InsideGroove - Race Report

NORMAN UPTAIN SR HAS A CHALLENGE FOR THUNDER TITLE

Show Low, AZ --

Norman Uptain Sr again won the NASCAR Grand American Modified main event Saturday night at Thunder Raceway, but it appears that he will have a fierce fight for the track title with veteran Ed Beebe and his son Norman Uptain Jr. They finished in that order and Beebe is just 4 points back after the first six races. Jeff Anderson made it three wins and a second in his late model season with a victory ahead of Tim Dickinson. The dwarf cars again filled the pits with 22 cars and Randy Anderson bounced back from his fierce June 2nd crash to win the main event. The crash saw Anderson destroy his car with a series of five flips that saw him fly as high as the flagstand. After a win and a second in the first two races of the season, Larry Hulbert swept the mini stock action with wins in both the heat and feature. Rick Haase started the night tied for the point lead and ran second.

The modified car count rebounded to 13 cars and young Norman Uptain Jr again showed his improvement with a fast time effort of 15.290. Jack Moore ran a 15.344, Beebe a 15.384 and usual time trial dominator Uptain Sr a 15.533. Also in the 15's were Doug Meeks, Chris Johnson and Bret Bierman. Uptain Sr won the main event in front of Beebe, Uptain Jr, Johnson, Wes Meeks, Rod Wright, Dan Radcliffe Jr and Moore. While Uptain Sr holds just the 4 point lead over Beebe, even third ranked Uptain Jr is only 16 points back. Fourth ranked Moore has fallen 44 points off the pace.

The late models saw four the five cars that have appeared in 2001 on hand. Feature winner Anderson was fast timer at 16.068. Kyle Nace ran a 16.148, Dickinson a 16.318 and even slow timer Tim Thomas turned a 16.336 to show the truly competitive nature of the division. Anderson won the main event ahead of Dickinson, Nace and Thomas, but holds just an 8 point lead over Thomas in the track title fight. The large field of dwarf cars were split into three qualifying heat races. Storm Phillips won the first heat over Matt Click, Anderson took heat 2 with Pat Henesey in second and point leader Larry Stewart won heat 3 with Marty Weston second. While Anderson won the main event, point runnerup Craig Click ran second to further tighten the point race. Point leader Stewart was fourth behind Weston. Stewart's point lead is now 6 over C Click with Anderson just 14 points back of the leader. Henesey ran fifth over Tommy Melton, Jimmy Davis and Kit Amolish. It was a tough night for the Phillips clan as they had four cars in the 22 car feature, but all finished in the bottom 11 spots. The mini stocks had a five car turnout and Hulbert won the heat over Jeremy Cheadle and Haase. In the feature, it was Hulbert ahead of Haase, Cheadle, Joe Waggoner and Bill Harris. Hulbert's point lead is 2 over Haase.

Summary Mini Stock Heat-Larry Hulbert, Jeremy Cheadle, Rick Haase, Joe Waggoner, Bill Harris. Main-Hulbert, Haase, Cheadle, Waggoner, Harris. Dwarf Car Heat 1-Storm Phillips, Matt Click, Tommy Melton, Kit Amolish, Craig Click. Heat 2-Randy Anderson, Pat Henesey, Frank Phillips, Matt Lund, Mike Villella. Heat 3-Larry Stewart, Marty Weston, J B Click, Cris Crippen, Jimmy Davis. Main-Anderson, C Click, Weston, Stewart, Henesey, Melton, Davis, Amolish, M Click, Tom Peck, J Click, Brandy Phillips, Villella, S Phillips, John Phillips, K Click, Crippen, Jack Stokes, Moe Zeanzier, Lund, Randy Tackett, F Phillips. Late Model Fast Time-Jeff Anderson 16.068 Main-Anderson, Tim Dickinson, Kyle Nace, Tim Thomas. Grand American Modified Fast Time-Norman Uptain Jr 15.290 Main-Norman Uptain Sr, Ed Beebe, Uptain Jr, Chris Johnson, Wes Meeks, Rod Wright, Dan Radcliffe Jr, Jack Moore, Doug Meeks, Doc Langston, Levi Rudy, Justin Randall, Bret Bierman.

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