Whiteford Thrills the Crowd with Last Lap Pass to Win the $2500 Mike Eberl / Donnie Leonard Memorial at Thunder Mountain Speedway!
Bish, Lindemuth, and Smith Claim Victories in Regular Divisions!
August 20, 2010
Brookville, PA
One of the most anticipated events in the short history of The Thunder Mountain Speedway took place on Friday night as the track hosted the Mike Eberl / Donnie Leonard Memorial for Steel Block Late Models. $2500 was on the line as the Thunder Mountain regulars looked to defend their home turf against a host of invaders from other area speedways. The night was dedicated to the memories of track photographer Mike Eberl and “Diamond” Donnie Leonard, who was a longtime race fan and crew member. Several events including a Chinese auction were held to help raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The number of laps for the feature was determined by a vote from the crowd. In a land slide vote, it was determined that the Eberl / Leonard Memorial would be 35 laps. Before the action started, Bobby McMillen, Denny Fenton and Paul Blake made a parade lap around the speedway in honor of Mike and Donnie. Fenton and Blake sported special door panels for the night complete with the number 15, which was Donnie’s truck number at Robert Leonard Trucking. After the qualifying heats were completed, the top twelve qualifiers were brought to the stands to re-draw for their starting positions for the 35 lap memorial race. The local fans had something to cheer about as the re-draw put two familiar faces on the front row when Matt Gaston and Denny Fenton drew the first and second starting spots. After all the festivities were completed, it was time to go racing!
The Super Stocks started off the nights feature events with Tim Bish and Skip Lindemuth on the front row. After missing several weeks with engine problems, Bish made a triumphant return to The Mountain as he took the lead on the start and led every lap of the 20 lap feature. It wasn’t easy for the “Ringold Rocket”, as Lindemuth challenged him at both ends of the speedway before suffering a mechanical failure in the rear end of the #22. Dom Surra and Fuzzy Fields were locked in a race long battle for the third position that had the pair racing side by side several times during the event, before Surra also encountered mechanical difficulties. The final caution flew with four laps to go when Lindeumuth stopped on the front stretch, giving second place to Fields. On the restart, Fields was all over Bish as the pair raced down the backstretch. The final three laps had the fans on their feet as Fields threw everything he had at Bish, pulling even with the leader as the pair took the white flag. Fields made one final charge at the leader, but Bish powered away out of turn four and took the checkered flag to record his second win of the season. Following Bish across the line were, Fields, Jeff Mease, Rich Howell, and Gary Luzier. Heat races for the 18 Super Stocks were won by Tim Bish and Skip Lindemuth.
The $2500 to win Mike Eberl / Donnie Leonard Memorial was up next with track regulars Matt Gaston and Denny Fenton leading the field. The crowd was on their feet with anticipation as the field passed the stands in a four wide salute! Fenton powered into the lead on the start before the first of several cautions slowed the event before a lap could be completed. On each restart, Fenton would rocket off his outside front row starting position into the lead with Gaston hot on his tail. Fenton, who is normally locked down on the bottom side of the speedway was finding his groove in a higher line tonight as Gaston continued to give chase. Sixth place starter Dwayne Brooks made several exciting moves on the low side to charge into the third position, and began to challenge Gaston for second. Fenton was holding off the challenges, as further back in the pack, several drivers were starting to move to the front as numerous cautions re-arranged the running order. Mid pack starters Mike Altobelli Jr. and Dwayne Tanneyhill found themselves locked in a battle for the fifth position as Brooks used the extreme low side of the speedway to take the second position from Gaston at the front of the field. Once in the second position, it didn’t take long for Brooks to reel in Fenton. Brooks and Fenton raced hard for the top spot with Brooks taking the position on the bottom of turn four to lead the fourteenth circuit. Brooks was just beginning to encounter lapped traffic when the caution flew giving the leader a clear track in front of him once again. On the restart, Brooks took off and charged hard in to turn one but lost the handle of the #1B machine in turn two and spun himself out of the lead. Fenton once again found himself at the front of the field, but would surrender the top spot to Gaston as “The Rochester Mills Rocket” shot by on the high side of turn two. Gaston was looking strong as he worked his familiar high line around the speedway while Fenton was keeping the leader in site. Altobelli and Tanneyhill were still battling hard for third when eighteenth place starter Bernie Whiteford broke in to the top five and made it a three car battle for third. Gaston’s run at the front came to an end when for the third week in a row disaster struck the #47. As Gaston drove hard into turn one, something broke on the car sending the #47 machine hard into the outside retaining wall. Gaston walked away uninjured, but the disappointment of another shattered run at the front was apparent as he took the long ride back to the pit area. Whiteford was penalized two positions for jumping the previous restart, while Denny Fenton found himself out front once again with ten laps to go. Fenton again shot out to the lead with new second place runner Altobelli Jr in tow. Whiteford and Tanneyhill were racing side by side for the third position as Alotobelli began to gain some ground on Fenton with five laps to go. Altobelli pulled even with Fenton and the two raced door handle to door handle down the back stretch with Fenton maintaining a slim lead as the pair exited turn four only to see the yellow flag flying once again. The caution was costly for Alotbelli as on the restart his car lost power after appearing to run out fuel, as Whiteford got around Tanneyhill for second before the caution flew for Altobelli. Four laps remained with the survivor Fenton and the hard charging Whiteford ready to do battle for the win. Fenton again showed his power on the restart and took off into the lead on the low side of turns one and two. Whiteford had run the high line to the front of the field, and as the old saying goes, “you gotta dance with the one brung ya,” he threw the #33 to the top once again as he started reeling in the leader. Fenton held a three car length advantage as he took the white flag, but Whiteford erased that advantage as he flew through turns one and two and was right on Fenton’s bumper as they raced down the backstretch. Fenton took the low line into turn three while Whiteford went hammer down on the top side. Fenton down low, Whiteford up high, the pair were nose to nose as they raced through the final turn. Exiting turn four, Whiteford rode the rim and used his momentum to slingshot past Fenton down the front stretch, taking the checkered flag as the fans roared with excitement! For Whiteford, the $2500 payday made this one of his biggest victories, and he won it in style after qualifying for the feature in one the B-mains. The top five at the line were Whiteford, Fenton, Tanneyhill, Eddie Connor and Chris Farrell. Heat races for the Eberl / Leonard Memorial were won by: Denny Fenton, Dwayne Brooks, Matt Gaston, and Terry Rayko. B-Main winners were Rick Maxim and Chris Farrell.
The Pure Stocks were up next with Zach Gustafson and Lori Weaver on the front row. Absent from the line up was multi time feature winner Kyle Shannon who retired from his heat event with mechanical problems and was unable to make repairs in time for the feature. It was a wild start for the pure stocks as the field got bottled up on the start resulting in several cars spinning down the front chute. Steven Arthurs, John McCormick and Jamie Colwell all headed to the pits after the incident with Colwell the only one that was able to return to action. On the restart, the #93 of Gustafson took the lead with Chad Ramsey, Mike Calhoun and Shawn Lindemuth battling for second. Ramsey pulled even with Gustafson out of turn two and squeezed by into the lead in turn three. Ramsey’s run in the top spot would be short lived as Lindemuth got a great run off of turn two a lap later, and took the second and first spots from Gustafson and Ramsey as the field entered turn three, bringing Calhoun along in second. Once out front, it was a two car race for the lead as Calhoun tried several times to wrestle the lead away from Lindemuth but the youngster from Hazen was able to turn back the challenges and went on to claim his first career feature win, as Ramsey got around Calhoun for second. Following the first time winner across the stripe were, Ramsey, Calhoun, Colwell, and Curtis Brown. Heat race winners were Steven Arthurs and Jamie Colwell.
The Thunderbolts were the final race of the evening with Cory Silvis and Wayne Terwillinger leading the field to the green flag. Silvis took the early lead before Ryan Kemmer and Ben Smith worked their way around on the low side of the speedway. It only took one lap for Smith to show his muscle as he powered by Kemmer into the lead. Smith held off a late race charge by Shawn Hadden but was able to withstand the pressure to record his third win of the season at Thunder Mountain. The top five at the line were: Smith, Hadden, Chad Greely, Doug Surra and Cory Silvis. Heat race winners were: Ben Smith and Chad Greely.
Notes: The management of Thunder Mountain Speedway would like to thank all the sponsors that helped to make the Mike Eberl / Donnie Leonard Memorial a success! 84 teams were in the pits including 35 Steel Block Late Models, 18 Super Stocks, 18 Pure Stocks and 13 FWD Thunderbolts. Trophies were presented to the winning drivers by Healthsource Chiropractic and Progressive Rehab. The racing season is winding down at Thunder Mountain Speedway as only two more events remain at the Jefferson County oval. Next week is Fan Appreciation Night with all four divisions on hand for a regular points night. Fans we be welcomed on to the track during intermission to meet their favorite drivers in what has become one of the more popular nights at the speedway. Bring your cameras, bring your autograph books and join us for a night of fun and excitement as we “Light Up the Night” next Friday at Thunder Mountain Speedway! For more information, visit our website at www.thundermountainspeedway.net
Full Results:
Steel Block Late Models Mike Eberl / Donnie Leonard Memorial
1. Bernie Whiteford
2. Denny Fenton
3. Dwayne Tanneyhill
4. Eddie Connor
5. Chris Farrell
6. Scott Stein
7. Terry Rayko
8. Tony Musolino
9. Dave Buchanan
10. Rick Maxim
11. Ray Farrell
12. Luke Hoffner
13. George Fultz
DNF: Bruce Raybuck, Mike Altobelli Jr., Bill Davis, Mark Booth, Matt Gaston, Dwayne Brooks, Chuck Kennedy, Todd Sallek, Bill McMillen, Jerry Redden, Chris Clark
DNQ: Joe Zulisky, Cheyenne Reed, Tom Shaffer, Jeff Weakland, Greg Kent, John Brady, John Poling Jr., Mike Zemrose, Mathew Tifft, John Chesnalavich Jr., Dave Blazavich
Super Stocks:
1. Tim Bish
2. Fuzzy Fields
3. Jeff Mease
4. Rich Howell
5. Gary Luzier
6. Chris Schneider
7. Paul Blake
8. Todd English
9. Jamie Bish
10. Steve Barnes
DNF: Skip Lindemuth, Brian Rhed, Dom Surra, Jay Bloom, Nathan Yeaney, Tim Adamson, Jackie Phillips
DNS: Rick Tripodi
Pure Stocks:
1. Shawn Lindemuth
2. Chad Ramsey
3. Mike Calhoun
4. Jamie Colwell
5. Curtis Brown
6. Dustin Challingsworth
7. Jim Challingsworth
8. Roswell Babcock
9. Lori Weaver
10. Jason Young
DNF: Ryan Jones, Zach Gustafson, Devin Yeaney, Steven Arthurs, John McCormick
DNS: Steve Scaife, Travis Cribbs, Kyle Shannon
FWD Thunderbolts:
1. Ben Smith
2. Shawn Hadden
3. Chad Greely
4. Doug Surra
5. Cory Silvis
6. Randy Rickard
7. Rusty Murray
8. Wayne Terwillinger
9. #21
DNF: Randy Holliday, Mike Fields, Ryan Kemmer, Chris Arnold
