Sarge Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Our fantastic guys and gals of the Armed Forces were celebrated, and an reinging King keeps his crown! For immediate release Contact Pat Wilson 254-290-6262 pwilson1@hot.rr.com http://www.texasthunder.com By Bill “Sarge” Masom Killeen, Tx Clear Communications and Fox Rocks, 107.3 FM were the sponsors of a rocking night of racing. Fortunately for the competitors, no one was rolling. Nearly eighty pictures were collected of service men and women, past and present, in uniform for the collage that is being created in the souvenir stand. “A lot of business in the area claim they support the troops,” said Pat Wilson, track promoter. “But Texas Thunder Speedway really does. We let almost eighty of this country's finest men and women in free tonight. I felt it was the least we could do.” First up to thrill the fans with their ten lap feature race was the Jr Mini Stocks. Four of the youngsters lined up to do battle around the track. It would only take Colton Monroe two laps to get into the lead from his fourth starting spot. The only other change for position was when Joseph Charnock got by Ryan Ellis, who got high in turn four. Monroe would cruise to his fifth win of the season. Jr Mini Stocks 1.712 Colton Monroe 2.22 Joseph Chamock 3.14e Ryan Ellis 4.4r Nathan Robbins 5.111 J. J. Huehes (DNS) A special guest was on hand this week in the Kwik Kar Oil & Lube Street Stock class. It was none other than “Racing for a Living” contestant Tommy Garcia. Garcia has a chance to win a seven race NASCAR Bush Series drive it he is chosen as one of the fifteen finalist for the new reality show. To help this deserving driver out, go to racingforaliving.com and vote for him. Nineteen cars lined up for a rare twenty lap feature race. Rare because normally the street stocks only run fifteen lap. But track promoter Pat Wilson has said that anytime a class has twenty cars in the heat races, he will extend the feature race to twenty laps. So it was pole sitter Cody Cooper getting the jump on the field and leading into turn one. He was closely followed by Dean Silva, Ryan Anderson, and Scott Wilson. Mitch Tierney would go for a spin on the back straight and continue to the rear of the field. Scott Wilson would pull off into the pits. Birthday boy, “Dashin” Dave Meadows was on a charge early and took over the third spot from Anderson on lap one. Defending track champion, Robert Simmerman and Albert Winniger Jr would both get by Anderson on the same lap, pushing him back to sixth. Two laps later and those same three drivers would each move up another spot, as this time it was Silva losing three spots, going from second to fifth. Meadows' had only one more spot to claim, and on lap four he would take advantage of a bobble by Cooper in turn three to take over the lead. Cooper would get pushed back to third on lap five as Simmerman and Winniger Jr got by him. The first caution of the race would wave on lap ten when Silva, Mike McLaughlin, and in his first start in a street stock, Daniel Shipler got tangled up in turn four. The restart order was Meadows, Simmerman, Winniger Jr, Cooper, Trevor Sparkman, Danny Dunn, Anderson, McLaughlin, Silva and Tierney as the top ten. On the drop of the green flag, Winniger Jr would get along side of Meadows and race him side by side for the lead, finally taking the top spot in turn two. McLaughlin had a great restart and was in fifth, picking off Anderson and Dunn, by the time they completed lap eleven. The race would settle down for a bit as laps were winding down. As the field was getting the five to go sign, Meadows and Winniger Jr were side by side all the way from turn one to turn four. Winniger Jr would hold off the challenge. The yellow flag waved over the track one lap past normal race distance, this time for Carl Boettcher's stalled car in turn two. The top five in order were Winniger Jr, Meadows, Simmerman, Cooper, and Sparkman. The field wouldn't get much further than turn two when Meadows and Simmerman got together sending Simmerman's car off the back side of the track and bringing out a caution. Simmerman would be done for the night, and Meadows suffered a flat right rear tire. Top five going back to green was Winniger Jr, Cooper, Anderson, McLaughlin, and Sparkman. Sparkman wouldn't get far, however, as he would pull into the pits and out of the race as the field was coming to the green flag. McLaughlin would get around Anderson in turn one to haul himself up to third. With just two laps to go McLaughlin would get into the runner up spot in turn three, pushing Cooper to third. But McLaughlin ran out of laps to catch Winniger Jr, who captured his third win of the year. Kwik Kar Oil & Lube Street Stocks 1.40 Albert Wininger, Jr 2.2 Mike McLaughlin 3.11 Cody Cooper 4.05 Ryan Anderson 5.48 Mitch Tierney 6.19r Dean Silva 7.24 Daniel Shipler 8.7 Jeremy Adkins 9.66 Gary Grant 10.36x Lisa Parent 11.74 Dave Meadows 12.20 Trevor Sparkman 13.1 Robert Simmerman 14.9 Carl Boettcher 15.27 Tim Fasano 16.63 Danny Dunn 17.00 Joe Fuller 18.T27 Tommy Garcia 19.26 Scott Wilson The Dodge Country I. M. C. A. Modified were the next out to put on a show for the crowd. Fourteen of the ground pounding monsters lined up for their twenty lap feature race, with Brian Killingsworth pacing the field. On the initial green flag it would be Killingsworth getting in front of George Lamphere, Ken Old, Dan Roberts and Andrew Simmerman. On lap three Pat McGuire would get around Simmerman and slotted into fifth. On lap four Old would get around Lamphere, using the low line in turn two to get to second. Roberts would be next to try Lamphere on lap six, but couldn't get the bite he needed off of turn four. Roberts would be the next one under attack, as McGuire swept around him high in turn four and picked up fourth. A lap later and McGuire would dive under Lamphere going down the back straight and hauled himself up to third. A caution came out on lap nine for a crash on the front straight involving Lamphere and Simmerman. Both of those drivers would be out of the race. The line up was Killingsworth, Old, McGuire, Roberts, PJ Egbert, Danny Gribble, Allen Waltimire, Trevor Egbert, Doug Lorenz, and J. D. Schleis. Roberts would get around McGuire to take back third as the green dropped. Gribble would also advance a position, getting around PJ Egbert. As the top five pulled away from the pack PJ Egbert, T Egbert and Waltimire would battle hard for sixth. That battled lasted for four laps with no position swapping. On lap eighteen, Old would almost loop his ride in turn two, and both McGuire and Roberts would get by him. Killingsworth would go on to win his first race of the season by ½ of the front straight. Dodge Country I. M. C. A. Modified 1.357 Brian Killingsworth 2.9 Pat McGuire 3.25 Dan Roberts 4.52 Ken Old 5.27 Danny Gribble 6.707 PJ Egbert 7.78 Trevor Egbert 8.97 Douglas Lorenz 9.44 Allen Waltermire 10.19 George Lamphere Jr 11.7 J.D. Schiels 12.247 Bill Lecompte 13.15 Andrew Simmerman 14.717 G.W. Egbert On Fox Rocks, 107.3 FM night at the races, the rock em, sock em Budweiser Racing Texas Twisters took to the track for fifteen laps. The biggest field of the year for these cars turned out, with sixteen scheduled to take the green flag. Neil Elliott would put his pole position to good use as he lead the field into turn one. Hot on his heals were Larry Tuerck, Jared Bouchie, James Tanner and Little Ronnie Tanner. Elliot's lead would be short lived though, as Tuerck would get by him in turn three. Also LR Tanner would get around J. Tanner for fourth. A lap later and LR Tanner would move up another spot, dispatching Bouchie. On lap two, Elliott would get around Tuerck, to lead the race in turn one. But in turn three the lead would swap back, when Tuerck swept by Elliott. Lap four had LR Tanner getting around Bouchie for third. Clint Williams was racing hard to break into the top five. On lap six, the race was back on for the lead, with Tuerck going side by side with Elliott in turn four. The two bumped and rubbed all the way to turn two, where Elliott finally got ahead of Tuerck. It would take four laps for Tuerck to get alongside Elliott again, and they bumped and banged again. Elliott would hold onto the lead as those two threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other. On lap eleven, Tuerck threw the proverbial sink, taking the lead back with a body slamming move in turn four. The officials wouldn't let him have that lead for long, as the black flag was displayed to Tuerck for rough driving. His night would over. Elliott pulled out steadily on the pack for the rest of the remaining laps to win his first race of the year. 1.17 Neil Elliott 2.177 Little Ronnie Tanner 3.17t James Tanner 4.7 Jared Bouchie 5.20 Jesse Call 6.35 Kari Williams 7.71 Chris Florio 8.88 Brian Mendenhall 9.6 Sean Carr 10.F5 Chase Simpson 11.1 Gary White 12.37 James Deane 13.829 JD Hardcastle 14.2 Larry Tuerck 15.107.3 Nasty Nate 16.X Rapid Roy (DNS) 17.00 Chris Ware (DNS) The Corbin & Associates, Atty's I. M. C. A. Stock Cars were next up. They also were awarded an extra five laps in their feature, making it twenty laps, due to the number of cars in the heat races. Outside pole sitter Jessie James Cox, Jr would lead them into turn one on the drop of the green flag. Closely following were Justin McGehee, Zana Craig, Ron Simpson, and Don Lewis and Bradley Sims side by side for fifth. Lewis would eventually get that spot. The race would be slowed almost immediately as Eric Jones started spinning coming out of turn four. Jones finally came to a rest past the flag stand. The officials ruled that the cause of the caution was Richard Riley pushing Jones around. He would be black flagged for rough driving. The line up for the restart was Cox Jr, McGehee, Craig, Simpson, Lewis, Gary “Storming” Norman, Shad Stevens, Bradely Sims, last weeks winner, Benji Kirkpatrick, and Buck Owens. On the restart, Lewis would have problems in turn four, losing three positions. Kirkpatrick was making moves up as well, jumping into sixth. On lap three, Kirkpatrick would get into the top five by getting around Norman going down the back straight. A lap later and Simpson was door handle to door handle with Craig on the back straight, with Simpson finally dispatching Craig in turn four. He was now third. Craig would pull up lame on the next lap, slowing dramatically and falling rapidly down the order. On lap six. Kirkpatrick dove under Simpson in turn one in a bid for third. They raced hard for the spot, until turn three, where Kirkpatrick finally took control of the position. On lap seven, Craig spun her car in turn four bringing out the yellow flag. Top ten were Cox Jr, McGehee, Kirkpatrick, Simpson, Norman, Jacob Dunn, Sims, Lewis, Owens, and Shad Stevens. On the restart, positions were changing. Kirkpatrick jumped to second around McGehee, Norman got by Simpson in turn two. Simpson would then spin out in turn four, but managed to keep going. On lap eight, Kirkpatrick finished his march to the front relegating Cox Jr to second. McGehee would follow Kirkpatrick through, dropping the Cox Jr to third. McGehee wouldn't stay in second for long however, as he looped his ride in turn two, and bringing out a caution. Top five were Kirkpatrick, Cox Jr, Norman, Sims and Stevens. No positions changed on the restart. But the race wouldn't stay green for long, as on lap ten, Fred Ellis and Ed Keiner crashed heavily on the front stretch at the flag stand. Both cars were too damaged to continue. The top five were the same as the previous restart. The field were put into a single file restart, and no positions were changed immediately as racing resumed. On lap eleven Sims would get around Cox Jr as they raced down the back straight. Kirkpatrick started to pull away from his rivals. Even though the race for the lead cooled off, they were racing hot and heavy back in the pack. On lap thirteen, Stevens would try to push Cox Jr back another position, getting under him coming out of turn two. They would be side by side down the back straight and around to turn one. But Cox Jr would beat back that attack. Stevens would try the same move again on lap sixteen, with the same disappointing results. On lap eighteen, Stevens would almost lose control in turn one, slipping back two places. As the white flag fluttered over the track, Simpson spun out in turn two, loosing many places. Steven recovered from his adventure and got back to fourth. But nobody had anything for Kirkpatrick, who won his third race in week, and second in a row. He was the race winner last week, and he won Friday night at H.O.T. After the race was over, Jacob Dunn was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was assessed a one week suspension and a $100 fine from the track. His actions are also being reported to I. M. C. A., who may take additional action. Corbin & Associates, Atty's I. M. C. A. Stock Cars 1.47 Benji Kirkpatrick 2.80 Bradley Sims 3.43 Jessie James Cox Jr 4.23 Shad Stevens 5.8 Vernon "Buck" Owens 6.84x Eric Jones 7.3 Robin Rasmussen 8.79x Anthony Otken 9.44 Ron Simpson 10.09 Gary "Storming" Norman 11.7e Fred Ellis 12.517 Ed Keiner 13.79 Justin McGehee 14.51 Donald Lewis 15.21 Jeremy O'Brian 16.86z Zana Craig 17.1 PJ Egbert 18.94 Richard Riley (DQ'ed – Rough Driving) 19.93 Jacob Dunn (Dq'ed – Unsportsmanlike Conduct) The Cottman Transmissions Mini Stocks were the next to hit the track for their fifteen lap feature race. Fourteen of the 4 cylinder race cars lined up and did battle. As the green flag dropped to start the race, Daniel Shipler in his track got the early lead. He was followed by Rickey Reid, Gary White, Ronnie Ellis Jr, and Travis Zwiefelhofer. On lap two Ellis Jr would be side by side with White for third. White would beat back the challenge. On lap three Reid would fly off the track in turn two, bringing out the first yellow flag. Reid would regain the track and restart last. The top ten for the restart were Shipler, White, Ellis, PJ Egbert, David Stewart, Jason Hoffman, Eric Robbins Sr, Mike Autrey, and Julie Zweifelhofer. On the restart Egbert would get under both White and Ellis Jr, but couldn't complete the pass. White would suffer problems with his ride that proved terminal. He left the race running second. On lap three T. Zwiefelhofer would get into third, with Ellis in second. Another yellow came out on the same lap, when Autrey and Reid got together in turn four. So the line up was Shipler, Ellis Jr, T. Zwiefelhofer, Hoffman, Stewart, Bill Siegman, J. Zwiefelhofer, Robbins Sr, Autrey and Joseph Gregoire. On the restart Hoffman jumped around Ellis Jr for third, then he and T. Zwiefelhofer went side by side for second, but couldn't quit get the pass completed. On lap six, and Hoffman would try again to get by T. Zwiefelhofer, this time trying the high line. They would be glued together all the way around to turn two on lap seven, where Hoffman finally got the second spot. A lap later and Hoffman would try and take the lead, using the bottom groove this time, but Shipler held him off. J. Zwiefelhofer would spin in turn four and the caution was once again displayed. It would be Shipler leading the single file pack back to green. Hoffman, T. Zwiefelhofer, Ellis Jr, and Siegman rounded out the top ten. On the restart, Egbert would get around Autrey for seventh. But it would be short lived, as Autrey retook the spot in turn two. Lap nine saw Hoffman again go door handle to door handle with Shipler in a bid for the lead. Shipler would once again hold him off. On lap ten all heck would break out in turns one and two. The race for third would go three wide as Ellis Jr dove low and deep into turn one under T. Zwiefelhofer and Hoffman. The momentum carried Ellis Jr up the track and contact was made between all three, with Ellis Jr clipping the back of second place Shipler and knocking him out of the race. A caution was thrown, and Ellis Jr was blacked flagged for rough driving. The restart top five were Hoffman, T. Zwiefelhofer, Siegman, Stewart, and Egbert. The green wouldn't stay out long, as Autrey, Stewart, and Reid all crashed in turn four. Egbert lined up fourth for the restart, with Robbins Sr up to fifth. On the second try at the lap ten restart Egbert would go side by side with Siegman. From turn four to turn four, those two battled hard for the spot. Egbert would finally prevail. Siegman would then be under attack from Robbins Sr in turn two, with Robbins Sr pushing Siegman back another spot. With two laps to go, Siegman would battle back under Robbins Sr, getting the spot in turn two. Hoffman was pulling away from T. Zwiefelhofer and Egbert and the former track champion would go on to take his first win of the year. After the race, Ronnie Ellis Jr was DQ'ed for unsportsmanlike conduct. He has been assessed a one week suspension and a $100 fine. Cottman Transmissions Mini Stocks 1.ms39x Jason Hoffman 2.20 Travis Zwiefelhofer 3.712 PJ Egbert 4.32 Bill Siegman 5.9 Eric Robbins Sr 6.5 David Stewart 7.1 Mike Autrey 8.44 Rickey Reid 9.43 Joseph Gregoire 10.202 Julie "Kelly" Zwiefelhofer 11.111 Shannon Mushinshi 12.38 Daniel Shipler 13.17w Gary White 14.14 Ronnie Ellis Jr (DQ'ed – Unsportsmanlike Conduct) The Hertz Rent A Car I. M. C. A. Southern SportMods were the last feature race to hit the track. Nine cars were lined up for their fifteen lap feature race. On the drop of the green flag, Larry Ware squirted out to the early lead, followed closely by Shad Stevens, Chuck Schoenfeld, Kevin West, and Billy White. On lap two Schoenfeld spun his car in turn four, but he was able to get it righted before a yellow was needed. He would rejoin the racing in last place. On lap five Stevens would get beside L . Ware in turn two and they raced side by side down the back straight. L. Ware would hang on to the lead going into turn three, but it would be short lived, as he spun his ride in turn four causing the first caution. Stevens was caught up in L. Ware's trouble as well. The restart order was Trace Crawford, Kenny Ware, White, Olin Dillard, Corey Homan, L. Ware, Stevens and Kevin West. White would scoot around K. Ware on the restart, and then he would try Crawford in turn three, but couldn't get around the leader. On lap seven K. Ware would get back into second with a move coming out of turn two. He got under White as they raced down the back straight and was in second by turn three. Racing can break your heart sometimes, and tonight it would break Crawford's as he slowed and pull off the back straight with a ten car lead on the last lap. Crawford's problems were a blessing for K. Ware as he was able to lead the last half lap to take his second race of the year from his fifth starting position. Hertz Rent A Car I. M. C. A. Southern SportMods 1.83 Kenny Ware 2.17w Billy White 3.9 Olin Dillard 4.231 Shad Stevens 5.34 Corey Homan 6.77 Larry Ware 7.14 Chuck Schoenfeld 8.63c Trace Crawford 9.11w Kevin West Last but not least, the six I. M. C. A. Stock Cars came out to contest the King of the Hill. The reigning king, Eric Jones would be in the first pairing of the night. Jones would dispatch Ron Simpson in their two lap shootout, as Simpson spun in turn four on the second lap. The next pairing was Benji Kirkpatrick squaring off with Jessie James Cox Jr. Kirkpatrick would cruise to the win after Cox Jr bobbled in turn two on lap two. The third pairing was Shad Stevens and Robin Rasmussen, trying to make it the Queen of the Hill. Rasmussen couldn't get in front of Stevens and he would win by a half a straight. The semi final race pitted Kirkpatrick against the reigning king Jones. They put on a whale of a show for their two laps. Jone got the early lead, but Kirkpatrick would be glued to his back bumper. As the raced down the back straight on the final lap, Kirkpatrick dove into turn three hard, putting a slide job on Jones. But the king saw it coming and was able to cut back under Kirkpatrick. They raced off of turn four door handle to door handle, with Jones nipping Kirkpatrick to take his place in the finals. The final match up was between Jones and Stevens. Jones would get the jump on the green flag and lead the both laps to take his second crown in a row. Eric Jones took on all comers and he is still the Hertz Rent A Car King of the Hill! Come out next week help us honor all our war dead during the Willie Palmer Memorial race. This special race, sponsored by Dan Corbin and Corbin & Associates, Atty's honors the memory and sacrifice of Cpl. Willie Palmer, who lost his life in the first Gulf War. Willie Palmer was a great race fan, and long time crew member. The Michigan native was a fixture in the pits at the speedway, and when he was called to do his duty in the service of his country, he answered it and served us all well. All of us at Texas Thunder Speedway are very thankful to all the brave men and women who have answered that call to arms. Rest in peace, your job was well done! Gates open at 6:00 PM and racing starts at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $10 for Adults, $3 for kids 6-12 and kids under 6 are free. Season passes are available as well. New for fans this year is the ability to purchase their tickets online with a credit card. Just go to the Texas Thunder Speedway web site, and click on the “Buy and Print Tickets” button. Also you can use your Visa or Master Card in the tracks souvenir and concession stands. For all track information, weather, directions, and to purchase your tickets, go to http://www.texasthunder.com. Texas Thunder Speedway is a 1/4 mile semi-banked oval dirt track. Races Every Saturday Night March through September! With Seven SUPER EXCITING classes of cars to entertain the entire family. Featured classes include; Dodge Country IMCA Modifieds, Corbin & Associates, Attys IMCA Stock Cars, Hertz IMCA SportMods, Kwik Kar Oil & Lube Street Stocks, Cottman Transmissions Mini Stocks, Jr Mini Stocks & Budweiser Racing Texas Twisters. Special Events designed especially for the kids as well as Powder Puff Races, Pit Crew Tire Contest and our all time crowd pleaser, the Demolition Derby. Come join the fun, at Texas Thunder Speedway! Bill "Sarge" Masom Texas Thunder Speedway PR/Media Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.