The penultimate week of the 2016 season of the Thursday Thunder Legends Racing Series presented by Papa John's Pizza lit up the quarter-mile Thunder Ring at Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday night.
It was a record-breaking night for Clay Thompson of Bowersville in the Bandits Division, while three new winners made their first trips to Victory Lane in a fast-paced night of racing leading into next week's championship finale.
Atlanta Heart Associates Semi-Pro Division
Rolling off the grid to start the evening, pole-sitter Amber Fleeman of Decula led the field to the green flag in the Atlanta Heart Associates Semi-Pro Division and stayed in front for the first lap before relinquishing the lead to two-time winner Nolan Pope of Harrisonville, Missouri entering Turn 1 on Lap 2.
After an early caution, Pope restarted up front with Hudson Halder of Cumming on the outside of the front row and Miranda Meredith of Locust Grove in his rearview mirror in third. An early jump on the green flag and subsequent two-position penalty assessed to Jensen Jorgensen - who entered the evening on a four-race win streak - forced him back to the middle of the pack early on, but in true Jorgensen form, his plight was short-lived.
Just eight laps later, Jorgensen made his way back to the front, going door-to-door with Pope coming out of Turn 4 on the 10th lap, to steal the lead at the race's midpoint. Jorgensen would lead the rest of the way to wrap up his 6th win of the season and fifth in a row, extending his lead in the overall standings over second-place Pope to 26 points heading into next week's Championship Night.
"I couldn't be happier with the season I've been having," said Jorgensen in a post-race interview. "That race got a little hairy there. I had a bad start - the car in front of me didn't go, so I got into him a little bit. Then, a car crashed in front of me, and I got dropped in the start and sent back a little bit.
"It was a weird race. I was second-guessing myself there. The car was handling a little bit off in the beginning, but I ended up getting by Pope and getting into clean air, and this car handled great."
Pope wound up finishing second, and Jason Treschl of LaGrange rounded out the podium in third place.
Live Oak Plantation Outlaws Division
Connor Younginer of Stockbridge picked up his first win of the season in a caution-free Live Oak Plantation Outlaws Division feature. Younginer breaks up division-leader DJ Canipe's (Fallston, NC) two-race win streak as he heads into next Thursday's finale in second-place in the overall standings.
Canipe finished third, only the second race he hasn't won in 2016, while Blaise Maddox recovered from a seventh-place finish last week to record the runner-up performance and his seventh top-5 finish in nine races.
Plemons Investments Masters Division
In the Plemons Investments Masters Division, the Scott Moseley Train rolled on, as the McDonough driver cruised to his seventh consecutive victory and eighth on the season.
"Every week I come over here and I'm thinking it's gotta end at some point," said Moseley. "I ended up winning the heat race and was on the pole and they drew a five (in the pre-race starting lineup inversion), so in the last couple of races, I've had to really do some racing to get the win. And tonight, the car's probably the best it's ever been."
While a fast car and experienced driving are key in putting together nine straight top-2 finishes, Moseley attributed at least a sliver of his success to good fortune.
"I've never had a season where everything goes right," he said. "You do have to have luck to go along with it. You've got to have good starting spots, and you've got to catch lapped cars at the right time."
Pole winner Tina Johnson of Senoia finished second behind Moseley, her fourth top-2 of the year, while Week 2 winner, Bill Plemons, Jr. of Locust Grove, placed third for his eighth top-5.
Wallace Electric Rookie Bandolero Division
Justin Campbell of Griffin drove to his first win of the season from the pole in the Wallace electric Rookie Bandolero Division feature. His previous best was a fourth-place finish in last week's Wednesday night action.
Shelby Ruark of Suwanee threatened Campbell's lead several times over the 20-lap race but couldn't quite muster the speed of Campbell, as she picked up her fifth top-5 of the year with a second-place performance. Keaton Hendrix of Homerville, Ashton Whitener of Monticello and Aprilia Holt of Senoia rounded out the top-5.
Plemons Investments Young Lions Division
Brody Pope of Harrisonville, Missouri seized the lead from Connor Younginer at the midpoint of the Plemons Investments Young Lions Division feature to put together his second win in as many weeks and sixth overall, as he leads in the standings and closes in on his first Thursday Thunder title.
"It's getting difficult. It's getting harder and harder (to win) every week," said Pope. "But I think we just keep staying with the speed we have, and I keep thinking, 'We'll just keep winning them,' so I think we're doing good, and if we do this for one more week, we'll have a good shot at the championship."
Younginer finished second, his eighth top-2 on the year, and Harrison Halder of Cumming placed third. Pole-winner Cody Hall finished in fourth, while Davis Rochester of Lebanon, Tennessee finished in fifth, his best finish on the season to date.
Bandits Division
Bowersville's Clay Thompson rewrote the Thursday Thunder history books, snapping a 26-year old record held by current Sprint Cup Series driver for Team Penske, Joey Logano, for most consecutive wins in a single season with his ninth straight victory in the Bandits Division. Thompson tied the record, which Logano set during the 2000 season, last week and had little trouble beating it with the win Thursday night.
After starting in the fourth position, it took only five laps for Thompson to make his way to the front and stayed there for the rest of the race, successfully negotiating his way through several cautions and restarts to win by several car lengths on the final lap.
Michael Gannon of Canton finished second, matching his best finish of the season, while Alto's Kenneth Henderson made his best finish of the year with a third-place performance.
Racing Radios Pro Division
A wild start to the Racing Radios Pro Division feature saw four different leaders and five lead changes over the first six laps before the field settled into place nearing the race's midpoint.
William Martin, Mason Massey, William Plemons III and Dawson Fletcher each traded the lead after the drop of the green flag, as cars and drivers shuffled about through each turn in the early stages of the evening's main event.
Eventually, Acworth's Plemons got a solid grip on the lead on the sixth lap and stayed there for the next nine circuits, with Massey and Martin hot on his heels, before a spin by Corey Heim of Marietta on the 15th lap brought out the race's sole caution.
With plenty of speed on the restart, Plemons reestablished his spot ahead of the field, but a late rally by Martin allowed him to slide ahead with six laps to go. Martin maintained his lead for the duration, holding off a charging Massey of Douglasville, for his second victory of the season.
"In these pro races, it's just all about track position," said Martin in Victory Lane. "We're all so close that you've just got to get up front and into the lead as quick as possible if you want any chance of winning."
Martin adds to his Week 4 win and stays in the top-5 in the standings leading into the final race next Thursday. Massey, another two-time winner, finished second and leads all drivers but still needs a solid run in the finale to wrap up the title.
"This is the second-to-last race, and the championship is still in reach, hopefully, and I'm just trying to do everything I can to get it," said Martin.
Plemons finished in third, his third top-5, while Currie Pierce of Griffin and Kaden Honeycutt of Bridge City, Texas rounded out the top-5.
Below are the complete results from Thursday night's Week 7 racing:
Atlanta Heart Associates Semi-Pro Division
1. Jensen Jorgensen, (Stockbridge, GA)
2. Nolan Pope, (Harrisonville, MO)
3. Jason Treschl, (LaGrange, GA)
4. Hudson Halder, (Cumming, GA)
5. Jonathan Timms, (Calhoun, GA)
6. Miranda Meredith, (Locust Grove, GA)
7. Brandon Brock, (Hampton, GA)
8. David Lawrence, (Senoia, GA)
9. Amber Fleeman, (Dacula, GA)
Live Oak Plantation Outlaws Division
1. Connor Younginer, (Stockbridge, GA)
2. Blaise Maddox, (Locust Grove, GA)
3. DJ Canipe, (Fallston, NC)
4. Gage Roberts, (Milledgeville, GA)
5. Ricky Springer, (McDonough, GA)
6. Andrew Dollar, (Atlanta, GA)
7. Trey Tadrzak, (Stockbridge, GA)
8. Kenny Brady, (Marietta, GA)
9. Annabelle Mohwish, (Cumming, GA)
10. Max Brady, (Marietta, GA)
11. Gauntt Hudgins, (Savannah, GA)
12. Blaze Crawford, (Fayetteville, GA)
13. Hayden Swank, (Woodstock, GA)
Plemons Investments Masters Division
1. Scott Moseley, (McDonough, GA)
2. Tina Johnson, (Senoia, GA)
3. Bill Plemons Jr., (Locust Grove, GA)
4. Robbie Woodall, (McDonough, GA)
5. Mark Swan, (Atlanta, GA)
6. Mike Kennedy, (Alpharetta, GA)
7. Tony Armbruster, (Covington, GA)
8. Randy Shubert, (Conyers, GA)
9. Dennis Hecht, (Hoschton, GA)
10. Wes Potter, (Covington, GA)
11. Barry Bowen, (Jackson Lake, GA)
12. Robert Cheney, (Stockbridge, GA)
13. Bill Whatley, (Acworth, GA)
Wallace Electric Rookie Bandolero Division
1. Justin Campbell, (Griffin, GA)
2. Shelby Ruark, (Suwanee, GA)
3. Keaton Hendrix, (Homerville, GA)
4. Ashton Whitener, (Monticello, GA)
5. Aprilia Holt, (Senoia, GA)
6. Wil Griffis, (Homerville, GA)
7. Savannah Bart, (Cumming, GA)
8. Mikie Mohwish, (Cumming, GA)
9. Cameron Potter, (Covington, GA)
Chargers Division
1. Audrie Ruark, (Suwanee, GA)
2. Andrew Dollar, (Atlanta, GA)
3. Annabelle Mohwish, (Cumming, GA)
Plemons Investments Young Lions Division
1. Brody Pope, (Harrisonville, MO)
2. Connor Younginer, (Stockbridge, GA)
3. Harrison Halder, (Cumming, GA)
4. Cody Hall, (Griffin, GA)
5. Davis Rochester, (Lebanon, TN)
6. Cale Hall, (Griffin, GA)
7. Hunter Johnson, (Hampton, GA)
8. Rafe Slate, (Eatonton, GA)
9. Lawson Ingold, (Social Circle, GA)
10. Sammy Smith, (DeMoines, IA)
Bandits Division
1. Clay Thompson, (Bowersville, GA)
2. Michael Gannon, (Canton, GA)
3. Kenneth Henderson, (Alto, GA)
4. Nathan Jackson, (McDonough, GA)
5. Samantha Bart, (Cumming, GA)
6. Ryan Younginer, (Stockbridge, GA)
7. Grant Thompson, (Mobile, AL)
8. Logan Nalley, (Canton, GA)
9. Max Hennebaul, (Monroe, GA)
10. Ryan Howell, (McDonough, GA)
11. River Allen, (Hiram, GA)
Racing Radios Pro Division
1. William Martin, (Douglasville, GA)
2. Mason Massey, (Douglasville, GA)
3. William Plemons III, (Acworth, GA)
4. Currie Pierce, (Griffin, GA)
5. Kaden Honeycutt, (Bridge City, TX)
6. Mike Weed, (Franklin, GA)
7. Dawson Fletcher, (Canton, GA)
8. Joshua Hicks, (Senoia, GA)
9. Taylor Jorgensen, (Stockbridge, GA)
10. Madeline Crane, (Meansville, GA)
11. Corey Heim, (Marietta, GA)
12. Dylan Murry, (Cumming, GA)
The Thursday Thunder Legends Racing Series presented by Papa John's Pizza continues with the Yancey Brothers championship night finale next Thursday, July 21, as Atlanta Motor Speedway wraps up its 19th full season of flat-track quarter-mile racing on Thunder Ring. Making a special appearance for the finale will be the Green Mamba jet car, driven by Doug Rose, as his fighter-jet-engine-equipped racer will burn down a vehicle in what's billed as the greatest "redneck fireworks" show around.
Grandstand tickets for the affordable, family-friendly racing series cost just $5, while children ages 5 and younger are free. Infield admission is available for $20, and passes may be purchased at the Security Command building near the speedway's main entrance.
For more information, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.
