The 2019 Thursday Thunder season continued to roll on this past week at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, with competitors from all 7 divisions returning to the track for the fourth week of competition.
The Beetle Bugs division was first on the agenda, with Birthday boy, Adam Warnock, taking off with the early lead in the 25-lap feature. Drivers were 3-wide for the runner-up spot on lap 2, with Ed Johnson pulling away with the spot. Ray Phillips took a hard spin on lap 2 in turn 1, leaving Darryl Quinlan with nowhere to go as the two cars slammed into one another. The incident led to an immediate red flag.
Ed Johnson was pushed down into the rumble strips on the restart, losing a handful of spots. Week 3 winner, Ben Krauter, was on the move in the early laps as he challegened Derek McKeen for the runner-up spot on lap 6. The two drivers made contact, which was a move that left McKeen falling to the rear and Krauter charging to the front.
Chris Case was also on the move in the early laps, advancing to fourth on lap 7. Ben Krauter made his way to Adam Warnock’s outside on lap 8, challenging him for the top spot. By lap 10, Krauter had powered into the lead. Ed Johnson them made his way to Warnock’s outside on lap 12, challenging him for the runner-up spot. Johnson took a spin on lap 13 in turn 2 and was clipped by Alex Parechanian, which sent Johnson into the turn 2 wall. The incident led to another caution and the lap count was advanced to lap 18 under yellow.
Dave Moreau came to a slow on the restart, falling to the back of the pack. Chris Case was on the charge following the restart, quickly making his way around Adam Warnock for the runner-up spot on lap 19. He then made his way to Krauter’s back bumper, challenging him for the lead with just two laps to go. The 2 battled it out tooth & nail to the finish, with Krauter keeping his edge over Chris Case as he collected his second consecutive victory in the division. Adam Warnock, Derek McKeen and Alex Parechanian rounded out the top five.
Dave Bouchard took a hard spin on the initial lap of the 25-lap Mad Bomber JV feature, collecting competitors Dan Collins and Bob Darrell Wilson, leading to an early-race caution.
Marc Beaulieu took over the lead on the restart, pulling away from his competitors. Kiyah Gammon took a spin on lap 3 in turn 3, leading to another yellow. This was followed by another incident involving Jeff Martel and Josh Hodgdon tangling in turn 2, which resulted in another caution.
Jimmy Burnham made hard contact with Jeff Martel on the restart, but the field remained green. Joey Israelson took over the lead on lap 4 as Garrett Lamb made his way into the runner-up spot behind him. Tom Lovejoy, Jr. was also on the move, advancing to third on lap 6. Richard Maynard took a spin on the backstretch on lap 7, leading to another early-race caution. The lap count advanced to lap 15 under yellow.
There was chaos mid-pack on the restart as Justin Gailloux took a hard spin, miracuously avoiding contact with any of his competitors. The incident led to another quick yellow.
Tom Lovejoy, Jr. and Garrett Lamb were going head-to-head for the runner-up spot on the restart, with Lovejoy pulling away with the position. Scott Eck was also on the move in the second half of the race, clearing Garrett Lamb for third on lap 16. While battling it out for the runner-up spot, Tom Lovejoy, Jr. and Scott Eck made contact on lap 17 in turns 3&4, sending both drivers into the dirt and drawing out another caution. The lap count was then advanced to lap 20 under yellow.
Scott Eck got a huge jump on the restart, but trouble was brewing behind the leaders. Brandon Williams took a hard spin on lap 22 in turn 4, leaving Cam Jones with nowhere to go as he slammed into the back side of the #89 car, making hard contact. The incident led to another immediate red flag.
Joey Israelson got the jump over Scott Eck on the restart, taking advantage of his second opportunity to pull away with the lead. Justin Gailloux took another spin on lap 23 in turn 3, resulting in the feature ending under yellow-checkered conditions as Joey Israelson picked up his first victory of 2019. Scott Eck, Garrett Lamb, Marc Beaulieu and Mike DeKoning rounded out the top five.
It was revealed earlier this week that both Scott Eck and Garrett Lamb were disqualified following post-race technical inspection, shaking up the top five. Joey Israelson was still awarded with the victory, but Marc Beaulieu, Mike DeKoning, Wade Gelinas and Scot Fowler rounded out the (official) top five.
The Legends division was next on the agenda, with Parker Varney and Colby Meserve going head-to-head for the top spot on the initial start. Parker Varney got the advantage on lap 3, pulling away from his competitors.
Austin Teras was on the move mid-race, making his way to the inside of Tylar Braunschweig for third on lap 13, taking over that lap. He continued his pursuit to the front on lap 18, overtaking Colby Meserve for the runner-up spot as Tylar Braunschweig and Chris Burgess followed suit. Tylar Braunschweig found power in the closing laps of the feature, stealing second place back from Austin Teras on lap 20. Parker Varney sailed into victory, picking up his first victory of the 2019 season. Tylar Braunschweig, Austin Teras, Chris Burgess and Colby Meserve followed, rounding out the top five.
Shalene Gailloux pulled away with the initial lead in the 25-lap Street Devils feature, but Dan Schaffer took over on lap 2. By lap 4, Rob Flaherty was all over Schaffer for the top spot. The two made contact in turn 4 that lap, leaving Schaffer with cosmetic damage to his front bumper as Rob Flaherty took off with the lead. Paul Goodrich had a right front tire go down on lap 9 and was black flagged, heading down to the pits two laps later. Andre Gailloux was on the move mid-race, advancing to third over Shalene Gailloux on lap 15. A competition caution was brought out that lap, bringing the field back together.
Rob Flaherty got the advantage on the restart, pulling away from his competitors. Trevor Dore took a spin on lap 18 in turn 1, but the field remained green. Blake Berry was all over Rob Flaherty for the lead with five laps to go. While the two drivers were battling it out for the top spot, Berry lost a tire and made hard contact with the backstretch wall on lap 21. The incident led to the third red flag of the evening.
Rob Flaherty pulled away with the lead once again on the restart and maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard, picking up another feature victory. Andre Gailloux, Todd Sargent, Tony Gibbons and Ashley Nicholson rounded out the top five.
Kaitlynn Leavitt powered into the initial lead in the 25-lap Mad Bomber Varsity feature, but Chris Burgess was quick to steal it away. Mike Sanford was also on the move in the early laps, advancing into the runner-up spot on lap 2. Mike Dearden took a spin on the backstretch on lap 5, leading to the first caution of the feature. Matt Lude and Steve Taylor made hard contact on the restart in turn 1, leading to another yellow.
Chris Burgess and Mike Sanford went head-to-head for the lead on the restart, with Burgess holding the advantage over Sanford. Jason Gammon put the bumper to Kris Knox on lap 10, sending Knox for a spin in turn 4 as the field remained green. Tom Lovejoy, Sr. took a hard spin on lap 10 in turn 1, leading to a mid-race caution.
After the #89 machine was nearly destroyed and had half the body panels ripped off in the Mad Bomber JV feature, Steve Benincasa powered into fourth place on the restart and advanced to third over Mike Sanford on lap 16. Seth Leeman sent Kris Knox for another spin on lap 19 in turn 2, leading to a late-race caution.
Kris Knox got his payback on lap 22, interfering with the lead pack in turn 4 as he punted Jason Gammon back to fourth place. Gammon was on the road to recovery in the closing laps, stealing back third place on lap 24. Nobody was any match for Chris Burgess, as he took home the heat victory. Steve Benincasa, Jason Gammon, Mike Sanford and Brandon Johnson rounded out the top five.
Following post-race technical inspection, Chris Burgess was disqualified and Steve Benincasa was awarded with the victory. Jason Gammon, Mike Sanford, Brandon Johnson and Betty Nelson rounded out the (official) top five.
Chaos erupted on the initial start of the 20-lap Mighty Trucks feature, with Will Potter taking a spin in turn 4. The field scattered and a total of 5 trucks got caught up in the incident, including Keith Petrin, Jeff Gillette, Jeff Gillette, Jr. and John Curtis. The incident led to an early-race caution.
Dave Lamson held the lead on the restart, but Jared Kimball was quick to steal it away. Keith Petrin was also on the move in the early laps, advancing into the runner-up spot on lap 2. By lap 10, there was a 3-truck breakaway at the front of the field. Jeff Gillette was charging toward the front in the closing laps of the feature, advancing into the runner-up spot over Keith Petrin on lap 13. By lap 14, he was all over Jared Kimball for the top spot. John Curtis took a spin on lap 18 in turn 3, leading to a late-race caution.
Jeff Gillette took over the lead on the restart and Keith Petrin stayed right on Jared Kimball’s toes, challenging him for the runner-up spot on the final lap. Jeff Gillette took home another victory as Jared Kimball held off Keith Petrin for the runner-up spot. Will Potter and Dave Lamson rounded out the top five.
The Ladies League 20-lap feature ended out the competition on Thursday night. Desiree Lachance took off with the early lead in the feature, but Laura McKeage was on the move in the opening laps. McKeage powered into the runner-up spot on lap 2 and followed that up by overtaking the lead from Lachance the following lap. Betty Nelson was also on the charge, advancing to third on lap 3. Taylor Graffam was in hot pursuit of a top 5, advancing to fourth over Kaitlynn Leavitt on lap 8. Holly Gain took a spin on lap 12 in turn 3, which was followed by Betty Nelson and Taylor Graffam making hard contact in turn 1. The spin led to the first (and final) caution of the feature.
Laura McKeage powered away with the lead once again on the restart. Betty Nelson took a hard slide through the dirt in turn 4 on lap 17, but the field remained green. McKeage took home the victory with Sara Libby, Kaitlynn Leavitt, Taylor Graffam and Desiree Lachance rounding out the top five.
Following post-race technical inspection, Laura McKeage was disqualified and Sara Libby was determined as the winner. Kaitlynn Leavitt, Taylor Graffam, Desiree Lachance and Holly Gain rounded out the (official) top five.
Week 4 of Thursday Thunder brought the excitement and many post-race surprises that ultimately shook up a lot of the divisions. It’ll be exciting seeing how the rest of the season plays out!
The Thursday Thunder season rolls on this coming Thursday, August 8th. The racing action begins at 7:00 pm, children 12 and under get free admission and adult admission is only $7! See you there!
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