Drivers and teams returned to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Thursday night for another round of Thursday Night Thunder.
With just 3 weeks of competition remaining in the season, the racing action was heating up on the track in all 6 divisions.
The night’s action began with the 15-lap Beetle Bug Varsity feature. While Jeff Walker was looking to add another victory to his impressive racing resume in 2018, points runner-up, Ed Johnson, was simply looking to salvage some points after he blew a motor in practice. Ed’s teammate, Chris Case, let Johnson use his car to start and park the feature to remain in the points race.
The #1 of Brandon Varney missed a shift on the initial start, falling to the back of the pack.
There was a 3-way battle for the lead on lap 3, with Ray Phillps, Jon Talbot and Jeff Walker duking it out for the top spot. Ray Phillips managed to hold onto the top spot as Jeff Walker took over the runner-up spot.
Brandon Varney and Ben Krauter collided on lap 9 in turn 3. Both drivers managed to hold onto their cars as the field remained green.
Jeff Walker was all over Ray Phillips for the lead on lap 12, challenging him for the lead on the outside.
Ray Phillips managed to hold him off, securing his first victory of the 2018 season. Jon Talbot, Jeff White and Ben Krauter rounded out the top five.
Ed McConologue powered into the early lead in the 25-lap Mad Bomber Varsity feature. Mike Dearden wasn’t far behind, taking over the lead on lap 2.
Brandon Johnson took a wild ride on lap 5, taking a spin in turn 3. He scathed the #70 of Bean, but the field remained green.
Chris Burgess and Tom Lovejoy, Sr. both powered their way through the field, climbing up to second and third on lap 8.
Burgess took over the lead on lap 9 with Lovejoy in tow, which pushed Dearden back to third place.
Dearden took a spin on lap 16 in turn 1, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Betty Nelson and Ed McConologue made contact on the backstretch on lap 17, resulting in McConologue taking a spin. Jason Gammon also had a left front tire go down on the same lap. The incident led to yet another caution.
Todd Libby had a tire go down on the restart, forcing him to retire to the pits.
Chris Burgess held onto the lead while Jason Gammon powered his way back into fourth after having tire issues.
Burgess sailed into the victory, picking up his first win of the 2018 season in the division. Johnny Wolfe, Tom Lovejoy, Sr., Jason Gammon and Steve Taylor rounded out the top five.
Next on the agenda was the 15-lap Mighty Trucks feature, where Dave Lamson hurried into the early lead. Points runner-up, Jared Kimball, quickly made his way into the second spot.
Kimball made his way into the lead on lap 3, with competitors Keith Petrin and Jeff Gillette in tow.
Jeff Gillette proved strong mid-race, challenging Keith Petrin for the runner-up spot on lap 5. He took over the spot on lap 7, setting his sights on Kimball at the front of the field.
Jared Kimball managed to hold Jeff Gillette off for the victory and become the third driver on the night to pick up his first victory of the 2018 season. The win also cut down Keith Petrin’s point lead to 10 points.
Keith Petrin, Dave Lamson and Will Potter rounded out the top five.
After the initial start of the 15-lap Ladies League feature was called off by race control, Nicole Bell and Taylor Graffam went head-to-head for the first 3 laps of the feature before Graffam pulled away from Bell.
Betty Nelson was on the move in the early laps, taking over the third spot on lap 5. Laura McKeage was following in her footsteps, finally overtaking Betty for the third spot on lap 7.
McKeage then made her way into the runner-up spot on lap 10, the same lap that the competition yellow came out.
Laura McKeage gained sole possession of the lead on the restart, pulling into her second victory of the season just 5 laps later.
Taylor Graffam, Betty Nelson, Nicole Bell and Sara Libby rounded out the top five.
Kevin Girard, Jr. powered away with the early lead in the 25-lap Legends feature.
Matt Grant, who was making his return to the track, broke into the top five on lap 8.
By lap 20, there was a 3-car breakaway at the front of the field.
The #77 of Ryan Doucette was all over Girard for the lead on lap 22. Charlie Buxton joined the battle, allowing Kevin Girard, Jr. to pull away as Buxton and Doucette battled it out for the runner-up spot.
Girard took home the victory, followed by Ryan Doucette, Charlie Buxton, Parker Varney and Matt Grant.
The 20-lap Beetle Bug Junior Varsity feature started with a bang as Adam Warnock and Derrick Drown made contact on the initial lap of the feature, sending both drivers through the dirt in turn 4. Both drivers held onto it as the field remained green.
Max Dolliver pulled to the outside of Robert Taylor on lap 3, challenging him for the lead. Dolliver took over the spot just 3 laps later.
Chris Case was on the move in the first half of the race, breaking the top 5 on lap 9 after starting at the rear of the field.
By lap 10, Dolliver was smoking the field, pulling away with a 1/2 straightaway lead over his competitors.
Alex Parechanian was on a mission mid-race, climbing into runner-up spot on lap 12.
The competition caution was brought out on lap 13, bringing the field together once more.
Max Dolliver pulled away again on the restart, sailing off into the sunset.
Chris Case was still on the grind, clearing Robert Taylor for third place on lap 18 after racing side-by-side with him for a handful of laps.
Max Dolliver pulled off the victory, picking up his second win of the season. Alex Parechanian, Chris Case, Robert Taylor and Derek McKeen rounded out the top five.
Points leader, Brandon Lizotte, had a devastating end to his night, blowing his motor on the final lap of the feature. The unfortunate incident led to Chris Case tying him for the points lead at the end of the night.
With just two weeks of competition left, this division is the closest, points-wise. It will only get more intense as the season winds down.
Dan Collins rocketed into the early lead in the 25-lap Mad Bomber Junior Varsity feature, the final race of the night. Young gun, Devon McConologue, quickly made his way into the runner-up spot.
Garrett Lamb was shuffled to the outside line on lap 4, losing a handful of spots.
Bob Darrell Wilson took a spin on the front stretch on lap 6, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Scott Eck was on the move in the early laps of the feature, breaking into the third spot on lap 8.
Dan Collins got loose coming out of turn 2 on lap 14 and spun on the same lap in turn 4, leading to another caution.
As it turns out, Collins’ car blew a radiator hose, leading to his demise. After leading every single lap of the feature, Collins was forced to retire his car for the night after the part failure.
Devon McConologue pulled away with the lead on the restart as Tom Lovejoy, Jr. powered into third.
Garrett Lamb was on the move in the closing laps of the race, climbing up to fourth on lap 20 after starting the race at the tail-end of the field.
Devon McConologue rolled into the victory, taking home his first win of the 2018 season. Scott Eck, Tom Lovejoy, Jr., Garrett Lamb and Mike Sanford rounded out the top five.
On Thursday night, we saw some intense competition on the race track, leading to many new faces in Victory Lane.
As the season comes to a close, you can only expect things to only heat up from here.
Don’t miss some can’t-miss racing action this upcoming Thursday, August 16th. Adult admission is only $7 and children 12 and under get in FREE!
Get out and support your local short track.
We hope to see you there!
Thank you again to Drown Excavation and Four Season Synthetic for their endless support for Chasing the Checkered. Contact Drown Excavation for all of your demolition and excavation needs and Four Season Synthetic for all of your oil, lube and filter needs!
