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Umscheid Race Services Live, Interactive Updates from THR’s Stock Car Spectacular

The Stock Car Spectacular is the biggest race of the season for Thunderhill Raceway and you will want to be at the track this weekend for all the stock car racing excitement at the 3/8-mile, d-shaped oval.

But if you can’t make it to the track, join Lone Star Speedzone’s Nick Holt as he describes the racing action via the Umscheid Race Services Live, Interactive Updates this Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.

Feel free to ask questions and make comments during the blogcast although there will more than likely be a delay between the time you post and the time the post shows up for everyone to see. That’s because I have to approve all posts and sometimes I get very busy keeping up with the action.

To get started, click the icon below.

Umscheid Race Services Live, Interactive Updates from Thunderhill Raceway, 6/18/2011

Umscheid Race Services and Lone Star Speedzone will be providing live, interactive, lap-by-lap coverage of all the NASCAR short track racing action at Thunderhill Raceway this Saturday starting at 6 p.m.

There’s always a nice breeze on the hill at Thunderhill, so come on out and enjoy all the sights, sounds and excitement in person. And in case you weren’t aware, the food by Bailey’s Burgers is really great and very reasonably priced.

But if you just can’t make it to the track, I’ll do my best to bring you lap-by-lap coverage right here.

You are always welcome to post comments and ask questions, but there will be a delay in seeing your posts. That’s because I have to manually approve all posts before they are displayed, so please be patient since sometimes I’m pretty busy just keeping up with the racing!

To get started, click the icon.

NASCAR A-Line Modified wreck at Thunderhill Raceway, June 4, 2011

Duke O’Oconnor with Texas High Def captured this footage from the NASCAR A-Line Modified feature at Thunderhill Raceway on Saturday, June 4, 2011.

Again, this video speaks for itself.

Video of TSRS Allison Legacy wreck at Thunderhill Raceway, 6/4/2011

Duke O’Connor from Texas High Def caught a TSRS Allison Legacy wreck on tape during their feature at Thunderhill Raceway on June 4, 2011.

The video speaks for itself.

Umscheid Race Services Live, Interactive Updates from Thunderhill Raceway, 6/4/2011

Can Zak Hausler step up his “Zak Attack” at Thunderhill Raceway like he has at Houston Motorsports Park?

If you can’t make it out to THR this Saturday, June 4, to find out, join me here on Lone Star Speedzone for the Umscheid Race Services Live, Interactive Updates beginning at 5:30 p.m. I’ll do my best to bring you all the racing action from the 3/8-mile, D-shaped oval and we invite your comments and questions as we progress through the jam-packed THR racing program.

Just keep in mind that there will be a delay in seeing your posts since I have to manually approve each one - sometimes I’m kinda busy keeping up with racing and the comments can stack up on me.

To get started, click the icon below.

A very nice “art video” by Duke O’Connor shot at Thunderhill Raceway in May, 2011

Nice work by Duke O’Connor of Texas High Def. Duke has a knack for capturing the spirit of stock car racing from both the people-side and the racing-side.

Texas High Def video of the Mini Stock feature at THR, 5/21/2011

Another great job by Duke O’Connor and Texas High Def.

Texas High Def video of TSRS Late Model feature at THR, 5/21/2011

For your viewing entertainment, Duke O’Connor of Texas High Def has posted the Texas Super Racing Series Late Model feature at Thunderhill Raceway on May 21, 2011.

Austin Self doubles up with twin wins at Thunderhill Raceway

Austin Wayne Self came from the back to win Saturday night at Thunderhill Raceway - not once but twice. The 15 year-old claimed a piece of NASCAR history when he took the checkered flag in front of a rowdy Texas crowd in both the NASCAR A-Line Modified and the Texas Super Racing Series Late Model Divisions at the 3/8-mile, D-shaped oval in Kyle, Texas.

“The past four races have been very frustrating for our team and fans, and it feels so good to finally get that next big win and it’s almost unreal to think we just pulled off a double. My crew, family and fans deserve this win more than anything. The guys always work their butts off, to give me great cars, we qualify pole, lead a bunch of laps, our fans get excited and then we get taken out on a restart. That kind of thing just kills us all. But this week, by the grace of God, we came up big, really big. You can’t imagine how cool it feels to deliver a huge night for my fans, family and team,” said Self.

“Terry James (Crew Chief) and I had a little chat about the last four races and then he told the team that we were going to race hard but we had to stay away from some of the more aggressive drivers. So that’s what we tried to do and it worked out real well in the Modified race. But we had some problems in the Late Model Race.”

Self qualified off pole in the Pro Modified race after being edged out by Heath Stewart by 0.030 seconds with HE Naumann, Zac Hausler and Ryan Englehardt rounding out the top five. But a full inversion of the qualifying order put Self and Stewart at the rear of the field for the race start. Self and Stewart eventually made their way to the front by taking advantage of the double file restarts and the developing outside groove that just got better as the night went on. Self made it to the front first and the two drivers proceeded to check out on the field. Self kept his car on the bottom to protect the inside and forced Stewart to use the high line. Stewart could not make it work good enough to get a run on Self out of the turns. It was a dash for the finish with Self holding his position for the win.

“Heath (Stewart) is a great driver and he races clean so I wasn’t worried about getting clipped. But he has a great motor so I was a little worried that he might be able to drag race me out of 2 or 4 if he could get the upper groove working for him and keep me pinned down on exit. I give a lot of credit to Heath for keeping the race clean,” says Self.

Less than 10 minutes later, Self was climbing into the 07 TSRS Late Model and starting 3rd row outside. Self had to dive to the bottom of the track and lock it up to avoid contact when the front two cars on the front row collided on lap 1. Because he left the racing surface during the maneuver, race control would send him to the back.

Unfortunately, Self suffered damage to the front of his Late Model when he could not avoid another spin that involved the two cars in front of him. Self would eventually head to the pits to fix some of the damage and start in the back again.

With no hood, a damaged front end and a set of Goodyear Tires that had been locked up twice, Self began his amazing march to the front. He brought the crowd to a roar by choosing the outside line on every subsequent restart. That strategy paid off when he got by the 96 (Robert Barker) and then passed the 92 (Taylor Brandes) car for the lead. Self would go on to lead the balance of the race and take his second win of the night the hard way.

“The crew made all the right calls in this race. We knew our car had lost a little speed with the crash damage and we had some fast cars in front of us running the low line. We figured we couldn’t get under them so we would try to go around them. This has pretty much been a one groove track so I don’t think the 96 and the 92 thought we could get by on the outside,” says Self

Evidently neither did the crowd that went crazy when Austin pinned the 92 car down coming out of 4 and won the drag race down the front stretch.

Self would go on to thank all the right people and give all the glory to God in the ensuing post race interviews. He spent the rest of the night hanging out with his fans and giving out autographs.

NASCAR recently lowered the age limit for drivers in the Whelen All-American Series to fifteen. Austin’s fifteenth birthday was on March 5, which was opening day for the racing series. As a result of that change, Austin joined the Pro Modified class and earned his first win on May 21. By winning both the Pro Modified and Late Model class, Self becomes the first 15-year-old NASCAR driver to win two premiere Divisions on the same night.

About Austin Wayne Self

Austin Wayne Self is a 15-year-old NASCAR driver racing in both the Pro Modified and Late Model Divisions of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas. Self is also an international Karting champion, having competed since age 4, and is currently KartSport teammates with Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger. Self’s career goal is to race NASCAR Sprint Cup and do one-off IndyCar races at the Indianapolis 500. Learn more at http://www.austinwayneself.com

by Terri Hartley
Photos by Jeff Garvin

Texas High Def video of the NASCAR A-Line Super Stock feature at THR, 5/21/2011

Duke O’Connor video-taped the NASCAR A-Line Super Stock event at Thunderhill Raceway this past Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Tracy Tschoerner took the win, but she had to work for it.

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