Pursley, East and Barker score big wins at Allstate Texas Racefest at Thunderhill Raceway
March 15, 2009
It was bone-chilling cold in Kyle, Texas, but the racing on the 3/8-mile Thunderhill Raceway oval was plenty hot as the Allstate Texas Racefest took the green flag at Thunderhill Raceway Saturday night. About 4,000 fans braved chilly, 50 degree temperatures for a rare NASCAR Grand National West appearance as well as an equally rare visit by the USAC National Midgets and the season opener for the Texas Super Racing Series Late Models.
A controversial finish highlighted the featured NASCAR Grand National West 150-lapper at the tight 3/8-mile, paved Thunderhill oval.
After leading the last third of the race, Mike David of Modesto, CA, found himself facing a green, white checkered finish because of a caution period on the next to last lap. Since NASCAR utilizes side-by-side restarts, Eric Holmes of Escalon, CA, lined up outside the leader with Greg Pursley of Newhill, CA, positioned directly behind David.
David and Holmes raced door-to-door for a lap with David forcing Holmes up the track as the field took the white flag. This gave Pursley a chance to dive to the inside and the trio went into turn one three wide, which doesn’t usually work well at the Kyle speed plant.
Pursley, on the very inside, collided with David as he came back down the track, sending the latter into a spin, then took the lead and sprinted to the finish line for his first win in the prestigious series.
NASCAR driver Greg Pursley shares the Winner Circle spotlight with Miss Texas USA Brooke Daniels
“Mike and Eric were beating each other up pretty good,” Pursley said. “I got under (David) and he turned down. It definitely wasn’t intentional. We don’t run that way. David is a friend of mine and we’ve been racing together a long time.”
However, David appeared to be upset at the turn of events after he led for more than 60 laps before the mishap on the last circuit.
“It’s just one of those thing,” Pursley said.
Moses Smith of Tempe, AZ, who had not been a factor in the race until the end when he scooted around the last lap skirmish, finished second while Holmes took third.
Unofficial Results
1. 26 Greg Pursley, Newhall, CA, 155 laps
2. 16 Moses Smith, Tempe, AZ, 155
3. 20 Eric Holmes, Escalon, CA, 155
4. 88 Jamie Dick, Albuquerque, NM, 155
5. 61 Brett Thompson, Jerome, ID,155
6. 17 David Mayhew, Atascadero, CA, 155
7. 2 Mike David, Modesto, CA, 155
8. 34 Johathon Gomez, Twin Falls, ID, 155
9. 6 Jason Bowles, Ontario, CA, 154
10. 10 James Warm, Aurora, OR, 154
11. 21 Blake Koch, West Palm Beach, FL, 154
12. 3 Wes Banks, Oakdale, CA, 153
13. 15 Jack Sellers, Sacramento, CA, 152
14. 5 Jonathan Hale, Rio Linda, CA, 152
15. 1 Jim Inglebright, Fairfield, CA, 150
16. 09 Bow Carpenter, San Antonio, TX, 147
17. 12 Paulie Harraka, Wayne, NJ, 106
DNF 04 Phillip Hollis, Evandale, TX, 29
DNF 31 Jim Marchino, Modesto, CA, 5
Earlier in the evening, Bobby East of Pittsboro, IN, knocked out an easy victory in the Texas Lightning 100 USAC midget car race. By the time 30 of the race’s 60 laps were in the books, East had lapped seven cars and had built a huge lead over the 22-car field.
“I could tell the car was fast, but you never know how fast until you run,” East said.
Even after a caution flag bunched the cars after 30 laps, East re-asserted himself and won virtually without contest.
LSS's Nick Holt interviews USAC Midget winner Bobby East in victory circle as Eric Wiede mans the camera
“We had a great lead and the car ran great the whole race,” East said. “Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come.”
The win was East’s first in four starts this season. Within three weeks, he said, his team will be back up in Indiana, where midget racing enjoys its greatest popularity. After starting the season with three races in California, East wasn’t alone in expecting the Texas weather to be more accommodating.
However, race night temperatures in the upper 40s kept the track from heating up enough to prevent sliding.
“It was colder here today than it was in Indiana,” East said.
Unofficial Results
1. 4 Bobby East, 60 laps
2. 3 Darren Hagen, 60
3. 7A Dakoda Armstrong, 60
4. 67 Kevin Swindell, 60
5. 21 Tracy Hines, 60
6. 17B Brad Kuhn, 60
7. 1 Cole Whitt, 60
8. 11 Jerry Coons Jr, 60
9. 98 Bobby Santos, 60
10. 7C Caleb Armstrong, 60
11. 30 Chad Boat, 60
12. 49 Brad Sweet, 60
13. 20 Levi Jones, 60
14. 69 A.J. Fike, 59
15. 8 Ricky Ehrgott, 58
16. 97 Cale Conley, 58
17. 12 Henry Clarke, 57
18. 06 Mario Clouser, 54
19. 17 Chris Windom, 44
20. 16 Slade Miller, 25
21. 31 Buddy Lowther, 21
22. 5D Zach Daum, 4
In the night’s first race, a 50-lap Texas Super Racing Series feature, Robert Barker beat Heath Stewart by one-half car length after the two raced neck and neck for the duration.
Barker, the runnerup to 2008 TSRS Late Model champion Heath Stewart last season, got a bit of revenge as he got the jump on Stewart at the very start of the race then held off Stewart for the entire race and won by a scant half-a-car length at the finish.
The win is Barker’s fourth career TSRS win, moving him up into a tie for fifth place on the all-time TSRS win list with Stewart as well as former series champ Ronny New.
TSRS winner Robert Barker snuggles up with Brook Daniels in victory circle
This race also generated a bit of controversy.
On Lap 44, Stewart, who was being challenged hard by ‘08 Rookie of the Year Jake Kruger, spun coming out of Turn 2 after contact with Kruger. After some discussion among race officials it was ruled that Kruger had spun Stewart and sent Kruger to the back while Stewart retained his second-place spot.
Official Results
1. Robert Barker, Boerne
2. Heath Stewart, Del Valle
3. Bobby Teer, Jr., Comfort
4. Chris Schild, Leander
5. Cary Stapp, San Marcos
6. Jeff O’Neill (R), Round Rock
7. Dillon Spreen, Boerne
8. Jake Kruger, Bastrop
9. Bradley Burke, Johnson City
10. Kendall Bumbera (R), Sealy
11. Todd Farris, College Station
12. Mark Mathias (R), San Antonio
13. Jason Hollander, Round Rock
14. Cody Smith, La Vernia
15. Levi Krauss (R), Schertz
(R) Denotes 2009 TSRS Rookie
Staff Report
Photos by Jeff Garvin and Tory Christopher
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
 |
 |
 |
![](http://"www.lonestarspeedzone.com/wp-content/themes/revolution_sports-20/images/simpson_5.jpg") |
