Gaston, Lindemuth and Shannon finish off championship seasons with feature wins; Smith wins Enduro feature while Greeley takes the title at Thunder Mountain Speedway
September 3, 2010
Brookville, PA
After heavy rains moved through the area 3 hours before race time, Thunder Mountain Speedway worked hard at getting a lightning fast, dust free surface for the drivers to battle the final round of the season. Matt Gaston (Steel Block Late Models), Skip Lindemuth (Super Stocks) and Kyle Shannon (Pure Stocks) put exclamation marks on their 2010 championship runs by picking up feature wins. Ben Smith may have won the Enduro battle, but Chad Greeley won the war after claiming the championship.
Skip Lindemuth used season long consistency to have the Super Stock crown in the bag before heading to the 3/8 mile oval. Not one to ride it out and take the easy route, Lindemuth came to race. Starting on the pole, Lindemuth had to hold off Fuzzy Fields for the first 3 laps before Fields stopped in turn 2 bringing out the only caution of the event. Back under Green, 5th starter Eric Baun hounded Lindemuth the rest of the way. Baun pulled alongside Lindemuth several times, but Lindemuth would prove to be too strong as he went on to win over Baun, Brian Rhed, Bob Rosman, and Paul Blake. Rich Howell, Gary Luzier, Mike Desch, Steve Barnes, and Fields rounded out the top 10. Baun and Fields took heat race honors.
Matt Gaston has been the car to beat all season in the Steel Block Late Model ranks and the final night was no different. Gaston went into the night with a slim 9 point lead over Denny Fenton, who was a mere 9 points ahead of Rick Maxim in 3rd. As the feature line up rolled onto the track, the #55 of Fenton and #102 of Maxim were noticeably absent as the pair both had engine troubles and did not make the call. From his pole starting spot, Gaston seemed to cruise to an easy win, but Chuck Kennedy had other plans as he pressured Gaston from the 2nd lap. Bernie Whiteford returned after his Mike Eberl Memorial win and was advancing from his 10th starting spot to 5th before John Brady brought out a yellow on lap 5. Under yellow, Whiteford stopped on the back stretch before refiring and heading to the pits, ending his run. Caution flew 2 laps later as Chris Clark tagged the front stretch wall causing enough damage to spin in turn 3. He too headed to the pits for the night. Back under green, Gaston abandoned his trademark high line as Kennedy looked under the leader . The duo battled for the remainder of the event, but Gaston was determined to win his 3rd straight track championship in style as he held off Kennedy, Jerry Redden, Bill Davis, and Bruce Raybuck. Dave Buchanan, Terry Rayko, Joe Martin, Mike Zemrose, and Clark completed the top 10. Kennedy and Buchanan were heat winners.
Kyle Shannon had a much easier path to his 2nd straight Pure Stock championship as he distanced himself from the field from the drop of the green. Zach Gustafson had control of the battle for 2nd until 2 laps to go saw a yellow for a Shawn Lindemuth spin. As the yellow flew, Shannon was nearing the top 5 cars to try to put them a lap down. Gustafson’s night came to an end as he headed to the pit’s the same lap with engine woes. Shannon all but coasted to the feature win over Mike Calhoun, Chad Ramsey, Matt Krause, and Lindemuth. Steve Scaife, Lori Weaver, Gustafson, Sam McClellan, and Steve Arthurs rounded out the top 10. Shannon and Lindemuth earned heat race wins.
Chad Greeley started along side his season long nemesis Ryan Kemmer and were set to race for the championship before Kemmer lost a wheel in turn 3, collecting 6 cars and ending his night on the flat bed. Alone out front, Greeley lead the first lap and wrapped up his championship run. 10th starter Ben Smith quickly moved to 2nd before taking the lead from Greeley on lap 2. Greeley then had his hands full with John Miller as Smith opened ground on the battle for 2nd. With 2 laps to go, lapped traffic came into play as Miller used a car to sneak by Greeley for 2nd. Smith picked up the win with Miller, Greeley, John Lee, and Cory Silvis following. Mike Fields, Rusty Murray, Kayla Bailey, Randy Holliday, and Jason Joiner made up the bottom of the top 10. Kenny White and Chris Hickok were heat winners.
As the 2010 points season came to a close, plans were announced regarding a Super Stock special to be held on Saturday, October 2. Fans and drivers can keep tabs on information regarding that event on the tracks web site at www.thundermountainspeedway.net
as information becomes available. Thunder Mountain Speedway would like to thank every fan, driver, and sponsor for making the 2010 season a success. Congratulations to 2010 Track Champions Matt Gaston, Skip Lindemuth, Kyle Shannon, and Chad Greely!
Complete Results:
Steel Block Late Models:
1. Matt Gaston, 2. Chuck Kennedy, 3. Jerry Redden, 4. Bill Davis, 5. Bruce Raybuck, 6. John Buchanan, 7. Terry Rayko, 8. Joe Martin, 9. Mike Zemrose, 10. Chris Clark -DNF, 11. Bernie Whiteford -DNF, 12. John Brady -DNF, 13. Denny Fenton -DNS, 14. Rick Maxim -DNS.
Heat Winners: Kennedy, Buchanan.
Super Stocks:
1. Skip Lindemuth, 2. Eric Baun, 3. Brian Rhed, 4. Bob Rosman, 5. Paul Blake, 6. Rich Howell, 7. Gary Luzier, 8. Mike Desch, 9. Steve Barnes, 10. Fuzzy Fields, 11. Nathan Yeaney -DNF, 12. Jamie Barber -DNS.
Heat Winners: Baun, Fields.
Pure Stocks:
1. Kyle Shannon, 2. Mike Calhoun, 3. Chad Ramsey, 4. Matt Krause, 5. Shawn Lindemuth, 6. Steve Scaife, 7. Lori Weaver, 8. Zach Gustafson -DNF, 9. Sam McClellan -DNF, 10. Steve Arthurs -DNF, 11. Devin Yeaney -DNS, 12. Gabe Shaffer -DNS.
Heat Winners: Shannon, Lindemuth.
Enduros:
1. Ben Smith, 2. John Miller, 3. Chad Greeley, 4. John Lee, 5. Cory Silvis, 6. Mike Fields, 7. Rusty Murray, 8. Kayla Bailey, 9. Randy Holliday -DNF, 10. Jason Joiner -DNF, 11. Chris Hickok -DNF, 12. Ryan Kemmer -DNF, 13. Randy Rickard -DNF, 14. Kenny White -DNF, 15. Chris Arnold -DNS.
Heat Winners: White, Hickok.
