GLESSNER BECOMES FIRST REPEAT THUNDER VALLEY WINNER

 

     Doug Glessner   roared to his second Late Model win of the season at Thunder Valley Saturday night.  It was Glessners second win of the season at the track and he became the first repeat winner of the 2010 season, ending the streak at 11.   In other action, Jonathan Hayman  won his first event at the track since the 2002 season  in Semi Late action, Bill Replogle snatched  yet another Pure Stock win and  Ray Edwards won his first ever 4 Cylinder  feature.

 

     Doug Glessner had a scary moment at the start of the Late Model event then dominated the 25 lapper.  Tom Decker was the pole sitter  and jumped into the lead at the start.  But Decker spun  on lap one scrambling the entire field.   On the restart, Glessner had the lead and ran with it.  He opened up a large lead over the field before the only caution of the event flew on lap 10 for a spinning Gene Kain.

 

     As Glessner again opened a large lead on the field John Britsky was charging forward.  Britsky got faster in the   waning laps,  running down Chris Rhodes  for second with only a few laps to go.   Britsky zipped by Rhodes on lap 24 but ran out of time to work on Glessner who scored only his second career Thunder Valley LM win.

 

    Britsky was second, followed by Chris Rhodes, Dan Lee, Shawn Claar, Scott Rhodes, Greg Fetters, Chuck Clise, Brian Lessley and Tim Burkholder.   Glessner and Decker won the heats.

 

     Jonathan Hayman  had been running better since he debuted his new car in 2010 and finally scored a win in Semi Late action.  Hayman engaged in a fierce battle at the front with Jason Breegle for the first 12 laps of the event while a group of six cars battled behind them.    On lap 13 the lead duo tangled a bit and Hayman emerged with the lead. But when Breegle spun later in that lap, Hayman found  class win leader Jim Sayler on his bumper.  Sayler gave Hayman a fierce battle, actually rallying to lead  lap 17,  but Hayman was able to hold off the challenge to take the win.  It was his first since way back in September of 2002 at the track,

 

      Sayler settled for second at the line, followed by  Bill Pluta, Greg Cornell, Dave Lee, Ray Shetz, James Kreager, George Beckett, Jason Vangilder and Matt Fulton.  Pluta and Lee won the heats.

 

       In most Pure Stock events  at Thunder Valley, when there are  more than a specified number of entrants, the field goes for extra distance and purse.   That extra distance was to be the undoing  of young  Ryan Beckett as he led the Pure Stock event from the start.   When class win leader Bill Replogle arrived from deep in the field, Beckett held off his every charge , often running side by side until lap 17.   On that lap  Beckett got a bit out of shape and Replogle got by for the lead and win.

 

    Beckett recovered, only losing the one spot, to chase  Replogle  to the finish.  Drew Black, Mike Siegele, Russ Hartman,  Willy Ling, Ed Vogel,  Jason Kipp, Greg Cornell and Justin Milburn completed the top ten.    Beckett, Replogle and Black won the heats.

 

     Ray Edwards has been up front many times but   finally sealed the deal with his first career win.  Edwards was on the pole  He led the distance, holding off Nick Zborovancik, then Andrew Pluta, then Keith Deeter,  then Pluta again, then finally Deeter to take the win.     After trading the spot in wild action, Deeter secured second at the line, followed by Casey Fleegle who started last on the field.  Chris Booher , Zborovancik, Dan Jackson, Lou Orris Martin Vinosky, Mike Meck and Andrew Pluta were the top ten.  Edwards and Pluta won the heats.

 

    The top two in each division are close as the  as the last point race looms  next Sunday at the track.   Chuck Clise and Scott Rhodes will settle the Late Model race, Jim Sayler and Greg Cornell the Semi Late battle, Drew Black and Bill Replogle the Pure Stock  battle and Martin Vinosky and Robert Pluta  in the 4 Cylinders.   Because of the Sunday  holiday event the track will be dark Saturday night this week.

 

LATE MODEL 25 LAPS  1 Doug Glessner,  2 John Britsky,  3 Chris Rhodes,  4 Dan Lee,  5 Shawn Claar,  6 Scott Rhodes,  7 Greg Fetters,  8 Chuck Clise,  Brian Lessley  10 Tim Burkholder,  11 Wayne Johnson,  12 Gene Kain,  13 Allen Lemin,  14 Tom Decker,  15 Steve Everhart, 

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1  Jonathan Hayman,  2 Jim Sayler,  3 Bill Pluta,  4  Greg Cornell,  5 Dave Lee,  6 Ray Sheetz,  7 James Kreager,  8 George Beckett,  9  Jason Vangilder,  10 Matt Fulton,  11 Dennis  Collins,  12 Dave Puckett,  13 Rick Hayman,  14 Matt Custer,  15 Joe Pluta,   16 John Shaffer,  17  Jason Breegle,  18 Jeff Benson, 

 

PURE STOCK 20 LAPS  1   Bill Replogle,  2 Ryan Beckett,  3 Drew Black,  4 Mike Siegele,  5 Russ Hartman,  6 Willy Ling,  7 Ed Vogel,  8 Jason Kipp,  9 Greg Cornell Sr,  10 Justin Milburn,  11 Marty Johnson,  12 Mike Shaffer,  13 Gary Kroon,  14 Jesse Hunt,  15 Terry Mitchell,  16 Jimmy Eicher,  17 Mark Field,  18 Jamie Kohan,  DNS  Dave Green, Mike Ott, Nate Miller

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAPS.  1  Ray Edwrards,  2 Keith Deeter, 3 Casey Fleegle,  4 Chris Booher,  5 Nick Zborovancik,  6 Dan Jackson,  7 Lou Orris,  Martin Vinosky,  9 Mike Meck,  10 Andrew Pluta,  11 Tyler Smay,  12  Jack Theys,  13  Robert Pluta,  14 Tim Thomas,  15 Ed Vogel,  DNS  Eric Cramer.

 

DJ MYERS HELPS EXTEND NEW STREAK AT THUNDER VALLEY

 

    Although the streak of consecutive winners at Thunder Valley was broken last week,  DJ  Myers helped extend the revised  new streak as he blew to victory Saturday night.  Myers became the 10th consecutive different winner of the 2010 season and extended the new streak to 11 including Tom Decker's win in the 2009 season closer.  It was Myers' ninth career TV victory, tying him at sixth on the all time list.  In other action, point leader Greg Cornell rushed to the Semi Late win, Tom Warren took yet another Pure Stock victory, then survived another post race teardown, and Casey Fleegle won the 4 Cylinder night cap.

 

 

     Myers lined up  seventh in the Late Model field as Doug Glessner  led at the start.  Allen Lemin took over  on lap two but Myers was already in the hunt.  He whipped around Scott Rhodes for second spot on lap 4 and took off after Lemin.    On lap 12, as they encountered Doug Legum,  Myers whipped by for the lead.  From that point  Myers stretched out to a comfortable advantage to the finish. 

 

  Behind Myers over the last half of the race, Greg Fetters was on a charge.  Fetters  had arrived in the front crowd along with Myers and got by Lemin just after Myers did.   Fetters however was unable to mount a challenge to Myers and settled for second at the finish.   Scott Rhodes was third followed by Lemin, Chad McClellan, Glessner, John Britsky,  Chuck Clise, Dan Lee and Legum.   Glessner and McClellan won the heats.

 

   Greg Cornell shot from his sixth starting position to challenge leader Jason Vangilder in Semi Late action by lap three.  After a lap of tussle, Cornell took over and led the distance as Vangilder held off the mob.  Jim Sayler picked his way through and took the spot from Vangilder o lap 13 as they whipped through lapped traffic but Cornell was long gone .  

 

    At the finish, Cornell won by a wide margin, ahead of Sayler, Ray Sheetz, Vangilder, Dave Lee, Jonathan Hayman,  Bill Pluta, Jeff Benson and  James Kreager.   Cornell and Lee won the heats.

 

    Career class win leader Tom Warren scored yet another Pure stock  win,  his 23rd, again coming through the pack.    Warren's car owner Jim Sacco was the early leader  but it only took Warren three laps to blow by from his seventh starting spot.  After a wild 13 car crash decimated the field on lap 5, Warren ran off for  the win.  Drew Black  picked his way to the front to take second at the line, followed by Willy Ling, Gary Kroon, John Replogle and Sacco. Kroon, a winner in the class  in years past, returned from a long retirement for the fine run.  Warren and Ling won the heats.

 

     Ray Edwards looked to be enroute to his first ever 4 Cylinder win,  as he led from the start.  But a wheel broke off on lap 10, handing the lead to Casey Fleegle.  Fleegle led the final 5 laps to lead Martin Vinosky, Robert Pluta, Ian Will and Mike Meck to the finish. Both Pluta and Will were in borrowed cars for the event.  Edwards and Fleegle won the heats.

 

 

LATE MODELS 25 LAPS  1 DJ Myers,  2 Greg Fetters,  3 Scott Rhodes,  4 Allen Lemin,  5 Chad McClellan,  6 Doug Glessner,  7 John Britsky,  8 Chuck Clise,  9 Dan Lee,  10 Doug Legum,  11 Shawn Claar,  12 Chris Rhodes,  13 Tim Burkholder,  14  Rick Singleton,  DNS Gene Kain,  Bill Burns

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1 Greg Cornell,  2 Jim Sayler,  3 Ray Sheetz,  4 Jason Vangilder,   5 Dave Lee,  6 Jonathan Hayman,  7 Jason Breegle,  8 Bill Pluta,  9 Jeff Benson,  10 James Kreager,  11 Matt Custer,  12 Matt Fulton,  13 Justin Robine,  14 John Shaffer,  15 Joe Pluta,  16 George Beckett, 

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAP   1  Tom Warren,  2 Drew Black,  3 Willy Ling,  4 Gary Kroon,  5 John Replogle,  6 Jim Sacco,  7 Jamie Kohan,  8 Ed Vogel,  9 Ryan Beckett,  10 Marty Johnson,  11 Terry Mitchell,  12 Justin Milburn,  13  Greg Cornell Sr,  14 Mike Ott,  15 Jesse Hunt,  16 Rod Mock  17 Mike Shaffer,  18 Mike Siegele,  19  Tim Brown,  20 Nate Miller,  21 Bill Replogle,  22 Russ Hartman

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAPS  1 Casey Fleegle,  2 Martin Vinosky,  3 Robert Pluta,  4 Ian Will,  5 Mike Meck,  6 Dan Jackson,  7  Andrew Pluta,  8 Tim Thomas,  9 Nick Zborovancik,   10 Ray Edwards,   11 Keith Deeter,    DNS  Lou Orris.

MCCLELLAN BREAKS THUNDER VALLEY STREAK, WINS LAUREL CLASSIC

 

    After 12 consecutive different Late Model winners at Thunder Valley, Chad McClellan broke the streak Saturday night.  His win, a convincing performance came in the annual Three State Flyer event known as the Laurel Highlands Classic.  It was McClellan's  eighth career Late Model win at the track. In other action,  Jim Sayler once again rushed to a Semi Late win,  Marty Johnson took his second career Pure Stock win and Robert Pluta was the 4 Cylinder winner.

 

 

     With the outsiders  from the Three State series on hand, local driver McClellan proved to be the class of the field.  He went from ninth to second in his heat, won the dash and started on the pole for the  35 lap feature.  John Britsky got the jump on McClellan at the start but McClellan roared by on lap two.   Allen Lemin got by Britsky on lap three but   did not mount a  challenge to the lead.  Meanwhile Scott Rhodes had come from in the pack and challenged Britsky for several laps.  That battle went on until lap 15 when Rhodes pitted with a flat tire. 

 

     Lemin closed  over the last 10  laps to challenge McClellan, but  fell short at the line.  Behind them, Britsky, Chuck Clise, Matt Parks, Brian Lessley, Tyler Hershey, Jeff Miller, Greg Fetters and Rhodes completed the top 10.   Clise, Hershey,  and Rhodes won the heats.  McClellan won the dash.  Chris Rhodes won the B.

 

     It looked like one of a couple of 2010 hard luck drivers would prevail in the Semi Late event, but in the end it was another Jim Sayler victory.   Dave Lee, who last week destroyed the car in a grinding crash, was the early leader.   Ray Sheetz got by on lap three and had hopes of a second  2010 win as the field was in a mob behind him.

 

    It took Sayler 11 laps to peel through the pack  from eighth, but  when he got to second he camped out on Sheetz's bumper.   They battled until lap 16 when Sayler whipped by for the lead and eventual win.  Sayler skipped victory lane  ceremonies as he rushed off to be with his father who was  hospitalized  during the day.   Sheetz, Greg Cornell, Bob Jay, Jason Vangilder, Zane Weicht, Lee, Travis Brown, James Kreager and John Shaffer were the top 10.  Cornell and Jonathan Hayman won the heats.

 

     Easily the best race of the night was the Pure Stock event.   Marty Johnson again took his Ford to the front early and led as Tom  Warren and Bill Replogle tore through the field.    They arrived at second and third by lap 4, but were too busy with each other to challenge Johnson seriously.   Lap after lap the two ran side by side  only a few feet behind Johnson, or raced Johnson ,  but each time Johnson emerged with the lead..

The three ran in formation  for the duration,  with  Johnson, although threatened, leading every lap to the finish. 

 

    At the finish,  After trading the spot 6 times,  Warren prevailed for second with Replogle third.  Jamie Kohan had the best seat in the house for their battle as he finished fourth, ahead of Ed Vogel, Ryan Beckett Drew Black, Justin Milburn Greg Cornell and Terry Mitchell.  Replogle, Beckett and Kohan won the heats.

 

    Ian Will in a borrowed car was the early 4 Cylinder leader  but Robert Pluta shot by on lap  three.  From there on Pluta led to the finish.  Steve Settle rallied late to get by Will for second.  Will, Casey Fleegle and Jeff Dillinger trailed.  Will  and Pluta won the heats.

    

 

LATE MODEL 35 LAP LAUREL HIGHLAND CLASSIC  1  Chad McClellan,  2 Allen Lemin,  3 John Britsky,  4 Chuck Clise,  5 Matt Parks,  6 Brian Lessley,  7 Tyler Hershey,  8 Jeff Miller 9  Greg Fetters,  10 Scott Rhodes,  11 Bob Dunn,  12 Chris Rhodes,  13 Bryan Bernheisel,  14  Gene Kain,  15 Dan Lee 16  Randy Burkholder,  17 Shawn Claar,  18 Pete Weaver,  19 Quint Weyant,  20 Scott Lebarron,  21 Sam Grindlesberger,  22 Brad Kling,  23 Ron Delano,  24 Tom Decker,  25 Keith Barbara.  DNQ  Travis Calhoun, Doug Legum, Dave Graber, Bill Burns, Doug Glessner

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1Jim Sayler,  2 Ray Sheetz,  3 Greg Cornell,  4 Bob Jay,  5 Jason Vangilder,  6  Zane Weight,  7 Dave Lee,  8 Travis Brown,  9 Jim Kreager 10 John Shaffer,  11 Jason Breegle,  12 Jonathan Hayman  13 Jamie Swank,  14 Jeff Benson,  15 Justin Robine,  16 Joe Pluta,  17 Matt Custer

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAPS  1 Marty Johnson,  2 Tom Warren,  3 Bill Replogle,  4 Jamie Kohan,  5 Ed Vogel,  6 Ryan Beckett,  7 Drew Black,  8 Justin Milburn,  9 Greg Cornell Sr,  10 Terry Mitchell,  11 Mike Shaffer  12 Willy Ling,  13 Nathan Miller,  14  Shane Weyandt,  15 Jesse Hunt,  16  Russ Hartman,, 17 Mike Siegele,  18 Jim Sacco,  Alicia Legross,  20 Mike Ott.

 

4 CYLINDERS 1  Robert Pluta,  2 Steve  Settle,  3 Ian Will,  4 Casey Fleegle,  5 Jeff Dillinger,  6 Mark Seiler,  7 Ray Edwards,  8 Kieth Deeter,  9 Martin Vinosky,  10 Nick Zborovanicik,  11 Mike Meck,  12 Eric Cramer,  13 Dan Jackson,  14 Andrew Pluta,  15 Rob Prinkley,  16 Tim Thomas,  17 Justin Heverly,  DNS  Wes McKeel, Nathan Vinosky

THUNDER VALLEY STREAK GOES TO 12 AS SHAWN CLAAR WINS

 

      After a frustrating 2010 season  thus far, Shawn Claar took the Late Model event at Thunder Valley Saturday night.   It was Claar's third career win  at the track and he became the 12th consecutive different Late Model winner.  In other action, Jim Sayler swept to yet another Semi Late victory, Drew Black took  a photo finish Pure Stock win and Nathan Vinosky took the 4 Cylinder win.   Tom Crummit won the special All American Outlaw event.

 

     Beginning on August 15 of last season when Dan Lee took the win, Thunder Valley has not had a repeat Late Model winner,  a streak that stood at 11 as the  field took the green. Shawn Claar showed that he intended to join the list at the start as he blasted  by both Tom Decker and Dan Lee to lead the first lap, just as a multi car pileup occurred  at the flag stand,  On the restart, Claar ran off from the field in a dominating performance as the race went green for many laps.  Scott Rhodes took second from Decker on lap 5 but watched as Clarr moved further ahead with every passing lap..

 

    Doug Glessner who was moderately involved in the big first melee took third on lap 10 and chased Rhodes for the duration but Claar was long gone.   At the finish  it was Claar, Rhodes and  Glessner.  John Britsky came from dead last to take fouth, followed by point leader Chuck Clise, Dan Lee, Gene Kain, Bryan Bernheisel, Decker and Dave Graber.   Glessner and Lee won the heats.

 

     Like the Late Model event,  the Semi Late race began with a huge crash at the flag stand on lap one.    Dave Lee, Ray Sheetz and Dennis Collins were eliminated.  Joe Pluta led the field to the green,  but Jim Sayler blasted  all the way from his sixth starting spot to lead the second lap.   After that he stepped out from the field to claim the win.   Pluta fell to the mob as Jonathan Hayman , Greg Cornell and Jeff Benson rushed by in the early laps.  That trio battled for second  spot for the duration, but Sayler was well ahead.

 

     At the finish, Sayler took his  fourth win of the season, followed by Hayman, Benson and Cornell.  Jason Vangilder, who started last, came to fifth.  Pluta, Mike Collins, Bill Pluta, Matt Custer and Dave Puckett completed the top 10.  Sayler and Cornell won the heats. 

 

    The best race of the night was the Pure Stock event.  Jim Sacco was the initial leader but Ryan Beckett squeezed by on lap two.  Beckett held off a furious challenge  from Justin Milburn until lap 10 when his car began to fade.  Milburn held the lead as the laps ran down, but Drew Black and Tom Warren were in pursuit.  On the last lap the gang were three wide on the back stretch.  Warren fell in behind as the other two went side by side for the finish line and Black won in a photo finish.

 

    A disappointed Milburn was second, Warren came from a  early race spin for third.  Mike Siegele, Marty Johnson, Sacco, Russ Hartman,  Willy Ling, Ed Vogel and  Jason Kidd completed the top 10.  Warren and Beckett won the heats

 

    Leroy Booher led the 4 cylinder field until Nathan Vinosky  got by.  He led until Andrew Pluta got by but Pluta tangled with  a lapped car and Vinosky  got the lead back.  He led to the finish ahead of Robert Pluta, Martin Vinosky, Ray Wright and Casey Fleegle.

The Vinoskys won the heats.

 

     Tom Crummit led the All American Outlaw event from flag to flag. He was followed by Allen Daniels, Al Daniels, Kevin Palmer and Hunter Nestor.

 

LATE MODEL 25 LAPS1  Shawn Claar,  2 Scott Rhodes,  3 Doug Glessner,  4 John Britsky,  5 Chuck Clise,  6 Dan Lee,  7 Gene Kain,  8 Bryan  Bernheisel,  9 Tom Decker,  10 Dave Graber,  11 Doug Legum   12 Quint Weyant,  13  Greg Fetters,  14  Chad McClellan,   15 Chris Rhodes,   DNS  Steve Gibney.

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1 Jim Sayler,  2 Jonathan Hayman  3 Jef Benson,  4 Greg Cornell,  5 Jason Vangilder,  6 Joe Pluta,  7 Mike Collins,  8 Bill Pluta,  9 Matt Custer,  10 David Puckett,  11 John Shaffer,  12 Justin Robine,  13  Eric Swope,  14 Dennis Collins,   15 Ray Sheetz,  16 Dave Lee.

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAPS.   1  Drew Black,  2 Justin Milburn,  3 Tom Warren,  4 Mike Siegele,  5 Marty Johnson,  6 Jim Sacco,  7 Russ Hartman,  8 Willy Ling,  9 Ed Vogel,  10 Jason Kidd,  11 Greg Cornell,  12 John Hollis,  13 Ryan Beckett,  14 Mike Shaffer,  15   Ulrich,  16 Nate Miller,  17 Jamie Kohan,  18 Terry Mitchell,  19 Jesse Hunt,  20  Bill Replogle,   DNS rod Mock.

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAPS  1  Nathan Vinosky,  2 Robert Pluta,  3 Martin Vinosky,  4 Ray Wright,  5 Casey Fleegle,  6 Keith Deeter,  7 Tim Thomas,  8 Ian Will,  9 Leroy Booher,  10 Nick Zborovanick  11 Mike Meck,  12 Andrew Pluta,  13 Eric Cramer,  14 Dan Jackson,  15  Maust

 

ALL AMERICAN 20 LAP   1 Tom Crummit,  2  Allen Daniels  3 Al Daniels,  4 Kevin Palmer,  5 Hunter Nestor,  6 Jesse Morrison,  7 Brittant Coleman,  8 Robert Enders,  9 Scott Jorda,  10 Brooks Coleman,  11 David Egge,  12 Stephanie Daniels.

BRITSKY ENDS DRY SPELL AT THUNDER VALLEY 

 

 

    Two days short of the seventh anniversary of his last Thunder Valley win,  John Britsky roared to the Late Model victory Saturday night at the track.   The win was the ninth Thunder Valley win for Britsky but his first since July 26  2003.  He became the seventh  consecutive different winner in 2010.  In other action, Dave Lee scored his first ever Semi Late  event, Bill Replogle took the Pure Stock race and the Pluta family,  Andrew and Robert  split the 4 cylinder twin races.

 

 

    Britsky, who had dominated his heat race earlier in the evening, shot by Tim Burkholder at the start and stretched out the field in the Late Model feature.  Britsky ran off from the field after a lap 2 caution opening a huge margin.  He was a straightaway ahead when Steve Everhart ripped by Gene Kain for second on lap 7, but Everhart immediately began closing, a  few lengths each lap.  When Scott Rhodes got by Kain for third on lap 10, he too began closing the distance. 

 

     By the time they entered lapped traffic on lap 20,  Everhart was there to challenge.  They cleared the first couple of lapped cars, and on lap 23, Britsky got by Steve Gibney.   Everhart however tangled with Gibney coming off turn 4.  The resulting front stretch melee left two crashed cars and Everhart mad at the world.

  

    When the field got the final green, Britsky held off a fast charging Scott Rhodes  the last 2 laps to secure the win.  Rhodes  was second, followed by Shawn Claar and Greg Fetters who came from 12th starting spot.  Chuck Clise, Kain, Chris Rhodes, Burkholder Dwayne Taneyhill and Tom Decker completed the top 10.  Britsky and Claar won the heats.

 

    Dave Lee had to withstand the usual big pressure in Semi Late action.  He got by the front row to lead the first lap, but was soon joined by class win leader Jim Sayler.  Sayler came from sixth spot to camp out on Lee's bumper by lap 3.  Sayler was all over Lee for the duration and they were joined by  a fast closing Jeff Benson.  The trio ran together for the duration as Sayler and Benson pressured Lee, but Lee held on for the big win.

 

     Sayler held off Benson for second at the finish,  ahead of Ray Sheetz and Greg Cornell, who had gone to the rear after a lap 3 spin.  Joe Pluta, Bill Pluta, David Puckett, Mike Collins, and John Shaffer completed the top 10.  Lee and Cornell won the heats.'

 

     Bill Replogle and Tom Warren, the big Pure Stock winners were the show of that event.  Marty Johnson was the early leader in his fast Ford as the pair came from the fourth row.  They ran Johnson down by lap 9 and traded the lead around.  When Johnson went to the pits on lap 11, the pair fought alone with Replogle in the lead. 

 

   Replogle held off Warren for the win with Mike Siegele, Ed Vogel and Drew Black completing the top 5.   Warren and Replogle won the heats

 

     The 4 Cylinders went in twin 15 lap events.  Robert Pluta took the early lead and dominated the first one. He was followed by Andrew Pluta, Casey Fleegle, Jason Mullen and Ian Will.   With 12 cars inverted for the second event, the field ran together like a wild herd as the Plutas jockeyed thru.  Andrew Pluta took the lead on lap 5 and led Fleegle, Robert Pluta, Tim Thomas and Keith Deeter to the finish.  Casey Fleegle and Robert Pluta won the heats.

 

 

LATE MODELS 25 LAPS  1 John Britsky,  2 Scott Rhodes,  3 Shawn Claar,  4 Greg Fetters,  5 Chuck Clise,  6 Gene Kain,  7 Chris Rhodes, 8 Tim Burkholder,  9 Dwayne Taneyhill,  10 Tom Decker,  11 Dan Lee,  Steve Everhart,  13 Steve Gibney,  DNS  Jeff Compton

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1 Dave Lee,  2 Jim Sayler,  3 Jeff Benson,  4 Ray Sheetz,  5 Greg Cornell,  6 Joe Pluta,  7 Bill Pluta,  8 David Puckett,  9 Mike Collins,  10 John Shaffer,  11 Dennis Collins,  12 George Beckett,  13 Jason Harbaugh,  14 Matt Custer,  15 Justin Robine,  16 Jonathan Hayman,  17 Jason Vangilder.

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAP  1 Bill Replogle,  2 Tom Warren,  3 Mike Siegele,  4 Ed Vogel,  5 Drew Black,  6 Jamie Kohan.  7  Justin Milburn, 8 Rod Mock Sr,  9 Ryan Beckett,  10 Greg Cornell Sr,  11 Jim Sacco,   12 Terry Mitchell,  13 Jesse Hunt,  14 Marty Johnson,  15 Alicia Legross,  16 John Hollis,  17 Chris Wolfe  DNS  John Replogle, Mike Ott

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAP  1m Robert Pluta,  2 Andrew Pluta,  3 Casey Fleegle,  4 Jason Mullen,  5 Ian Will,  6 Martin Vinosky,  7 Tim Thomas,  8 Keith Deeter, 9 Ralph Miller,  10 Dan Jackson,  11  Mike Meck,  12 Leroy Booher,  13 Eric Cramer,  14  Ray Edwards,  DNS Matt Winegartner

 

4CYLINDER 15 LAP  1  Andrew Pluta,  2 Casey Fleegle,  3 Robert Pluta,  4 Tim Thomas,  5 Keith Deeter,  6 Dan Jackson,  7  Martin Vinosky,  8 Ralph Miller,  9 Mike Meck.  10  Leroy Booher,  11 Jason Mullen,  12 DNS Ian Will,  Eric Cramer, Ray Edwards, Matt Winegartner.

 

RHODES STREAKS FROM THUNDER VALLEY FIELD

 

    After a week off from competition for a family vacation, Chris Rhodes roared back in a big way by capturing the Late Model event at Thunder Valley Saturday night.  The win was Rhodes' second career conquest at the track and came in a strong performance over the field.  In other action , Greg Cornell came from deep in the field to  score the Semi Late win, Tom Warren took  the Pure Stock event and withstood a post race teardown, before Casey Fleegle won his first ever 4 Cylinder event.

 

       In the Late Model 25 lapper Chris Rhodes got the jump on pole sitter Gene Kain and  took off  at the start.  He pulled away from Kain and  the field through several  early cautions, but most eyes were on Steve Everhart who was racing through the field.   Everhart  got by Kain for second on lap eight, and set sights on Rhodes, by then a straightaway ahead.  But Everhart did not close the distance.

 

       A caution on lap 19 closed the field but Rhodes shot away on the restart, opening up another lead.  Several more cautions flew , including  one setting up a last lap dash, but they served only as a delay to Rhodes' celebration.   At the finish it was Rhodes, followed by Everhart,  Greg Fetters,  Chuck Clise, Dan Lee, Tim Burkholder, Kain, TJ Wright  Scott Rhodes and Doug Glessner.   Glesner and Rhodes won the heats.

 

     After he took the lead from Bill Pluta, Jonathan Hayman looked like he was enroute to a Semi Late feature  win.   But Greg Cornell broke free from a wild 6 car melee in the pack to run him down.  Cornell was all over Hayman as the pair battled for 10 laps before Cornell squeezed ahead on lap 16.  From there on, Cornell led to the finish.  Hayman held off a fast closing Jeff Benson and Greg Hainsey to snare second at the line.  Benson, Hainsey, Jim Sayler, Dave Lee, Jason Vangilder, Joe Pluta, John Shaffer and Matt Custer  completed the top 10.  Hainsey, Saylor and Lee came from 10th, 11th and 17th in the field.   Custer and Hayman won the heats  Jason Harbaugh thrilled the crowd with a flip on the frontstretch in heat race action.

 

      Class win leader Tom Warren had sold his car and retired from the Pure Stock until He was asked by thr new owner  to drive his old car. In his first appearance as a hired gun, he  roared to his 22nd career win.   Mike Siegele and Jamie Kohan were the early leaders until Warren shot by for the lead and the win.  Kohan, Siegele, Kevin Brown and Jarrod Brown followed.

 

     Warren then survived a post race teardown to keep the win.  Kohan's car did not pass , moving  everyone up a spot.  In the revised finish, Siegele was second, followed by Matt Brown, Jarrod Brown, Ed Vogel, Mike Ott, Preston Imler, Greg Cornell Sr and Marty Johnson.  Warren and Johnson won the heats.

 

     Casey Fleegle, a former mud  car driver at the track completed his graduation ceremonies with his first ever 4 Cylinder win.  He led from start to finish and withstood furious pressure from team mate Andrew Pluta for the historic win.  Pluta was second, ahead of Martin Vinosky, Tim Thomas, Jason Mullen and Keith Deeter.   Andrew Pluta and Fleegle won the heats.

 

LATE MODELS 25 LAPS  1 Chris Rhodes,  2 Steve Everhart,  3 Greg Fetters,  4 Chuck Clise,  5 Dan Lee,  6 Tim Burkholder,  7 Gene Kain,  8 TJ Wright,  9 Scott Rhodes,  10 Doug Glessner,  11 Chris Harr,  12 Shawn Claar,  13 Jeff Compton,   DNS  Allen Lemin, John Britsky

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS 1  Greg Cornell,  2 Jonathan Hayman,  3 Jeff Benson,  4 Greg Hainsey,  5 Jim Sayler,  6 Dave Lee,  7 Jason Vangilder,  8 Joe Pluta,  9 John Shaffer,  10 Matt Custer,  11 Scott Mitchell,  12 Bill Pluta,  13 Dennis Collins,  14 Ray Sheetz,  15  Justin Robine,  16 Jon Whitfield,  DNS  Jamey Swank, Jason Harbaugh

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAPS  1 Tom Warren,  2 Mike Siegele,  3 Kevin Brown,  4 Jarrod Brown,  5 Ed Vogel,  6 Mike Ott,  7 Preston Imler,  8 Greg Cornell Sr,  9 Marty Johnson,  10  Bill Replogle,  11 Jesse Hunt,  12 Ryan Beckett,  13 Justin Milburn,  14 Jimmy Sacco,  15  Drew Black,  16 Russ Hartman,  17 Chris Wolfe,  18 Alicia Legross,  DNS  Terry Mitchell

DQ  Jamie Kohan

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAPS 1 Casey Fleegle,  2 Andrew Pluta,  3 Martin Vinosky,  4 Tim Thomas  5 Jason Mullen,  6 Keith Deeter,  7 Chris Booher,  8 Mike Meck,  9 Nick Zborovancik  10 Dan Jackson,  11 Tyler Beckett,  12 Robert Pluta,  13 Ray Edwards,  14 Tyler Smay,  15 Ian Will,  16 Dave Day,  DNS  Irv Fleegle,  Eric Cramer,  Nathan Vinosky

ALLEN LEMIN TAKES CAREER FIRST WIN AT THUNDER VALLEY

 

 

    It was new guy night at Thunder Valley as two of the four feature winners took career firsts.   Allen Lemin ran off from the field to score the popular Late Model win, his first ever in his rookie season.   Marty Johnson, who left last week with a destroyed race car roared back with the drive of his life to score his first ever Pure Stock win. In other action, Jim Sayler snatched a win with a last lap move coming to the checkered flag in  the Semi Late event and  Martin Vinosky scored another 4 Cylinder win.

 

 

     Lemin, making only his fifth Thunder Valley start was in control from the drop of the green. He shot by Gene Kain at the start and instantly moved away.  A quick yellow on lap 5 closed the field but Lemin charged away again as Kain held on to second.   Point leader Chuck Clise got by Kain on lap eight with Scott Rhodes and Greg Fetters to follow but they did not close the gap on the leader

  

    A lap 16 caution closed the field again but they had nothing for Lemin as he ran off to almost a half lap lead at the end.  Clise was harassed by Rhodes, then Fetters but held on for second at the line.  Fetters, Rhodes, Jeff Miller, Steve Everhart, Rick Singleton, Shawn Claar, who went to the back after a lap 5 spin, Dan Lee and Kain completed the top 10.  Lemin started out the evening with a convincing heat race win before Rhodes won the other heat.

 

     Jason Vangilder was the early Semi Late leader but there was the usual dog fight at the front. Jonathan Hayman squeezed by Vangilder on lap 5 but he had a arm full of Jim Sayler. In the close quarters racing, Greg Cornell managed to go from third to first on lap 9 and took over.  But Sayler was in the hunt. While Sayler, Jamie Swank and Vangilder traded the spots around, Cornell couldn't shake the mob. 

 

    After trying the outside for several laps, Sayler went to the inside   for several laps. 

He got his nose in several times but Cornell held off every advance.  Finally on the last turn, Sayler swept  back to the outside and the pair charged off to the finish, with Sayler squeaking ahead at the line.  Disappointed  Cornell settled for second, ahead of Swank, Jeff Benson, Vangilder, Ray Sheetz, Hayman., Dennis Collins, Joe Pluta and Jason Harbaugh.   The event was red flagged on lap 15 as Rick Hayman, making his first start of the year, flipped in turn three,.  Hayman and Cornell won the heats.

 

    Only a week ago, Marty Johnson's car was drilled into the wall then was  further damaged by another competitor flipping over it.  The crew rebuilt the car almost from scratch and Johnson repaid them  by driving 15 perfect laps in the Pure Stock event. 

He started on the pole and just ran away from the  field.  Mike Siegele made it to second  and Bill Replogle came to third but no one had anything for Johnson's fleet Ford..

   

    At the finish Johnson won by almost a half lap over Siegele, Jamie Kohan rallied late to take third ahead of Replogle  and point leader Drew Black.  For the second week in a row the Pure Stock feature went straight through green.   Johnson and Justin Millburn won the heats

 

 

    It was a good battle at the front of the 4 Cylinder event as Robert Pluta, Ray Edwards and Martin Vinosky went at it.  The trio ran off from the field, but when  Pluta, then Edwards retired, Vinosky found himself out ahead and all alone.  He ran to the finish ahead of Tim Thomas, Keith Deeter, Jeremy Miller and Andrew Pluta.  Casey Fleegle won his first ever heat race while Robert Pluta won the other.

 

LATE MODEL 25 LAP  1 Allen Lemin,  2 Chuck Clise, 3 Greg Fetters,  4 Scott Rhodes,  Jeff Miller,  6 Steve Everhart,  7 Rick Singleton,  8 Shawn Claar,  9 Dan Lee,  10 Gene Kain,  11 Tom Decker,  12 Bill Krause,  13 Jeff Compton,  14 Quintin Weyant,  DNS Dale Claycomb, Chad McClellan

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAP  1  Jim Sayler,  2 Greg Cornell,  3 Jamie Swank,  4 Jeff Benson,  5 Jason Vangilder,  6 Ray Sheetz,  7 Jonathan Hayman,  8 Dennis Collins,  9 Joe Pluta,  10 Jason Harbaugh,  11 Mike Barclay,  12 Dave Lee,  13 Rick Hayman.,  14 Matt Custer,  15 Lou Orris

 

PURE STOCK 15 LAP  1  Marty Johnson,  2 Mike Siegele,  3 Jamie Kohan,  4 Bill Replogle,  5 Drew Black,  6 John Hollis,  7 Justin Milburn,  8 Russ Hartman.  9 Rodney Mock,  10 Ed Vogel,,  11 Dave Green,  12 Greg Cornell Sr,  13 Jesse Hunt,  14 Alicia Legross,  DNS  Terry Mitchell, Mike Ott, Barry Weyandt

 

4 CYLINDER 15 LAP  1Martin Vinosky,  2 Tim Thomas,  3 Keith Deeter,  4 Jeremy Miller,  5 Andrew Pluta,  6 Ian Will,  7 Dan Jackson,  8 Mike Meck,  9 Jack Theys,  10 Leroy Booher,  11 Nice Zborovanick,  12 Casey Fleegle,  Robert Pluta,  14 Ray Edwards,     DNS Ray Wright.

 

 

GLESSNER MAKES HISTORY WITH THUNDER VALLEY WIN

 

    On a night dedicated to Thunder Valley founder and Builder Willie Will,  Doug Glessner made some history at the track by taking the memorial event.  The win was Glessner's first ever Late Model career win, and he became the first person in track history to score a win in four different divisions.  Glessner had in his career scored in Street Stock, Limited and the E-Mods  before the Late Model conquest. In other action, Jeff Benson won the Semi Late event,  Bill Replogle won the Pure Stock feature and Nathan Vinosky took the 4 cylinder nightcap.

 

     It took two tries to get the Late Model 30 lapper under way as Steve Everhart and Doug Legum tangled on the first attempt.  Once underway though, the field went 14 laps all green.  Glessner got the drop on pole sitter Chris Rhodes at the start and motored away from the field.  Rhodes maintained second while John Britsky  was slowly picking his way forward.

 

      Britsky was sixth when the second and final caution flew in lap 16, but came alive during the last half of the race.  He passed Tom Decker on lap 20, Devin Friese on lap 25 and Chris Harr one lap later.  Britsky closed a large gap on Rhodes to make it interesting at the finish but Glessner was well ahead of the field.  Rhodes held off Britsky for second, followed by Harr, Friese, Decker and Mike Altobelli Jr.  Scott Rhodes, Chuck Clise and Andy Haus completed the top ten.  Everhart came through the field for 11th.  18 cars of the original field were running at the finish.  Glessner, Everhart and Decker won the heats

 

      Jeff Benson went pole to pole in the Semi Late 20 lapper although the crowd put on a show behind him.     After Benson got by Bill Pluta at the start, Pluta attracted a crowd of 5 cars .  Greg Cornell, Ray Sheetz, Jim Sayler and newcommer Dave Brown all got by Pluta in the following laps and battled among themselves as Benson roared away.

 

      Sayler fell from the group as his car came up lame after a lap 13 caution, and the others could not mount a challenge to Benson for the duration.  At the line it was Benson, ahead of Cornell, Sheetz, Brown, Jason Vangilder, Jonathan Hayman, Pluta, Justin Robine and David Puckett.   Dave Lee and Cornell won the heats.

 

      It took a long time to get to the front for 8th starting Bill Replogle, but once he did he ran off from the Pure Stock field.  Ed Vogel was the early leader but he surrendered the spot as Replogle got by mid race.  Vogel then held on to post his best ever TV Pure Stock finish with a second place run.  Jamie Kohan finished in  a rush to take third  after some last lap mayhem, while Mike Siegele and Terry Norris completed the top five.  The 15 lapper went all the way through green but was highlighted with a spectacular finish as Brandon Lasalle

and Marty Johnson tangled coming to the checkered flag and Lasalle flipped   at the line.  It was LaSalle's second career Thunder Valley flipover, the first having come 3 seasons ago.  Norris and Vogel won the heats.

 

    Nathan Vinosky turned  around a tough early season by taking his first 2010 4 Cylinder win.  He shot by Leroy Booher early on and then ran off from the field.  Robert Pluta was second, followed by Keith Deeter, Andrew Pluta, Karl Bailey, Casey Fleegle and Jason Mullen.  Vinosky and Andrew Pluta won the heats.

 

LATE MODEL WW WILL MEMORIAL 30: 1 Doug Glessner, 2  Chris Rhodes,  3 John Britsky,  4 Chris Harr,  5 Devin Friese,  6 Tom Decker,  7 Mike Altobelli Jr 8  Scott Rhodes,  9 Chuck Clise,  10 Andy Haus,  11 Steve Everhart,  12 Gene Kain,  13 Dan Lee,  14 Brandon Delano,  15 Tim Burkholder,  16 Jeff Compton,  17  Scott Haus,  18 Bill Burns,  19 Allen Lemin,  20 Doug Legum, 

 

SEMI LATE 20  1 Jeff Benson,  2 Greg Cornell,  3 Ray Sheetz,  4 Dave Brown,, 5 Jason Vangilder,  6 Jonathan Hayman,  7  Joe Pluta,  8 Bill Pluta,  9 Justin Robine,  10 David Puckett,  11 Dennis Collins,  12 Roger Shaulis,  13 John Shaffer,  14 Jim Sayler,  15 Dave Lee,  16 Jason Harbaugh

 

PURE STOCK  15   1 Bill Replogle,  2 Ed Vogel,  3 Jamie Kohan,  4 Mike Siegele,  5 Terry Norris,  6 Drew Black,  7 Justin Milburn,  8 Russ Hartman.,  9 Rodney Mock,  10 John Hollis,  11 Greg Cornell Sr,  12 Brandon Lasalle,  13 Marty Johnson,  14 Alicia Legross,  15 Jesse Hunt, 16  Terry Mitchell,  17 Chris Wolfe,  18 Mike Ott

 

4 CYLINDER 15  1 Nathan Vinosky,  2 Robert Pluta,  3 Keith Deeter,  4 Andrew Pluta,  5 Karl Bailey,  6 Casey Fleegle,  7 Jason Mullen,  8 Ray Wright,  9 Ian Will,  10 Ray Edwards,  11 Dan Jackson,  12 Leroy Booher,  13 Mike Meck,  14 Eric Cramer,  15 Nick Zborovacik,  16 Martin Vinosky,  17 Tim Thomas

THUNDER VALLEY BEATS THE WEATHERMAN, EVERHART BEATS THE FIELD

 

    For the first time in almost a month  Thunder Valley got a  complete show in the books, and with a rousing late race charge, Steve Everhart was the big winner.  Everhart rallied late to take the win, the 14th of his career at the track, snatching it away from Dan Lee with two laps to go.  In other action,   Jim Sayler took his 21st Semi Late win,  Bill Replogle won the Pure Stock event and Martin Vinosky scored again with his Acura  in 4 Cylinder action.

 

     With pole sitter Wayne Johnson failing to answer the call,  Dan Lee inherited the Late Model pole.  He lept off at the start with Allen Lemin in tow.  Lemin camped out on Lee's rear bumper as Scott Rhodes and Everhart ran them down.    A few early cautions kept the field close but Lemin failed to get by Lee.  Rhodes and Everhart traded the third spot several times  before Everhart secured it for good on lap 10.

 

     Everhart inserted himself in the front pack battle as Lemin attacked Lee, until he forged  by Lemin  on lap 20.   Rhodes got by Lemin two laps later and they both converged on the leader.    On lap 23 Everhart swept around the outside of Lee as Rhodes went to the bottom.   Everhart emerged from the 3 wide move with the lead and romped the last two laps to the win.   Lee held off Rhodes to hold onto second at the line,  Greg Fetters and Chuck Clise  trailed.  Lemin faded to sixth while Shawn Claar, Chris Harr, Tom Decker and Tyler Hershey rounded out the top 10.     Lee and Johnson won the heats.

 

    The Semi Late event started out with the usual dogfight at the front, this time led by Jonathan Hayman in his new car.  Jason Vangilder and eventually Jim Sayler and Greg Cornell  made it a 4 way battle with every position except the lead changing hands.   Things changed on lap 10 as Vangilder brushed the front stretch wall and brought out the caution, just as Sayler was easing by Hayman for the lead.

 

     With Sayler in the lead, Cornell took over second and chased him for the duration.   Hayman fell back into a battle with Dave Lee for third.   Cornell tried  everything but Sayler was able to hold on.  A last lap effort fell a length short as Sayler hung on for the win.  Hayman held on for third, ahead of Lee, Ray Sheetz, Jamie Swank, Dave Korlewitz, Jeff Benson, Bill Pluta and Roger Shaulis.  Cornell and Korlewitz won the heats.

 

      Marty Johnson was the Pure Stock Pole sitter and early leader.   It was a slugfest at the front though as Russ Hartman and a pack of five gave chase.    On lap 5 the two by two formation became 4 wide entering turn one.  In the action, Bill Replogle emerged with the lead , Tom Warren was second, Hartman third and Johnson banked off the wall.

   

    Warren gave chase and pulled alongside  several times, but his car began smoking.    Warren pulled up lame on lap  17 and retired, allowing Replogle to run to the finish without challenge.   Jamie Kohan snatched second on the last lap, beating Hartman to the line, followed by  Kevin Brown, Justin Milburn, Rod Mock, Drew Black, Greg Cornell Sr, John Hollis and   Mike Ott.  Black, Kohan and Johnson won the heats.

 

      Jason Mullen was the early 4 Cylinder leader, but Martin Vinosky roared through the field to take over on lap 6.  From then on Vinosky ran off from the field  for his third 2010 win.  Mullen retired one lap after losing the lead, allowing Robert Pluta, John Bailey, Keith Deeter and Tim Thomas to trail the winner.  Mullen and Pluta won the heats.

 

LATE MODEL 25 LAPS   1  Steve Everhart,  2 Dan Lee,  3 Scott Rhodes,  4 Greg Fetters,  5 Chuck Clise,  6 Allen Lemin,  7 Shawn Claar,  8 Chris Harr,  9 Tom Decker,   10 Tyler Hershey,  11 Doug Glessner,  12  Terry Rayko,  13 Steve Gibney,  14  Bill Burns,  15 Doug Legum,  16 Dave Graber,  17 Sam Grindlesberger,  Jeff Compton,  19 Dale Claycomb,  20 Mike Altobelli Jr,    DNS  Wayne Johnson

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS    1 Jim Sayler,  2 Greg Cornell,  3 Jonathan Hayman,  4 Dave Lee,  5 Ray Sheetz,  6 Jamie Swank,  7 Dave Korlewitz,  8 Jeff Benson,  9 Bill Pluta,  10 Roger Shaulis,  11 John Shaffer,  12 Joe Pluta,  13 Dennis Collins,  14 Justin Robine,  15 Matt Custer,  16 Jason Vangilder

 

PURE STOCKS 20 LAPS   1  Bill Replogle,  2 Jamie Kohan.  3 Russ Hartman,.  4 Kevin Brown,  5 Justin Milburn,  6 Rod Mock Sr,  7 Drew Black,  8 Greg Cornell Sr,  9 John Hollis,  10 Mike Ott,  11 Ryan Beckett,  12 Shane Weyant,  13 RJ Troutman,  14 Marty Johnson,   15 Ed Vogel,  16  Tom Warren,  17 Jesse Hunt,  18 Chris Wolfe,  19 Terry Mitchell,  20 Alicia Legros,  21  Dave Green,  22 Mark Field, 

 

4CYLINDER 15 LAPS  1 Martin Vinosky,  2 Robert Pluta  3 John Bailey,  4 Keith Deeter,  5  Tim Thomas,  6 Ray Wright,  7 Ray Edwards,  8 Dan Jackson,  9 Irv Fleegle,  10 Mike Meck Jr,  11 Ralph Miller,  12 Casey Fleegle,  Eric Cramer,  14 Tyler Beckett,  15 Leroy Booher,  16 Ian Will.  17 Jason Mullen.  18  Andrew Pluta.

 

    

 

NEW WINNERS GRACE THUNDER VALLEY HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA

 

    Billed as the Windmill 100. the racing action at Thunder Valley consisted of  100 laps of feature racing action Saturday night.  All four winners won    their first division  feature events and two drivers won their career first in any division at the track.  With the Super Late Models off, Matt Emerick snatched the  headline Limited event, his first at Thunder Valley since a Pure Stock win  over a decade ago.   Jeff Benson took his first Semi Late win in  that 40 lap special event, while Shawn Wyles  and Andrew Pluta took career first TV wins in  the Pure Stock and 4 cylinder 20 lappers

 

    With  the visiting Limited division  field set by the luck of the draw,  Emerick started on the front row.   After two aborted starts, Emerick lined up behind  Jake Griffith on the single file start.   Griffith held on for the first three laps, which saw yet another caution period, But on lap 4 Emerick shot by for a lead he would not relinquish.   Brian Lessley ran down Griffith by lap 7 and took over second. Matt Sponaugle and Curtis Heath moved in to the top four and chased Emerick but  Emerick was not to be denied  as he finally scored a coveted feature winner hat.

 

    Emerick was followed across the line by Lessley, Sponaugle, Heather and George Dixon who roared all the way up from 12th starting spot.   Former track Limited regular Brad Kling, Richard Logan, Darrell Dick,  Craig Perigo an Chris Rhodes completed the top 10.   Lessley, Sponaugle and Emerick won the heats.

 

    Former Pure Stock standout Jeff Benson scored the biggest win of his career in the Semi Late 40 lapper.  Early season hard luck fated Benson to start on the front row in the event.  He shot by Bill Pluta at the start and took the initial lead.  He was quickly joined at the front be a fast closing Greg  Cornell and Brian Duffy.   The three went at it most of the way in the caution fest, with Cornell actually getting by to lead  lap 9.  But Benson  held off every challenge and led  lap 10 to  the end.  

 

    With the extra laps,  attrition was a problem at the front as Duffy retired on lap 26,  Vangilder on lap 29,  and Jim Sayler spun on lap32.   At the finish, Benson was able to stretch out for a comfortable win, over Cornell, Ray Sheetz  And Zane Weicht who rallied late.   Saylor rebounded to take fifth ahead of Jonathan Hayman, Dave Lee, Pluta, Jamie Swank and  Rich Swope.   Cornell and Vangilder won the  heats.

 

    Shawn Wyles, driving the only old school 70s style Monte Carlo in the field came from  deep in the field to score the Pure Stock win.   Michael Ott led the opening lap before  Mark Field took over.   He held off a mob until Wyles  and Bill Replogle arrived.    Wyles wiggled thru for the lead on lap 8.  Replogle got into second on lap 14,  but he dropped out one lap later.   Drew Black rallied late to chase Wyles across the line, followed by Jamie Kohan, Field, Ryan Beckett, Justin Milburn, and  Willy Ling,   Wyles, Ott and Black won the heats.

 

     By far the wildest event was the 4 cylinder nightcap.  two red flags dotted the event as the full field put on a show.   Andrew Pluta  shot from 5th to lead the first lap.   Adam Pletcher took over then but wild action was everywhere.  Pluta regained the lead later on lap 13, and held to the 20 lap conclusion.  Keith Deeter came from all the way back in 18th to score second, ahead of Ian Will, Martin Vinosky, Jesse Loughard,   Ralph Miller Tim Thomas, Irv Fleegle and Dave Lambert.   Pletcher, Will and Donny Lechak

Two red flags interrupted the event.  The first for a hard crash by Jeff Treece  at the pit ramp, and the second  for a flipper in turn three.

 

 

LIMITED 20 LAPS  1  Matt Emerick,  2 Brian Lessley,  3 Matt Sponaugle,  4 Curtis Heath,  5 George Dixon,  6 Brad Kling,  7 Richard Logan,  8 Darrell Dick,  9 Craig Perigo,  10, Chris Rhodes,  11 Scott Daniels,  12 Bill Burns,  13 Ryan Dixon,  14  Quint Weyant,  15 Jake Griffith,  16 Corey Weaver,  17   Rance Garlock,  18 Mike Duck,  19   Dale Claycomb,  20 Kyle Wiser,  21 Matt Sala,  22  Robbie Black,  23 Travis Calhoun

 

SEMI LATE 40 LAPS   1 Jeff Benson,  2 Greg Cornell,  3 Ray Sheetz,  4 Zane Weicht,  5 Jim Sayler,  6 Jonathan Hayman,  7 Dave Lee,  8 Bill Pluta,  9 Jamie Swank,  10 Matt Swope,  11 Jim Kreager,  12 Brian Shaffer,  13 Jason Vangilder,   14 Dennis Collins,  Brian Duffy,  16 Justin n Robine,  17 Khi Swanger,  18 Ralph Shaulis,  19 Joe Pluta,  20  Danny Atherton.

 

PURE STOCK 20 LAPS  1Shawn Wyles,  2 Drew Black,  3 Jamie Kohan,  4 Mark Field,  5 Ryan Beckett,  6 Justin Milburn,  7 Willy Ling,  8 Travis Brown,  9 Bill Hanna 10 Rod Mock,  11 Greg Cornell,  12 John Hollis,  13 Dave Green,  14 Ed Vogel,  15 Shane Weyant,  16 Alicia Legross,  17 Chris Wolfe,  18 Jesse Hunt,  19 Bill Replogle,  20 Derek Graybill,.  21 Russ Hartman,  22 Mike Siegele,  23  Terry Mitchell,  24 Marty Johnson,  25  Matt Presock,  26 Mike Ott

 

4 CYLINDER 20 LAP.   1 Andrew Pluta,  2 Keith Deeter,  3 Ian Will,  4 Martin Vinosky 5 Jesse Loughard,  6 Ralph Miller,  7 Tim Thomas,  8  Irv Fleegle,  9 Dave Lambert,  10 Tyler Beckett,  11 Jon Gephart,  12 Casey Fleegle,  13 Mike Meck,  14  Dan Jackson,  15 Adam Pletcher,  16  Eric Cramer,  17 Robert Pluta,  18 Tyler Smay,  19 Jason Mullen,  20  John Lamer,  21 Donny Lechak,  22 Leroy Booher,  23 Brian Paulson,  24 Jeremy Miller,  25 Jeff Treece,,  26  Sean Fitzpatrick,  DNS  Nathan Vinosky, Ryan Claycomb

 

 

DELANO SCORES WIN AT THUNDER VALLEY

 

    Ron Delano made a rare visit to his home track pay off Saturday night as he scored the Late Model win at Thunder Valley.  It was Delano's third career  Late Model win at the e track but  his first  since the 2006 season in his infrequent visits.  Another infrequent visitor  Charlie Walter scored the win in the biggest Pure Stock event of the year, the 30 lap  Gene Detwiler memorial, his second career  win.   Defending champion Jim Sayler took the Semi Late event and Martin Vinosky's Acura remained undefeated in 4 cylinder action.

 

     Delano, who has taken his team on the road  in recent seasons returned to his home track and brought his rabbits foot,   With the pill draw in effect for the season's second event, Delano ended up on the front row, shot by pole sitter Shawn Claar at the start. and ran off from the field during the first long stretch of green flag racing.  Chick Clise caught and passed Claar for second on lap nine, but  could not mount a threat to Delano who was dialed in.

 

      With Delano having the lead in hand, all eyes were on Steve Everhart who was blasting through the field from his 12th starting spot.  Everhart made it to sixth on lap 10, then shot  by Devin Friese one lap later.  After some close racing, Everhart got by Greg Fetters for fourth on lap 20 and Claar for third on lap 24, but the laps ran out as his progress ended there.

 

    Delano ran to the checkered flag pretty much uncontested, followed by Clise, the fast closing Everhart, Claar and Fetters.  Friese, Randy Burkholder, Jeff Miller, Allen Lemin and Scot Rhodes.   Fetters, Miller and Tom Decker won the heats.

 

    The Gene Detwiler Memorial is the biggest Pure Stock event of the year for the class and drew a great field o f outsiders.   Mike Siegele led the opening laps before Charlie Walter got by.  Meanwhile Tom Warren streaked thru the field from 8h second by lap 3.

From that point the battle was on as Warren dogged Walter as the race went all green laps.  Warren bottled Walter in lapped traffic on lap 13 and took over but Walter was in hot pursuit.    Walter was all over Warren, pulling alongside several times  but unable to make the pass as Shawn Wyles closed to make it a 3way battle.  On lap 28 it ended as Warrens car broke bringing out only the second caution of the race as he limped to the pits.

 

    From that point, Walter held off the challenge of Wyles for the two lap run to the end.

Bill Replogle came all the way from 14th to take third at the finish, ahead of Drew Black,  Willie Ling,  Ed Vogel, RJ Troutman, Russ Hartman, Dave Green and Mike Ott.   Warren, Chuck Weyandt and Ryan Beckett won the heats.

 

     Defending Semi Late champion Jim Sayler has won many times  at the track but is more accustomed to coming thru the pack.  This time he started on the pole by the luck of he draw but his win was no easier.  Sayler took off from the drop of the green, but  had intense pressure from lap 6 on from  Greg Cornell.   The pair was joined by Jeff Benson, Dave Korlewitz and Dave Lee in a wild 5 car race long battle at the front.

 

     Althought Sayler was challenged on both the inside and outside, he held on as the spots behind him changed almost every lap.  At the finish, Sayler held on for his  20th career track victory ahead of Cornell, Korlewitz, Benson, Lee and Ray Sheetz.  Brian Duffy,  Willy Ling  Jonathan Hayman and Jason vangilder.   Korlewitz and Greg Hainsey won the heats.

 

      Martin Vinosky emerged from a wild 3 way battle to score the 4 cylinder win. Jeff Treece was  the early leader,  But Vinosky and Jim Tunstall were here almost immediately.  After lots of position trading, Vinosky took over and led to the  15 lap conclusion.   Tunstall was second, ahead of Treece,  Jason Mullen Nathan Vinosky and Tim Thomas.   Keith Deeter and Tunstall won the heats.

 

LATE MODEL 25 LAPS:  1  Ron Delano,  2 Chuck Clise,  3 Steve Everhart,  4 Shawn Claar,  5 Greg Fetters,  6 Devin Friese,  7 Randy Burkholder,  8 Jeff Miller,  9 Allen Lemin,  10 Scott Rhodes,  11 Tom Decker,  12 Dan Lee,  13  Jeff Compton,  14 Terry Rayko,  15 Tim Burkholder,  16 Bill Burns,  17 Doug Legum,  18 Doug Glesner,  19 Doug Stine,  20 Gene Kain,  21 Dale Claycomb,  22 Chris Rhodes,  23 Wayne Johnson,  24 Chris Harr.

 

SEMI LATE 20 LAPS  1  Jim Sayler,  2 Greg Cornell,  3 Dave Korlewitz,  4 Jeff Benson,  5 Dave Lee,  6 Ray Sheetz,  7 Brian Duffy,  8 Willy Ling,  9 Jonathan Hayman,  10 Jason Van gilder,  11 Justin Robine,  12 Brian  Shaffer,  13 Roger Shaulis,  14Joe Pluta,    15 Greg Hainsey,  16 Dennis Collins,  17 Bill Pluta,   DNS  Jim Kreager.

 

PURE STOCK 30 LAPS.   1 Charlie Walter,   2 Shawn Wyles,   3 Bill Replogle,  4 Drew Black,  5 Willy Ling,  6 Ed Vogel,  7 RJ Troutman,  8 Russ Hartman,  9 Dave Green,  10  Mik Ott,  11  Shane Weyant,  12 Tom Warren,  13 Terry Mitchell,  14  Chris Wolfe,  15 Justin Vaughn,  16  Ryan Beckett,  17  Mike Siegele,  18 Jesse Hunt,  19  Mark Field,  20 Jamie Kohan,  21 Chuck Weyandy,  22 Alicia Legross,  23 Marty Johnson.

 

4 CYLINDER 12 LAPS  1Martin Vinosky,  2 Jim Tunstall, 3  Jeff Treece,  4 Jason Mullen,  5 Nathan Vinosky,  6 Tim Thomas,   7 Keith Deeter,  8 Andrew Pluta,  9 Donny Lechak  10  Dave Lambert 11  Ian Will,  12 Dan Johnson,  13 Robert Pluta,  14 Dave Day,  15 Mike Meck,   DNS  Irv Fleegle