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Schild, Morman and Albert hit paydirt at Houston Motorsports Park’s 2010 season opener

NASCAR Fiesta Late Model driver Larry Schild, III, came home the big winner in the 2010 Season Opener at Houston Motorsports Park Saturday night, winning the “Fiesta 50” in front of a large and appreciative crowd at the immaculate, 3/8-mile, concrete and asphalt speedway.

After starting in the seventh position, Schild battled though the field, avoided numerous spins, escaped a few “fender benders” and ducked under a major lap 15 wreck to take the checkered flag.

Veteran Greg Davidson took the early lead from the pole position before becoming the first of six Fiesta Late Models that would not finish the feature event and three that were knocked out of competition during practice for the event.

Ten cautions slowed the action-filled Late Model 50-lapper. While the majority of the cautions were minor spins, the biggest and scariest incident of the night came on a lap-15 restart involving Joe Aramendia, who was restarting from the inside pole position, and Chris Davidson ,who restarted directly behind him.

Going through turns one and two, Aramendia and Schild, who restarted on the outside pole, made heavy contact with each other causing Schild to slide up the track and giving Davidson a chance to get his nose under Aramendia as they exited turn two. Davidson stuck to the inside down the back stretch, but as the pair entered turn three Davidson’s right front tire climbed Aramendia’s left rear, sending both cars extremely hard into the turn three wall.

The impact brought Davidson’s front tire into the Aramendia’s car, leaving a tire mark on the roll cage less than a foot away from Aramendia’s helmet. The impact nearly flipped Davidson’s ride, but the car came to rest with the dirty side down.

Thanks to their up-to-date chassis designs and no-expense-spared safety equipment, both drivers were able to walk away without injury.

After a lengthy cleanup, it was back to racing with Aramendia’s teammate Brian Moczygemba in the top spot. He was able to hang onto the lead for 15 laps and 3 restarts before door-to-door contact with Todd McClemore sent both cars spinning as they battled for the lead.

Schild now found himself in the lead as the green waved for the restart and he was able to hold off Underwood, Moczygemba, and McClemore throughout the final four restarts. At the finish it was Schild, McClemore, Moczygemba, Underwood, and Charles Evans taking the top five positions.

Unfortunately for McClemore and Evans, during the post-race technical inspection, their Late Models had technical issues and were disqualified. This moved Moczygemba up to second, Underwood up to third, Mason Mitchell up to fourth and Bryan Schild to fifth.

The NASCAR Cricket Modifieds managed to complete their “Cricket 40” feature race with only 4 cautions.

Jason Morman led flag to flag, but the new HMP restart rule shook up the running order behind him. Under the new rule, each driver picks their lane for the double-file restarts instead of restarting single file as in the past. As expected, the leader took the inside lane all night long and for three of the four restarts the second-place car chose the outside lane.

At the finish, it was Morman followed by Brent Seeley and Ian Webster. Michael Umscheid and Art Kunseman rounded out the top five. However, the Kunseman modified was found to be too left-side heavy during the post-race technical inspection and fifth place was awarded to Jim Nides.

NASCAR 360 Truck driver Jim Albert made it look easy in the “Twister Drilling Tools 40,” after he got by early race leader Jody Buzbee on the 12th lap.

The biggest hit of the race happened with five laps remaining when Erin Sims spun in turn 2 and ended up sideways in the groove. David Lewien was left with nowhere to go and collided solidly with the right side of Sim’s stalled truck. Both drivers walked away from the wreck, but it took three wreckers and almost a half hour to separate the mangled trucks.

Albert easily held the lead through the last two restarts and took a popular win. Jody Buzbee, Cary Stapp, Justin Buzbee, and Byron Reed crossed the line to finish in that order to round out the top five. However, issues in the tech shed ended up shuffling the final results after Chief Tech Official Jack Sanderfur had a close look at the top finishing trucks. The trucks of Justin Buzbee and Reed were disqualified for technical reasons which moved Greg Wade and Tory Christopher into the top five.

In other action, Clayton Green turned his pole position in the Bandolero 15-lap main event into a checkered flag after fending off a determined Christopher Hogan for all fifteen caution-free laps. Hogan made several strong moves to get by Green towards the finish, but slight bobbles to avoid contact would cut short the attempts. Kyle Curtis led a tight battle for third across the finish line but his car did not pass the tech inspection which moved Jon Fernandez, Chase Schubert and Coltin Nordan up a notch to round out the top five.

Not to be outdone by the youngsters, the Eco Stocks also ran their feature without the benefit of a yellow flag in spite of the fact that Brian Stipe (in a convertible with the top down) and Brad Dixon (in a minivan) ran virtually side-by-side for the entire 15 laps. At the finish the race was too close to call, but the electronic timing had Stipe the winner by 0.008 of a second!

The battle for third was just as heated as Samantha Marshall, Lizzie Baker, and several others swapped paint and positions several times as the tight pack raced right behind the two leaders. Baker held on to claim third.

In the 25-lap Pro Stock feature, J.T. Schild and Lynn Hardy picked up where they left off at the end of the 2009 season – bumper-to bumper and door-to-door - waging hard-fought clean, caution-free battles. This episode went to Schild who held off Hardy’s repeated attempts – both high and low – to get by the Schild. Veteran Pro Stock standout Del Harris finished third.

Unofficial Houston Motorsports Park results, 2/27/2010

Bandolero feature

1. 54 Clayton Green, 15 laps
2. 81 Christopher Hogan, 15
3. 24 Jon Fernandez, 15
4. 22 Chase Schubert, 15
5. 72 Coltin Nordan, 15
6. 12 Scott Smith, 15
7. 6 Jake Thomasson
DQ 25 Kyle Curtis

Eco Stock feature

1. 115 Brian Stipe, 15
2. 17 Brad Dixon, 15
3. 13 Lizzie Baker, 15
4. 7 Unknown, 15
5. 18 Gabriel Acosta, 15
6. 43 Bob Berndt, 15
7. 02 Samantha Marshall, 15
8. 44 Scott Harmon, 14
9. 9 LeAnn Albert, 14

Pro Stock feature

1. J.T. Schild, 25
2. 70 Lynn Hardy, 25
3. 1 Del Harris, 25
4. 31 Quentin Epler, 25
5. 18 Nathan Demski, 25
6. 8 Jim Axley, 24
7. 88 Freddy Davila, 22
8. 12 Richard Smith, Sr, 18

NASCAR Cricket Modifieds “Cricket 40″

1. 33 Jason Morman, 40
2. 5 Brent Seeley, 40
3. 13 Ian Webster, 40
4. 15 Michael Umscheid, 40
5. 8 Jim Nides, 40
6. 4 Kalif Sellier, 40
7. 82 Pat Kinsey, 39
8. 3 Mike Williams, 24
9. 88 Larry Hughes, 21
DQ 1 Art Kunseman

NASCAR 360 Trucks “Twister Drilling Tools 40″

1. 31 Jim Albert, 40
2. 77 Jody Buzbee, 40
3. 99 Cary Stapp, 40
4. 10 Greg Wade, 40
5. 44 Tory Christopher, 39
6. 28 Kevin Wiseman, 37
7. 3 David Lewien, 35
8. 6 Erin Sims, 34
9. 07 Rusty Mirth, 34
10. 72 Brent Bell, 17
11. 767 GW Egbert, 8
12. 36 Lynn Hardy, Jr., 5
DQ 19 Justin Buzbee
DQ 60 Byron Reed

NASCAR Fiesta Late Models “Fiesta 50″

1. 11 Larry Schild III, 50
2. 179 Brian Moczygemba, 50
3. 99 Mark Underwood, 50
4. 57 Mason Mitchell, 49
5. 97 Bryan Schild, 47
6. 16 Terry Clark, 27
7. 79 Joe Aramendia, 15
8. 41 Chris Davidson, 15
9. 96 Greg Davidson, 13
DQ 54 Todd McClemore
DQ Charles Evans, Jr.

by Brian Sommers and Nick Holt
Photos by Nick Holt

First Timers steal the show at Thunderhill Raceway

Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, had several first-time feature winners for the eighth race of the 2009 racing season – in the Mini Stocks, Grand Stocks, Thunder Stocks and NasKarts.

Bobby Chaffee (New Braunfels, TX) started on the inside of the second row and passed newcomer Jerry Woolf on the last lap to claim victory in the Mini Stock feature race. Chaffee is one of the THR announcers, and he switched hats to win his first race on Thunderhill Raceway’s (THR) 3/8-mile asphalt oval.

Marcia Moore (Cedar Creek, TX) was the first female racer to claim a Grand Stock victory this year. Moore started on inside of the second row, and she quickly grabbed the lead on the first lap. She was able to hold off the hard charge by the previous feature winner, Floyd Reed, for the 25-lap feature event. Moore started racing with the Grand Stocks when the class was introduced in 2005 and is currently in fifth place in the 2009 Grand Stocks points’ race.

Aaron Brungot (Cedar Park, TX) has been racing in the Thunder Stock class since 2005, and he finally pulled off his first career feature win. Brungot took over the lead at the halfway point by passing teammate and 2008 Thunder Stock champion, Joey Tschoerner. He maintained the lead for the rest of the 30-lap Thunder Stock feature race – barely holding off the current points’ leader Mason Teague.

Clint LaFont (Volente, TX) claimed another victory after patiently working his way up through the field of the ASA A-Line Super Stock feature race. LaFont started in the 10 position in the 40-lap feature race and finally took over the lead with only three laps left to go. He held off Shawn Paul Lehman, who is currently running second in track points, for the victory. LaFont is currently leading the THR ASA A-Line Super Stock points’ race, and he has turned in some very impressive results so far this year (three wins and eight Top 3 finishes). He was also heading up the ASA Joe Gibbs National Championship competition going into Saturday’s race, so this win should help him maintain the lead.

Richard Gonzales (San Antonio, TX) is a NasKart rookie, and he was also a first-time feature winner on Saturday night. The fans were treated to some close racing action, especially when Lyndon Kirk and Chris Terry threatened Gonzales for the lead near the end of the 27-lap NasKart feature race.

Gavin Boyett (Buda, TX) is on a two-race winning streak following his victory on Saturday night in the 50-lap TSRS Allison Legacys race. This 13-year-old youngster started on the outside pole and took over the lead from Lauren Runco on the first lap. Kris Kerr passed Boyett on Lap 4 and remained in the lead until the last lap. The two drivers tangled coming out of Turn 4, and Boyett was the first to cross the finish line. Boyett is currently leading the TSRS Allison Legacys points’ race.

Jason Marshall (Leander, TX) grabbed his second win in the Pro Trucks at Thunderhill Raceway this year. He turned in the fastest qualifying time with 16.420 seconds. Following a draw for the inversion, Marshall started in the fourth position. He worked his way up to the front and took over the lead from D.L. Wilson on Lap 20 and held on for the win. Marshall is currently leading the Pro Trucks points’ race at THR – only four points ahead of Wilson.

Top five report - Thunderhill Raceway - ASA TRACK MEMBER - JUNE 27, 2009

Mini Stocks
01 Bobby Chaffee, New Braunfels, TX 10 laps
10 Jerry Woolf, San Antonio, TX 10 laps
02 Gunnar Frid, Cedar Park, TX 10 laps
77 Eric Robbins, Jr., Red Rock, TX 10 laps

Grand Stocks
91 Marcia Moore, Cedar Creek, TX 25 laps
65 Floyd Reed, Spicewood, TX 25 laps
88 Mike Farish, Kempner, TX 25 laps
12 Art Ganss, Driftwood, TX 25 laps
03 Chris Trevino, San Antonio, TX 25 laps

Thunder Stocks
50 Aaron Brungot Cedar Park, TX 30 laps QT 17.740
16 Mason Teague, Paige, TX 30 laps QT 17.753
92 Jason Stanley, San Antonio, TX 30 laps QT 17.591
22 Anthony Gordon, San Antonio, TX 30 laps QT 17.778
20 Steve Joyce Buda, TX 30 laps QT 18.228

ASA A-Line Super Stocks
3 Clint LaFont, Volente, TX 40 laps
28 Shawn Paul Lehman, Manchaca, TX 40 laps
80 Allen Alexander, San Antonio, TX 40 laps
99 Chase Stapp, San Marcos, TX 40 laps
7 Rodney Rodriguez Round Rock, TX 40 laps

NasKarts
17 Richard Gonzales, San Antonio, TX 27 laps
5 Lyndon Kirk, Austin, TX 27 laps
24 Chris Terry, Oklahoma City, OK 27 laps
48 Kevin Hummell, Lake Travis, TX 27 laps
88 Kayleb Kreis, Lake Travis, TX 27 laps

TSRS Allison Legacys
08 Gavin Boyett Buda, TX 50 laps QT 17.401
24 Kris Kerr San Antonio, TX 50 laps QT 17.364
07 Rusty Mirth® Austin, TX 50 laps QT 17.681
53 Charles Evans, Jr. ® Friendswood, TX 50 laps QT 17.311
19 Cole Runco® Spring Branch, TX 50 laps QT 17.650

®Rookie

Pro Trucks
42 Jason Marshall Leander, TX 50 laps QT 16.420
6 D.L. Wilson China Spring, TX 50 laps QT 15.559
28 Shawn Paul Lehman Manchaca, TX 50 laps QT 16.749
31 Jim Albert Lockhart, TX 50 laps QT 16.740
72 Brent Bell, 50 laps QT 16.968

by Debbie Williams, THR Media & Public Relations Director
Photos by Jeff Garvin

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