Rim-Rider: Chad Cook Works Outside Lane To Victory – Third Of 2015 – Saturday At Thunder Mountain Speedway; Eric Leet (Sportsman), Pat Jordan (Crate 602 Sportsman), Coty Bishop (Rookie), Steven Deinhardt (Street Stock), Doug Windhausen (XCel), Larry Mekic (SRP), Johnny Applebee and Brian Moore (Vintage) & Mike Robinson (Four Cylinder) Also Score
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CENTER LISLE, NY – Chad Cook rode the outside lane to victory on Saturday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway.
Deposit, N.Y.’s Cook, driving the Mike Costello-owned No. 222, found the topside to his liking and powered around defending track champion Brent Wilcox with three laps remaining in the 30-lap big-block/small-block Modified main. For Cook, the victory was his third of the 2015 season and first since July 12.
“We have struggled here the last few weeks, been in the back and got caught up in some stuff,” noted Cook, who earned $1,200. “These guys kept working and we found something here tonight.”
Cook started seventh in the main. Out front, Billy Spoonhower set the pace from his pole position. Spoonhower paced the opening six circuits around the three-eighths-mile oval before Wilcox powered his Coar-Clark Motorsports No. 27 to the top spot on a sixth-lap restart.
Modified rookie Butch Green climbed to second on lap eight and ignited a 14-lap battle for the race lead. With each passing circuit, Green built momentum in the track’s high lane, working wheel-to-wheel with the inside-running Wilcox.
A yellow on the 22nd lap changed the race’s complexion.
Cook, who had trailed the leaders in ninth from lap nine, wheeled around Green and set his sights on Wilcox with five laps remaining.
On the 27th lap, Cook powered past Wilcox on the top of turn two and was never headed, driving on to a $1,200 triumph.
“I was in third watching them (Wilcox and Green) race, trying to save my tires,” Cook said. “Under that yellow (lap 22), I cooled my tires and it stuck on the top. I got by Butch then got a run on Brent.”
Wilcox, of Binghamton, N.Y., settled for second, followed by Newark Valley, N.Y.’s Green, who registered the best finish of his burgeoning Modified career in the Trackside Products-backed No. 56. Brian Malcolm of Lake Ariel, Pa., placed a consistent fourth and Berkshire, N.Y.’s Spoonhower, using a Sportsman engine after his primary powerplant blew a week earlier, completed the front five.
Marathon, N.Y.’s Eric Leet extended his point lead with a triumph in the 20-lap Open Sportsman headliner. Leet motored from fifth starting position to grab a lead he wouldn’t relinquish via a three-wide maneuver for the lead. Leet went to the inside of Dan Burman while Nick Mady powered three-wide to the top. After a full lap racing three-deep, Leet prevailed and fought off Mady’s outside advances for the $700 payday.
Kevin Jordan, Burman and Marc Goodwin placed third through fifth, respectively.
Richford, N.Y.’s Pat Jordan wheeled to Crate 602 Sportsman victory in the 20-lap event. Jordan cleared his nephew – rookie Dustin Jordan – in the final laps with a power move around the outside. The two Jordans and Nick Mady had been locked in a three-car tussle for the lead before Pat Jordan emerged out front.
Dustin Jordan, driving one of his uncle’s former cars, placed second – a personal best – ahead of Mady, Shayne Spoonhower and Daryl Krebs.
Coty Bishop of Binghamton, N.Y., continued his dominance of the Rookie Sportsman, topping the 15-lap feature. Bishop avoided a number of early skirmishes to get the lead early. Shawn Davis drove from dead last after involvement in an early tangle for second, with Dayton Coney, Kinser Hill and Tyler Keener in tow.
Steven Deinhardt of Deposit, N.Y., returned to Victory Lane in Barrett’s Race Cars & Components Street Stock action. Deinhardt carefully weaved from eighth starting position to take the lead on the ninth of 20 laps, working to the inside of Matt Spencer. Deinhardt was never headed, picking up a $500 payday.
Rich Sharpsteen worked by Spencer for second in the waning laps. Spencer, Doug Stack and Shawn Boynton completed the front five.
For the first time in his career, second-generation driver Doug Windhausen of Fabius, N.Y., visited Victory Lane in XCel 600 Modified competition. Windhausen, son of former regional Late Model standout R.J. Windhausen, worked from third to the lead on the opening lap of the feature and repelled the advances of both Will Eastman and Tom Shiner in the event’s second half.
Eastman bested Shiner in a back-and-forth battle for second, with Brian Mady (recovering from a hard heat-race crash) and Dana Davis completing the front five.
Larry Mekic of Moscow, Pa., wired the field in a lightning-quick 15-lap SRP 600cc Micro-Sprint main, fending off the relentless advances by runner-up Gary Kratzer in a caution-free event.
The Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club invaded for its only ’15 appearance on the Mountain. John Applebee of Port Byron, N.Y., scored the Modified triumph, while the “race within a race” Sportsman trophy went to Brian Moore of Smithville Flats, N.Y.
Mike Robinson of Harpursville, N.Y., won his first-ever Four Cylinder 15-lap event at Thunder Mountain. Robinson was able to shoot the gap inside Gabe Forward at the race’s midway point and drive on to the win. Robinson had previously won at other speedways in the area, but not Thunder Mountain. Nick Kennedy, Gabe Forward, Chris Taylor and McKenzie Gibson trailed.
Racing resumes on the Mountain on Saturday, August 22 with a full program of Modifieds, Open Sportsman, Crate Sportsman, Rookie Sportsman, Street Stocks, XCel 600 Modifieds and Four Cylinders. Street Stocks race for an increased $1,000 to win in their 20-lap main!
Gates open at 4 p.m., with hot laps at 6:20 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. Adult grandstand admission is $12. Seniors (ages 65 and up) and Students (ages 10-17) pay $10. Kids 9 and under are FREE. Pit admission is $30, with no license required.
For Thunder Mountain Speedway general information and a complete schedule, visit www.thundermtnspeedway.com. The speedway office number is 607.657.8202. On race day, call 607.849.7899. The speedway e-mail is thundermtnspeedway@gmail.com. “Like” Thunder Mountain Speedway on Facebook or follow @thundermtnspeed on Twitter.
Thunder Mountain Speedway is located at 91 Hunts Corners Road Center Lisle, NY 13797, approximately 25 miles north of Binghamton. The three-eighths-mile clay oval features hillside concrete seating, free parking and camping, a variety of concession items and novelties, a family environment and more.
THUNDER THOUGHTS: Every inch of the speedway’s pit area was in use during Saturday’s program with a total of 117 race cars in competition. Despite the busy night, the Modified feature was in the books before 10 p.m. and the entire program done by 11 o’clock….
Mike Clapperton returned to the Modified ranks after being sidelined by engine woes earlier in the year. Bob Henry Jr. and Mike Ward also made their first Mod starts of ’15, while Sportsman star Eric Leet filled in for a vacationing Chris Stull in the No. 19X Modified, his debut in the division….
A newcomer in the Crate Sportsman ranks was Capital District regular Shea Montgomery, who placed a respectable sixth in his first Mountain start….
Track conditions were smooth and racy for the event, with two- and three-wide action the norm throughout the night….
XCel 600 Modified winner Doug Windhausen was able to win his first-ever feature with father R.J. as a pit-area spectator….
Heat winners included Nick Rochinski, Billy Spoonhower and Butch Green (Modified); Kenny Hammond and Nick Mady (Open Sportsman); Brian Mady and Isaiah Forward (Crate Sportsman); Thomas Ferguson and Shawn Davis (Rookie Sportsman); Trevor Dudley, Brett Barrett and Rich Sharpsteen (Street Stock); Will Eastman and Tom Shiner (XCel 600 Modified); Gary Kratzer (SRP Sprint); Jimmy Sherman (Midstate Vintage); and Mike Robinson (Four Cylinder)….
AUGUST 15, 2015 RACE SUMMARY
Modified Feature Finish (30 Laps): CHAD COOK, Brent Wilcox, Butch Green, Brian Malcolm, Billy Spoonhower, Mike Mahaney, Bob Henry Jr., Nick Rochinski, Colton Wilson, Ryan Jordan, Byron Worthing, Mike Nagel Jr., Chance Spoonhower, Ken Titus, Randy Brokaw, Eric Leet, Mike Ward, Mike Wilbur, Mike Clapperton.
Open Sportsman Feature Finish (20 Laps): ERIC LEET, Nick Mady, Kevin Jordan, Dan Burman, Marc Goodwin, Chris Jordan, Geordie Decker, Kenny Hammond, Larry Hillis, Pete Gardner, T.J. Frost, Daniel Burman, Chance Spoonhower.
Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (20 Laps): PAT JORDAN, Dustin Jordan, Brian Mady, Shayne Spoonhower, Daryl Krebs, Shea Montgomery, Ben Wheeler, Dan Pease, Rich Powell, Kailee Dimorier, Josh Underwood, Jon Miller, Jerry Voorhis, Isaiah Forward.
Rookie Sportsman Feature Finish (15 Laps): COTY BISHOP, Shawn Davis, Dayton Coney, Kinser Hill, Tyler Keener, Cole Price, Kerri Cook, Brandon Saddlemire, James McIntyre, Thomas Ferguson.
Did Not Start: Lee Foland.
Street Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): STEVEN DEINHARDT, Rich Sharpsteen, Matt Spencer, Doug Stack, Shawn Boynton, Brett Barrett, Jack Holcomb, Chuck Murray, Kevin Garland, John Cooper Sr., Rick Sinsabaugh, Earl Zimmer, Dan Force, Donald Russell, Trevor Dudley, Derek Peters, John Cooper Jr., Jerry Wilcox, Jason Beebe.
XCel 600 Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): DOUG WINDHAUSEN, Will Eastman, Tom Shiner, Brian Mady, Dana Davis, Chris Kithcart, Jared Jordan, Bailey Boyd, Jamie Frantz, Dusty Decker, Damon Henry, Dakota Anderson, Paul DeRuyter, Eric Boyd.
SRP Sprint Feature Finish (15 Laps): LARRY MEKIC, Gary Kratzer, Bill Nichols, Bob Johnson, Lisa Kratzer, John Kenyon.
Did Not Start: Chad Tibbals.
Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club Feature Finish (12 Laps): JOHN APPLEBEE, Mat Scott, Jimmy Sherman, Brian Moore (first Sportsman), Greg Young, Gorden Wood, Howdy Witter.
Four Cylinder Feature Finish (15 Laps): MIKE ROBINSON, Nick Kennedy, Gabe Forward, Chris Taylor, McKenzie Gibson, Willy Turner, Angus Hines, Dylan Robinson, Guy Raymond Jr.
