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By: Nick Stark
CENTER LISLE, NY --- Fans were treated with two nights of awesome
racing
action back dropped by two beautiful nights of weather. Saturday
night’s
event was sponsored by Simplex Automotive Machine, and winners included
“The
Poet” Paul Jensen in the Modified ranks, winning his 2nd straight
feature
event. Rodney Hart of Bainbridge, NY followed suit and also garnered
his
2nd straight win in the Sportsman Modifieds, while Rich Talada snapped
his
winless streak by topping the Hurricane Street Stocks. Earl Zimmer
dominated the Road Warriors, while John Hoover continued his winning
ways,
as well, in the Road Bandits. Sunday’s show was the storybook night as
Shawn Mills made a valiant return to victory lane in the Sportsman
Modifieds. “The Comeback Kid” John Cooper Jr. ended his 4 year absence
from
the winner’s circle, bringing home the win in the Hurricane Street
Stocks.
Sean Lias marked another track off the “to win” list, eeking one out in
the
T-Mod showdown. Steve Simpson chalked up another win in the Road
Warriors,
while Nick Greist finally shook the monkey off his back to win his
first of
the season. John Hoover narrowly won the 4 Cylinder Enduro event,
collecting the big payday with his 6th overall win on the year.
Eighteen high-powered Don’s Automotive Mall Modifieds graced the
starting
grid for the 30 lap feature event. At the drop of the flag, the
outside
polesitter, Tim Votra, jumped out to a commanding lead. Votra, a
winner in
the Sportsman ranks earlier on this season, appeared to be up to the
task as
he opened his lead to almost a full straightaway. The #45 of Votra
would be
haunted by shades of yellow in the early stages of the race, as each
time
Votra would start to runaway with it, a caution causing mishap would
bring
the wheels to a halt. Nineteen laps ticked off the board with Votra
out
front, but the winning move would be made on lap 20. It was on lap 20
that
poetry in motion, Mr. Paul Jensen, drove the Wholesale Mulch #57 to the
lead. Like 11am the next morning at a hotel, it was checkout time for
Jensen, leading the remaining 10 laps for the win. Votra would hold on
for
2nd, while Don Hart drove his small block-powered #x1 to a 3rd place
finish.
“The Young Gun” Chad Cook made his return to the speedway in his
Bicknell
#2J, and did so in impressive fashion, showing his knowledge of the
speedway
with a 4th place finish. Jeff Sheely of Alplause, NY would round out
the
top 5.
The Autoworks of Ithaca Sportsman Modifieds were paced to the green by
polesitter “Flyin’” Brian White of Candor, NY. White made his 2007
debut at
Thunder Mountain a few weeks ago, and finally seemed to be getting
comfortable in his Garth Fabrication #56, leading the first 4 laps.
Lap 5
would be where White would slip up and open a hole for Rodney Hart in
the
#10x. Hart would capitalize, sticking his Bicknell mount lower than
the
Mason-Dixon Line to snag the top spot. Hart found the apron very much
to
his liking, leading the remaining 20 laps en route to his 2nd
consecutive
victory. Kevin Jordan continued his championship run with a 2nd, while
Owego-native Josh Pursell crossed the line in 3rd. Shawn Mills, 2005
track
champion, put forth a solid effort with a 4th place finish, and Chris
Stull
drove the Ron’s Body & Paint owned ride to another top 5.
The Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stocks have treated
fans
with barnburner classic battles each and every week, and this event did
not
leave anything on the table either. “Battlin’” Butch Green, winner of
four
straight races at the Penn Can Speedway, used his 2nd starting spot to
move
out front of the stout 18 car field. Green stayed out front all race
long,
but never really opened up a large lead over the looming heavyweights
working their way through the field. Those heavy hitters were none
other
than Rich Talada and Steven Deinhart. Talada moved up to 2nd on lap 7,
but
made the move for the win on lap 17 when Green bobbled slightly in turn
4.
Green would hold on for 2nd with Deinhart 3rd, Randy Marsh in 4th, and
Locke’s Scott Smith in the 5th position.
Marc Randall appeared to have his first career win locked up until Earl
Zimmer made a fantastic move coming off of turn 4 to steal the lead on
lap
13, in what 2 laps later turned out to be the winning move, in the Road
Warriors.
John Hoover of Maine, NY made it 5 consecutive victories between
Thunder
Mountain and Penn Can, winning the 12 lap Road Bandit feature.
The Above and Beyond Country Homes sponsored ride of Chance Spoonhower
would
lead the 19 car field to the green flag in the 25 lap Autoworks of
Ithaca
Sportsman feature go. Spoonhower, victim of a blown motor on Saturday,
worked all morning to get his #34 machine up and running and the work
seemed
to pay off as he would be the race leader for the first 8 laps. The
man on
the move, however, was the Mills Logging #71 of “Shakin’” Shawn Mills.
Mills was up to 2nd from his 5th starting position, and was poised to
steal
the lead from Spoonhower. Mills took his Dirt Wheels chassis to the
top
shelf and made the pass for the lead. Over the remaining 15 laps,
Mills
preserved his lead despite the heavy pressure from Rodney Hart. Hart,
victim of an early race flat, worked his way all the way from the rear
up to
the 2nd spot. At the finish, Mills would come home the winner, with
his
cousin, Rodney Hart in 2nd. “Fast” Eddie White, long time dirt racing
veteran, piloted the Gary Card Sr.-owned #78 to a 3rd place finish,
while
Larry Hillis and Chance Spoonhower would round out the top 5.
John Cooper Jr. chalked up his only career win back in 2003 at the
Thunder
Mountain Speedway. Fast forward four years and place Cooper in his
self-owned #4 Roses, and you have a recipe for a much deserved victory.
It
took a while for “The Comeback Kid” to get comfortable in his Bell’s
Autocare sponsored ride, but once he did, he showed the Hurricane
Street
Stocks the fast way around the fast track. Cooper jumped from his 4th
starting spot to the lead, but immediately faced heavy pressure from
the
#Oh7 of Rich Talada. Talada was all over the back bumper of Cooper,
but The
4 Roses would prove to be just too strong. At the stand Cooper notched
his
first win of the season. “Hoss” Deinhart hung in there for a 2nd place
finish, with Daryl Krebs bringing his Shaddow Land Body Shop #13 across
the
line in 3rd. Mike Wilbur Sr. placed forth a solid effort with a 4th
place
finish, and Scott Smith used his Don Drier Racing Engines #12 to chalk
up
another top 5.
The open wheel T-Mods made their first appearance of the year in a 20
lap
showdown. KC Cole of Conklin, NY was strong all race long as he led
the
field the first 18 laps. A bobble in turn 4 would open the door for
the
always impressive Sean Lias. Lias, winner of a dozen features thus far
at
the Skyline Raceway, would take it from there to bring home the win.
The Road Warriors hit the speedway with 13 cars on the starting grid.
Gary
Brown would lead the field to the green flag, but this lead would be
short
lived, as the ever dominant Earl Zimmer snatched away the top spot.
Zimmer
looked to have things well in hand up until the #2EZ went up in smoke.
The
blown motor would give way for Lakewood, PA’s Steve Simpson. Simpson,
the
current points leader, would drive the Kaufmann Logging #07 to the win,
his
third of the season.
The REMAX sponsored #26 of Nick Greist would end his winless streak in
the
20-lap Road Bandit special event. Greist drew the pole in his heat
race, as
well as the feature, and dominated every single lap of the feature.
John Hoover was the winner of the 40-lap, 4 & 6 cylinder enduro event.
Kenny Underwood crossed the line in 2nd, with Joe Dunn in 3rd.
Next week’s racing action is sponsored in part by Insinger Performance
Inc.
On tap will be the Modifieds, Sportsman, 600cc Modifieds, Central New
York
Mini Sprints, Hurricane Street Stocks, Road Warriors, and Road Bandits.
Also on the card will be the ever popular Bag Race. This will be a
chance
for the fans to get involved in the racing action and make a name for
themselves. Gates will open at 4 PM, with racing getting underway at
6:30
PM.
Thunder Mountain Speedway is home of the 5th Annual Hurricane Harry A.
Uhl
Street Stock Memorial 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
SATURDAY
Don’s Automotive Mall Modifieds (18 cars): PAUL JENSEN, Tim Votra, Don
Hart
Jr., Chad Cook, Jeff Sheely, Wade Decker, Ricky Yetter, Tim Mayne, Dave
Jenkins, Rich Price, Jason Andrews, Scott Allen, Justin Andrews, Mike
Marold
Jr., JR Buis, Scott Brady, Brent Boyer, Jason Rudalavage
Heat Winners: Tim Votra, Dave Jenkins
Autoworks of Ithaca Sportsman (17 cars): RODNEY HART, Kevin Jordan,
Josh
Pursell, Shawn Mills, Chris Stull, Eddie White, Larry Hillis, Mike
Dimorier,
Tim Gullo, Mike Wilbur Sr., Bret Welch, Mike Austin, Brian White, Gary
Card
Jr., Jason Tuttle, Chance Spoonhower, PJ Goodwin
Heat Winners: Chris Stull, Kevin Jordan
Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stocks (18 cars): RICH
TALADA,
Butch Green, Steven Deinhart, Randy Marsh, Scott Smith, Donnie Russell
Jr.,
Mike Wilbur Jr., Ralph Champion Jr., Ricky Marsh, Derek Birdsall, Roger
Walburn, Richie Hillis, Mike Wilbur Sr, John Cooper Jr., Daryl Krebs,
Joe
Buchek Sr., Anthony Scott, Marc Goodwin
Heat Winners: Rich Talada, Butch Green
Road Warriors (13 cars): EARL ZIMMER, Steve Simpson, Marc Randall, Pat
Parker, Mike Pratschler, Rick Frisco, Everett Swansborough, Don
Swansborough, Gary Brown, Dusty Corwin, Frank Wheeland, Ryan Marsh,
Adam
Hoskins
Heat Winner: Marc Randall
Road Bandits (20 cars): JOHN HOOVER, Joel Austin, Austin Welch, Dave
Jenkins, Kenny Underwood, Don Greist Jr., Ray Oakley, Dan Wood, Nick
Alexander, Sarah Alexander, Travis Block, Nicholas Collyer, Mike
Chandler,
Andrew Harvey, Nick Greist, Steven Collyer, Rich Gardiner, Ryan Oakley,
Kimberly Spicer, Lance Willis
Heat Winners: Nicholas Collyer, Steven Collyer
SUNDAY
Autoworks of Ithaca Sportsman (19 cars): SHAWN MILLS, Rodney Hart,
Eddie
White, Larry Hillis, Chance Spoonhower, Josh Pursell, Don Hart Jr.,
Chris
Stull, Mike Austin, Brian White, Tommy Collins Jr., Mike Dimorier, Dan
Clark, Jason Tuttle, Bret Welch, Gary Card Jr., Mike Wilbur Sr., Kevin
Jordan, PJ Goodwin
Heat Winners: Chance Spoonhower, Shawn Mills, Rodney Hart
Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane Street Stocks (21 cars): JOHN
COOPER
JR., Steven Deinhart, Daryl Krebs, Mike Wilbur Sr., Scott Smith, Richie
Hillis, Clayton Ingrahm, Darl Ellis Jr., Mahlon Shoemaker, Ricky Marsh,
Rich
Talada, Randy Marsh, Donnie Russell Jr., Roger Walburn, Mike Wilbur
Jr.,
Derek Birdsall, Rick Hand, Joe George, Jerry Lobdell Jr., Buck Mills
Jr.,
Butch Green
Heat Winners: John Cooper Jr., Rich Talada, Daryl Krebs
T-Mods (8 cars): SEAN LIAS, KC Cole, Matt Roberts, Joe Cole, Don
Reeves,
Brad Weaver, Dave Stalker, Jasper Redmond
Heat Winner: Sean Lias
Road Warriors (13 cars): STEVE SIMPSON, Earl Zimmer, Marc Randall, Adam
Hoskins, Pat Parker, Gary Brown, Don Swansborough, Rick Frisco, Mike
Pratschler, Ryan Marsh, Dusty Corwin, Tim Gwardyak, Frank Wheeland
Heat Winners: Mike Pratschler, Earl Zimmer
Road Bandits (19 cars): NICK GREIST, Joel Austin, Kenny Underwood,
Austin
Welch, John Hoover, Travis Block, Ray Oakley, Mike Chandler, Chad
Walters,
Dave Jenkins, Andrew Harvey, Dan Wood, Nicholas Collyer, Kimberly
Spicer,
Ryan Oakley, Dwight Bell, Don Greist Jr., Sarah Alexander, Ed White
Heat Winners: Nick Greist, John Hoover
Enduro (14 cars): JOHN HOOVER, Kenny Underwood, Joe Dunn
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