The 2019 Thursday Thunder season at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway has gotten off to a slow start due to poor weather seemingly hitting the track every Thursday night, but this past Thursday was the picture-perfect day for some racing action.
The evening’s events started with a 25-lap feature for the Beetle Bugs division. Ben Krauter took off with the early lead, pulling away from his competitors. The #7 of David Moreau fell off-pace on lap 2, making the right-hand turn down to the pits.
Week one winner, Chris Case, was on the move early after starting at the rear of the field, breaking the top 5 on lap 3. Max Dolliver faced problems early, heading down to the pits on lap 4. While battling it out for position, Alex Parechanian took a spin on lap 7 in tuen 2, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Ben Krauter got a big jump on the restart, but he fell victim to a flat tire on lap 10 and took the dreaded turn into the pits. Alex Parechanian took another spin on lap 10 in turn 1, leading to another caution. Krauter’s misfortune propelled the #12 of Darryl Quinlan into the lead.
It was a chaotic restart as Adam Warnock dropped to the back of the field and Ed Johnson and Max Dolliver made contact while battling it out for position. All drivers were able to keep rolling as the field remained green.
Chris Case was at Darryl Quinlan’s door on lap 11, hungry for the top spot. He completed the pass that lap and had pulled ahead by nearly a half straightaway by lap 20. After spinning twice earlier in the race, Alex Parechanian showed strength in the closing laps of the feature, advancing to third on lap 22. Chris Case was able to hold off his competitors, making it a clean sweep of the 2019 season so far. Darryl Quinlan, Alex Parechanian, Ray Phillips and Derek McKeen followed, rounding out the top five.
Richard Bourgeois-Lang took off with the early lead in the 25-lap Mad Bomber JV feature, but rookie, Jeff Martel, was quick to steal it away. The #11 of Cam Jones took a spin on lap 5 in turn 4, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Jeff Martel pulled away with the lead once again on the restart, but Dan Collins was on the move, advancing to third. Collins continued his pursuit to the front on lap 10, climbing into the runner-up spot as Garrett Lamb settled into third behind him. David Bouchard, Logan Caron and Chad Moreside made heavy impact on the front stretch on lap 13, leading to an immediate red flag. The lap count advanced to lap 19 during this caution period.
Jeff Martel took off with the lead on the restart as Garrett Lamb powered into the runner-up spot. Scott Eck was also on the move in the closing laps, advancing to third on lap 20. Garrett Lamb was all over Jeff Martel for the lead with just three laps to go. Brandon Williams took a spin in turn 2 with just two laps remaining, resulting in the race ending under yellow-checkered conditions. Jeff Martel took home his first career MBJV victory while Garrett Lamb, Scott Eck, Cam Jones and Dan Collins rounded out the top five.
The Legends division was up next with their 25-lap feature. Alan Smith took off with the early lead, but Tylar Braunschweig was right there, taking over the top spot on lap 3. Colby Meserve was also on the move early, advancing into the runner-up spot on lap 4.
After a caution for an incident involving David Johnson on lap 6 in turn 1, Austin Teras powered his way into the runner-up spot on the restart. By lap 15, he was all over Braunschweig for the top spot, advancing position that lap. Cody Rice and David Johnson got together on lap 16 in turn 1, leading to a late-race caution.
Brandon Douglas and Ryan Rice got together on the restart in turn 2, but the field remained green. Chasing the Checkered driver, Nick Calvert, was on the move in the closing laps, briefly breaking the top 5 on the restart before being overtaken by Chris Burgess. Austin Teras took home the feature victory, making for an undefeated start to the 2019 Thursday Thunder season. Tylar Braunschweig, Parker Varney, Colby Meserve and Chris Burgess followed, rounding out the top five.
Rob Flaherty took off with the early lead in the 15-lap Street Devils feature. Week one winner, Blake Berry, was on the move early, advancing into the runner-up spot over Trevor Dore on lap 6 with Paul Goodrich in tow. Rob Flaherty was able to hold off his competitors, scoring his first victory of the 2019 race season. Blake Berry, Paul Goodrich, Trevor Dore and Todd Sargent followed, rounding out the top five.
Mike Dearden pulled away with the early lead in the 25-lap Mad Bomber Varsity feature. Kaitlynn Leavitt faced troubles in the early laps of the feature, falling to the back of the pack in the opening laps. Kris Knox was on the move early, breaking into the runner-up spot on lap 3. Jimmy Dean made hard impact with the turn 2 wall on lap 3, leading to an early-race caution.
Kris Knox took off with the lead on the restart and Tom Lovejoy, Sr. was also on the move once the field went green, advancing into the runner-up spot. He was all over Kris Knox for the lead on lap 4, advancing position the following lap. Briefly after, Mike Dearden took a spin that resulted in Steve Taylor also going around. Both drivers were able to drive away as the field remained green. Kris Knox took a spin on the same lap in turn 4, leading to another caution.
Kaitlynn Leavitt fell off-pace on lap 10, bringing her #32 machine down to the pits. The #5 of Jason Gammon put it to Kris Knox on lap 12, sending the driver for a spin in turn 1. The incident led to a mid-race caution.
Chris Burgess was all over Tom Lovejoy, Sr. for the lead on lap 13. Burgess got booted to the outside line on lap 16, falling all the way back to fourth. Jimmy Dean faced more troubles as he took a hard spin on the front stretch on lap 17, but the field remained green. Week one winner, Mike Sanford, had a tire go down on lap 21 and headed down to the pits.
There was a 3-way battle for the lead with just two laps to go. Johnny Wolfe waited for the perfect moment to strike, pulling up to challenge Tom Lovejoy for the lead on the last lap. It was a dog fight to the finish, where Johnny Wolfe beat him to the line, capturing his first feature victory of the 2019 season. Brian Darling, Chris Burgess and Jason Gammon followed, rounding out the top five.
Dave Lamson pulled away from his competitors in the early laps of the Mighty Trucks feature, but Keith Petrin was all over him for the lead by lap 3. Petrin took over the lead the following lap, pulling away from the competition. Jared Kimball was also on the move early, climbing up to the runner-up spot on lap 5.
Kimball and week one winner, Jeff Gillette, began battling it out side-by-side for the runner-up spot on lap 9. Gillette held the advantage over Kimball, pulling away with the spot. The leaders were already approaching lap traffic on lap 15, which resulted in a competition caution that brought the field back together.
There was pure chaos at the front of the field on the restart as Dave Lamson and Jeff Gillette tangled, leading to Dave Lamson retiring to the pits. Jared Kimball and Keith Petrin went head-to-head on the restart, but Kimball fell back quickly, losing a handful of spots once the field went back to green. Derrick Drown was on the move late, advancing up to fourth on lap 18.
There was a top four breakaway at the front of the field with just five laps to go. Jared Kimball fell off-pace on lap 21, heading down to the pits. Will Potter and Jeff Gillette spearheaded a battle for the runner-up spot with just three laps to go. Gillette managed to hold the edge over Potter, clearing him for position on the final lap. Nobody was any match for the defending series champion, Keith Petrin, who took home the victory. Jeff Gillette, Will Potter, Derrick Drown (first career top 5 in the Mighty Trucks!) and John Curtis finished out the top five.
The night’s racing action concluded with the 20-lap Ladies League feature, where Laura McKeage powered off with the early lead. Kiyah Gammon took a spin on lap 2 in turn 3, which the #8 of Betty Nelson caught a piece of. The incident led to an early-race caution.
McKeage took off with the lead once again on the restart. After her early-race struggles, Betty Nelson finally broke the top five again on lap 10. By lap 17, the leaders were already approaching lap traffic at the tail-end of the field. Laura McKeage, the defending series champion, took home the victory, which is her first of 2019. Holly Gain, Taylor Graffam, Sara Libby and Kaitlynn Leavitt rounded out the top five.
The 2019 Thursday Thunder season may have gotten off to a slow start, but the Thunder is certainly rolling on as we enter the heat of the summer.
You can catch the Thursday Thunder racing action again this coming Thursday, July 25th. The racing action begins at 7:00 pm, adult admission is only $7 and kids 12 and under have free admission! It’s also the season’s first Autograph Night.
See you there!
Thank you to my website sponsors, Texas Roadhouse Scarborough, Four Season Synthetic and Drown Excavation. Your support means the world to me!
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