Wednesday, August 8, 2001
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Wednesday, August 8, 2001 |
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Thursday Thunder racing series concludes tomorrow night
Brad Horne broke a deadlock in the Semi-Pro B division Thursday by earning his second win of the season and taking a comfortable lead heading into the final week of Thursday Thunder racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Horne held off a charging Cindy Anderson to take a 20-point lead over Ron Johnson, who finished third. Horne had been tied with Grant Enfinger headed into Thursday night, but Enfinger spun out on the final turn of the final lap, basically conceding the championship to Horne. In just his third race back after rehabilitating a broken leg, Chase Miller claimed his first career Thursday Thunder win in the Semi-Pro A division. Brandon Brilliant finished second and catapulted into the points lead. Brandon McElroy, Brian Meredith and Chris Vaughan rounded out the top five. Three-time Pro champion Doug Stevens creeped back into contention for his fourth title by edging 15-year-old Reed Sorenson at the line Thursday. Stevens now trails Sorenson by just three points. Jonathan Davenport overcame an early-race crash to finish third, Scott Evans was fourth and Brett Ragan ended in fifth. Young Lions driver Chris Dilbeck earned his first Legends win by passing Bubba Harry in the final corner, a controversial move that had both drivers waiting at Victory Lane for the call. The contact was called incidental and Dilbeck declared the winner and Harry was relegated to runner-up. Toby Kempson, Tyler Austin and Doc Lee followed battled for the rest of the top five, finishing in that order. Rick Godfrey Jr., declared the winner several weeks ago on a scoring error, earned his first true Young Guns win in decisive fashion, leading Kyle Daniel, Jeremy Kalina, Dilbeck and Chris Cable to the checkered flag. Lloyd Wittenburg became the first driver in Thursday Thunder history to win two races in different divisions in the same night, earning the trophy in both the Roadsters and the Masters divisions. Sean Cassidy earned his second win of the season, dodging the melee in the Outlaws division, while points leader Rick Godfrey Sr. was involved in an early-race incident that had him finishing last and cut deeply into his championship lead. Bandits driver Travis Pennington earned his first career Thursday Thunder win, holding off Devan Hall and Hunter Robbins in the final laps. Points leader Joey Logano finished fourth, with Kyle Mitchell fifth. The Thursday Thunder grand finale and Fan Appreciation Night, presented by WSB-TV and WDEN-FM (Macon), will take place tomorrow night. Every fan in attendance will leave with a goody bag stuffed with keepsake racing programs, valuable coupons and free samples from this year's sponsors. The whole evening will be a special presentation to the loyal fans of Thursday Thunder. Thursday Thunder is a fun and affordable activity for the whole family. Admission for adults is just $5, children 6-11 are $1, and children 5 and under are free. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., and the racing action starts immediately. For more information call 770-946-4211. |
