The Show Racers & Fans Won’t Want To Miss Keeps Growing: Thunder Mountain Speedway May 20 Olum’s ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ Presented By Rochinski Contracting Services & Husqvarna Gets More Lucrative For Competitors; $29,968 Cash To Be Distributed; Bonuses & Awards Add Up; Sportsman Battle For $1,000 Winner’s Share
CENTER LISLE, NY – The inaugural Olum’s ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ presented by Rochinski Contracting Services & Husqvarna will be the dirt Modified race to remember of spring 2014.
As the first-time event at Thunder Mountain Speedway on Tuesday, May 20 (rain date: May 21) grows near, the second round of the National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP has become more lucrative. Special awards, lap money, bonuses and a base purse of more than $27,500 combine to make the BD Motorsports Media LLC promotion one of the season’s richest races for big-block/small-block Modified competitors.
Modified racers run a 50-lap main event for $5,100 to win, $3,250 for second, $1,500 for fifth, $1,000 for 10th and $500 just to take the green flag! The hefty purse is sure to attract a diverse field of talent from north, south, east and west of the three-eighths-mile clay oval located approximately 25 miles north of Binghamton, N.Y. The ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ will be the richest event in Thunder Mountain history.
The base purse is very attractive, but the bonuses have pushed the ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ over the top! Some $29,968 cash will be paid out to NDRL Modified competitors plus product and contingencies.
Among the special awards is a $450 Hard Charger Award for the NDRL Modified division. Dave Zubikowski of Zubi’s Racing posted the initial $200 cash for the award. Then, Tim Hindley and car owner Joe Sarvis donated their $250 bonus as the highest-finishing Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway regulars at the April 6 ‘Hard Clay Open’ toward the Hard Charger Award, bring the total to $450 cash. The award goes to the driver advancing the most positions from their scheduled starting position to their official finish in the main.
Each NDRL Modified heat event will also have a $50 Hard Charger Award sponsored by Tonarlo’s Pizza of Conklin, N.Y. The driver advancing the most positions from their scheduled starting spot to the finish in each 10-lap qualifier will take home the extra $50.
The Halfway Leader of the 50-lap main will receive $250 cash courtesy of Whirlpool Appliances – Made in the USA! All of the race’s 50 laps have been sold for a minimum of $20 each. The lap money total is currently $1,463and continues to grow. The lap money distribution will rotate through the top-seven running positions in the main.
For drivers unable to qualify for the main event during the ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ special, there are a number of awards and bonuses.
Manmiller Electric of Shoemakersville, Pa., has posted a pair of $100 cash bonuses for the May 20 Thunder Mountain event, set aside for drivers unable to qualify for the main. A random drawing of non-qualifiers will reward two participants with $100 each.
Accord (N.Y.) Speedway promoters Gary and Donna Palmer have donated three FREE pit passes to the Aug. 5 New York Truck Parts ‘Battle of the Bullring’ for drivers unable to qualify for the feature field. The trio of recipients will be decided via a random draw.
Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI)/Bulldog Rear Ends also stepped up for the racers. A driver unable to make the main will take home a $50 product certificate via a draw; the 11th-place feature finisher will also receive a $50 DMI certificate.
Gary Shiley of Shiley Fabrication in Williamstown, Pa., has donated a complete set of bumpers and rubrails that will be distributed to a Hard Luck Award driver missing the feature event at Thunder Mountain.
Drivers that were unable to qualify for the first NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP event of the season at Orange County April 6 will receive a FREE car entry for the May 20 Thunder Mountain ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ race. To be eligible, drivers simply need to e-mail series coordinator Brett Deyo at Deyo99H@aol.com to register.
All drivers unable to qualify at Thunder Mountain will receive FREE car entry July 23 at I-88 (N.Y.) Speedway, the next event on the series schedule via the “Recycle Your Entry Fee” program.
A long list of contingencies and special awards is already in place for every NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP event. A complete list/breakdown can be found at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com.
For qualifying, drivers will draw for their starting positions upon entry to the speedway. Heat-race finishes utilizing staggered passing points will be calculated to set the redraw participants and qualified cars from 10-lap heat races. Consolations, 10 laps each, will set the remainder of the starting field via their order of finish. The heat-race finish/passing point combination will set the starting lineups for the consolations.
The passing points system, new to Modified racing but widely used in other forms of racing including Sprint Cars and the famed ‘Chili Bowl’ in Tulsa, Okla., aims to satisfy the desires of both racers and fans by easing the consequences of a poor draw for competitors and providing heat-race excitement for fans. The system made its debut at Orange County.
Sportsman (Open vs. Crate) will also be featured on the ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ card in a 25-lap event paying a minimum of $1,000 to the winner and $100 to take the green flag. Sportsman will qualify via a traditional draw/redraw format.
Complete rules, general information and pricing have been posted on the BD Motorsports Media LLC website – www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com – under “Events” and “Lightning on the Mountain” from the main menu.
The ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ is the first major midweek event at Thunder Mountain since a T3 All-Star Series event backed by John Wight in August 2008.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. for the ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ special. A drivers’ meeting takes place at 6:20 p.m. Hot laps begin at 6:40 p.m. with a 7:15 p.m. start time planned. The rain date is Wednesday, May 21.
Adult grandstand admission is $20. Seniors (ages 65 and over) and Students (ages 10-17) pay $18. Kids nine and under are FREE. Pit admission is $35, with no license required.
For further ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ information, contact Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media via e-mail at Deyo99H@aol.com or by phone at 845.728.2781. BD Motorsports Media is on the web at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com. “Like” BD Motorsports Media on Facebook or “follow” @BrettDeyo on Twitter.
Thunder Mountain Speedway is located approximately 25 miles north of Binghamton at 91 Hunts Corners Road Center Lisle, NY 13797. The race day phone is 607.848.7899. To learn more, visit www.thundermtnspeedway.com, like “Thunder Mountain Speedway” on Facebook or follow @thundermtnspeed on Twitter. Fans will enjoy spacious concrete seating, a family atmosphere and a spectacular view off the backstretch as they ‘Feel the Rumble, Hear the Roar’ of Modified racing at Thunder Mountain!
Thunder Mountain Speedway ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Modified Payout (50 Laps): 1. $5,100; 2. $3,250; 3. $2,250; 4. $1,800; 5. $1,500; 6. $1,350; 7. $1,200; 8. $1,100; 9. $1,050; 10. $1,000; 11. $700; 12. $650; 13. $600; 14. $550; 15. $525; 16. $515; 17. $510; 18. $505; 19-Last: $500.
Note: Provisional starters, two highest in NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP points unable to qualify, receive $250 to start.
The ‘Lightning on the Mountain’ special is presented by Olum’s, Rochinski Contracting Services, Husqvarna, Zubi’s Racing, Accord Speedway, Whirlpool Appliances, Manmiller Electric and many other fine marketing partners
The National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) Short Track Super Series is presented by VP Racing Fuels, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., East Coast Speed/ECS Auto, Rochinski Contracting Services, Allstar Performance, American Racer/Lias Tire, Art’s Radiator, ATL Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, BFP Specialty, Bicknell Racing Products, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, COMP Performance Group, Dirt Track Digest, DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends, DRACO Springs, Driven Racing Oil, ERK Steering, Finish Line Web Design, FOX Shox, H.B. Steele & Son, Henry’s Stainless Steel Exhaust, Hig Fab Chassis, Jack’s Used Race Car Parts & More, Kirkey Racing Products, PM3 Digital Imaging, Quarter Master, Race Pro Weekly, Schaeffer Racing Oil, Shiley Fabrication, Sleepy Hollow Golf, Teo-Pro Car, Troyer Race Cars & Vahlco Wheels.
Sources: BD Motorsports Media