BRIAN WEAVER CAPTURES KINGSROYAL MODIFIED CROWN AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN.
Lisle, NY… BrianWeaver, of Windsor, stepped up to the plate and bested a field of toughcompetitors to take home his second Kings Royal Modified victory in front ofa packed crowd at the Thunder Mountain Speedway on Sunday night. The win washis third win of the season at the track. Dave Zona was the winner in the American Tire Late Model series race andWatertowns Billy Dunn took top honors in the IMCA/Grand American Modifiedfeature.
Otego native J.R. Hurlburt and Mike Nagel set the pace forthe 40 lap Garys U-Pull it Modified series special. Hurlburt took the lead atthe start, with Nagel riding second and Sean Collins third. Six caution periods during the first eightlaps slowed the pace, but Windsors Brian Weaver, who started fifth, was makingstrides towards the front, moving into third by lap five.
Weaver took over the top spot on a lap eight re-start,getting by both Hurlburt and Nagel. Alap 17 caution for debris would bring some bad luck for Nagel, as he droppedout of his third running spot to retire to the pits with mechanical problems,ending what looked like a solid top 5 run.
Binghamtons Mike Colsten moved up into the third positionwith George Kostelansky, of Sailorsburg, PA, and Sean Collins completing thetop five.
Weaver held the point the rest of the way, as Hurlburtmaintained second, but could not mount a serious challenge against the DeckerLogging machine of Weaver. Weaver tookhome the win, with Hurlburt second, Colsten third, and Butch Tittle, ofSailorsburg, PA, and Owegos Doug Worthing edged out Collins for the fourth andfifth spots respectively.
The Late Models returned to Thunder Mountain for the firsttime in many years, but it didnt take the drivers long to figure out thetrack.
Randall Paxton, of Dalton, PA, darted out inot the lead atthe start of the American Racer Tire 25 lap Main event, while third placestarter Alan Coy, of Snake Creek, moved into second. Montrose PA native Dave Zona was on a charge to the front, as hemoved up from his seventh place starting position to take over second from Coyon the second lap.
The chase was on as Zona set his sights on Paxton for thelead, while Cortlands Jim Howard, who had started ninth, battled inside andout for third with Coy. A pair ofcautions on laps 5 and 6 bunched the field back up, but Paxton was able to keephis lead as green flag racing returned.
Zona got a good run going on lap ten, and took over the topspot from Paxton. Zona would neverrelinquish the lead, but Paxton, Coy and Howard all had their work cut out forthem as they diced back and forth for position throughout the last 15 laps.
At the checkers it was Zona in for the win, Coy for second,Howard for third, Paxton in second, and Springville PAs Jamie Griffithsfifth.
An open show for the IMCA and Grand American style modifiedsbrought a competitive field to the Speedway. Billy Dunn of Watertown was the class of the field as he lead most ofthe way in the 20 lap Feature go from his pole starting spot.
Dunn didnt have it easy though, as he lost the leadmomentarily on lap 12 to Endicotts Jeff Cleveland, but Dunn took the top spotback on the 15th circuit and never looked back en route to pickingup the feature win. Cleveland, whostarted seventh, finished in a solid second, with IMCA hot-shoe Sean Lias, ofWestfield, PA, in third. Lias, who hascollected over 100 IMCA wins made it up to second by lap eleven, but a tangleon that lap with Grotons Tommy Paige would result in both cars re-starting atthe rear. Kattelvilles Mike Stoddardand Adam Centers Larry Bezner completed the top five.
The next round of the Garys U-Pull it Kings Royal Modifiedseries will be held at the Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna, PA on TuesdayAugust 13th. Racing returnsto Thunder Mountain this Saturday for a regular show with all seven classes onthe card for the evening. Pit gatesopen at 4pm, with racing set to go at 6:30pm.