5/3/2014
Winston Speedway
Brandon Thirlby Wins One of Many Thrilling Features at Winston Speedway
Rothbury, Michigan (Saturday, May 3rd, 2014): Many were worried about the heavy clouds that formed over Lake Michigan, but their fears were put away while watching the radar and seeing the all rain clouds dissipate as soon as they hit land, giving the green to go signal on the racing program at the Winston Speedway in Montague, Michigan. The night’s racing program was headlined by the high-powered UMP DIRTcar Late Models, joined by the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, UMP DIRTcar Street Stocks, Factory Stocks/Bombers, Four-Cylinder Warriors, Four-Cylinder Mini Stocks, and Young Guns.
The evening’s main event features started with the Young Guns class. Trent Musk and Kristina Johnson started on the front row. Musk wasted little time by getting to the front of the field after the first circuit and would actually go on to lead the entire event from green to checkered and picked up his second feature event of the year. Johnson took second. Morgan Smith, Gabe Flores, and Bailie Wynbelt rounded out the top five. Musk also won the heat race.
The Factory Stocks/ Bombers made their way onto the racing surface next led by the front row of Josh Grabe and Dan Wilson Jr for their 15-lap A-main. Once the green flag dropped, Grabe took the lead and he would try to pull away but Wilson wouldn’t give up that easy and the two traded the lead multiple times running with lap times separated by only a tenth of a second throughout much of the event. However when it was all said and done Grabe was able to inch his way across the line first to pick up the huge win.
The was the 33-year old Muskegon, Michigan native’s third win of the year in his Grabe’s Well Drilling / Oldsmobile.Wilson had to settle for the second place finish. Mike Dejonge, Mike Fekken, and Nate Trick finished off the top five. The preliminary heat race was won by Fekken.
Tim Stott and six time and defending track champion Rich Nesier led the UMP DIRTcar Late Models down to the green flag for their 25-lap feature. Nesier jumped out front early. Neiser was able to hold the lead until lap 15 when the defending Sunoco American Late Models Series champion Brandon Thirlby charged ahead and after battling side by side with Neiser for several laps he finally did take the lead and went on from there to get the victory.
The 26-year old Thirlby from Traverse City, Michigan earned his first win of the season at Winston Speedway behind the wheels of his Thirlby Automotive / Rocket Chassis. Second place went to Neiser. Eric Spangler, Rob Taylor, and Bill Bray completed the top five. The heat races went to Spangler and Thirlby.
The defending track champion Sadie Klein and Mark Farber made up the front row of the 25-lap feature event for the UMP DIRTcar Street Stocks. Klein took the early lead and was able to hold that spot until lap 8 when Chuck Smith overtook the top spot. On lap 19 the defending UMP DIRTcar Street Stock champion Josh Frye made his presence known by flying through the field and taking the lead. However he would suffer from some mechanical issues which gave the lead back to Smith who went on to take home the checkered flag.
This was the first win of the year for the 28-year old from Muskegon Michigan in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Kendall Marlink finished second. Farber, Don McNabb, and Frye capped off the top five. Frye and Derek Poland won the heat races.
Next it was time for the Four-Cylinder Warriors 12-lap feature. Brian Hammond and Dennis Bauer were on the front row. Hammond took the lead early. However Randy Larabee would jump out front soon after that on lap 3. But last week’s winner Mike Goodwin Jr. was determined to win again as he would weave his way through the field and eventually found himself in the lead once again. There was heated battle among the top four cars in the closing laps, but Goodwin was able to take home the checkered flag.
This was the second win in a row and of the year for Goodwin, who finished just ahead of Randy Larabee who was the runner up. Alex Richards, Gary Larabee, and Melissa Sprague made up the rest of the top five. Goodwin also won the heat race.
Finally, the Four-Cylinder Mini Stocks were led out by Chad Tomczak and Chris Gagnon for their 12-lap A-main. Carson jumped out to the early lead after the fall of the green flag. The rest of the field would do all that they could but nothing was going to stop Carson from visiting victory lane, and he did just that picking up his second win of the year and in a row. Carson was also the winner of the heat race.
Next Saturday May 10th The grounds of the Winston Speedway will be invaded by the many faces and names of the always entertaining Allstar Performance Michigan Dirt Cup Modified Tour. The group of traveling cars and stars will embark on their first contested event of the 2014 season for their standard $1500 to win prize. The show will also feature racing action from the high-powered UMP DIRTcar Late Models, UMP DIRTcar Street Stocks, Factory Stocks/Bombers, Four-Cylinder Mini Stocks, Four-Cylinder Warriors, and Young Guns.The Pit Gates Open at 3:30p.m., Grandstands Open at 4:30p.m., Practice Starts at 5:30p.m., and Racing Begins at 7:00p.m.
Winston Speedway is located at 7834 South 72nd Avenue in Montague, Michigan. For more information, please call: 1 (231) 737-9223 or go to the website located at: www.winstonspeedwaymi.com Soon you'll be redirected over to the new domain name at: www.racewinston.com as both will be available for the season. You can also follow everything that is happening on and off the track by becoming a fan on the tracks Facebook Fan Page and following along on Twitter as well. Just go to: www.facebook.com/WinstonSpeedway and www.twitter.com/WinstonSpeedway and click on “Like" and “Follow” buttons today.
Article Credit: Brian Osborne
Submitted By: Brian Osborne