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JENSEN WINS 5th STRAIGHT EN ROUTE TO GEORGE LEWIS MEMORIAL CHECKERS AT
THUNDER MOUNTAIN
By: Nick Stark
CENTER LISLE, NY --- 2007 Modified Track Champion, Paul Jensen, won his
5th
straight feature event Saturday night in the inaugural George Lewis
Modified
Memorial at Thunder Mountain Speedway. “Fast” Eddie White, driver of
the
Gary Card Sr. owned ride, drove his #78 to his first victory of the
year in
the Autoworks of Ithaca Sportsman Modifieds. Steven “Hoss” Deinhart
made it
back to back feature wins in the Billy’s Auto Sales & Service Hurricane
Street Stocks. Earl Zimmer, like Jensen, also won his 5th straight
feature
event in the Road Warrior division, while Joel Austin made it 2 wins in
2
weeks in the Road Bandits.
George Lewis “The Starrucca Veteran” raced in the Southern Tier for 50
years
before losing his 11 year battle with cancer in 2002. 5 years after
his
passing, the family of Lewis put together the Inaugural George Lewis
Modified Memorial. 30 laps was the distance, with lap money being
given out
on each and every lap throughout the race. Scott Brady, pole sitter,
paced
the field to the green flag in the emotional event. Brady’s #77x Teo
machine looked very stout indeed, as Brady jumped out to an advantage
over
runner-up Mike Marold Jr. Marold’s run in the 2nd position would be
short
lived as “The Negotiator” Ricky Yetter found something on the top shelf
as
he negotiated right past the #47B machine of Marold. Brady ran a
smooth
line in the middle groove of the speedway while Yetter played angler
and
reeled in the Brady steed. Meanwhile, 8th place starter, Paul Jensen
was
slowly but surely working his way through the field. At the halfway
point,
Brady would have his hands full with Yetter, but now up to the third
position, and looming large in the shadows was the Wholesale Mulch #57
of
Jensen. Brady appeared to be up to the task, holding off all advances
of
Yetter. Yetter bobbled on lap 22, giving away the 2nd spot to Jensen.
This
would be the mistake that Brady did not want to see Yetter make, with
Jensen
now all over his back bumper. The next lap went by and Jensen struck
like a
mongoose stalking its’ prey. “The Poet” would take the reigns from
that
point on and guide his chariot to its’ 5th straight win. Wade Decker
would
make a last lap charge for the runner-up spot while Scott Brady held
onto
3rd. Yetter would come home in the 4th spot, while Mike Marold Jr. put
forth his best effort of the year, rounding out the top 5.
18 cars hit the starting grid in the 25 lap Sportsman Modified feature
event, where Candor native, “Flyin’” Brian White led the star studded
field
to the green flag. White would jump out to a large advantage in his
Bicknell chassis #56, while Mike Austin settled his crate-powered #9
into
the 2nd position. White looked very comfortable out in front of the
Sportsman field, leading the first 11 laps of the feature event. It
would
be on lap 12 that irony struck, White would lead the field back around
to
the flag stand, but this time it was Brian’s father, Eddie, who would
be the
new race leader. “Fast” Eddie White found something up on the top
cushion
of the race surface to power past Austin and his son for the race lead.
It
was as if it were 11am the next morning at the Thunder Mountain Hotel,
as
White would check out from the field en route to his first victory of
the
2007 season. Rodney “The Hammer” Hart made a fiendish run at the end
of the
race to lock down the runner-up spot with PJ Goodwin coming across the
line
in 3rd. The current points leader, Kevin Jordan, chalked up another
top 5
with his 4th place finish, and Chris Stull rounded out the top 5.
Mike Wilbur Jr. managed to win his first career heat race earlier on in
the
evening, and he looked to make it a storybook night, trying to also
garner
his first career feature win in the 20 lap feature event. Wilbur
jumped out
to the lead at the drop of the green flag, working that same middle
groove
to perfection. Wilbur led the first 3 circuits, but on lap 4, 7th
place
starter, Steven Deinhart found something on the extreme low side of the
clay
oval and took over the race lead. Deinhart appeared to be on rails,
running
his Wheeler’s Blacktopping & Excavating sponsored ride to perfection.
Rich
Talada followed in tow, hoping for a mistake from the sophomore
sensation.
Deinhart would run the race mistake free, winning his 7th feature event
of
the year, and gaining a few more points in his narrow point lead over
Talada. Talada held onto 2nd, with Randy Marsh driving his Garth
Fabrication ride to a 3rd place finish. Mike Wilbur Sr. came home with
a
4th place finish, and Donnie Russell Jr. returned to Thunder Mountain
to
record a 5th place finish.
The domination continued from Earl Zimmer in the Road Warrior ranks,
winning
his 5th straight feature event. Zimmer started 4th, but grabbed the
lead
coming out of turn 4 on lap 1. He would lead all 15 laps of the event,
winning his 10th feature of the season.
Dan Wood debuted a new car Saturday night, and looked poised to drive
that
new ride right on into victory lane. He would be poised up until lap
12
that is. Wood encountered lap traffic on the backstretch, and the
veteran,
Joel Austin, negotiated it to perfection, stealing away the lead. Wood
would be hung out to dry behind lap traffic, which he ended up sending
around, ending his run out front. After the caution, “Superman” Joel
Austin
would hang on for the win in his Matisi Auto #735. John Hoover came
through
with an impressive 2nd place finish with Nick Greist in 3rd. “The 14
year
old Phenom” Austin Welch garnered a 4th place finish, with Rich
Gardiner
rounding out the top 5.
Bev Wheeland piloted the Harold Walburn #818 onto the win in the Road
Warrior Powder Puff with a last ditch effort off of turn 4, which ended
up
paying off at the line.
Racing action returns to the Center Lisle 3/8 mile clay oval THIS
TUESDAY
NIGHT! Racing action being brought to you by Hart’s Logging and
Barrett’s
Family Dentistry of Bainbridge, NY. Fans will be treated with a 40 lap
-
$2000 to win, BB/SB Modified Special Event, with the winner locking up
a
guaranteed starting spot for the Short Track Super Nationals @ Woodhull
Raceway in October. Such heavy hitters as Billy Decker and Bobby Varin
are
already confirmed for this event with Southern Tier hot shoes, Jeff
Strunk,
Joey Grammes, Brian “The Dream” Weaver, Mike Gular, Butch Getz, Mike
Colsten, and many many others expected to invade the 3/8 mile clay oval
as
well. Who can forget the winner of 5 straight feature events at Thunder
Mountain, "The Poet" Paul Jensen? Jensen will be on hand to put his win
streak on the line. Can anyone defeat the cagy veteran on his home
turf?
Also on tap for the evening will be a 25 lap - $750 to win STSN
Qualifier
for the Sportsman Modified division. Each and every week at Thunder
Mountain, the Sportsman division hits the speedway with an absolute
crap
shoot determining who will win the regular event, and this looks to be
setting up the same way. Current points leader Kevin Jordan will be
there,
along with Rodney "The Hammer" Hart, Shawn Mills, "Fast" Eddie White,
Mike
Dimorier, and all of the other extremely potent Thunder Mountain
regulars.
2006 ROC Sportsman Champion Danny Creeden will be in attendance, along
with
young standout driver, Danny Varin, a regular at the Utica Rome
Speedway.
Many other local drivers have expressed interest in this event, so it
should
shape up to be a good old fashioned slug fest for the fans. The
Hurricane
Street Stocks (Pure Stocks) will do battle for 3 different qualifying
spots.
The winner of the event will walk home with $500 in pocket and a
guaranteed
starting spot in the 5th Annual Hurricane Harry Uhl Jr. Street Stock
Memorial on Sept 22nd. 2nd place and 3rd place will each get a
qualifying
spot in the Fulton "Victoria" and the STSN, respectively. 7 time
feature
winner and current points leader Steven "Hoss" Deinhart will be in
attendance to make a run for the win, as Deinhart has been on a tear as
of
late and is a threat to win it each and every time he hits the
speedway.
Clayton Ingrahm is expected to invade from the Skyline Raceway along
with a
large influx of teams from the Blodgett Mills speedway. Home track
rules
apply, so bring your home track rule book. This will allow invaders
from all
over the state for this race. The "Hurricane" has been a success each
and
every year it has run, with $1455 going to the winner in honor of a
special
young man to the Southern Tier racing scene, Harry Uhl Jr. Locking up
one of
these guaranteed starting spots is a huge weight off the shoulders of
any
team, so expect alot of teams to go all out in this 25 lap special.
The
Road Warriors (Strictly Stock 8's) will do battle in a 20 lap feature
event
with $125 going to the winner, while the Road Bandits (FWD 4 Cylinders)
will
hit the surface in a 20 lap $100 to win event. 2007 Miss Motorsports,
Chelsea Miller, will be the honorary starter for the Modified event, as
well
as doing a meet and greet, and will grace fans with the singing of the
National Anthem. All this is a recipe for a great night of racing.
Gates
will open @ 4 PM, with racing getting underway @ 7 PM. Be sure to come
out
to Thunder Mountain, where action is the attraction! For directions and
information regarding this event, you can visit us on the web at
www.thunderracetrack.com.
Next Saturday night, August 18th, Wheeler’s Blacktopping & Excavating
presents Fan Appreciation Night. On tap will be the final points night
for
the Modified division, as well as the “Topless 25” for the Sportsman
Modifieds, Hurricane Street Stocks, Road Warriors, Road Bandits, and
the
Modified Pit Stop Competition. Fans will get a chance to meet and
greet and
get autographs from their favorite drivers. Gates will open at 4 PM,
with
racing action getting underway at 6:30 PM.
Thunder Mountain Speedway is home of the 5th Annual Hurricane Harry A.
Uhl
Street Stock Memorial (September 22nd) 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
Modifieds: PAUL JENSEN, Wade Decker, Scott Brady, Ricky Yetter, Mike
Marold
Jr., Jeff Sheely, Jim Gabriel Jr., Scott Allen, Brian Decker, Tim
Votra, Don
Hart Jr., Steve Babicek, Dave Jenkins, Chad Cook, Tim Mayne
Sportsman: EDDIE WHITE, Rodney Hart, PJ Goodwin, Kevin Jordan, Chris
Stull,
Brian White, Shawn Mills, Mike Dimorier, Mike Austin, Mikey Nagel Jr.,
Dan
Pompey, Bret Welch, Dan Clark, Larry Hillis, Mike Wilbur Sr., Jason
Tuttle,
Gary Card Jr., Geoff Heafy
Hurricane Street Stocks: STEVEN DEINHART, Rich Talada, Randy Marsh,
Mike
Wilbur Sr., Donnie Russell Jr., Mike Wilbur Jr., Richie Hillis, Michael
Morse, John Stanley, Ralph Champion Jr., Ricky Marsh, Derek Birdsall,
Wayne
Teeter, Steven Mattshchek, Daryl Krebs, Roger Walburn, DNS – John
Cooper Jr.
Road Warriors: EARL ZIMMER, Mike Pratschler, Rick Frisco, Steve
Simpson,
Pat Parker, Paul Lockwood, Marc Randall, Marshall Balzer, Dusty Corwin,
Harold Walburn
Road Bandits: JOEL AUSTIN, John Hoover, Nick Greist, Austin Welch,
Rich
Gardiner, Ray Oakley, Don Greist Jr., Nick Alexander, Kenny Underwood,
Mike
Taylor, Dan Wood, Danny Button, Sarah Alexander, Kimberly Spicer,
Amanda
Tuttle, Dave Jenkins, Brandon Campbell, Andrew Harvey, DNS – Josh
Backus
Road Warrior Powder Puff: BEV WHEELAND, Kristen Tofsrud, Kim Bean,
Brandy
Simpson
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