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Saturday’s “Mud Running” weekend at Thunderbird was one of many reasons I decided to cover Thunderbird Raceway rather then my regular beat at Kalamazoo Speedway.  What a treat it was to be in attendance for the evenings schedule included a 6-in-1 show with mud running during intermission.

The first feature race of the night was the Bomber class. After a few cautions Steven Erickson No. 25 was able to hold off Richard Norwick No. 2J. Erickson said, “The track is good, a lot of grip especially with the new tires.”

There was a large distance between the leader and second until the final caution of the race came out. With a shortened lead Norwick had a chance but, with so few laps, was left short even after taken the heat race earlier. Norwick said, “We might have had a chance at him if we had a few more laps.”

The Sportsman feature was tight till the finish but Chad Weinrick No. 20 kept it together to fend of Dean Barnhard No. 96.  Barnhard took the high side and said, “…found a little grip up there and away we go.” Weinrick was happy to hold them off at the finish, “It got tight toward the end a little bit but the car came around. I felt pressure back there, don’t know who it was but I know someone was beaten on me back there. It was a good race, we won and that’s all that matters.” Chad, like others, will spend Friday nights at Winston Speedway, and Saturdays at Thunderbird.

The Mini Stock feature was one that put experience versus a youthful enthusiasm. Mark Farber No. 6 took the win over the young driver, and point’s leader, CJ Rector No. 28. The two drivers have respect for one another. Mark said, “CJ’s always high competition out here.” I could hear him back there and I saw his fender a couple times. We just got lucky and got the right setup.” CJ is as quick both on and off the track and after parking his truck was know where to be found till the end of the night.

Factory Stocks were a high point and Bill May No. 72 fought off Mike Roe No 20. To capture the feature win. Bill May a veteran driver of both dirt and Thunderbird says, “The track’s nice and smooth, and has a lot of bit to it. I miss racing here, I’ve been racing since 1978.” May is going for National points for the 2009 season. Mike Roe was happy to finish the evening after a rough start to the season. After finishing second Mike said, “It was great, we started second to last and within the first few laps I was in fifth. After that we just started picking them off from there. I learned from following him (Bill May) and now I think we’ve got something for him.”

The Warrior feature had what seemed to be the greatest distance between first and second out of any feature that night. Jerry Volgel No. 58 stepped into the car and pulled away from everyone. Volgel said, “I thought I was being pressured so I was running it hard.”  This is Jerry’s first feature this year because he is sharing the ride with his to boys. Nick Hladki was surprised to finish where he did. In only his second race ever Nick finished second and said, “The second race, much better.” This was Nick’s first night racing at Thunderbird and his first weekend of racing came the week before at Winston.

By the time the UMP Modifieds took to the track, things had dried up some and the dirt was starting to fly.  The feature was a fantastic race. Stan Dodds No. 14 finished second to John McCaul No. 27. John said what a lot of drivers were talking about during the night, “The track is nice, they’ve done a nice job maintaining it. It’s smooth and has a lot of grip in it.” The fourteen-car field kept excitement on the track no matter where you were looking.

Next week, is the running of the Paul Bouwman Memorial.

Modifieds, Sportsman, Factory Stocks, Bombers, 4Cylinders, and Warriors will all be in action this Saturday night! Wheel lift is at 7:00. General admission is $10 with kids 12 & Under Free!
HEARD IN THE PITS

Winston & Thunderbird Sportsman Teams, You have Friday off at Winston and the first Triple Crown event for the Sportsman is this Friday at Hartford so you won’t lose any track points by going and racing.

Winston and Thunderbird have both come to an agreement to repeal the Modified tire rule that was set to take effect after this weekend’s races.

So no need to get rid of all your D compound tires... they WILL be legal at Winston and Thunderbird for the remainder of 2009.

In 2009 Thunderbird Raceway will be offering a $25 “Traveler Bonus” to teams in ALL divisions for all regular shows during the season. How this works is for every team that comes from more than a 75 mile radius from the track will get an extra $25 in their payout at the end of the night (Driver must provide proof of address). This will apply to all classes for regular race programs and not specials unless otherwise noted.