May 27, 2005

JOHN RAMSEY BECOMES FOURTH DIFFERENT THUNDER ALLEY MODIFIED WINNER IN 2005

EVANS MILLS, NY...Just six days after Mitch Gibbs took his 358 Modified to victory lane at Can-Am Motorsports Park, John Ramsey became the first 358 Modified driver to score a feature win at Caprara's Thunder Alley Speedpark in Evans Mills, NY in the combined DIRT Modified/358 Modified division's 30-lap headliner. In doing so, Ramsey became the fourth different driver to visit Thunder Alley's victory lane in as many Modified races in 2005.

Ramsey dodged an opening lap tangle involving Bill Gill, Tim O'Brien, and Greg Monica to set himself in the top five while Tyler Bartlett set the pace. Mike Prentice was putting heavy pressure on the leader, and on a restart, a scramble shook up the running order, with Ramsey finding himself in the lead. He held off Todd Stewart and Frankie Caprara through a couple of late race restarts to notch the victory. "Last week, we got caught up in a wreck...this time, we were lucky enough to miss a couple," Ramsey said after the race. Prentice brought his 358 Modified home fourth, while Tim O'Brien recovered from the opening lap tangle and a pit stop to charge back to fifth at the checkers.

The 20-lap Sportsman feature event began with Ray Bresnehan holding the lead, but Jack Meeks was working his way through the pack from his tenth starting spot, cracking the top five by lap 7. Meeks continued to charge toward the head of the class, moving into second behind Bresnehan and taking the point on lap 12. Jim Kite also moved past Bresnehan and tucked into second. The race's lone yellow came on lap 19, setting up a one lap dash for cash. Meeks held off a determined Kite for the victory, with Jason Potter and Matt Butler following. Early leader Bresnehan held the fifth spot at race's end.

The 20-lap IMCA Modified featue saw a first time winner in victory lane, as Tom Conklin grabbed the lead on lap 2 and held off Rob Keller till Keller slipped high, surrendering the runnerup spot to opening night winner Mark Webb. Webb was on Conklin's back bumper over the final four laps, but Conklin kept his car tight to the inside lane to take his first career IMCA Modified win. "My dad and I watched the (Sportsman and Modified) features earlier, and he told me the inside looked the fastest, so I held the car down as best as I could," an elated Conklin said in victory lane. Chris Taylor and John Mason rounded out the top five.

The 15-lap Pure Stock feature began with a wild five way battle at the front of the pack, with Dana Aikens holding a pack of hard chargers at bay that included Dave Pope, Brandon Warner, Ron Hawker, and Russ Marsden. Bad luck struck Marsden as he had a right rear flat tire, leaving Pope camped on Aiken's back bumper while Warner and Hawker battled for third. On lap 12, Pope slid under Aikens when he slipped up in turn two and drove the rest of the way for his third win of the season. Hawker snuck past Aikens on the final lap for second, while Warner and Clint Middlemiss completed the top five.

Thundercar winners on Friday night included Jim Quinn (4 Cyl. Domestic), Jack Jones (4 Cyl. Foreign), Rush Walts (6 Cyl.), Kevin Smith (8 Cyl.) and Kevin Bice (Trucks).

Friday, June 3rd will mark the first-ever visit of the Stacker 2 DIRT Pro Stock Tour to Thunder Alley. They will be joined by the DIRT Modifieds, IMCA Modifieds, Thundercars, and Trucks.

There will be no Sportsman or Pure Stock racing at Thunder Alley for the June 3rd event.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. with heats starting at 7:30 p.m. Caprara's Thunder Alley Speedpark is a 1/3 mile clay oval in Evans Mills, NY, just minutes from the Fort Drum gate on Route 11. For more information, visit the track's web site at www.thunderalleyspeedpark.com.

RACE SUMMARY-CAPRARA'S THUNDER ALLEY SPEEDPARK
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2005

DIRT MODIFIED FEATURE (30 LAPS) - JOHN RAMSEY (358), Todd Stewart, Frankie Caprara, Mike Prentice (358), Tim O'Brien, Tyler Bartlett, Bob Bennett, Justin Mason (358), Ryan Bartlett, Doug Fuller (358), Greg Monica (358), Jason Potter (358), Mike Adderley, Bob Holland, Bill Gill, Zach Aubertine (DNS).

SPORTSMAN FEATURE (20 LAPS) - JACK MEEKS, Jim Kite, Jason Potter, Matt Butler, Roy Bresnehan, Rob Bellinger, Jeff Stevenson, Lance Willix, Rick McCready, Chris Higgins, Jordan Bennett, Brad Winters, Stewart Garrison, Sammy Reakes, Wes Denard.

IMCA MODIFIED FEATURE (20 LAPS) - TOM CONKLIN, Mark Webb, Rob Keller, Chris Taylor, John Mason, Jon Dumas, Dan Hilts, Mike Smith, Kevan Cook, Cricket Mandigo, Jim Graves.

PURE STOCK FEATURE (15 LAPS) - DAVE POPE, Ron Hawker, Dana Aikens, Brandon Warner, Clint Middlemiss, Keith Doxtater, Dave Mannise, Russ Marsden, John Holder.

THUNDERCAR WINNERS:
4 CYL. DOMESTIC-JIM QUINN
4 CYL. FOREIGN-JACK JONES
6 CYL.-RUSH WALTS
8 CYL.-KEVIN SMITH
TRUCKS-KEVIN BICE