 99-Adam Echter, 2. 11-Wes Meeks, Jr., 3. 111-J.J. McCarty, 4. 06w-Michael Wrightsman, 5. 12rh-Robert Holmes, 6. 53-Scott Walker, 7. 8-Drew Costa, 8. 8w-Dylan Newberg.
Heat Two: 1. 1s-Shelby Alves, 2. 33y-David Jones, 3. 85jr-Brian Bullis, 4. 67-Abby Meulebroeck, 5. 7TC-Heath Dry, 6. 22-Austen Becerra, 7. 7x-Casey Murdoch, 8. 45m-Eric Murphy.
Heat Three: 1. 10x-Michael Soboski, 2. 69x-Marcos Bojorquez, 3. 06-Rex Hasley, 4. 69LK-Ron Poe, 5. 83g-Gerry Glenn, 6. 0-Dakota Girard, 7. 303-Kyler Reynolds, 8. Z28-Ty Weidner.
Heat Four: 1. 15-Speedy Madrid, 2. 75c-Bo Partain, 3. ZERO-Darin Center, 4. 14e-Justin Erickson, 5. 100-Crystal Hemphill, 6. 79J-Joey Jock, 7. 77-Justin Thornton, 8. 7-Scott Kepner.
Heat Five: 1. 5-Ron Schreiner, 2. 25c-Cody Thompson, 3. 56b-Sheyne Bradley, 4. 21jr-Michael Egurola, 5. 3-Terry Belcher, Jr., 6. 316-Brandyn Johnson, 7. 17z-Luke Silber, 8. 2k-Taylor Kuehl.
“B” Main One: 1. 7TC-Heath Dry, 2. 2k-Taylor Kuehl, 3. 21jr-Michael Egurola, 4. 7x-Casey Murdoch, 5. 06w-Michael Wrightsman, 6. 0-Dakota Girard, 7. 96LK-Ron Poe, 8. 8w-Dyaln Newberg, 9. 53-Scott Walker, 10. 100-Crystal Hemphill, 11. 316-Brandyn Johnson, 12. Z28-Ty Weidner, 13. 77-Justin Thornton.
“B” Main Two: 1. 22-Austen Becerra, 2. 14e-Justin Erickson, 3. 79J-Joey Jock, 4. 67-Abby Meulebroeck, 5. 3-Terry Belcher, Jr., 6. 303-Kyler Reynolds, 7. 12rh-Robert Holmes, 8. 45m-Eric Murphy, 9. 83g-Gerry Glenn, 10. 8-Drew Costa, 11. 17z-Luke Silber, 12. 7-Scott Kepner.
“A” Main (25 Laps): 1. 25c-Cody Thompson, 2. 75c-Bo Partain, 3. 33y-David Jones, 4. 10x-Michael Soboski, 5. 2k-Taylor Kuehl, 6. 15-Speedy Madrid, 7. 1s-Shelby Alves, 8. 14e-Justin Erickson, 9. 69x-Marcos Bojorquez, 10. 111-J.J. McCarty, 11. 11-Wes Meeks, Jr., 12. 79J-Joey Jock, 13. 56b-Sheyne Bradley, 14. 06-Rex Hasley, 15. 21jr-Michael Egurola, 16. 06w-Michael Wrightsman, 17. 67-Abby Meulebroeck, 18. 7x-Casey Murdoch, 19. 85jr-Brian Bullis, 20. ZERO-Darin Center, 21. 99-Adam Echter, 22. 22-Austen Becerra, 23. 5-Ron Schreiner, 24. 7tc-Heath Dry.
Pure Stocks:
Heat One: 1. 01-Nelson Morrow, 2. 47-Virgil McArthur, 3. 25jr-Albert Saenz, Jr., 4. 87J-Jared Wilson, 5. 82-Clay Arseneau, 6. 53-Ricky Thornton, Sr., 7. 12-Shawna Meeks.
Heat Two: 1. 124-Bud Marshall, 2. 28-Donald Comstock, 3. 9-Don Stersuteel, 4. 94-Marty Hussak, 5. 16b-Richard Bennett, 6. 85-Gavin Meeks, 7. 7x-Casey Murdoch.
Heat Three: 1. 44s-Steve Shumaker, 2. 03-Kevin Risacher, 3. 6-Michael Wrightsman, 4. 33-Andy Wheat, 5. 51r-Ross Krajack, 6. 505-Brittany Manson.
“A” Main: 1. 01-Nelson Morrow, 2. 47-Virgil McArthur, 3. 44s-Steve Shumaker, 4. 28-Donald Comstock, 5. 124-Bud Marshall, 6. 03-Kevin Risacher, 7. 25jr-Albert Saenz, Jr., 8. 82-Clay Arseneau, 9. 6-Michael Wrightsman, 10. 94-Marty Hussak, 11. 87J-Jared Wilson, 12. 53-Ricky Thornton, Sr., 13. 33-Andy Wheat, 14. 505-Brittany Manson, 15. 51r-Ross Krajack, 16. 16b-Richard Bennett, 17. 9-Don Stersuteel, 18. 85-Gavin Meeks, 19. 7x-Casey Murdoch, 20. 12-Shawna Meeks (DNS).
Power 600 Non-Wing Micro Sprints:
Heat One: 1. 15d-Dylan Schaadt, 2. 41-Colton Hardy, 3. 43e-Eddie Hamblin, 4. 88g-Grant Schaadt, 5. 8x-Dylan Beal, 6. 21x-George Zills, 7. 8-Jake Branum.
Heat Two: 1. 20-Shon Deskins, 2. 52-Cameron La Rose, 3. 67-Kurt Johnson, 4. 24-R.J. Johnson, 5. 3x-Chris Rahe, 6. 68-Derrick Johnson.
Heat Three: 1. 35-Logan Calderwood, 2. 05-Josh Spatola, 3. 33-Rowdy Ladd, 4. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg, 5. 06-Matt Sanchez, 6. 92b-Eric Bartlett.
“A” Main: 1. 52-Cameron La Rose, 2. 20-Shon Deskins, 3. 35-Logan Calderwood, 4. 24-R.J. Johnson, 5. 41-Colton Hardy, 6. 05-Josh Spatola, 7. 15d-Dylan Schaadt, 8. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg, 9. 43e-Eddie Hamblin, 10. 3x-Chris Rahe, 11. 88g-Grant Schaadt, 12. 67-Kurt Johnson, 13. 8x-Dylan Beal, 14. 68-Derrick Johnson, 15. 06-Matt Sanchez, 16. 8-Jake Branum, 17. 21x-George Zills, 18. 33-Rowdy Ladd, 19. 92b-Eric Bartlett (DNS).
Power 600 Restricted Micro Sprints:
Heat One: 1. 7J-J.W. Henderson, 2. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg, 3. 78-Brody Wake, 4. 7-Jesse Johnson, 5. 13-Elijah Gile, 6. L8-Ethan Stephens, 7. 28-Mick Gile, Jr.
Heat Two: 1. 36-Tuesday Calderwood, 2. 75T-Tyler Johnson, 3. 77-Nolan Haag, 4. 16-Connor Jacobs, 5. 24-Hudson Storment.
“A” Main: 1. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg, 2. 7J-J.W. Henderson, 3. 13-Elijah Gile, 4. 36-Tuesday Calderwood, 5. 78-Brody Wake, 6. 77-Nolan Haag, 7. 7-Jesse Johnson, 8. 24-Hudson Storment, 9. 16-Connor Jacobs, 10. 1z-Zoe Beal, 11. 28-Mick Gile, Jr., 12. 75T-Tyler Johnson, 13. L8-Ethan Stevens (DNS).
Sources: Lonnie Wheatley, Central Arizona Speedway PR