Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Maughan moving up in racing series

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Trey Maughan has had a busy spring. Not only was he the leading scorer of the Starr’s Mill varsity soccer team, which made it to the AAAAA state finals against Brookwood, but he was also a senior preparing to graduate and a driver getting ready for the Thursday Thunder series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Maughan will attend the University of Tennessee this fall and plans to play soccer on a club team up there, but for now, it is summer and Maughan is focusing on having fun and winning races.

“This is possibly my last year driving for awhile,” said Maughan, who won the Young Guns championship last year by six points. Maughan will drive in the Outlaw series this summer and is shooting to make the Nationals in Alabama this year. Last year, Maughan was leading the Nationals race in Orlando with two laps to go but ended up finishing in third place. He finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in points.

Maughan’s car is painted with the colors of the University of Tennessee. His father, Don, is his mechanic and keeps the car in good shape. Maughan also gets help during the season from his friend, Matt Grisham.

“It’s a team effort and Matt’s been a lucky charm as part of the pit crew,” said Maughan, who pointed out that Grisham had been at all of the races that he won last year. Maughan is hoping to race his father this year and thinks he should easily defeat him. Of course, if they do race, he will have to get his car race-ready without him. “My dad knows how to set up a car, but he can’t drive it as well,” Maughan said confidently. The two may meet up on the track sometime this season.

Maughan likes driving in the Thursday Thunder series and his built up a lot of friendly rivalries there over the years. One of his favorite people to race against is Senoia’s Tina Johnson. The two have raced each other at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Senoia Speedway. Maughan is looking forward to racing in a new division this summer and feels he can perform well if he keeps his head and stays out of trouble. Last year, Maughan got bumped and tried to bump back. It was then that his car spun out of control and knocked him out of a good finish. To achieve his goal of another Thursday Thunder title with a shot at nationals, Maughan will have to consistently race well.

The Thursday Thunder series at Atlanta Motor Speedway has grown significantly over the last seven years. Racers of all ages compete in a variety of different cars including Legends cars, which are 5/8 the scale of normal cars, Bandolero cars and Roadsters. The races take place on Thunder Ring at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1/4 mile track that is in the top five percent of short tracks in the nation in terms of car count and gate attendance. Legends Racing is a stepping stone for some racers to larger series and several current NASCAR racers got their start driving Legends cars, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman.

Thursday Thunder is fun for the whole family, whether they are in the pits with their own car or in the stands cheering their favorites along. It is also an inexpensive evening as tickets are $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 6-11 and free for children under 6. Concession prices are also significantly inexpensive and each evening of races is also filled with entertainment. Thursday Thunder will take place every Thursday from June 3-Aug. 5.

Maughan is but one of several racers representing Fayette County in Thursday Thunder this year. Other racers from the county include Tyrone’s Michael Herrington in Legends Semi-Pro, Peachtree City’s Ed Clark in the Legends Masters division (Clark is also President and General manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway), Fayetteville’s Robert Mowery and Bre Sharp in Bandolero Young Guns and Brooks’ Vince Ponder in the Chargers division.

This year’s Thursday Thunder racing series may be one of the best in terms of competition and entertainment value. Visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com for more information.