Tire changes. Crew changes. But the results stay the same.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was virtually flawless during the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tripleheader weekend in the Northeast, coming away convincing victories Saturday at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and Sunday at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway along with a near-miss second-place finish Friday at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway.

The 34-year-old from Chandler, Ariz., was already feeling good about his Koehler Motorsports No. 20rt program before the weekend. With Nick Hardy completing the race-day crew and with proof that Hoosier Racing Tire’s new-version NLMT right-rear shouldn’t hamper him, Thornton’s confidence entering May is sky-high.

“I’d say for sure this is the best I’ve felt here before, not running the top,” Thornton said Sunday at Port Royal. “Normally here I’m a top-five car, but I have to run against the wall. I didn’t even think about going to the wall.

“I felt like I could do what I needed to,” Thornton added. “Even when I got to lapped cars, I could go high, go through the middle, go to the bottom. Anytime your car is that good, it’s pretty awesome.”

Thornton's team has been on the hunt for a third crewmen since the end of Florida-Georgia Speedweeks. Last week they hired Hardy, the experienced 39-year-old who previously served as Hudson O’Neal’s crew chief before Jason Durham’s arrival at SSI Motorsports.

Thornton calls Hardy “a floater” right now that “makes everyone’s jobs a little easier.” Hardy complements head mechanic Zack Frields and tire specialist Skylar Cooper.

“This will be a fun adventure,” said Hardy, whose previous crewing experience includes Daulton Wilson's Ratliff Racing team in 2023 and Pageland, S.C.'s Michael Brown in 2021-22.

Thornton continues making “95 percent” of the setup decisions as he goes forth with no designated crew chief the remainder of 2025. He’s confident that dynamic will work because “just being around long enough, I know what I want to feel in the car.”

“It’s nice with them, they can watch the car. It was a huge asset at Hagerstown,” Thornton said. “I felt one thing in the car, and they saw something completely different going down the straightaways. … The nice part about it is, all four of us get together to decide what tires we’re going to run. What changes setup-wise we’re going to do. We’re all gelling really good right now.”

For Hardy, as long as he’s helping point his team toward victory lane, he doesn’t get caught up with his role.

“That’s what it’s all about. It’s a team sport,” Hardy said. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I played baseball, and nobody can win a game by themselves. It takes everybody to be successful at this. I mean, titles to me is interference. People get caught up in titles. It takes everyone one of us to do what we do.

“They’re real fun guys to work with,” Hardy added. “I think this will be a good time.”

As for adjusting to Hoosier’s new-version right-rear tire, Thornton points out that “setup-wise, we’re close on both of them,” meaning the updated tire and the original tire that’s still legal through 2025.

“(Jonathan Davenport) has been the old stuff. He’s been really good all weekend,” Thornton said. “(Tyler Erb) has been on the old stuff and he’s been really good. Same with Daulton Wilson.

“I feel like both tires are comparable. Obviously the longer shelf life the new tires get, I think the better they’re going to get. They’re so fresh right now, it makes it tough. Old-style tire, new-style tire, we’re pretty good, which is good because I was kinda worried maybe the new-style tire we’d struggle a little bit. I feel like we’ve been able to pick up where we were.”