This past week, Dylan Thornton became the first driver to win an IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals championship in three divisions. In 2023, he won the stock car title. This year at Iowa’s Boone Speedway Thornton won the late model and modified championships.
The Battle to Qualify
Incidentally, he didn’t make the stock car feature, but that did not deter him.
“You have to have a little luck, but you have to have speed to take advantage of that little luck,” Dylan Thornton, originally of Orcutt, California, said. “My goal this year was to win both the stock car and modified features on the same night. We didn’t qualify for the modified main event until Friday night.
“So, we took one day at a time. We kept our heads up — that got us through the week and that’s how we made it on Friday.’
The Great Start to the Week
Thornton started off the week with a late model win on Monday. It came not in a Rocket or Longhorn chassis, but one from Warrior Race Cars, prepared by Tyson Gheer.
“I know the chassis is a smaller brand, but having a crew chief that is really smart paid off,” Thornton said. “Tyson worked on that chassis a lot. I visited the shop a couple times a week, but I give him all the credit.”
Much of Thornton’s experience comes behind the wheel of a stock car or modified.
“I’ve been racing modifieds and stock cars — jumping out of one and into the other,” said Thornton. “I clear my head and focus on what I have to do.
“The late model is a totally different animal. The speed is different, the size of the car is different, and the way you sit in it is different. Your driving has to be smooth, and momentum based. Sudden movements don’t work well. You have to hit your marks and carry the momentum.”
Since driving for Ricky and Brenda Kay, Thornton has won seven late model features. Despite running a business building shocks at DTR Enterprises, he doesn’t prepare the ones on the late model.
“For the most part, Tyson does it all — shocks, car prep, and even driving advice,” Thornton said. “All of the credit goes to him.”
The Path to Modified Success for Dylan Thornton Jr.
Unlike the late model, Thornton works on the shocks on the modified he owns. Shane Wiggins is his only crew for that car.
“Shocks still play a very big role in modified racing — you have to have good shocks along with a good race car,” said Thornton. “It’s a big puzzle. You have to have all the pieces, and shocks are one of the biggest pieces.”
In addition to the late model and modified rides, he also steers a stock car owned by Shawn Ritter. So far this season, Dylan Thornton Jr. has run 89 features, recording 15 wins, including nine in the modifieds.
Since his move to Iowa, Thornton has come a long way.
“I was 14 when I drove my first race car nine years ago at Santa Maria Raceway [in California],” Thornton said. “This was my fifth time competing in the Super Nationals. Success comes from hard work and diligence. That realization got us through the ups and downs of Super Nationals week.”
(For more on the move to Iowa, read “Iowa Invasion: Racers from the West Move In.”)
As far as next season, Thornton remains mum on his plans. He does hope to follow in the footsteps of another successful IMCA Super Nationals competitor, Ricky Thornton Jr., whom he is of no relation.
“We take things one race at a time,” said Thornton said. “It’s always been my goal to be a full-time late model driver. We’ll see what happens.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
