Post by jkelly57 on Apr 2, 2007 17:57:17 GMT -6
Texas Race Fast, Allstate Texas Thunder 150 @ Thunder Hill Raceway 3/31/07
By J M Hallas
Kyle, Tx.(March 31, 2007) There's an old saying in show business, "The show must go on," and go on it did despite the efforts of Mother Nature to put a damper on things. The skies cleared, the sun shone brightly on the 3rd Annual Allstate Texas Thunder 150 on the always tricky 3/8 mile D-shaped track just south of Austin Texas.
On the schedule for part one of the two race, Texas Race Fest schedule presented by Full Throttle Productions were the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series for their opening race of the 2007 season with 28 cars from nine states and Canada signing in for the Allstate Texas Thunder 150.
Also on the card were the Texas Super Racing Series, Late Models for their first go 'round of the year, with 22 of the 24 on hand taking times.
Duncan Dazzling Grand National Pole Run Bakersfield, California’s , Mike Duncan showed his track experience
laying down the fastest time for the Grand National Division, West Series qualifying with a new track record. Youngsters, Alex Haase and David Mayhew were top of the charts in the beginning, both breaking into the 14 second range. Duncan went out late and showed he had found the combination with a
remarkable run of 14.836 in the Lucas Oil, Rons Rear Ends, Green Frog Market, Laughlin Chassis and Phil Meropolis Race Engines.
“We’ve been here every time, our third trip I think and we’ve been fast but just haven’t had the finishes to show for our knowledge of the place,” replied fast timer, Duncan. “We’re definitely comfortable racing here. A good starting spot is very important, we feel and being on the pole tonight should help us.”
“When you try to qualify you’re trying to push it, but you have to keep it under control. Bill Sedgewick and all my Lucas Oil crew have given me a great car to run. With all their knowledge and input, the car handling the way it is, it makes my job easy. Well(after last years last lap battle) I hope to be 10 car lengths ahead of everybody. Realistically I think it will be a dog fight all the way to the end, especially with a double file restart. We have such a great competitive group of guys we have in the
series. We have a great car count here tonight to open up the season, I just hope I’m one of the cars that has a chance at the end.”
“We’re pretty happy with the lap,” said young Alex Haase who was second fastest. “My crew Chief Mike Knaake is one of the best around. With him in our camp, I think we’ll do good this year. This is the first race for me in a Grand National Division car. Hopefully we can just finish in the top five. I have to get approved to run Phoenix in a couple weeks so I’m just
looking for a good top ten finish. These guys(crew) do good every year and everywhere they go, so they have all that stuff figured out. All I had to do was figure out the track and I did that pretty fast last night. We ran pretty good today, did a couple qualifying runs and did well in that too. Now I just have to race well.”
Lynch Lands in Winners Circle
Scott lynch had one thing in mind when made the long haul to Texas, seat time. Lynch who ran a limited schedule in 2006 recently picked up a ride in the Craftsman Truck Series and was looking to get some on track experience again after last years lay off. Lynch got more than he bargained for as he passed polesitter and leader at the time, Mike Duncan to take home the
$6,500 payday.
All 28 car cars entered started the Allstate Texas Thunder 150, and perhaps was contributing factor to the record number of cautions throughout the race. Polesitter, Duncan got out to the early lead as the field stayed 2 x 2 for nearly the entire first lap. Duncan would have to fend off the charges of rookie drivers Alex Haase, and David Mayhew.
Hugging the bottom, Duncan was easily able to hold off his challengers on the double file restart that are customary in Grand National Division, West Series racing. The sixth of the eleven cautions, for a spin by Justin Labonte, son of two-time NASCAR Champion Terry Labonte, was Duncan’s out doing.
Lynch, on the high side, gave it the ol’ college try, then did perfect crossover move in turns 3-4 to get the nose under Duncan on the front stretch. Lynch took over the top spot on lap 69, with Tim Woods III and Mike David leaving Duncan hung out on the high side as they snagged second and third.
Halfway came under yellow showing Lynch, Woods, David, Justin Lofton and Duncan in the top five. Using positioning on restarts, Andrew Myers worked his way into the top five, while the other positions shuffled depending on who was on the high side.
Lynch, who’s car was better on the short runs got plenty of them in the second half of the race. The final caution came out on lap 146, for a spin by Stan Silva jr, and setting up one attempt a green, white, checker finish.
Lynch got a good jump on Duncan as the green waved with David taking second and getting in line third. As the white was shown Lynch had a two car length margin over David who was having to hold off Duncan. While the checkers were being shown for the Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Cobalt Drill Bits,
Dodge bodied, Hendricks chassis, a multi-car melee in turn 4 scrambled the finishing order, with two car sliding through infield grass backwards at the start/finish line.
“It was an awesome race,” stated Lynch on his ninth win. “We came out here with one thing in mind, just to win. I’m not points racing this year. We’re going to concentrate on our Craftsman truck ride. We just wanted to come out here and knock some rust off. We only raced twice last year. We got pretty lucky here tonight.” “The track is about a groove and a half, not quite two grooves,” Lynch added. “I was kind of laying back a little bit, so when he would push up I would try to miss him coming off turn two and have a run going into turn three. Fortunately, I got in just under Duncan and we kind of made a little bit of contact. He scooted up the track just enough for me to get him coming
out of turn four. So, we went from the outside to the inside and ended up leading.” “We knew we had a good car, but it kept overheating. The water gauge was pegged, but there was no reason to come in. We just needed to get out front
and get some clean air. We knew we had a good top five piece and that if could get to the front that we could hold everybody off.”
“It was a fun, exciting race” said second place driver David. “Our car was a little tight, we might be able to roll around on the high side a couple laps, but the guy on the get the better bite. We were better on the long runs.”
“I can’t complain with our finish,” replied Duncan. We had a fast car and the timing of when you were on the outside determines how you finish here. We survived the whole deal and had a good finish. On quick sprints our car was a little bit loose. I needed about 8 laps to get going.”
NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WEST SERIES-ALLSTATE TEXAS THUNDER 150
Unofficial Results
Saturday
At Thunder Hill Raceway
Kyle, Texas
Lap length: 0.375 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (4) 29 Scott Lynch, Burley, ID, Dodge, 155 laps, 42.264 $6,500.
2. (6) 2 Mike David, Modesto, Calif., Ford, 155, $5,550.
3. (1) 9 Mike Duncan, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $5,250.
4. (8) 61 Brett Thompson, Jerome, Idaho, Chevrolet, 155, $3,250.
5. (9) 22 Jason Bowles, Ontario, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,050.
6. (3) 26 David Mayhew, Atascadero, CA., Chevrolet, 155, $1,650.
7. (12) 54 Tim Woods, III, Chino Hills, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,000.
8. (14) 09 Justin Labonte, Trinity, N.C., Chevrolet, 155, $1,400.
9. (20) 44 Andrew Myers, Newport Beach CA., Chevrolet, 155, $2,800.
10. (7) 21 Ryan Foster, Anderson, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $1,275.
11. (16) 8 Johnny Borneman, Ramona, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,500.
12. (13) 92 Marc Davis, Mitchelville, Md., Chevrolet, 155, $1,175.
13. (2) 84 Alex Haase, Las Vegas, Nev., Chevrolet, 155, $1,150.
14. (15) 30 Jose Luis Ramirez, Mexico City, Dodge, 155, $1,100.
15. (25) 15 Jack Sellers, Sacramento, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $1,575.
16. (26) 27 Bobby Hillis, Phoenix, Ariz., Chevrolet, 155, $1,550.
17. (10) 00 Scott Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo., Chevrolet, 155, $2,275.
18. (27) 98 Brandon Riehl, Boring, Ore., Chevrolet, 154, $1,000.
19. (5) 66 Justin Lofton, Westmorland, Calif., Ford, 153, $1,500.
20. (19) 5 Eric Hardin, Anaheim, Calif., Chevrolet, 153, $1,500.
21. (22) 1 Jim Inglebright, Fairfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 145, $2,250.
22. (28) 65 Stan Silva, Jr., Castroville, Calif., Chevrolet, 143,
$1,500.
23. (18) 16 Brian Ickler, San Diego, Calif., Chevrolet, 137, $2,250.
24. (21) 75 Thomas Martin, Auburn, Calif., Chevrolet, 129, accident,
$1,000.
25. (11) 20 Eric Richardson, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 101,
engine,
$1,750.
26. (24) 88 Jamie Dick, Albuquerque, N.M., Chevrolet, 98, overheating,
$1,750.
27. (17) 18 Moses Smith, Tempe, Ariz., Chevrolet, 73, rear end, $500.
28. (23) 77 Mike Gallegos, Wheat Ridge, Colo., Ford, 4, accident, $750.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 22 minutes 31 seconds
Margin of Victory: .311 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: Mike Duncan (90.995 mph, 14.836 seconds)
Caution Flags: 11 for 75 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.Duncan 1-68; S.Lynch 69-155.
Standings: 1. S.Lynch, 190; 2. M.David, 170; 3. M.Duncan, 170; 4.
B.Thompson, 160; 5. J.Bowles, 155; 6. D.Mayhew, 150; 7. T.Woods,III,
146; 8.
J.Labonte, 142; 9. A.Myers, 138; 10. R.Foster, 134.
By J M Hallas
Kyle, Tx.(March 31, 2007) There's an old saying in show business, "The show must go on," and go on it did despite the efforts of Mother Nature to put a damper on things. The skies cleared, the sun shone brightly on the 3rd Annual Allstate Texas Thunder 150 on the always tricky 3/8 mile D-shaped track just south of Austin Texas.
On the schedule for part one of the two race, Texas Race Fest schedule presented by Full Throttle Productions were the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series for their opening race of the 2007 season with 28 cars from nine states and Canada signing in for the Allstate Texas Thunder 150.
Also on the card were the Texas Super Racing Series, Late Models for their first go 'round of the year, with 22 of the 24 on hand taking times.
Duncan Dazzling Grand National Pole Run Bakersfield, California’s , Mike Duncan showed his track experience
laying down the fastest time for the Grand National Division, West Series qualifying with a new track record. Youngsters, Alex Haase and David Mayhew were top of the charts in the beginning, both breaking into the 14 second range. Duncan went out late and showed he had found the combination with a
remarkable run of 14.836 in the Lucas Oil, Rons Rear Ends, Green Frog Market, Laughlin Chassis and Phil Meropolis Race Engines.
“We’ve been here every time, our third trip I think and we’ve been fast but just haven’t had the finishes to show for our knowledge of the place,” replied fast timer, Duncan. “We’re definitely comfortable racing here. A good starting spot is very important, we feel and being on the pole tonight should help us.”
“When you try to qualify you’re trying to push it, but you have to keep it under control. Bill Sedgewick and all my Lucas Oil crew have given me a great car to run. With all their knowledge and input, the car handling the way it is, it makes my job easy. Well(after last years last lap battle) I hope to be 10 car lengths ahead of everybody. Realistically I think it will be a dog fight all the way to the end, especially with a double file restart. We have such a great competitive group of guys we have in the
series. We have a great car count here tonight to open up the season, I just hope I’m one of the cars that has a chance at the end.”
“We’re pretty happy with the lap,” said young Alex Haase who was second fastest. “My crew Chief Mike Knaake is one of the best around. With him in our camp, I think we’ll do good this year. This is the first race for me in a Grand National Division car. Hopefully we can just finish in the top five. I have to get approved to run Phoenix in a couple weeks so I’m just
looking for a good top ten finish. These guys(crew) do good every year and everywhere they go, so they have all that stuff figured out. All I had to do was figure out the track and I did that pretty fast last night. We ran pretty good today, did a couple qualifying runs and did well in that too. Now I just have to race well.”
Lynch Lands in Winners Circle
Scott lynch had one thing in mind when made the long haul to Texas, seat time. Lynch who ran a limited schedule in 2006 recently picked up a ride in the Craftsman Truck Series and was looking to get some on track experience again after last years lay off. Lynch got more than he bargained for as he passed polesitter and leader at the time, Mike Duncan to take home the
$6,500 payday.
All 28 car cars entered started the Allstate Texas Thunder 150, and perhaps was contributing factor to the record number of cautions throughout the race. Polesitter, Duncan got out to the early lead as the field stayed 2 x 2 for nearly the entire first lap. Duncan would have to fend off the charges of rookie drivers Alex Haase, and David Mayhew.
Hugging the bottom, Duncan was easily able to hold off his challengers on the double file restart that are customary in Grand National Division, West Series racing. The sixth of the eleven cautions, for a spin by Justin Labonte, son of two-time NASCAR Champion Terry Labonte, was Duncan’s out doing.
Lynch, on the high side, gave it the ol’ college try, then did perfect crossover move in turns 3-4 to get the nose under Duncan on the front stretch. Lynch took over the top spot on lap 69, with Tim Woods III and Mike David leaving Duncan hung out on the high side as they snagged second and third.
Halfway came under yellow showing Lynch, Woods, David, Justin Lofton and Duncan in the top five. Using positioning on restarts, Andrew Myers worked his way into the top five, while the other positions shuffled depending on who was on the high side.
Lynch, who’s car was better on the short runs got plenty of them in the second half of the race. The final caution came out on lap 146, for a spin by Stan Silva jr, and setting up one attempt a green, white, checker finish.
Lynch got a good jump on Duncan as the green waved with David taking second and getting in line third. As the white was shown Lynch had a two car length margin over David who was having to hold off Duncan. While the checkers were being shown for the Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Cobalt Drill Bits,
Dodge bodied, Hendricks chassis, a multi-car melee in turn 4 scrambled the finishing order, with two car sliding through infield grass backwards at the start/finish line.
“It was an awesome race,” stated Lynch on his ninth win. “We came out here with one thing in mind, just to win. I’m not points racing this year. We’re going to concentrate on our Craftsman truck ride. We just wanted to come out here and knock some rust off. We only raced twice last year. We got pretty lucky here tonight.” “The track is about a groove and a half, not quite two grooves,” Lynch added. “I was kind of laying back a little bit, so when he would push up I would try to miss him coming off turn two and have a run going into turn three. Fortunately, I got in just under Duncan and we kind of made a little bit of contact. He scooted up the track just enough for me to get him coming
out of turn four. So, we went from the outside to the inside and ended up leading.” “We knew we had a good car, but it kept overheating. The water gauge was pegged, but there was no reason to come in. We just needed to get out front
and get some clean air. We knew we had a good top five piece and that if could get to the front that we could hold everybody off.”
“It was a fun, exciting race” said second place driver David. “Our car was a little tight, we might be able to roll around on the high side a couple laps, but the guy on the get the better bite. We were better on the long runs.”
“I can’t complain with our finish,” replied Duncan. We had a fast car and the timing of when you were on the outside determines how you finish here. We survived the whole deal and had a good finish. On quick sprints our car was a little bit loose. I needed about 8 laps to get going.”
NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WEST SERIES-ALLSTATE TEXAS THUNDER 150
Unofficial Results
Saturday
At Thunder Hill Raceway
Kyle, Texas
Lap length: 0.375 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (4) 29 Scott Lynch, Burley, ID, Dodge, 155 laps, 42.264 $6,500.
2. (6) 2 Mike David, Modesto, Calif., Ford, 155, $5,550.
3. (1) 9 Mike Duncan, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $5,250.
4. (8) 61 Brett Thompson, Jerome, Idaho, Chevrolet, 155, $3,250.
5. (9) 22 Jason Bowles, Ontario, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,050.
6. (3) 26 David Mayhew, Atascadero, CA., Chevrolet, 155, $1,650.
7. (12) 54 Tim Woods, III, Chino Hills, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,000.
8. (14) 09 Justin Labonte, Trinity, N.C., Chevrolet, 155, $1,400.
9. (20) 44 Andrew Myers, Newport Beach CA., Chevrolet, 155, $2,800.
10. (7) 21 Ryan Foster, Anderson, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $1,275.
11. (16) 8 Johnny Borneman, Ramona, Calif., Ford, 155, $2,500.
12. (13) 92 Marc Davis, Mitchelville, Md., Chevrolet, 155, $1,175.
13. (2) 84 Alex Haase, Las Vegas, Nev., Chevrolet, 155, $1,150.
14. (15) 30 Jose Luis Ramirez, Mexico City, Dodge, 155, $1,100.
15. (25) 15 Jack Sellers, Sacramento, Calif., Chevrolet, 155, $1,575.
16. (26) 27 Bobby Hillis, Phoenix, Ariz., Chevrolet, 155, $1,550.
17. (10) 00 Scott Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo., Chevrolet, 155, $2,275.
18. (27) 98 Brandon Riehl, Boring, Ore., Chevrolet, 154, $1,000.
19. (5) 66 Justin Lofton, Westmorland, Calif., Ford, 153, $1,500.
20. (19) 5 Eric Hardin, Anaheim, Calif., Chevrolet, 153, $1,500.
21. (22) 1 Jim Inglebright, Fairfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 145, $2,250.
22. (28) 65 Stan Silva, Jr., Castroville, Calif., Chevrolet, 143,
$1,500.
23. (18) 16 Brian Ickler, San Diego, Calif., Chevrolet, 137, $2,250.
24. (21) 75 Thomas Martin, Auburn, Calif., Chevrolet, 129, accident,
$1,000.
25. (11) 20 Eric Richardson, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 101,
engine,
$1,750.
26. (24) 88 Jamie Dick, Albuquerque, N.M., Chevrolet, 98, overheating,
$1,750.
27. (17) 18 Moses Smith, Tempe, Ariz., Chevrolet, 73, rear end, $500.
28. (23) 77 Mike Gallegos, Wheat Ridge, Colo., Ford, 4, accident, $750.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 22 minutes 31 seconds
Margin of Victory: .311 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: Mike Duncan (90.995 mph, 14.836 seconds)
Caution Flags: 11 for 75 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.Duncan 1-68; S.Lynch 69-155.
Standings: 1. S.Lynch, 190; 2. M.David, 170; 3. M.Duncan, 170; 4.
B.Thompson, 160; 5. J.Bowles, 155; 6. D.Mayhew, 150; 7. T.Woods,III,
146; 8.
J.Labonte, 142; 9. A.Myers, 138; 10. R.Foster, 134.