Thunder Hill Raceway recap, 5/29/04

[NickHolt]

Family fun personified at Thunder Hill Raceway

 

By Jon Sagester and Chuck Licata

 

KYLE—It was a fun-filled night for nearly everyone last Saturday night at Thunder Hill Raceway (THR) as the drivers, fans and kids all got into the act.

Courtney Deike of Kyle opened the evening’s Memorial Day tribute ceremonies in front of an estimated crowd of 1,000 by singing the National Anthem. THR Track Director David Mackey then paid tribute to all who lost their lives in the service of our country by playing Taps on his trumpet.

Following some exciting heat races, children from ages 4-to-15 got to race their bicycles on the paved 3/8-mile track. The age brackets were: 1-to-4-years-old, 5-to-7, 8-to-10 and 11-and-up. There were three-to-five entrants in each class, and they put on an interesting show for the fans.

On a related note, the next bike race is tentatively scheduled for August 14 at THR.

The on-track stock car action heightened when Terry Tschoerner (Taylor) showed he had the car to beat in the 19-car A-Line Auto Parts (AAP) Street Stock feature race. Tschoerner, starting on the outside of the front row, immediately jumped to a sizeable lead and maintained it through five cautions and restarts.

However, the racing gremlins struck Tschoerner as he got loose in Turn 4 on Lap 15. That brought out another caution and relegated the Taylor resident to the rear of the field.

That incident handed the lead to Don Banker (Austin). Banker kept that position through the last 14 laps and he grabbed his second AAS Street Stock win in six races this season. Banker has now scored three top-5 finishes this season.

Banker outran Jim Teague (Dale) to the checkered flag. Teague had won the last three straight AAP Street Stock feature races at THR. Bobby Teer, Jr. (Comfort) finished third, while Marvin Buck (Round Rock) and Doug Ayers (Pflugerville) rounded out the top-5. Tschoerner managed to work his way back for a 10th-place finish.

Prior to the Capital City Trade and Technical School (CCTTS) Hobby Stock feature race, THR race fans were invited onto the track to meet and greet the drivers and to get a close look at their cars.

In the CCTTS Hobby Stock feature, Matthew Hodge (Kyle) grabbed his second 20-lap win of the 2004 season. Tracy Tschoerner (Taylor) placed second while TBS teammate Kevin Bowen (Hutto) took third. David Hassinger (Kyle) and Tim Fasano (Leander) rounded out the CCTTS Hobby Stock top-5 finishers.

The 10-lap THR Grand Stock race saw Eddie Siegmund, driving car number 69, claim his first win, indicative of his youth when he was a three-time World Champion BMX bike racer. Mark Chrudimsky was second in the Grand Stocks and Jim Bell was third.

With the on-track racing complete, the kids were again in the spotlight as half-a-dozen THR drivers brought their race cars back on the track and took children for two laps around the oval - at far less than "racing speed." There seemed to be an endless line of "children" of all ages hoping to grab a ride in one of the THR race cars, and the session ran for well over an hour.

Round Rock Express General Manager Jay Miller, who's won several Minor League Executive of the Year honors, will be the Grand Marshall for an exciting night of racing this Saturday (June 5) at THR. The AllStar Racing Trucks Series returns for a 50-lap feature, and they'll be joined by the Lone Star Legends. THR will also runs its home classes of Late Models, the AAS Street Stocks the CCTTS Hobby Stocks and Grand Stocks.

Opening ceremonies start at 7 p.m. this Saturday night, with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 p.m. Thunder Hill Raceway (www.thunderhillraceway.com) is located right off IH-35 at exit 210 (Yarrington Road exit), just 20 minutes south of Austin.

[Banker36]

Actually our finishes for this year are as follows: DNF,1st,3rd,2nd,5th,1st. So that would make 5 top 5 finishes instead of 3. I know it really doesnt matter but I gotta keep up the PR work. LOL