Shetler, Brooks, Martz, Shannon and Hadden Claim Victories as the 410 Sprints Roar in to Thunder Mountain Speedway!
June 25, 2010
Knoxdale, PA
The Thunder Mountain Speedway lived up to it’s name tonight as the Thunder and Lightning of the 410 Sprint Cars returned to the speedway for the first time in 2010! A beautiful Friday night greeted fans and race teams as Dan Shetler took home his 3rd feature win at the Mountain in the Sprint Cars. Dwayne Brooks rocked the field to pick up his first win at the speedway in the Steel Block Late Models, while Shawn Hadden finally broke through to earn his first career victory in the Thunderbolt Enduro class! Rusty Martz and Kyle Shannon continued their winning ways in the Super Stocks and Pure Stocks respectively. Excitement was in the air and the fans were ready for action as the 410 sprints lit up the speedway in their hot lap session. Along with the 410 sprints, another special guest was on hand as Ms. Dirt Trackin’ 2010, Arynne Moody joined Ms. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Brittany Bouch for victory lane photos with the winning drivers. Ms. Moody also treated the fans to a spectacular live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner to kick off the night of racing action!
Dwayne Brooks has always been fast at Thunder Mountain, but had never been able to park his #1B in victory lane, until tonight. The field of Steel Block Late Models were brought to the line with Brooks and Rick Maxim occupying the front row. Brooks would take the lead with Maxim hot on his tail during the early stages of the event, before Maxim would lose the handle in turn 3 while chasing down the leader. Chris Clark would assume the second position and apply pressure to Brooks after the restart, as John Chesnalavich Jr., Chuck Kennedy, Chris Farrell, and last weeks winner Denny Fenton were engaged in a battle for a spot in the top five. Brooks began to stretch his lead with Clark giving chase in the second spot. The battle behind Clark for third had the fans attention as Chesnalavich was feeling the heat from Kennedy, while Farrell was fending off the challenges of Fenton. With the laps winding down, Brooks found himself with a comfortable lead while the rest of the field jockeyed for position. Kennedy slid high in turns one and two, opening the door for Farrell and Fenton to slide by. The fight for fourth gave the top three some breathing room as Brooks took the checkered flag with Clark and Chesnalavich behind him. Fenton took one last shot at Farrell as they entered turn three on the final lap and pulled off the pass for fourth on the low side of turn four coming to finish. An excited Brooks stated in victory lane that his car is “running faster than Forest Gump when his leg braces fell off.” Denny Fenton won the heat race for the Steel Block Late Models.
The Super Stocks were up next with Paul Blake and Gary Luzier leading the field to the green. Blake took off on the start to lead the field out of turn two and down the backstretch but spun in front of the field in turns three and four. The rest of the field cleared Blake without contact. Sixth place starter Bobby Connor got a great start and was challenging Luzier for the lead out of turn four when Jamie Barber spun in turn three collecting the hard charging Rusty Martz who had started scratch in the field. On the restart, Connor would use the high side in turns one and two to take the lead from Luzier as Skip Lindenmuth powered his way past Jeff Mease to take the third position. Fuzzy Fields in a backup car was on his way to the front and would take the fourth position from Jeff Mease a lap later. Connor looked like he was going to check out on the field as Lindenmuth began to work on Luzier for second, taking the spot in turn two. Martz was on a mission after restarting at the rear of the field, and was up to sixth when Luzier brought out the caution with a spin in turn two. On the restart, Martz battled past Barber and Fields to earn a spot in the top three as Lindenmuth was giving Connor all he could handle at the front. It was a three car breakaway as Connor was fending off the challenges of Lindenmuth on the low side and Martz on the high side. Martz used the high line to take second from Lindenmuth in turn two, and before the lap was completed he took the lead from Connor in turn four. Once out front, Martz never looked back as he went on to score another feature win on the season with Connor holding on for second followed by Lindenmuth, Hartzfeld, and Fields. Heat race winners were Rusty Martz and Skip Lindenmuth.
The 410 Sprints were up next for their first feature at the speedway in 2010. By virtue of a re-draw, the eighteen car field was paced by Jimmy Seger and Daryl Stimeling. The field lined up in a four wide salute to the fans as the fans cheered them on in anticipation of the fast and furious feature event. As the green flag flew, Stimeling rocketed into the lead with Seger giving chase in second. Dan Shetler settled in to third with Chuck Brion and Brian Steinman completing the top 5. The early mover and shaker in the event was tenth place starter Gale Ruth Jr. as he had worked his way through the field to sixth before the caution flew with six laps in the book for a spin by Dylan Proctor in turn two. Stimeling was looking strong at the front as he again shot out into the lead on the restart as Ruth Jr. made his way around Steinman for fifth. Stimeling’s run at the front was short lived as he looped his #30 in turn three while leading the field. The ensuing restart found Seger on the point with Shetler right on his tail. On the restart, Shetler dove low under Seger in one and two, but Seger held him off and took off down the backstretch with his lead in tact. It was a sign of things to come as Seger and Shetler would put on a race long duel for the lead with Shetler looking low under the leader at both ends of the speedway. As the lead pair raced each other hard, the action behind them was just as intense as Ruth Jr. was challenging Brion for third and Steinman had his hands full with Proctor who had worked his way back to the front after his earlier spin. A few cautions would slow the event, giving the drivers a chance to catch their breath, but the action would resume with Shetler hounding Seger all around the 3/8’s mile oval for the lead. Brion found something on the high side and began to reel in the leaderseinman and Ruth Jr. into fourth, and the top four could have been covered with a blanket as they began to approach lapped traffic. Proctor used the low side of turns one and two to gain the third spot from Brion as Shetler continued to challenge Seger for the lead. The leaders were just beginning to enter lapped traffic with Shetler and Seger side by side when the caution flew once again for a spin in turns one and two. Only six laps remained and the fans were on their feet as Seger once again shot off in to the lead on the restart. Shetler stayed strong and pulled even with Seger entering turn three. The pair raced side by side with Shetler finally pulling off the pass for the lead on the low side of turns one and two! Seger wasn’t ready to concede victory just yet, as he powered back beside Shetler on the high side, as the leaders again raced side by side for the top spot. The race long duel came to an end as Seger drove hard into turns three and four on the high side on the final lap, but Shetler held off the challenge to record his third feature win at the speedway! It was a duel for the ages that had the fans on their feet, buzzing with excitement! Following Shetler across the line were Seger, Proctor, Brion and Ruth Jr. Heat race victories went to Jimmy Seger and Brian Steinman.
The Pure Stocks were up next with Jason Young, and Lori Weaver on the front row. Young took the early lead in turns one and two, with Josh Fields making a move on the low side of turn three to take the lead. Zach Gustafson avoided disaster as he came across the track on the front stretch narrowly avoiding contact with several other cars. A complete restart re-aligned the field and found Jason Joiner charging into the lead from his third row starting spot in turns one and two. Joiner would pace the field for several laps, holding off the challenges of Josh Fields as Kyle Shannon and Mike Calhoun were working their way to the front. Shannon would find his way around Fields for second and began to run down Joiner as Calhoun drew closer to Fields. Calhoun used the low line to gain the third spot from Fields, just before Fields lost his left rear wheel entering turn three. Shannon used the ensuing restart to get under Joiner in one and two, with the pair racing side by side down the backstretch. Shannon pulled off the winning pass as the pair entered turn three. Shannon would pull away to a comfortable victory as Calhoun and Joiner put on a show for the second position. The finish would find Shannon picking up his second win of the season with Joiner, Calhoun, Weaver and Young rounding out the top five.
The Thunderbolt Enduro class was final event of the evening, and they continued the action packed excitement that they are known for. Shawn Hadden put his front row starting spot to good use as he took the lead on the start and held off several challenges from Chad Greely, on his way to first career feature win! There was action all over the track as drivers were swapping positions and paint every lap. Hadden held off all challengers and brought home the victory with Greely, Ryan Kemmer, Kie Brown, and John Campisano rounding out the top five. Heat race wins went to Chad Greely and Shawn Hadden.
Thunder Mountain Speedway will be idle on Friday, July 2 before returning to action July 9 with Mid Season Championships up for grabs. Visit the track's web site at www.thundermountainspeedway.net for the latest news.
Complete Results:
410 Sprints: 1. Dan Shetler, 2. Jimmy Seger, 3. Dylan Proctor, 4. Chuck Brion, 5. Gale Ruth Jr, 6. Jeff Taylor, 7. Daryl Stimeling, 8. Brian Steinman, 9. Bill Jones Sr, 10. Chris Best, 11. Rich Brungard, 12. Dave Delisle, 13. Gale Ruth Sr, 14. Andy McKisson -DNF, 15. Adam Anderson -DNF, 16. Jack Helget -DNF, 17. Steve Wilson -DNF, 18. Zeke Brungard -DNF.
Heat Winenrs: Seger, Steinman.
Steel Block Late Models: 1. Dwayne Brooks, 2. Chris Clark, 3. John Chesnalavich, 4. Denny Fenton, 5. Chris Farrell, 6. Chuck Kennedy, 7. Rusty Martz, 8. Rick Maxim, 9. Tom Shaffer -DNF.
Heat Winner: Fenton.
Super Stocks: 1. Rusty Martz, 2. Bob Conner, 3. Skip Lindemuth, 4. Bruce Hartzfeld, 5. Fuzzy Fields, 6. Gary Luzier, 7. Jeff Mease, 8. Steve Barnes, 9. Jamie Barber -DNF, 10. Brandon Conner -DNF, 11. Paul Blake -DNF.
Heat Winners: Martz, Lindemuth.
Pure Stocks: 1. Kyle Shannon, 2. Jason Joiner, 3. Mike Calhoun, 4. Lori Weaver, 5. Jason Young, 6. Josh Fields -DNF, 7. Zach Gustafson -DNF, 8. Roswell Babcock -DNS, 9. Shawn Lindemuth -DNS.
Heat Winner: Shannon.
Thunderbolt Enduros: 1. Shawn Hadden, 2. Chad Greeley, 3. Ryan Kemmer, 4. Kie Brown, 5. John Campisano, 6. Randy Holliday, 7. Cory Silvis, 8. Rusty Murray, 9. Josh Frantz -DNF, 10. Chris Arnold -DNF, 11. Randy Rickard -DNF.
Heat Winners: Greeley, Hadden.
