JAKE SHADY AND BEN SMITH EARNED THEIR FIRST FEATURE WINS OF THE SEASON WHILE RUSTY MARTZ AND KYLE SHANNON ADD TO THEIR WIN TALLIES AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY.

July 30, 2010

KNOXDALE, PA…Mother nature graced race fans with a dry comfortable summer night as they witnessed Jake Shady survive a wild 20 laps to capture his first win of the season while Ben Smith returned from heat race woes to grabbed his first Thunderbolt Enduro win at the track. Victory lane regulars Rusty Martz and Kyle Shannon took home hard fought Super Stock and Pure Stock wins respectively.

Rusty Martz applied constant pressure to race-long leader Bobby Connor from lap 3 until the only caution of the race flew with 2 laps to go. As Martz was hounding Connor, Fuzzy Fields and Jamie Barber were engaged in a battle for 3rd while Skip Lindemuth and pole sitter Rich Howell fought for 5th. Howell and Chad Obrien spun in turn 4 on lap 18, which reset the field for a 2-lap shootout. Martz used the break in action to plan an attack on Connor, which worked as the white flag was waving. Martz had a slight advantage at the line as Connor tried to keep pace through turns 1 and 2. Heading down the backstretch, Martz opened a little breathing room as he entered turns 3 and 4 and held on for the win. Connor was a solid but disappointing 2nd with Fields, Barber and Lindemuth making up the top 5. Gary Luzier, Jackie Phillips, Steve Barnes, Obrien, and Howell rounded out the top 10. Barber and Fields picked up heat race wins to start the night.

Jake Shady used his pole starting position to escape 3 attempts at a start in the 20-lap, 19-car late model field to snare his first feature win. Before a lap was complete, several cars were involved in 2 separate turn 2 incidents. Once the race got underway, Shady opened a sizable lead over Jason Witherite and newcomer Dave Buchanon before a lap 7 caution for Donnie Connor and Terry Rayko slowed the field. Under yellow, Witherite headed to the pits and did not return, handing 2nd to Buchanon. Back under green, Shady again pulled ahead of the field as 13th starter Matt Gaston and 18th starter Denny Fenton made their way through the pack and took 2nd from Buchanon on lap 14. John Brady then challenged Buchanon for 4th as Gaston closed on Shady. Gaston’s mission came to an end on lap 17 as he headed to the pits with a flat left rear tire. Shady led Fenton as the 2 laps to go flags were in the air and Fenton was all over the back of Shady’s black #1. Brady moved to 3rd as John Chesnalavich battled Buchanon for 4th. With one lap to go, Shady ran a perfect line through turns 1 and 2 to put distance between himself and Fenton. Shady went on to win over Fenton, Brady, Chesnalavich and Buchanon. Rick Maxim, Connor, Gaston, Ray Farrell and Chuck Kennedy completed the top 10. Shady, Gaston and Witherite were heat race winners ver the season high field.

Kyle Shannon returned from a near disastrous heat race to snatch another Pure Stock feature win and extend his points lead. Mike Calhoun took the lead at the drop of the green with Shawn Lindemuth and Zach Gustafson in pursuit. Shannon moved from 7th to 4th before taking 3rd from Gustafson on lap 5. 2 laps later, Shannon passed Lindemuth for 2nd before the duo made contact resulting in a spin for Shannon, Lindemuth was charged with the caution. Shannon took the lead from Calhoun on the restart before the red flag waved for Ezekiel Quick, whose first time in a racecar ended with a brake fire and was ok. Back under green, Shannon paced the field as Gustafson took 2nd from Calhoun. The 2nd half of the race was caution free as Shannon crossed the finish line ahead of Gustafson, Calhoun, Lindemuth, and Steve Arthurs. Lori Weaver and Quick completed the field. Calhoun won the lone heat race.

Ben Smith made his season debut a good one as he picked up his first Thunderbolt Enduro feature win. John Miller and John Campisano were pacing the field as Smith came from 12th to take 3rd from Ryan Kemmer on lap 2. Smith grabbed 2nd from Campisano a lap later, then took the lead from Miller on lap 5 after a Rusty Murray caution slowed the field. Kemmer’s night ended on lap 7, moving Randy Rickard to 4th ahead of Chad Greeley. Out front, Smith and Miller were battling for the lead ahead of Campisano. The final laps clicked off as Smith held off Miller for the win. Campisano was 3rd while Greeley took 4th from Rickard on the final lap. Rickard settled for 5th with Mike Fields, Cory Silvis, Murray, Kemmer, and Randy Holliday rounding out the top 10. Campisano and Miller were heat race winners.

Next up for the Thunder Mountain Speedway fans and drivers will be a regular show of Steel Block Late Models, Super Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Thunderbolt Enduros on Friday, August 6. The 410 Sprints will return a week later on August 13 for their final appearance of the season. Gates open at 5:00 with the first heat race hitting the track at 7:30. For the latest information, visit the tracks web site at www.thundermountainspeedway.net.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

STEEL BLOCK LATE MODELS
1. JAKE SHADY, 2. Denny Fenton, 3. John Brady, 4. John Chesnalavich, 5. Dave Buchanon, 6. Rick Maxim, 7. Donnie Connor, 8. Matt Gaston, 9. Ray Farrell, 10. Chuck Kennedy, 11. Terry Rayko –DNF, 12. Jason Witherite –DNF, 13. Andrew Satterlee –DNF, 14. Mikey Buck –DNF, 15. Mike Zemrose –DNF, 16. Bruce Raybuck –DNF, 17. George Fultz –DNF, 18. Brent Johnson –DNF, 19. Dwayne Brooks –DNF.
Heat Winners: Shady, Gaston, Witherite.

SUPER STOCKS:
1. RUSTY MARTZ, 2. Bob Connor, 3. Fuzzy Fields, 4. Jamie Barber, 5. Skip Lindemuth, 6. Gary Luzier, 7. Jackie Phillips, 8. Steve Barnes, 9. Chad Obrien –DNF, 10. Rich Howell –DNF, 11. Brian Rhed –DNF.
Heat Winners: Barber, Fields.

PURE STOCKS:
1. KYLE SHANNON, 2. Zach Gustafson, 3. Mike Calhoun, 4. Shawn Lindemuth, 5. Steve Arthurs, 6. Lori Weaver, 7. Ezekiel Quick –DNF.
Heat Winner: Calhoun.

THUNDERBOLT ENDUROS:
1. BEN SMITH, 2. John Miller, 3. John Campisano, 4. Chad Greeley, 5. Randy Rickard, 6. Mike Fields, 7. Cory Silvis, 8. Rusty Murray, 9. Ryan Kemmer –DNF, 10. Randy Holliday –DNF, 11. Kie Brown –DNF, 12. Chris Arnold –DNF, 13. Kayla Bailey –DNS.
Heat Winners: Campisano, Miller.