BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nevada -- Rapid Robert Miller, Brian Thorp and Chris Steensen all recorded feature wins tonight at Battle Mountain Raceway to kick off the annual Silver Cup. These three drivers now have one leg up on winning the whole shooting match tomorrow afternoon. The Silver Cup winner will be the combined point totals of tonight’s race and tomorrow’s event.
In the I.M.C.A. Modified division Miller started shotgun (last outside) right next to The Sundance Kid Larry Hood, who traveled from Bakersfield, California to run his first race at Battle Mountain. Miller, known as Butch Cassidy in these parts, has been on a tear all season long, winning thirty features so far in I.M.C.A. competition in less than fifty starts. Hood turned eighteen two weeks previous has only won two features in the modifieds but has done it in the past three weeks. Another long tow from Mt. Shasta, California Lenny Toolanen started right in front of Sundance. Lenny is a two-time champ at his home track in Yreka and brother John, Yreka champ this year, was another row in front of him. Add nine-time Battle Mountain champ Ward Amberson to those ingredients, stir some dirt with a little water and voila…we were ready to race.
Winnemucca’s Rodney Sweet got the jump on fellow front row starter Joe Rigsby, the Ryndon Rocket, and roared into the first turn. They would go into that turn twenty-four more times at speed, more with cautions. John Toolanen darted between local heroes Amberson and Randy Artz into third at the end of the first lap. Hood followed suit to gain fourth. Miller zipped by Amberson and Artz during the third go around to move into fifth. Hood then got by Rigsby and so did Miller, but Miller did one better as he dug into his D&M Chassis machine bag of tracks to pass Sundance. By lap number eight Miller put his patented inside move to pass J Toolanen leaving turn two. Now it was Sweet’s time. It was like Butch Cassidy setting up one of those fabled railroad heists a hundred years ago. Miller set it up and stalked Sweet for several laps. Meanwhile J Toolanen hounded Miller on his bumper. And there it was. Turn two, inside. Miller to first!! Sweet stayed around a while until J Toolanen tried that same inside move on him. Instead of ‘cover your six’ they should be yelling ‘cover your nine’, as most drivers are vulnerable to the left side pass.
The rest of the ten laps saw Miller, John Toolanen, and Hood in control and, to be sure, no one checked out early in this one. Dicing seemed to be the order of the day with Amberson and Robert Smotherman as the two drivers switched fifth and sixth positions, it seems, every lap with good racing. At the final checkered Miller won by two lengths over John Toolanen and Hood. By winning, Miller reached the thirty win plateau in one season.
If was all Brian Thorp this season at Battle Mountain and why would anyone think any different. A couple of Battle Mountain drivers by the name of Dave Wearin and Stacy Beeler are different. At the green of the Pro Stock feature tonight, Wearin drove like a man possessed. He charged into the lead from his outside front row starting position and ran away from everybody. “The Booger Man” Beeler wheeled into second but he needed a long distance connection to be able to talk with Wearin. Even Thorp, who started in sixth position wasn’t close.
Thorp raced past Bernie Sethaler for third during the sixth canto, dropping Sethaler right ahead of Frank Iturriaga. Beeler was the first to fall, as Thorp was on his game, as he got the better of Beeler. At this time it was still a two man race and Wearin was leading. But not for long. Thorp went by the leader as the pair were leaving turn four as Wearin went a little high. The new leader Thorp never lost Wearin as Thorp turned into Wearin’s old baggy suit. An exciting race but the results were predictable, just as it was for the past six races here. Thorp won, Wearin second, Beeler third, Terry Lister fourth, and Sethaler fifth.
The Mini Mod feature was all Elko’s Sam Coffelt until he went way to high in turn two late in the race and handed the victory to Chris Steensen. Third went to Steve Pruitt.
Austin Senecal took the Gen-X feature event by beating Marnie Thorp and Tasha Dayton in a fifteen lap wire-to-wire race.
The winners of this year’s Silver Cup will be determined tomorrow afternoon. Points from both days will be compiled to see who will be the ’03 champ.
Heat one: Lenny Toolanen, Ward Amberson, Larry Hood, Rodney Sweet, Nick Ayers
Heat two: Randy Artz, Robert Miller, John Toolanen, Robert Smotherman, Joe Rigsby
Dash: Robert Miller, Lenny Toolanen, Ward Amberson, Randy Artz
Feature: Robert Miller, John Toolanen, Larry Hood, Rodney Sweet, Robert Smotherman, Ward Amberson, Joe Rigsby, Randy Artz, Lenny Toolanen, Nick Ayers
Heat one: Stacy Beeler, Tony Silva, Bill Cornett, Terry Lister, Cody Unger
Heat two: Dave Wearin, Brian Thorp, Richard Rue, Chris Kellum, Bernie Sethaler
Dash: Brian Thorp, Dave Wearin, Bill Cornett, Cody Unger
Feature: Brian Thorp, Dave Wearin, Stacy Beeler, Terry Lister, Bernie Sethaler, Bill Cornett, Chris Kellum, Richard Rue, Denis VanDorn Calvin Hartley
Heat race: Chris Steensen, Steve Pruitt, Sam Coffelt, Trenton Ayers, Scott Soffelt
Dash: Steve Pruitt, Trenton Ayers, Sam Coffelt, Chris Steensen
Feature: Chris Steensen, Sam Coffelt, Steve Pruitt, Bobby Steensen, Trenton Ayers, Scott Coffelt, Brian Jonas
Heat race: Marnie Thorp, Tasha Dayton, Austin Senecal
Dash: Austin Senecal, Tasha Dayton, Marnie Thorp
Feature: Austin Senecal, Marnie Thorp, Tasha Dayton
