Drivers Take Thursday Thunder Opener Wins At AMS

Drivers battle for position as the first week of the 19th season of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder series gets underway. Photo by Tom Francisco/Speedpics.net

The 19th season of the Thunder Legends Racing Series kicked off Thursday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as more than 80 drivers competed on the quarter-mile Thunder Ring in seven separate racing divisions.

Highlighted with wins by Brody Pope in the Plemons Investments Young Lions Division and his brother, Nolan, in the Atlanta Heart Associates Semi-Pro Division, seven competitors notched Week 1 wins as the 10-race season got underway.

Rolling off the grid first, Ashton Whitener led the Wallace Electric Rookie Bandolero Division to the first green flag of the season. After leading the first five laps, contact between Whitener and Keaton Hendrix allowed Wilder Etheredge to take over the lead, where he remained for all of one lap before Shelby Ruark overtook him in turn 2 on the seventh lap.

Ruark led each of the remaining laps, holding off the field, including a late-charging Whitener, who rallied from the rear of the field to finish second. Savannah Bart came home in third, with Kenny Brady fourth and Wil Griffis in fifth.

In the second race of the evening, Connor Younginer took the pole and led the first two laps of the Plemons Investments Young Lions Division before Brody Pope found an opening on the third lap, passing Younginer and never looking back. After maintaining the lead through three cautions and subsequent restarts, Pope pulled away from the field for an easy victory in the closing laps.

“The car was real good at the beginning, and it started to get a little tight on me at the end,” said Pope. “But other than that, it was good.”

Pope takes a three-point advantage in the standings into Week 2, ahead of second-place finisher Younginer. Rafe Slate finished third, followed by Sammy Smith in fourth and Nicholas Waters in fifth.

The Bandits Division feature saw Clay Thompson take the pole and lead every lap for the victory. Putting together strong races behind Thompson were second-place finisher Nathan Jackson and Will Robusto in third.

Nolan Pope completed the family sweep with a win in the Atlanta Heart Associates Semi-Pro Division, but not without a fight. Driving from the pole, Pope led a fierce trio including Jensen Jorgensen and Amber Fleeman, each vying for the lead throughout the first 10 laps.

Midway through the race, heavy contact forced Fleeman and several others from the race, leaving Pope and Jorgensen locked in a tight battle down the stretch. But Pope managed to keep Jorgensen at bay and crossed the line a car length ahead of him, having led each of the feature’s 20 laps.

“It means a lot,” said the older Pope of joining his brother in victory lane. “It’s pretty special.

D.J. Canipe followed up his six-win performance and season title in the last year’s Thursday Thunder Bandits Division with a dominating win in the Live Oak Plantation Outlaws Division Week 1 feature. Canipe led every lap, pacing the field ahead of second-place finisher Blaise Maddox and the third-place Gauntt Hudgins.

Robbie Woodall won the pole and led the field to green in the Plemons Investments Masters Division feature, but it was Scott Moseley who led each lap of a caution-free race, claiming his first victory of the season and setting a strong early tone. Woodall held on to finish second, while Mark Swan, Tina Johnson and Bill Plemons, Jr. rounded out the top five.

The Racing Radios Pro Division feature included a number of weather delays due to a passing shower, but in the end, Mason Massey found himself in victory lane and the recipient of the largest winning payout in Thursday Thunder history.

“It was awesome,” said Massey. “I just had an awesome car tonight, and I just want to thank the fans for coming out.”

Massey led every lap of the 25-lap feature in the only Thursday Thunder division that allows drivers and crews to communicate during the race utilizing two-way radios, despite constant pressure from Thursday Thunder veteran William Martin.

“(Martin) made it kind of hard, but I was able to hold on and get the win,” Pope said. “He let me know he was back there, and it’s easy to go in (to the corners) too hard here, so I just cut my line and held on for the win.”

Martin wound up finishing second, while Kaden Honeycutt placed third.

The Thursday Thunder Legends Racing Series continues with Week 2 on Thursday, June 9.

For more information, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Thursday Thunder Week 1 – June 2, 2016

Rookie Bandolero
1. Shelby Ruark
2. Ashton Whitener
3. Savannah Bart
4. Kenny Brady
5. Wil Griffis
6. Justin Campbell
7. Ethan Norfleet
8. Wilder Etheredge
9. Mikie Mohwish
10. Chad Seagraves
11. Keaton Hendrix
12. Cameron Potter
13. Grant Thompson
14. Max Brady

Young Lions
1. Brody Pope
2. Connor Younginer
3. Rafe Slate
4. Sammy Smith
5. Nicholas Waters
6. Cody Hall
7. Lawson Ingold
8. Harrison Halder
9. Carden Cochran
10. David Rochester
11. Cale Hall
12. Canon Cochran
13. Hunter Johnson
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Bandits
1. Clay Thompson
2. Nathan Jackson
3. Will Robusto
4. Michael Gannon
5. Isabella Robusto
6. Ryan Howell
7. Logan Nalley
8. Kenneth Henderson
9. Max Hennebaul
10. Samantha Bart
11. Holt Halder
12. Ryan Younginer
13. Noah Dominy

Semi-Pro
1. Nolan Pope
2. Jensen Jorgensen
3. Brandon Brock
4. Jason Treschl
5. Hudson Halder
6. Jonathan Timms
7. Miranda Meredith
8. Robert Norfleet
9. David Lawrence
10. Giulio Borlenghi
11. Amber Fleeman

Outlaw
1. D.J. Canipe
2. Blaise Maddox
3. Gauntt Hudgins
4. Blaze Crawford
5. Trey Tadrzak
6. Gage Roberts
7. Annabelle Mohwish
8. Ricky Springer
9. Audrie Ruark
10. Connor Younginer
11. Andrew Dollar

Masters
1. Scott Moseley
2. Robbie Woodall
3. Mark Swan
4. Tina Johnson
5. Bill Plemons, Jr.
6. Mike Kennedy
7. Robert Cheney
8. Randy Shubert
9. Tony Armbruster
10. Dennis Hecht
11. Rod Nelson
12. Dennis Aiken
13. Bill Whatley
14. Wes Potter

Pro Division
1. Mason Massey
2. William Martin
3. Kaden Honeycutt
4. Michael Womack
5. Currie Pierce
6. Dylan Murry
7. Joshua Hicks
8. Corey Heim
9. Jeff Holden
10. Dawson Fletcher
11. Mike Weed
12. Adam Roberson
13. Connor Pyle
14. Taylor Jorgensen