Tony Armbruster (19) tangles with Robert Cheney (1) as the two take the white flag while racing for second in Saturday’s Legends Masters division race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bill Plemons, Jr. would take the win. Photo by Tom Francisco/Speedpics.net
U.S. Legends and Bandolero cars brought the speed to the quarter-mile “Thunder Ring” for offseason all-star-format exhibition racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday, prior to the start of the 19th season of the Thursday Thunder Legends Series.
Seven racing divisions took part in six feature races, which were broken into two halves. Bandolero classes raced in two 15-lap segments, while Legends classes competed in two twenty-lap halves. The two-segment races were separated by a break in which drivers were permitted to return to the garage prior to the last half.
Tony Armbruster won the pole in the Legends Masters Division feature and put himself in position for a win, leading each of the first 20 laps before the drivers headed to the garage between segments.
On the restart, Bill Plemons, Jr., who had been glued to Armbruster’s bumper throughout the first segment, saw an opening on the first lap and made a move to the inside to take the lead in turn 2, then proceeded to put on a quarter-mile flat-track racing clinic. Plemons built a strong lead in front of the rest of the field before a caution on the 15th lap once again bunched the field for a five-lap showdown in the afternoon’s final race.
An undeterred Plemons used a strong restart to settle back into the lead, while Robert Cheney of Stockbridge, who restarted in second, held off Armbruster and the rest of the field on his way to what looked like would be his first podium finish in a Legends car.
But as the Cheney crossed the start/finish line to take the white flag behind Plemons, a challenging Armbruster pulled alongside him in a battle for second-place and the two made contact as they sped down the frontstretch, triggering a caution on the final lap, freezing the field and bringing out the automatic checkered flag.
In the end, Dennis Hecht finished behind Plemons for second place, while Randy Shubert in third, Dennis Aiken in fourth and Bill Whatley in fifth.
The combined Pro/Semi-Pro Division race featured a true tale of two halves. Pole sitter Nolan Pope took the green flag and led each of the 20 laps in the feature’s first half. Pope was poised to repeat the performance as the teams emerged from the garage, but a jumped restart forced him two positions back, and Jensen Jorgensen of Stockbridge slid into the lead as they lined up to retry the restart.
This time, it was Jorgensen who led every lap of the segment and crossed the line ahead of the field to claim the victory, holding off Bill Plemons, Jr. and Pope, who finished second and third respectively.
The Rookie Bandolero Division was led to the green flag by pole-sitter Shelby Ruark. From the start, Ruark settled comfortably into the front of the pack and led each of the 15 laps in the first half of the 30-lap feature. Restarting in the front of the field for the second half alongside Ashton Whitener, Ruark replicated her first-half performance and took the checkered flag without ever trailing. Whitener finished second, with Mikie Mohwish in third, Carson Ruark in fourth, and Keaton Hendrix in fifth.
Outlaws Division feature looked much the same, as Ricky Springer took the pole and led every lap in both segments for the victory. Connor Younginer and Blaise Maddox battled back and forth, swapping running positions behind Springer for second place, with Maddox edging his competitor down the stretch to lock up the runner-up spot. Younginer crossed the line in third, with Andrew Dollar in fourth and Annabelle Mohwish in fifth.
Clay Thompson used a strong start in the Bandits Division feature to pass pole sitter Michael Gannon, and he never looked back. Thompson surpassed Gannon in turn 2 on the race’s first lap and turned in a dominating performance to lead every lap en route to the win. Nathan Jackson finished second, with Gannon in third.
In the Young Lions Division, pole winner Brody Pope took an early lead over fellow front-row starter Rafe Slate and led the first six laps. That all changed when the pair made contact as they crossed the finish line on the seventh lap, and were forced to the rear of the field. That moved Canon Cochran to the lead. He would pace the next 10 laps before trouble of his own struck, as he got tangled with Hunter Johnson. That opened the door for Pope, who had worked his way back up to third place, to retake the lead late in the first segment on the ensuing restart.
Pope polished off the final laps of the first segment with the lead and led each of the 20 second-half laps to take the win. Cochran recovered to finish second, with Harrison Halder, Connor Younginer and Cody Hall rounding out the top five.
Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder Legends Series cranks up its 19th season on the “Thunder Ring” for eight straight weeks beginning June 2, as the future stars of racing compete for a coveted season championship trophy.
For more information, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.
Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Legends All-Stars – May 14, 2016
Masters
1. Bill Plemons, Jr.
2. Dennis Hecht
3. Randy Shubert
4. Dennis Aiken
5. Bill Whatley
6. Rod Nelson
7. Tony Armbruster
8. Robert Cheney
Semi-Pro
1. Jensen Jorgensen
2. Nolan Pope
3. Hudson Halder
4. Jason Treschl
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6. Brandon Brock
7. David Lawrence
Pro
1. William Plemons III
3. Corey Heim
4. Dawson Fletcher
5. Adam Roberson
Rookie Bandolero
1. Shelby Ruark
2. Ashton Whitener
3. Mikie Mohwish
4. Carson Ruark
5. Keaton Hendrix
6. Wil Griffis
7. Savannah Bart
Outlaws
1. Ricky Springer
2. Blaise Maddox
3. Connor Younginer
4. Andrew Dollar
5. Annabelle Mohwish
6. Trey Tadrzak
7. Gage Roberts
Bandits
1. Clay Thompson
2. Nathan Jackson
3. Michael Gannon
4. Ryan Younginer
5. Max Hennebaul
6. Samantha Bart
7. Logan Nalley
Young Lions
1. Brody Pope
2. Canon Cochran
3. Harrison Halder
4. Connor Younginer
5. Cody Hall
6. Hunter Johnson
7. Cale Hall
8. Davis Rochester
9. Lawson Ingold
10. Carden Cochran
11. Rafe Slate
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