FIVE FIRST TIME WINNERS AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN
Five first time 2003 winners highlight the racing action last Saturday night at the Thunder Mountain Speedway. Also Mike Colsten took advantage of Brian Weaver’s misfortune to win his second feature of the year and took over the point lead in the tough Modified division. The first time winners of 2003 included Shawn Mills in the Sportsman class, Larry Hillis in the Street Stocks, John Cooper Jr. in the Pure Stocks, Mark Reynolds in the Four Cylinder Modifieds and Amber Patrick with the Thunder Pups. Mitch Hurlburt grabbed off the win in the Four Cylinder Stocks and Tim Parker also took over the point lead in the Thunder Dogs.
Doug Worthing took the point at the start of the thirty lap Modified feature as three early caution flags slowed the pace. Colsten moved into the runner-up spot on lap two and put extreme pressure on Worthing for the lead. Point leader Brian Weaver moved in to third by lap seven but a lap later the Decker Logging mount of Weaver slowed on the topside of turn three. With Weaver out of the race this put it squarely on the shoulders of Colsten. He was equal to the task and took over the lead on the restart after the Weaver caution.
Once in front and with no yellow flags to slow the pace, Colsten opened up a sizable distance on the field. The man on the move however was Bob Savoie. Savoie started in the tenth spot and used both the high and low parts of the racetrack to pass people. By the halfway point he was fourth and all over third place Rick Wilk. He took Wilk on lap eighteen and Worthing three laps later but with no yellow flags to help his cause, he failed to gain any ground on the long gone Colsten.
When the checkers flew the Don’s Automotive Mall car of Colsten had both the win and a twenty-eight point margin in the points chase. Savoie end a great run by getting second while Worthing, Paul Jensen and last week’s winner Mike Decker completed the top five.
For the better part of the season the Sportsman division was a two-man show between Chad Cook and Billy Spoonhower. In the past three weeks, that’s been changed. Three different first time winners have made the points race in the middle a little tighter and this week we add the name of Shawn Mills to the list of first time Sportsman winners as he held of a furious charge by last week’s winner Brian White for the victory.
Cliff Pierce led the early going but a spectacular accident on the backstretch involving both Cook and Spoonhower as well as three other cars stopped the race on lap two. Cook’s car got the worst of it as he sat perched precariously on top of the wall. When the race resumed it was still Pierce in front but he was seeing heavy pressure from the likes of Ken Titus, Mills and Brian Decker. Pierce’s handling started to go away on lap eight and Mills was right there to take advantage and the number one spot.
Once in front, Mills set a solid pace, as both Decker and White were all over him the remaining laps. White stuck his nose under a couple of times but Mills never wavered and brought home his first ever Thunder Mountain Sportsman win. White was a strong second while Decker, Ken Titus and a fast closing Arnie Slade rounded out the top five.
Mark Wainwright led a little ground to his closest pursuers in the Street Stock championship chase as Larry Hillis took advantage of an Ed McKernan mechanical problem to notch his first win of the season. Wainwright broke an axle on lap thirteen and both Wade Decker and J. T. McKernan were on the track gaining points. The defending track champ Ed McKernan had taken over the lead in the twenty lap Street Stock race from early pace setter Rick Davis on lap four. Hillis and Kurt Decker also moved past Davis a couple of laps later. McKernan looked to be on his way to his third win of the year but he slowed coming off turn four on lap eighteen and pulled in to the infield giving up the top spot to Hills. Hillis led the reaming two circuits to win his first of the year. Decker came home second followed by Wade Decker in third, Davis in fourth and cousin Denny Decker in fifth.
The twenty lap Pure Stock race also seemed to be the survival of the fittest as point leader Buck Mills had his problems as did second place Mike Wilbur and third place Dick Stark Jr. Butch Green was the early leader of the race but he was passed by sophomore second generation driver John Cooper Jr. on lap three. Cooper held the spot until lap six when Stark took over on a nice outside pass on turn four. With Stark in the lead at the halfway point, Doug Stack lost an axle and wheel on the backstretch and Mills almost launched himself over the wall when he hit it. Mills got some severe hang time and when he came down it did some major damage and he was done for the evening. Wilbur was in a backup mount as his regular car developed problems in hot laps and he was never a factor.
Stark seemed to have the race well in hand but his car started falling off the pace on lap fourteen, handing the lead back to Cooper and second to teammate and car owner Howard Jones. The last five laps of the race Jones ran interference for Cooper as Jamie Rosh, Jim Cornell Jr. and Butch Green were all over him. In the end it was Cooper getting his first ever win with Jones in second followed by Cornell, Green and Rosh.
Hey what a surprise. Bob Doolittle or Harold Humphrey didn’t win the Four Cylinder Stock feature. Mitch Hurlburt was in the right place at the right time and took advantage of some miscues to notch his second win of the year. Early in the race both Humphrey and Doolittle got caught up in an early race skirmish and went to the rear. No other yellows were forth coming and Hurlburt was able to open up a gap between him and the rest of the field. Hurlburt led the entire distance as both Humphrey played catch-up, Humphrey passed John Wilcox on lap thirteen to get to second but couldn’t make a run at Hurlburt. Doolittle also got by Wilcox a lap later but wound up third at the checkers. Completing the top five was John Wilcox and Jerry Wilcox.
A double surprise going on here. Neither Ken Stafford nor Gordie Isham won the Four Cylinder Modified feature. Mark Reynolds led the early going before the dynamic duo moved into the top two spots on lap seven. This only lasted for two laps as Stafford and Isham made contact on lap nine and both were sent to the rear. Stafford was done for the night and Isham didn’t get close to the front again as Reynolds inherited the lead and held on to the end with John Powers right on his back bumper. Bruce Knaak grabbed off his best ever finish in the former Ben Bushaw car as he held off Isham for third while “Grandpa Dirt” Bruce Detro came home fifth.
Tim Parker took over the top spot in the Thunder Dog point as he took his eighth feature win of the season in the twelve lap event. Parker took over the top spot from former point leader Paul Larow at the halfway point and never looked back. Jeff Wilcox gave chase but ran out of time and had to settle for second. Greg Lockwood came home third, Dick Baker was fourth and Ben Poirier was fifth.
The “new kids on the block”, the Thunder Pups had six cars take the green for their twelve lap feature and it was all Amber Patrick. She took the lead at the outset and never looked back. Tim Livermore gave chase but didn’t get close and had to settle for second, Rich Gardner was third, Sean Gardiner was fourth and Frank Fuller got fifth.
Next week Thunder Mountain once again presents a full night of racing with eight classes going to the post. The Modifieds, Sportsmen, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder Stocks, Four Cylinder Modifieds, Thunder Dogs and Thunder Pups will provide the entertainment as the point season gets down to it’s final two races with four classes’ champion still in doubt. Thunder Mountain is located just off New York Route 70 just a few minutes from Exit 8 of Interstate 81 in Whitney Point. Gates open at 4:00 with racing set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Come join us for the excitement of high bank dirt track racing excitement.