WEAVER, SPOONHOWER AND GREEN CAPTURE THUNDER MOUNTAIN CHECKERS!!!
Chris Weaver, of Binghamton, made his way into victory lane for the second time this season as he cruised to the Modified Feature win Saturday night at the Thunder Mountain Speedway. Berkshire’s Billy Spoonhower picked up his second win in a row in the Sportsman division, while Maine driver Butch Green captured his first Pure Stock feature win of the season.
Also in victory lane for the 10 feature event show were Harold Humphrey in Street Stocks, Mark Reynolds in 4 Cylinder Modifieds, Jason Tuttle in Four Cylinder Stocks, Paul Larow in Thunder Dogs, Amber Patrick in Thunder Pups, Jim Hilimire in the Midstate Vintage 60’s and John McNamee in the Midstate Vintage 70’s class.
For the 30 lap Modified main event, Weaver lined up fifth in the starting grid, but quickly made his way to the front of the pack, settling into second behind Binghamton’s Steve Babicek by the fifth lap. Two laps later, Weaver took command of the number one spot over Babicek and set a blistering pace as they ran caution free until lap 13.
Candor native ‘Fast’ Eddie White edged out Deposit’s Chad Cook for the second position and put the chase on Weaver, but he was unable to make a run for the lead, as Weaver went on for the win. White finished with a great second place run, with Whitney Point’s Brent Wilcox third, Cook fourth and Babicek fifth.
In Sportsman feature action, it seems as if Billy Spoonhower finally got all the bugs out of his machine after a slow start to the season. Spoonhower started 10th in the 24 car field and slowly worked his way through the pack while Afton’s Mike Decker led the early part of the race.
Spoonhower made a bid for the lead and was able to take over the top spot on lap twelve of the 20 lap event and never looked back as he took home his second straight Sportsman win. Decker came in for second, with Rick Wilk, Kevin Jordan and Ken Titus completing the top five.
The night was not without a little controversy as it appeared that Springville PA’s Rick Davis was the winner in the 20 lap Street Stock main event, but a post race technical inspection found Davis’ ride to be outside the rules, ending his night with a disqualification. Norwich’s Harold Humphrey became the benefactor and inherited the win, his second of the season.
Humphrey started fourth in the lineup, and moved into the cat-bird seat behind Davis by the lap 14 mark. Larry Hillis came in for second behind Humphrey, with Chris Stull, John Cooper Jr and Tracy Gregory completing the top five.
In the Pure Stock 20 lap Feature event, Maine’s Butch Green finally got his bearings after a rocky start to the 2004 season. Green started on the pole and led from the start of the race, but momentarily lost the lead to Spencer’s Mike Wilbur on lap 7.
Green was able to re-gain the lead the next time around, as Groton’s Howard Jones and Green’s identical twin brother Rich Green, of Endicott joined in the battle for second. Butch Green was able to hold off some serious pressure as he took home his first win of the year. Jones came in for second, with Rich Green third, Wilbur fourth and Louie Gordinier in fifth.
The 15 lap 4 Cylinder Modified feature found Lansing’s Mark Reynolds breaking into the winners circle, as he became the first driver to top Sherburne’s Duane Knapp and South New Berlin’s John Powers all season. By virtue of the track’s handicapping system, Reynolds started on the pole and led wire to wire en route to his first win of the season. Knapp followed in second, with Powers, Tom Fletcher and Gordie Isham completing the top five.
The 15 lap 4 Cylinder Stock feature go also had it’s share of controversy as Marathon’s Mitch Hurlburt and Newfield’s Bob Doolittle led the pack all the way until the last corner on the last lap of the race before contact between the two ended both their chances for victory for the night.
This time, Newark Valley’s Jason Tuttle benefited as he cruised on to claim the win, his first of the season. John Wilcox came in for second, with Jeff Leslie, Anthony Slack and Ken Carson in for the top five. Cayuta driver Paul Larow continued to build his points lead as he captured his third straight Thunder Dog feature. Larow was followed across the line by David Ackley, Brady Foster Roger Walburn and Tim Grover.
Amber Patrick continued her winning ways, picking up her 6th feature win out of seven weeks. Patrick started fifth in the field, but had taken over the lead by the time the first lap was in the books. Bob Jones, Dusty Corwin, Cale Brownell and Tammy Welch completed the top five.
The Mid State Vintage car club was on hand to put on a show Saturday night in addition to the regular classes. Jim Hilimire, of Branchport, picked up the win in the 60’s class, while Canadian driver John McNamee, of Kingston, Ontario was victorious in the 70’s division.
Thunder Mountain has a full action packed weekend set for the upcoming Father’s Day weekend. Saturday will be a regular show at the Speedway with all eight classes on hand, while Sunday will feature a four class special.
The Pure Stocks will be in full action for the Hurricane Memorial series with a birth to the prestigious Hurricane on the Mountain August 15th event on the line. Street Stocks, Sportsman and the first appearance of Late Models for the year will also be on the schedule. Race times for both days is 6:30pm.