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By: NICK STARK
CENTER LISLE, NY --- Paul Jensen took his Wholesale Mulch #57 to new
heights, as he captured the 30 lap Don’s Automotive Mall Big Block
Modified
feature. Bainbridge’s Don Hart wheeled Rodney Hart’s backup car to
an
impressive victory in the first of two Autoworks Sportsman Modified
feature
events. “Top Gun” Tim Gullo shrugged off his rookie status, and
took a flag
to flag win in the second Sportsman feature go. Other winners on the
night
were Deposit’s Steven Deinhardt in the Billy’s Auto Sales & Service
Hurricane Street Stocks, while Jason Rhodes brought home the Trackside
Products Pro Stock Series win, Earl Zimmer doubled up in the Warrior
ranks,
and Nick Alexander snagged the Road Bandit event.
Polesitter Jeff Sheely opened up an early race advantage in his #38
machine,
but a skirmish with lap traffic on lap 11 would open the door for the
cagy
veteran, Mike Colsten. Colsten would have his hands full though,
facing a
strong charge from last week’s runner-up finisher, Otego’s JR
Hurlburt.
“The Heavyfoot” Hurlburt was all over the back bumper of Colsten,
but the
Don’s Automotive Mall #51 was up to the task, as the two battled back
and
forth, high and low, for the lead position. Something had to give, and
the
#6H Troyer of Hurlburt would finally use his low line to sneak past
Colsten.
This was short lived however, as the roller coaster ride continued.
Mechanical failure would end Hurlburt’s night on lap 23, as he came
to a
halt in turn 4. The new race leader would become “The Poet” Paul
Jensen,
all the way up from his 11th starting position was Jensen. From that
point
on Jensen kicked on the afterburners to garner his 1st 2007 victory.
The
bridesmaid finish would go to the Bio-Haz Solution Inc. #9 of Jason
Andrews,
while Don Hart, Wade Decker, and the “Young Gun” Chad Cook would
round out
the top 5.
2 feature events were set to the hit the speedway for the Autoworks
Sportsman Modifieds. Regular modified wheelman, Don Hart, made quick
work
of the two front starters, JT McKernan and Larry Hillis, by jumping out
to
the lead in his brother, Rodney Hart’s, backup ride. Backup
certainly
wasn’t synonymous with slow on this night. Hart would lead 19 of the
20
laps for the victory in the rained out make-up feature for the
Sportsman.
McGraw’s Mike Dimorier was 2nd, while the longtime racer, Ray Taylor
came
home in 3rd, Joey Colsten in 4th, and JT McKernan in 5th. The 2nd
Sportsman
feature made way for a flag to flag victory, rookie maturation, and the
1st
victory in this division for Timmy Gullo of Elmira, NY. Gullo, a
former
Pure Stock hot shoe, set the tone early in his Autoworks #71. Gullo
jumped
out to the initial lead and never looked back, leading all 20 laps in
this
feature go. He didn’t go unpressured though, as Joey Colsten made a
heroic
late race run on the bottom side of the speedway, but to his chagrin,
he was
unable to make it stick underneath the #71. Colsten would ultimately
settle
for #2, while Chance Spoonhower, Kevin Jordan, and Pat Votra would
round out
the top 5.
The Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stock feature would
bear
witness to the budding of young hot shoe Steven Deinhardt in his
Wheeler’s
Excavating #73. Deinhardt, 2006 Rookie of the Year in this division,
took
advantage of his pole starting position by snagging the lead right from
the
get go. The #73 was able to hold his own out front while the rest of
the
field battled back and forth for the 2nd position. Resolve was met in
the
2nd place craps shoot, as the RWG Construction #56 of Butch Green moved
up
into the spot and within reach of Deinhardt out front. All for naught,
however, as Deinhardt shook off all advances and garnered his 2nd
career
win, and 1st of the season. “Battlin’” Butch Green would hang
onto 2nd,
while last year’s Victoria winner Kurt Decker was 3rd, Locke’s
Scott Smith
was 4th, and the ever impressive Mike Wilbur came home in the 5th
position.
Only 9 cars showed for the Trackside Products Pro Stock series event,
but it
certainly didn’t lack for action. Denny Decker appeared to have
another one
in the bag, but a slip up on lap 17 opened the door for the former
Thunder
regular, Jason Rhodes. Rhodes and Decker sliced and diced in the dash
to
the finish, but it was Rhodes who would come out on top, Decker 2nd,
Chris
Stull 3rd, Neil Palladino 4th, and Frank Payne in the 5th spot.
The #2EZ of Earl Zimmer made it a “two-fer” on the night, capturing
both the
make-up feature and the regularly scheduled event in the Road Warrior
ranks.
In the 4 cylinder Road Bandits, the #07 of Nick Alexander was deemed
the
winner after a post race tech disqualification. This was Alexander’s
1st
win of the season.
Next week’s racing action will play host to our regular show of the
Don’s
Automotive Mall Big Block Modifieds, Autoworks Sportsman Modifieds,
Billy’s
Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stocks, Xcel Chassis 600cc
Modifieds,
Road Warriors, and Road Bandits. All of this racing getting underway
at
6:30 PM, with the gates opening at 4 PM. Also coming up for Thunder
Mountain, will be Ted Musgrave Day on June 2nd. Be sure to mark your
calendars. The former Craftsman Truck Series champion will be making
his
way to the speedway for a meet and greet, autographs, and to test the
ever-smooth surface in his first dirt appearance. Thunder Mountain
Speedway
is the 2007 home of the Short Track SuperNationals and hosts racing
every
Saturday night from April through October. The Speedway is located off
exit
8 of Interstate 81. From there follow route 79 west for five miles and
turn
right in Center Lisle and follow the signs. For more information about
the
upcoming events at Thunder Mountain call the speedway office at (607)
849 -
7889 or checkout our website at http://www.thunderracetrack.com. Feel
the
rumble, hear the roar!
Don’s Automotive Mall Big Block Modifieds (25 cars)
PAUL JENSEN, Jason Andrews, Don Hart, Wade Decker, Chad Cook, Greg
Tatich,
Mike McCollum, Chris Weaver, Darren Keyser, JR Buis, Mike Colsten, Tim
Mayne, JR Hurlburt, Mike Trautschold, Bernie Kelly, Bill Jenkins, Jeff
Sheely, Ricky Yetter, Jim Corcoran, Dave Reynolds, Butch Getz, Scott
Brady,
Steve Babicek, Brent Wilcox, Justin Andrews
Heat Winners: Chris Weaver, Mike Colsten, Don Hart
Autoworks Sportsman Modifieds #1 (25 cars)
DON HART, Mike Dimorier, Ray Taylor, Joey Colsten, JT McKernan, Josh
Pursell, PJ Goodwin, Ryan Olsommer, Chance Spoonhower, Pat Votra, Jeff
Sterner, Gary Card Jr., Paul Harrington, Mike Austin, Tim Gullo, Matt
Letwinski, Larry Hillis, Kevin Jordan, Randy Brokaw, Tim Votra, Rodney
Hart,
Geoff Heafy, Mike Wilbur, Don Alvord-DNS, Mike Votra-DNS
Autoworks Sportsman Modifieds #2 (23 cars)
TIM GULLO, Joey Colsten, Chance Spoonhower, Kevin Jordan, Pat Votra, PJ
Goodwin, Ryan Olsommer, Tim Votra, Josh Pursell, Ron Stanley, Mike
Dimorier,
Larry Hillis, Gary Card Jr., Donnie Smith, Mike Austin, Rodney Hart,
Jason
Tuttle, Bret Welch, Geoff Heafy, Mike Wilbur, Jeff Sterner, JT
McKernan, Ray
Taylor
Heat Winners: Tim Gullo, Joey Colsten, Pat Votra
Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stocks (16 cars)
STEVEN DEINHARDT, Butch Green, Kurt Decker, Scott Smith, Mike Wilbur,
Daryl
Krebs, Johnny Cooper Jr., Harold Humphrey, Jason Waibel, Mike Wilbur
Jr.,
Rich Green, Rich Talada, Donnie Russell Jr., Richie Hillis, Randy
Marsh,
Gary Stage
Heat Winners: Steven Deinhardt, Scott Smith
Trackside Products Pro Stocks (9 cars)
JASON RHODES, Denny Decker, Chris Stull, Neil Palladino, Frank Payne,
Chris
Piasecki, Mike Reynolds, Fred Christ, Richard Post
Heat Winner: Chris Stull
Road Warriors #1 (11 cars)
EARL ZIMMER, Mike Pratschler, Joe Pritchard, Pat Parker, Joe Fuller,
Chad
Darrow, Harold Walburn, Rick Frisco, Steve Simpson, Dusty Corwin, Jess
Velez-DNS
Road Warriors #2 (13 cars)
EARL ZIMMER, Rick Frisco, Joe Pritchard, Mike Pratschler, Adam Hoskins,
Harold Walburn, Chad Darrow, RC Henry, Pat Parker, Steve Simpson, Joe
Fuller, Dusty Corwin, Wilcox-DNS
Heat Winners: Joe Pritchard, Steve Simpson
Road Bandits (19 cars)
NICK ALEXANDER, Jared O’Neill, Dave Jenkins, Kenny Underwood, Rich
Gardiner,
Cody Welch, Steven Collyer, John Hoover, Ray Oakley, Rob Roberts,
Travis
Block, Sean Gardiner, Ryan Oakley, 46x, Don Griest Jr., Nick Griest,
Joel
Austin, Jeremie Hale, Frank Fuller-DNS
Heat Winners: Jeremie Hale, Ryan Oakley
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