|
|
August 31st, 2009
Thunder Mountain defeats Mother Nature, and completes rain delayed progam "Topless" no
less!
The weather at the Center Lisle oval was mediocre at best, but the racing on the night was action packed. No full moon was visible, but like the weather, some racers were in a foul mood.
The Doug's Speed Shop I.M.C.A. Modifieds hit the speedway first as twenty cars took the initial green flag. Rich McNeal Jr. jumped to the lead from his pole position and paced the field for the first nineteen laps staving off several attempts at the lead by Gary Roberts to maintain his hold on the number one spot until outsider Kevan Cook moved into the runner-up position on lap fifteen. The Constantia driver continued the assault on McNeal making several attempts to rattle the "rookie" into making a mistake, but the Copy Source #68 would withstand the challenge until the white flag lap, as Cook raced under him in turn two and cruised to the victory. McNeal finished a fine second, as Gary Roberts finished third, Jerry Lobdell Jr. fourth, and Mike Wilbur Sr. fifth.
The Road Bandits brought twenty starters to the starting line as Lanson Albanese captured the win in strong fashion as he passed leader Kenny Underwood on the twelfth lap, and took top honors for the third time this season at Thunder Mountain. Kenny Underwood raced home to second, Joe Fischette in the Venom Motorsports #08A in third, Nick Griest fourth, and Johnny "Rotten" Hoover fifth.
The Doug's Trash Removal Hurricane Street Stocks fielded eighteen starters with Rick Frisco jumping into the lead at the green flag. He survived four restarts in the first fifteen laps until the "Big Kahuna" Rich Talada moved into the lead on lap sixteen. Frisco held onto second for just one lap as battlin' Butch Green wrestled the runner-up spot away, and set his sights on Talada. The Kinetic Performance, Mojo Photos OH7 would not be denied the victory as Talada finished his strong effort for the win, as Green was second, Frisco third, Gene Sharpsteen fourth, and Darl Ellis Jr. in the Gold and Silver Expressions sponsored #5XJ in fifth.
The Road Warriors brought just six starters to the line, as Ken Winn did just that, and notched victory number four of the season. He was followed across the stripe by Joe Sack, Gary Brown in third, Troy Reeves in fourth, and Cody Brown in fifth.
The "topless" Hunt's Auto Service Modified Sportsman were the last feature of the night as twenty two starters pulled onto the speedway for the twenty five lap distance. P.J. Goodwin lead the field to the green flag as caution flew on lap two re-packing and re-stacking the field for the restart. Again, the Goodwin Racing machine would be scored the leader until Jim Larock raced under him out of turn four on lap five as the two drag raced dead even down the front chute until Goodwin turned down into Larock entering turn one and caution flew for the spinning #58L. Because of the contact initiated by Goodwin, he was sent to the rear with Larock for the restart. Goodwin would not heed to the call made by the officials, and climbed from his car in front of the flag stand to show his displeasure. Several of his crew members darted onto the speedway and initiated a confrontation with the head flagger, as management and security personnel scrambled to restore order. For the actions of the #55 team Goodwin and company were disqualified for the night, and ultimately the remainder of the season. Once racing action restarted, it was Larry Hillis in the lead with flyin' Brian White nipping at his heels. Hillis would continue with his strong hold on the top spot as Gene Sharpsteen moved the RJ Windhausen Construction #7 into the second spot on lap 19. Sharpsteen attempted to make a challenge, but Hillis was just too strong as he captured the win. Sharpsteen finished in second, Brian White third, Eddie White fourth, and Tom Collins Jr. in fifth.
Next weekend Thunder Mountain will play host to a doubleheader with a full program on Friday, and the Southern Tier Challenge series along with the XCEL 600 Modifieds on Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. For more information go to www.thunderracetrack.com or call (607)533-4118
|
|
|
