KOSTELANSKY TAKES FIRST AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN
George Kostelansky turned around his hard luck Thunder Mountain season by capturing the thirty lap Modified feature last Saturday night. Chad Cook got back in the groove by copping the twenty laps Sportsman go. Other winners included Jamie Shea in a borrowed ride got his third of the year in the Super Stocks; Matt Sissensteen got a career first in the fifteen-lap Pure Stock event. For Shawn Mills, Scot Allen and Don Harvey it was business as usual in the two Four Cylinder classes and the Mini Sprints.
Pole sitter Steve Babicek got to an early lead but the quick Kostelansky quickly went to the top spot and opened up a gap between him and the rest of the field. Meanwhile a fast Jim Gabriel Jr. was working toward the front of the pack and Kostelansky. Gabriel Jr. went to the outside at the half way point and took over the lead. Gabriel Jr, opening up a lead and looked to be on his way to his first ever Thunder Mountain but the mechanical gremlin had other ideas. Crossing the finish line on lap nineteen something in the car broke and Gabriel’s fine effort went for naught. This gave Kostelansky the lead which he comfortably held until the end to take home his first win of the year. The second spot went another hard luck Thunder Mountain driver, Jim Crawn. Crawn ran a steady race and although he was no challenge to Kostelansky, he got his best ever Thunder Mountain Modified finish. Rounding out the top five were Steve Babicek, Chris Weaver and Carl Nagel.
Chad Cook finally got off his month long schneid as the defending Sportsman track champion took home his fourth win of the year. Cook, who started fifth, didn’t take command until lap seven as rookie Garth Tonkin Jr., held the top spot. Once in front, Cook opened up a sizable margin on the field in this relatively caution free event. Another Sportsman rookie Jamie Shea got by Tonkin on lap fourteen and set off after Cook. But there was no catching the Deposit, New York native and Cook cruised home with the win, Shea took a solid second while the other two point chasers, Billy Spoonhower and Kevin Jordan wound up four and fifth respectively behind twelfth started Brent Boyer. Jordan was later penalized two spots by the flagger and Tonkin was given the fifth spot.
Jamie Shea was only planning to run class last Saturday night as his Super Stock was on the disabled list via a Friday night mechanical problem. Shea, who is second in the point chase behind Ed McKernan, was offered the ride in the potent Denny Decker mount and the rest was history. Larry Hillis led the first five circuits and looked really strong doing so. On the front stretch after the completion of the fifth lap, Hillis’ car erupted in a big cloud of smoke and his night was through. Harold Humphrey inherited the lead but looming on the horizon was the twelfth starting Jamie Shea. Humphrey’s tenure at the point lasted for nine laps until lap fourteen when Shea blasted by. Once in front, Shea put it on cruise and easily took home the victory. Point lead Ed McKernan came from eighteenth to take second followed by Humphrey in third, Gary Roberts in fourth and the first time visit by Charlie Fulton was rewarded with a solid fifth place finish.
The fifteen laps Pure Stock event was all Matt Sissenstein. He started on the pole, led all fifteen laps and held off a very fast Buck Mills for his first ever career win. In a four-year career, Sissetsteen’s best had been a fifth place. Last Saturday night changed all that. The real race was behind him between Bill Clark, Bob Mills and Harry Uhl Jr. A late race yellow put Buck Mills and Uhl on Sissensteen’s rear bumper but he was equal to the task and came home with the win. Buck Mills got second, Uhl took third, Bob Mills fourth and Clark fifth.
The fifteen lap Four Cylinder Modified feature race was decided on lap nine when leader Ken Stafford got tangled up with the lapped car of Kim Pierce. Both went to the rear and this gave the lead back to Scott Allen. Allen held on for the win as Stafford came back through the pack to get second. Curt Pierce, Ben Bushaw and Roger Dewitt completed the top five.
Jeff Wilcox led the first lap of the fifteen-lap Four Cylinder Stock feature before a seventh starting Bob Doolittle took over. Doolittle held court until Shawn Mills took over at the halfway point and led the field home. Doolittle held off Rich Powell for second while Harold Humphrey and Wilcox competed the top five.
The ageless Jimmy Lawler led the first eleven laps of the fifteen lap Mini Sprint, holding off the many time feature winner Don Harvey in the process. On lap twelve Lawler went high coming off turn two and Lawler and Garry Moore went by to take the top two spots. That’s the way they finished with Harvey getting another win followed by Moore, Lawler, Dale Pitcher and Rick Wust.