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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.

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.

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

Austin Wayne Self celebrates his 15th Birthday with his first official NASCAR Win

Austin Wayne Self celebrated his fifteenth birthday in style Saturday night, March 5, 2011, at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas. The young Austinite won the NASCAR Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) season-opener at the 3/8th-mile paved oval and almost pulled off an upset win in the NASCAR A-Line Modified feature, finishing second to the defending Modified champ Michael Umscheid.

“I was a little nervous starting fourth on the outside,” Self said after the TSRS win. “The outside is not the place you want to be this early in the season, but we pulled it off pretty well. I was able to jump into third place behind Jeff (O’Neill) right away, but it took me a few laps to work my way around him. And once I did I could tell that (defending TSRS Champion Bobby) Teer was fast, but so was I, so I took off after him.”

What happened next surprised everyone, including Self.

On the 12th circuit a caution flag waved for a spin by John Hernandez. That meant that Teer and Self would line up on the front row for the restart with Teer on the preferred inside lane and Self on the dreaded outside lane.

“I got a great start and ended up grabbing the lead from the outside. That was a big surprise,” Self said, still sounding a bit shocked. “But I was prepared. I knew what I had to do on the re-start and did it. Bobby (Teer) was able to do it all last year and I decided to bump it up do it this year and pulled it off!”

Self was able to fend off several determined efforts by Teer over the remainder of the 35-lap race and took the checkered flag by less than half a second over Teer and frequent-winner Robert Barker.

In the NASCAR A-Line Modified 35-lapper, Umscheid had it pretty much his own way, leaving Self and youngster Jake Kruger to battle it out for second. And after a heated mini-war that involved several bumps and paint-swapping incidents during the event and a couple of extra “love taps” after, Self finished a scant 0.03 second in front of an obviously frustrated Kruger.

“Michael (Umscheid) is always fast and they have a great team,” Self said. “But we have the Umschieds working with us on our modified this year too, so we’ll see how the rest of the season goes.”

When asked why his TSRS car seems faster this year Self explained, “We put bump stops in the car this year and I can put the car where I want it. It handles perfectly now.”

Self and his team and a room full of well-wishers gathered in the driver’s lounge after the tech inspections were over for some birthday cake and a victory celebration.

“It’s a great birthday present to win the (TSRS) season opener and do so well with the Modified,” Self said to those gathered around. “But you can’t win anything without a great team and lots of support from lots of people. I feel very fortunate to have so many great people believe in me.”

NASCAR TSRS Late Model unofficial results

1. 07 Austin Wayne Self, 35 laps
2. 2 Bobby Teer, Jr, 35
3. 96 Robert Barker, 35
4. 28 Jeff O’Neill, 35
5. 3 Mike Reininger, 35
6. 29 Todd Farris, 35
7. 1 Nick Cole, 35
8. 37 Mark Ackerman, 35
9. 92 Taylor Brandes, 35
10. 9 John Hernandez, 34
11. 69 Mike Pollaro, 34

NASCAR A-Line Modified unofficial results

1. 15 Michael Umscheid , 35 laps
2. 5 Austin Self, 35
3. 30 Jake Kruger , 35
4. 42 Justin Long, 35
5. 61 Cory Lovell, 35
6. 53 Ryan Engelhardt, 35
7. 10 Robert Walton, 35
8. 33 Jason Morman, 35
9. 44 H.E. Naumann, 35
10. 2 Heath Stewart, 35
11. 91 Zach Hausler, 23

by Nick Holt
Photos by Jeff Garvin

Lone Star Speedzone-TexasHighDef Spotlight on Bobby Teer, Jr.

Duke O’Connor (TexasHighDef) and Nick Holt (Lone Star Speedzone) had a chance to chat with 2010 Texas Super Racing Series Late Model Champion Bobby Teer, Jr., recently. Here’s what this worthy champ had to say. And Duke included a few racing clips in this video as well - including sequence that features some contact between Bobby and 2009 TSRS LM Champion Jake Kruger.

Enjoy!

Live Interactive Updates from THR’s “Texas Stock Car Spectacular,” Saturday, 9/25/10

I will be bringing you all the Saturday night racing action from Thunderhill Raceway’s “Texas Stock Car Spectacular” starting at 5:00 p.m.

On tap will be (in this order):
+ Texas Pro Sedan 35-lap feature
+ TSRS Allison Legacy 50-lap feature
+ Dwarf Car Racing Series of Texas 20-lap feature
+ Thunder Stock “7DwarfsMotel.com 20″ presented by Oasis Paradise Spa LLC
+ ASA A-Line Super Stock 40-lap feature
+ Pro Truck 50-lap feature
+ Pro Modified 50-lap feature
+ TSRS Late Model 75-lap feature

You will be able to ask questions and make comments during the blogcast, but there will be a delay in seeing your post in the blog window because I have to approve all posts - and sometimes I’m very busy trying to keep up with all the action.

To join in, click below.

Live Interactive Updates from THR’s “Texas Stock Car Spectacular,” Friday, 9/24/10

I will be bringing you all the Friday night racing action from Thunderhill Raceway’s “Texas Stock Car Spectacular” starting at 6:30 p.m.

On tap will be (in this order):
+ Qualifying for the Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks, NasKarts and Grand Stocks
+ Mini Stock 25-lap feature
+ Qualifying for the ASA A-Line Super Stocks and SportMods
+ Thunder Stock “Dash for Cash” (8 laps)
+ NasKart 27-lap feature
+ Qualifying for the TSRS Allison Legacys and Pro Trucks
+ Grand Stock 30-lap feature
+ Qualifying for the Pro Modifieds and TSRS Late Models
+ SportMod 30-lap feature

You will be able to ask questions and make comments during the blogcast, but there will be a delay in seeing your post in the blog window because I have to approve all posts - and sometimes I’m very busy trying to keep up with all the action.

Lone Star Speedzone - TexasHighDef spotlight on Taylor Brandes

Duke O’Connor (TexasHighDef) and Nick Holt (Lone Star Speedzone) caught up with rookie Texas Super Racing Series driver Taylor Brandes in the Thunderhill Raceway pits last weekend. Two weeks earlier the youngster won his first TSRS race at the 3/8-mile oval in Kyle, Texas.

He’s the interview and some great footage captured by Duke.

Live Interactive Updates from Thunderhill Raceway, 8/28/2010

Nick will be at Thunderhill Raceway this Saturday, August 28, 2010 to bring you Live Interactive Updates using the CoverItLive blogging software.

I should be starting the show around 4:30 on Saturday so feel free to log in below around that time or at any time during the evening.

I welcome comments and questions, but there will be a delay between the time you post and the time it shows up. This is because I have to approve all posts and sometimes I’m busier than you can imagine trying to keep up with the racing action.

To get started, click below.

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