Friday May 17 is a huge night for the competitors and fans alike as the doors swing open wide for the start of the 2019 race-season at the Afton Motorsports Park (A.M.P.). The highly anticipated Street Stock vs Pro Stock challenge will be taking place with a twenty-lap-feature to settle the challenge. A five-lap Dash for Cash paying $200.00 will go to the winner of that event courtesy of Joe Infante of Precision Hydraulic & Oil. Also Joe has given $100.00 to go into the Hard charger of the race adding to the  $100.00 given for this award from the fine folks at Speed Sport Showcase and another $50.00 from fan Mikal Theis bring this award to a whopping $250.00. Mr. Infante also gave me another $100.00 to give out in anyway I could come up with. Here is what that is going to be done with that money.$50.00 for the Move of the Race and the other $50.00 for a Hard Luck Award. Other special awards are courtesy of Pop's Automotive of Homer, N.Y. is $100.00 to the first Pro Stock across the line. The first Utica Rome Pro Stock across the will get and additional $50.00 courtesy of Mike Mallett of Dirt Track Digest (DTD). The first Fonda Pro Stock across the line will get $50.00 courtesy of the speedway and a second $50.00 from the division sponsor at the speedway Algonkin Motel of Bainbridge, N.Y. Every lap of the race in various positions are sponsored for at least $20.00. The half way leader award is getting $100.00 courtesy of track promoter Ron Ford from his regular business Pit Stop Auto of North Afton, N.Y. Friend of the speedway Glenn Stevens Trucking is giving $50.00 to the last car on the lead lap on the final lap making that spot a nice pay day. Two $25.00 gift certificates to be given away by Street Stock competitor Doug Polhamus for tenth place car at halfway and tenth at the finish. It will also be opening night for points in all divisions that consist of Big/Small Block Modified which looks like the strongest field in may years, Open Sportsman, Crate Sportsman, IMCA Modified and this season a combined Four Cylinder Truck and Front Wheel Drive Four Cylinder Cars. With the IMCA division and the Open Sportsman division not racing any where else this weekend we look forward to many of those folks invading also adding to the tough competitors we have here at A.M.P. We hope to see you all there and bring sunshine as the track competitors and fans get to see the new just how great the new clay surface is going to be in 2019.

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Friday night April 12 the Afton Motorsports Park is set to open the gates for the first of two test & tune events before opening night on Friday April 26. Track personnel are very excited to see the start of the season as much work has been put in getting the new clay surface down and will use these two sessions to adjust any issues that may arise which is the norm on new surfaces. The drivers who have changed divisions and first time drivers and even ones with new cars want to check them out. Pit admission is $20.00 and spectator admission is free with a non-perishable food item for the local food bank Practice will get underway right around 6pm and continue until ? Come on out and check it out as a great season is planned. All is weather permitting of course.

Come on out to the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, N.Y. this upcoming weekend and check out the Afton Motorsports Park display. Pick up the schedule card for the upcoming season and check out the sample of the new clay that will be going down on the track real soon. Check out the IMCA car of Mike Stoddard in its first ever showing of a beautiful tribute car of the S/360. The number was a number made famous by the late great Don Diffendorf who raced and won at many of the area dirt and asphalt track in his illustrious career. I am hearing that the car is a show piece and excitement is growing to see this great piece on display.  The booth will also have a Slingshot racecar on display to promote their racing at the speedway on occasion throughout the 2019-racing-season. The show will run Friday March 1- Sunday March 3 during normal Mall hours. Speak with promoter Ron Ford or any representative in the booth how you can get your business on board for the season at a very economical price and remember race fans and race competitors are very loyal to the folks that sponsor with any race track or racecar.

Modified racers it is opening night on the Mountain and tonight the winner will receive $1992.00 to win. Make your way out to the track and start your quest for the championship. If you have never been on the Mountain it is going to be a great night to come check it out.

The fine folks at the Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle, N.Y. will be having a booth at three big upcoming race shows in the month of March. They will be at the upcoming Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, N.Y. The show runs Friday-Sunday March 2-4. and will be running during normal Mall hours. The following weekend Thunder Mountain will be found at the Syracuse Fairgrounds for the new Motorsports Expo. This event is Saturday and Sunday March 10 & 11. After a one week layoff from race shows the folks from Thunder Mountain will heavy a booth at the rebirth of Speed Sport Showcase at the former Ice Box Building in Scranton, Pa. The rebirth will be March 24th & 25th so please stop down and pick up a schedule for the upcoming race season and or talk to the representatives working the booth. Ask about how you may become a marketing sponsor at the largest fan base and largest car counts here in the Southern Tier. Hope to see many folks stop by and say hello.

      The road trip this time was a short one as it took Delores and I to the Binghamton, N,Y, Double Tree by Hilton Hotel and Convention Center for the 2017 Thunder Mountain Speedway awards banquet. With that it concluded the race season at the fast track located in Center Lisle, N.Y.  and it was a gala affair attended by over two hundred sixty folks consisting of racers, owners, fans and staff.

             Hardware and money was given out to the top ten in the Modified, Open and Crate Sportsman along with the Street Stock, IMCA, and the Xcel 600 Modified divisions. Top five in the Four Cylinder and Rookie Sportsman also received cash and hardware on this night. After those awards and there was some specialty awards and then a brief thank you from track owner and promoter Karl Spoonhower. In all over $23,000.00 in cash and hardware was handed out to the attendees.

            Here is the top ten award recipients in the highly competitive Modified division. Dan Creeden who captured his second championship in a row with 654 points and five feature wins. That was a 47 point cushion over second place in points Nick Nye with 607 markers and the only other competitor to capture more than one win with two. Finishing just one point behind Nye was Jeremy Smith at 606 points and one feature win. Brent Wilcox finished fourth and a feature win and gathered 559 points and just three points behind him was Alan Barker with 556 and a feature win. Sixth was Colton Wilson with one win and 537 points Seventh through tenth was Cory Costa, 507 Brian Malcolm, 503 Barry White 503 and Byron Worthing with 420. Malcolm and White tied for eighth in points and Malcolm also had a feature win. All the points are from regular Saturday nights of racing.

            In the Open Sportsman division it also found a repeat champion in Brian White 790 points and like Creeden in the Modified division led the way with five feature wins but only a nineteen point cushion over second place Chance Spoonhower at 771 and three feature tallies. Third place and fourth in points was close also as only two points separated third place Eddie White 695 with two wins and fourth in points Larry Mekic 693 and one feature win. Fifth place was Chris Jordan with a feature win and 666 points followed in sixth by older brother Kevin Jordan at 619 and two features. Seventh found rookie Landon Cummings with 562 points Seventh place with 545 points and a feature win was Billy Spoonhower. Ninth was Tommy Eiklor 532 and tenth was Dayton Coney with 442 points.

           Crate Sportsman in 2017 was very competitive and saw some new competitors make there way to the mountain for tough racing competition. Here is how it all shook out after the season was concluded. Winning his very first championship at the speedway where he was the holder of only one feature win but consistently in the top five with twelve propelled Tommy Collins Jr. to that title with 747 points. Second to him with 724 points and four feature wins which led the way was Kenny Hammond. Third was Corey Cormier 714 and three features, fourth went to Mike Austin with 651 markers. Rounding out the top five was third generation driver Mike Nagel Jr. at 639 and one feature win. Sixth was Shane Spoonhower with a feature win and 619 points. Seventh and eighth place finishers Darren Smith and Pat Jordan both captured two features and tallied 564 and 559 points respectively. Ninth in points was Kailee DiMorier with 510 and rounding out the top ten with 456 points was Dustin Jordan.

            Next up is the Street Stock division and here at Thunder Mountain it was a very highly competitive division where a full field was a common thing. Compared to the other area tracks that ran the division last years those tracks struggled to get an average of ten. Championship for the 2017 season went to Lanson Albanese with a feature win and 743 points and eleven top fives again consistency paying off. Second in points with 705 was Earl Zimmer and again finishing races paid off as this driver did not have a feature win. Third went to Don Russell at 699 and two wins, fourth was Trevor Dudley 691 and a feature to his credit. Fifth in points with 686 was five time winner Damon Decker which led this very competitive division. Sixth through tenth was as follows, Mike Wibur 674, Jake Fowlston 583, Matt Spencer 575, Jonathan Carpenter 493 and Dan Force rounding out the top ten at 413.

            The IMCA Modified division I only have the top ten with their points but no win totals, sorry about that. Here they are from one through ten. Will Ward 523, Gary Roberts, 493 Tyler Stoddard 482, Mike Stoddard 467, Dan Searles 446 rounded out the top five Sixth through tenth was Keith Lamphere 420, Brad Smith 398, Bumps Schutt 362 and tenth went to point champion Will Wards Dad Billy Ward at 269.

            The last division with awards going to the top ten was the 600 Xcel Modified division. Will Eastman was once again the champion for his third in a row at 661 points and a feature win. Just three points behind at 658 and a feature win was Dana Davis who also found victory lane once. Chris Jordan finished the season in third with 611 points and two features wins, and fourth was Justin Shiner at  604 and a feature to his credit. Rounding out the top five was Doug Windhausen at 577 points. Sixth found youngster Bailey Boyd with 553 and just one point behind him at 552 and a feature win was another youngster Damon Henry for seventh. Eighth found Joe McCabe with 531 and ninth was the highest win total at five and 508 points was Byron Worthing. Worthing missed a few weeks or might have been right up there with the top point getters. Tenth was Tom Shiner at 496 markers.

           Two division had awards for only the top five were the Four Cylinder and the Rookie Sportsman divisions. Here is the Four Cylinder division and a note here is that the front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars run in a combination division. Championship was won by Chris Taylor with 669 points a ten point win over second in points Justin Ladue at 559. Again consistency came to play as Champion Taylor had no wins but eleven top fives and Ladue had four feature wins but obviously trouble in a few races. Third was Rich Wagner 478 and a feature win, followed in fourth by Mark Atutis at 464 points. Rounding out the top five was Eric Rowley at 409 and a feature triumph.

          The Rookie Sportsman divisions is made up of new drivers that can compete with an Open or Crate motor. Here is the top five; Championship was taken by A.J. Williams with five feature wins and the highest point total of all divisions at 843. Second and third were taken by two brothers and both sons of Open Sportsman and part time Modified runner Billy Spoonhower. Second went to Landon and third to Connor, Landon one win and 800 points and Connor with two wins and 635 points. Fourth was Matt Sherwood 579 points and three feature wins and here was a guy that missed some weeks. Finishing in that fifth spot was Anthony Rundell with 486 markers. Also want to mention that seventh in points was a two time winner and tallied 173 points in sporadic appearances was Tighe Sherlock.

         Special award winners on this night were as follows. Rookie of the Year was given out in three divisions. Open Sportsman went to Landon Cummings a graduate of the Rookie Sportsman and finished seventh in points. The Crate Sportsman Rookie of the Year also finished seventh in points and two feature wins in his first full season at the speedway and this young talent is Darren Smith. The final Rookie of the Year went to Kyle Harrington in the Xcel 600 division. Congratulations!

         In the Street Stock division they gave out a Most Improved Driver Award and that went to Jonathan “Pete” Fowlston who saw steady improvement during the course of the season.

        They also had a Young Gun Award which went to the driver of the 34L Rookie Sportsman driver Landon Spoonhower who at 12 years old did a great job with a feature win and second in points. Certainly someone to keep the lookers on in the future.

        The Spoonhower's also gave out an award for the car owner of the year and that went to track championship owner of Tommy Collins 713 Crate Sportsman wining car. They traveled to many tracks throughout the summer and also finished third in points at Outlaw Speedway. Ran some races on the Short Track Super Series and took the car to DIRTcar big event at Oswego Speedway. The award went to car owners James Traphagen and JacquelinePayne.

         Dedication to Racing award went to Tommy Coar and Barrett Paving as Mr. Coar makes some of the Barrett Paving equipment available to the race track to help give the competitors and fans a great racing service.

        Final special award went to track head flagman Gary Folk Jr. and is named the Perseverance Award. A well deserved award for a thankless job as he hears it from fans and competitors and returns each week with a smile. Job well done!

         Mountain Nuggets; Bob Hilbert Sportswear also gave Thunder Mountain three gift certificates to give out to three random competitors in a draw for use on any of their sportswear orders. The three winners were A.J. Williams and Landon Spoonhower of the Rookie Sportsman and Modified driver Colton Wilson. There were two huge trophies given out for the two champions of the Thunder Mountain and Skyline Raceway challenge events they had for the Open Sportsman and the Street Stocks. The champion in the Open Sportsman was Kevin Jordan and the Street Stock champion was Lanson Albanese. Many door prizes were given out after the award ceremony also.

           Despite rumors of the contrary Thunder Mountain will be having the 600 Modified division back as they are well supported at the speedway. Also the track will be putting in the scoring loop early Spring to bring electronic scoring to the speedway.

           Track Promoter Karl Spoonhower talked briefly to the large crowd in attendance to thank them for making the Mountain their track of choice. He also thank his daughter-in-law Sara for the great job on organizing the banquet. It was also learned Sara and her husband Karl Spoonhower Jr. will be more involved in the everyday operation of the track.

         In my conversation with Sara I verified that I along with Barry Goodband will be back behind the microphone for the upcoming season. I also will be involved with signing on sponsorship to the largest fan count and racecar support of any track here in the Southern Tier. Once I get all the pieces in place it will be full speed ahead.

         The track will be at the Southern Tier Speed World show at the Oakdale Mall, the annual show at the Syracuse Fairgrounds Motorsports Expo and will be at the new returning Speedsport Showcase in Scranton. The schedules will be out then and it will be exciting.
         

The 305 Sprint Cars come alive tonight at the Afton Motorsports Park along with their regular program of Modified, Open Sportsman, Crate Sportsman, Street Stock and 4cyl. Trucks. The Joey Coulter Kids Club will be going strong with great things for the youngsters and a couple of bike give away's. Youngsters with their Microds will show them off as part of the Tri-County Speedway another track that the Joey Coulter Kids Club helps out. Representatives will be on hand with some great raffles and also do a helmet pass to support their Charity (C.A.R.S.) Racing for a Cause. The fine folks of Wagner Nineveh will also be on hand as it is their night in the VIP Tower.
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  Coming up this Wednesday night is our first mid-week show and what a doozy we have in store for all you race fans. It is the first of two appearances of the Brett Deyo promoted Bob Hilbert Sportswear Fueled by VP Halmar International North Region of the Short Track Super Series. The second series race will be our final two days of racing October 6 & 7. This event brings in many of the traveling stars of this great series along with other local competitors and they all meet here on our home driver's track to do battle in a 50-lap affair for the big and small block Modified division. Our own Andy Bachetti is in a deadlock for the point lead with Stewart Friesen at 190 points after two races. The third scheduled race at the Big Diamond Speedway earlier was postponed and will be run on Sunday July 16. The next North Series race for the North Region will be Monday July 3 at the Accord Speedway.

         The race is dubbed the Afton Action 50 and is a replacement race for the old Crazy 8 event ran here under the previous promoters. The race will be fifty green flag laps for the Modified division with five grand going to the winner plus other contingencies and special awards. Also on the card will be an American Racer Cup Challenge in a twenty-five lap feature. Added is the Front Wheel Drive Four Cylinder to conclude the three division show.

         Here is the current top 12 in points of the STSS North Series and all are expected with another 100 points on the line. As mentioned above Bachetti and Friesen tied for first at 190. At 3 is Anthony Perrego at 176, 4 is Billy Decker at 161 and rounding out the top five is Decker's car owner Jeremy Smith at 147. Six through twelve goes as follows; Tommy Meier 134, Jerry Higbie 112, Brian Krummel 108, Nick Nye 105, Matt DeLorenzo 104 Danny Creeden 99 and Craig Hansen at 94.