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Thunder Series Rocks, Rumbles & Rolls at Grandview Wednesday. . . .
LEVI JONES TOPS USAC SPRINTS AS JERRY KOONS JR WINS ARDC MIDGET FEATURE
AT THUNDER ON THE HILL
BECHTELSVILLE, PA . . . . . . For any fan of wingless
racing, the Wednesday night NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing
Series event was a dream come true. A field of thirty-five wingless
sprints took part in the first ever USAC National Sprint Tour event at
Grandview as thirty-nine ARDC wingless midgets filled the pits. Levi
Jones of Olney, IL thrilled the fans to some rim-riding wheel-to-wheel
battles with early race leader Brady Short of Bedford, IN. Jones
wrestled the lead away from Short in the final three laps to take the
win with Short second , Billy Pauch of Frenchtown, NJ, third, Damion
Gardner of Concord, CA fourth and Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, OK in
fifth. In the 20 lap ARDC Midget main event, Jerry Coons Jr. of
Tucson, AR took the lead on lap eleven and went to capture his first
ever ARDC win at Grandview Speedway.
In the COMDIAL Telephone Communications time trials, Daron Clayton of
Sikeston, MO set fast time. Clayton earned $200 in cash from COMDIAL
Telephone Communications and an additional $100 from CnB Mushrooms.
Four Lucas Oil USAC sprint car heat race events were presented with
victories going to Matt Neely of Robinson, IL, Brad Sweet of Grass
Valley, CA, Mike Martin of Glendale, AZ and Johnny Heydenreich of
Bloomsburg, PA, as Damion Gardner won the "B" Main.
In the thirty lap USAC National Sprint Tour feature, Brady Short took
the early lead challenged by Damion Gardner. All eyes were on Daron
Clayton as he ran lap after lap on the Grandview Speedway outside
boilerplate wall. Clayton just thrilled the fans and on lap six, he
moved into the runner-up spot. One lap later, the red flag was
displayed when Johnny Heydenreich flip in turn one. Heydenreich walked
away from the crash without injury.
On the restart, Brady Short and Daron Clayton would enter into a
wheel-to-wheel, that went on lap after lap in a battle for the lead.
By the halfway mark, Short and Clayton continued their fight as Levi
Jones moved into third after starting seventh. Damion Gardner was
fourth as Billy Pauch (started 14th) was up to fifth. At the front of
the pack, the entertaining battle between Short and Clayton came to an
end on lap sixteen when Clayton caught the wall at the starters stand
and flipped. Clayton was uninjured and receive a long round of applause
from the fans for his very exciting ride.
With the green flag waiving, Brady Short set the pace but now Levi
Jones, Damion Gardner and Billy Pauch were in the chase. Short and
Jones were going at it wheel-to-wheel with Jones using the bottom lane
as Short was up against the outside wall. Short managed to endure every
challenge then on lap twenty-eight, the yellow came out for Lucas Wolfe.
With just three laps remaining, Short and Jones continued their battle
but now Billy Pauch was in the picture and racing in third. Levi Jones
took the lead but Short fought back, again using the outside lane. Wit
the checker flag waiving, Levi Jones took the win by just a slight
margin over Brady Short and Billy Pauch as Damion Gardner and Brady
Bacon followed in the top five.
A field of thirty-nine ARDC Midgets took part in their one and only
visit to Grandview in 2007. Four heat race events were presented with
wins going to Randy Monroe Jr., Frank Polimeda, Drew Heistand, and Ed
Stimely Jr. as the consolation winner was Mike Miller.
In the twenty lap ARDC Midget feature, Jeff Schell led the first lap
with Bruce Buckwalter,Jr. taking the lead on lap two. By lap three,
Drew Heistand was the leader as Ed Stimely Jr. moved into the picture.
Jerry Coons Jr, who started eighteenth was now racing in third on lap
eight. At the halfway mark, Heistand was the leader with Coons in
second and closing. On lap eleven, Coons took the lead and ran to hide
from the rest of the field. Coons took the win over Steve Buckwalter
who charged to the runner-up spot after starting twenty-third. Making
up the top five were Drew Heistand, Frank Polimeda and Ray Bull.
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USAC NATIONAL SPRINT SERIES FEATURE FINISH: Levi Jones, Brady Short,
Billy Pauch, Damion Gardner, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Ricky Stenhouse
Jr., Dave Darland, Darren Hagen, Jesse Hockett, Jerry Coons Jr., Josh
Weller, Jimmy Light, Mike Martin, Matt Neely, Lucas Wolfe, Bobby Ream
Jr., Daron Clayton, Chris Windom, Kevin Swindell, Brad Sweet, Johnny
Heydenreich. DNQ- - Jimmy Stitzel, Zachary Martini, J.R. Berry, Michael
Carber, Jamie Bodo, Neil Shepard, Matt Rossi, Billy Pauch Jr., Bobby
Elliott, Mark Bitner, Ricky Stinhouse, Mike Murgoitio, Mark Whitehead.
ARDC MIDGET FEATURE FINISH: Jerry Coons Jr., Steve Buckwalter, Drew
Heistand, Frank Polimeda, Ray Bull, Eric Heydenreich, Ed Stimely Jr.,
Andy Martin, Billy Pauch Jr., Ryan Smith, Nick Wean, Brett Arndt, A.J.
Ernesto, Tracy Readinger, Randy Monroe Jr., P.J Gargiulo, Steve Lenig,
Scott Lenig, Greg Robinson, Bob Goerner, Jeff Schell, Mike Lapp, Tom
Hessert, Mike Miller, Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Michele Miller.
Event Review: The wingless USAC sprints put on an excellent show
providing fans three wide racing and an exciting finish. For ARDC,
their portion of the show was equally thrilling with Jerry Coons taking
the win after starting eighteenth and second place finisher Steve
Buckwalter who startedtwenty-third.
Event #77 of the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series at
Grandview Speedway is set for Tuesday night, July 3rd, featuring the
Cindy Rowe Auto Glass Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Speed Week Series plus the
358 NASCAR Modifieds sponsored by BPG Racing. Gates will open at 5 PM
with race time set for 7:30 PM. For advance tickets please call
215-860-5631.
Remember, Grandview Speedway is in action every Saturday night with
NASCAR Modified and Late Model stock car racing with action getting
underway at 7:30 PM. Grandview Speedway is located on Passmore Road
just off route 100 in Bechtelsville, PA 19505, ten mile north of
Pottstown. For more information, please call at 610-754-7688.
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