Cars were on track for a race against the weather on Saturday July 15 for the Truckin Thunder VA Racer Twin 35’s at Dominion Raceway.
With rain in the forecast, the cars lined up to take the green flag before thunderstorms cut the evening short moments leading up to the second VA Racer event.
Alex Brock earned his seventh win of the season to start the night. The checkered flag was a very special one for him, as it was his “first as a car owner.”
Brock’s #9 machine had similar A+ Roofing branding, but instead of the usual black, it was white in color. The new car was previously purchased by Brock and he and his team have worked diligently on getting it race ready.
Brock was emotional to see it parked in Alcova Mortgage Victory Lane in its maiden voyage.
The first race of the night saw Andrew Lang take the green flag after the invert. Brock, the pole-sitter after qualifying, charged up to third on lap seven when he passed Reid Murphy. Two laps later her rocketed by the #2 of Peyton Lee for second.
Brock seized the lead from Lang on lap 15 and maintained a lead of several car lengths before Barry Moore brought out the caution with 11 to go after spinning in turn two.
The #9’s lead was safe on the restart but Mike Ganoe charged hard into second after passing Lang. Murphy would also pass Lang on the restart. With four to go, Austin Dettor spun in turn two bringing out the yellow flag.
The final restart would see Brock, Ganoe, and Lang lined up on the inside while Murphy and Lee chose the outside. The three outside cars pull ahead with Brock victorious by a 0.856 margin, while Jason Pittman would capitalize to round out the top-5.
The unofficial top-5 are as followed:
1st: #9 Alex
2nd: #82 Mike Ganoe
3rd: #39 Andrew Lang
4th: #21 Reid Murphy
5th: #51 Jason Pittman.
The second race of the evening celebrated a return to Dominion Raceway for the MN Upholstery Mini Stocks after several rainouts for the division.
The race started with a strange technical issue when the blue #43 of Kevin Davis took the green flag and immediately dropped to the rear of the field before coming to the pits. The #51 of Kris Kurtz would take the lead and pace the first six laps.
Kurtz had consistent pressure for the lead from Ryan Pritt’s #22. On lap six, both leaders came up to lap the #14 of Eddie Kenny; however, Kurtz’s hesitation saw Pritt cut to the inside creating a pick and trapping Kurtz behind Kenny. Pritt’s move was enough to steal the lead and he wouldn’t look back on a cautionless race. Pritt’s margin of victory was 3.964 seconds.
Pritt’s victory comes after recently losing his Virginia Racer ride, and he shared elation after having the opportunity to continue racing and winning.
The Modifieds and Virginia Modifieds were on track next. Kayla Surles was the only modified, thus winning her third race of the year. Four Virginia modifieds lined up with the #25 of Surles including the #5 of Josh Fowler, the #99 of Allen Marshall, the #6 of Shannon Marano, and #12 of Bubba Farmer.
Fowler led his group from the start, and action was relatively light until Marshall’s car started spewing water while battling with Marano. The #99’s trip to pit road saw the #6 take second. Marano would chip away at Fowler’s lead until they were nose to tail for multiple laps. Patience would run out with 13-to-go when Marano made a move to the inside of Fowler, making contact and sending sparks flying.
The contact would help Marano pull ahead and he would pull away and win by half a second over Fowler.
The win is unofficially his second of the year and helps him pull ahead of Marshall in the track standings.
Wrapping up the night was the Junkman Joey 4/6 Cylinder Any Cars. Kris Kurtz returned to the track after his second place finish in the Mini Stocks, but this time he led all 20 laps to capture his first victory of the year in Any Cars.
The victory helped Kurtz gain position in the track standings, as he entered the night 16 points behind John Andrews.
All four events prior were won by Andrews and his #K9 Junkyard Dawg. Andrews’ return featured a new 4-cylinder ride, he dubbed, “The Remington Auto Parts’ Runt of the Liter.” While The new ride did not deliver a trip to victory lane, “The Runt” had a solid showing finishing third.
The unofficial final result are as followed:
1st: #96 Kris Kurtz
2nd: #1 Mason Pifer
3rd: #K9 John Andrews
4th: #69 Steven Theriault
5th: #4 Brenden Pifer
6th: #19 Alyssa Atkins
Racing at Dominion resumes next Saturday, July 22nd with 35 laps of Truckin Thunder VA Racers, 35 laps of Modified racing, 25 laps of Eagle Towing and Recovery UCARs, and 25 laps of Jabs Construction Mini Cups.
