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Drivers battle in Furious Five double features at Atlanta

By Dustin Bixby
Posted 10:06AM on Tuesday 13th March 2018 ( 6 years ago )

HAMPTON, Ga. - Off-season U.S. Legends and Bandolero racing resumed at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon, as the Furious Five Series ran double features on the quarter-mile Thunder Ring following last month’s rained-out event.

With nearly 70 drivers and 16 feature races it was a full day of on-track action, crossing the halfway point of the five-event offseason series.

After winning the pole and staying up front for each of the first 16 laps in the Chargers division feature, it looked like Nathan Jackson would drive away with a dominating performance to start off his afternoon. But with less than four laps to go, Lucas Ruark snatched the top spot after overtaking Jackson on the backstretch and finished off the victory with three fast laps at the head of the pack.

Jackson held on to finish second, and Michael Gannon finished third to round out the podium.

In the second Chargers division feature of the afternoon, Jackson once again won the pole and this time made it count, putting on a clinic to notch his first victory of the series and his third top-three in three races.

Gannon, this time, finished second, while Ruark came home in third place.

Bryson Matthews won the pole in the first Rookie Bandoleros division feature of the afternoon, but Carter Griffis, who started on the outside of Matthews, snatched the lead from him on the race’s first lap and went on to win the race in dominant fashion.

After navigating his way through a number of mid-race cautions, Griffis needed one last restart with three laps to go to seal the deal, and with a final burst of speed, rounded the Thunder Ring thrice more to seal up the victory, his first of the offseason.

Matthews held on to finish second, and Bailey North finished third.

Griffis made it two-for-two in the second race of the day after fighting off Lee Brown and Matthews once again, both of whom held the lead at least once early on in the race. Griffis made it look easy down the stretch and crossed the finish line well ahead of his competitors. Matthews and North once again finished second and third, respectively.

It was the Clay Thompson Show in both Young Lions division feature races as he won the pole and led every lap in both races to sweep the double-feature lineup.

Thompson’s only real hiccup was a false start at the beginning of the first race, but it took him less than a lap to regain the lead, and he drove off from there to the checkered flag.

Blaze Crawford finished second in the first race, with Audrie Ruark in third, while Ryan Rackley notched a runner-up finish in the second race, with Crawford in third.

Carson Ruark pulled off a sweep of the Bandits division, winning both races on Saturday. In the first race, Ruark stole the lead from pole-sitter Max Hennebaul on lap 5 and cruised to the victory and then replicated the exact same effort once again in the second feature.

Kelley Puckett and Matthew Kade rounded out the podium finish in order in the first race, while Hennebaul and Puckett were second and third in the last of the twinbill.

Like Carter Griffis, Clay Thompson and Carson Ruark before him, Blaise Maddox won both feature races in his division to sweep the Outlaws double feature. Winning both of the poles, he never trailed in either race to rack up his first to victories in 2018.

Kenneth Henderson, Kenny Brady, Keaton Hendrix, and Justin Campbell rounded out the top five in both features.

Davis Rochester won the pole for the first of the two Semi-Pro division features and made it count, winning the race with little issue from the competitors behind him. Andrew Dollar finished in second, with Hunter Wright coming home in third.

In the second race, it was all Dollar. He won the pole and proceeded to put on a clinic, leading every lap of the race and cashing in with his second victory of the three-race-old 2018 Furious Five series.

Rochester finished second, followed by Wright in third.

Veteran Pro division driver Jensen Jorgensen picked up right where he left off after Week 1 in January and dominated both Pro Division feature races on Saturday afternoon, notching his third straight victory.

Sister Taylor Jorgensen made it a one-two family finish in the first race, while short track veteran Russell Fleeman finished third.

Rafe Slate finished in the runner-up position in the second race of the day, and Fleeman matched his effort with another third place finish.

Other than a thrilling two-lap shootout between him and Bill Plemons, Jr. following a late-race caution to finish the second of the two Masters Division feature races, Robbie Woodall kept with the theme of the afternoon and swept both races for his third straight in the 2018 Furious Five Series, never running worse than first.

Plemons and Don Maness finished second and third in order in both races for a pair of podium finishes each.

The 2018 Furious Five Series continues with Week 4 on Saturday, April 7. For more information, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Furious Five Series – March 10, 2018

Week 2 Results

Chargers
1. Lucas Ruark – Cumming, GA
2. Nathan Jackson – McDonough, GA
3. Michael Gannon – Canton, GA
4. Max Brady – Marietta, GA
5. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA

Rookie Bandoleros
1. Carter Griffis – Homerville, GA
2. Bryson Matthews – Little Rock, AR
3. Bailey North – McDonough, GA
4. Lee Brown – Acworth, GA
5. Gianni Esposito – Dacula, GA
6. Will Peacock – Eastman, GA

Young Lions
1. Clay Thompson – Bowersville, GA
2. Blaze Crawford – Fayetteville, GA
3. Audrie Ruark – Suwanee, GA
4. Gage Roberts – Milledgeville, GA
5. Ashton Whitener – Monticello, GA
6. Ian Hampton – Stockbridge, GA
7. Ryan Rackley – Valdosta, GA

Bandits
1. Carson Ruark – Suwanee, GA
2. Kelley Puckett – McDonough, GA
3. Matthew Kade – Hampton, GA
4. Denton Clem – Cathleen, GA
5. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA

Outlaws
1. Blaise Maddox – Locust Grove, GA
2. Kenneth Henderson – Alto, GA
3. Kenny Brady – Marietta, GA
4. Keaton Hendrix – Homerville, GA
5. Justin Campbell – Griffin, GA
6. Mason Maggio – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
7. Tony Yawn – Roanoke, AL
8. Grayson Dickey – Canton, GA
9. Shelby Ruark – Suwanee, GA

Semi-Pro
1. Davis Rochester – Lebanon, GA
2. Andrew Dollar – Atlanta, GA
3. Hunter Wright – Lebanon, GA
4. Cale Hall – Griffin, GA
5. Cody Hall – Griffin, GA
6. Jay Coen – Dacula, GA
7. Hunter Johnson – Griffin, GA
8. Parker Brewer – Hampton, GA
9. Trey Tadrzak – Stockbridge, GA
10. Pierce Brewer – Hampton, GA
11. Nick Woodall – McDonough, GA
12. Colt Logan – Athens, GA

Pro
1. Jensen Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
2. Taylor Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
3. Russell Fleeman – Dacula, GA
4. Rafe Slate – Eatonton, GA
5. Jeff Holden – Gainesville, GA
6. Gauntt Hudgins – Savannah, GA

Masters
1. Robbie Woodall – McDonough, GA
2. Bill Plemons, Jr. – Locust Grove, GA
3. Don Maness – Duluth, GA
4. Tony Armbruster – Covington, GA
5. Wade Brewer – Hampton, GA
6. Dennis Hecht – Hoschton, GA
7. Sccott Wessel – Joanna, SC
8. Wes Potter – Covington, GA
9. Joe Tapley – Colbert, GA

Week 3 Results

Chargers
1. Nathan Jackson – McDonough, GA
2. Michael Gannon – Canton, GA
3. Lucas Ruark – Cumming, GA
4. Max Brady – Marietta, GA
5. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA

Rookie Bandoleros
1. Carter Griffis – Homerville, GA
2. Bryson Matthews – Little Rock, AR
3. Bailey North – McDonough, GA
4. Lee Brown – Acworth, GA
5. Gianni Esposito – Dacula, GA
6. Will Peacock – Eastman, GA

Young Lions
1. Clay Thompson – Bowersville, GA
2. Ryan Rackley – Valdosta, GA
3. Blaze Crawford – Fayetteville, GA
4. Audrie Ruark – Suwanee, GA
5. Ashton Whitener – Monticello, GA
6. Gage Roberts – Milledgeville, GA
7. Ian Hampton – Stockbridge, GA

Bandits
1. Carson Ruark – Suwanee, GA
2. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA
3. Kelley Puckett – McDonough, GA
4. Denton Clem – Cathleen, GA
5. Matthew Kade – Hampton, GA

Outlaws
1. Blaise Maddox – Locust Grove, GA
2. Kenneth Henderson – Alto, GA
3. Kenny Brady – Marietta, GA
4. Keaton Hendrix – Homerville, GA
5. Justin Campbell – Griffin, GA
6. Shelby Ruark – Suwanee, GA
7. Mason Maggio – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
8. Grayson Dickey – Canton, GA
9. Tony Yawn – Roanoke, AL

Semi-Pro
1. Andrew Dollar – Atlanta, GA
2. Davis Rochester – Lebanon, GA
3. Hunter Wright – Lebanon, GA
4. Cody Hall – Griffin, GA
5. Jay Coen – Dacula, GA
6. Hunter Johnson – Griffin, GA
7. Cale Hall – Griffin, GA
8. Parker Brewer – Hampton, GA
9. Pierce Brewer – Hampton, GA
10. Trey Tadrzak – Stockbridge, GA
11. Nick Woodall – McDonough, GA
12. Colt Logan – Athens, GA

Pro
1. Jensen Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
2. Rafe Slate – Eatonton, GA
3. Russell Fleeman – Dacula, GA
4. Joshua Hicks – Senoia, GA
5. Gauntt Hudgins – Savannah, GA
6. Jeff Holden – Gainesville, GA
DQ: Taylor Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA

Masters
1. Robbie Woodall – McDonough, GA
2. Bill Plemons, Jr. – Locust Grove, GA
3. Don Maness – Duluth, GA
4. Wade Brewer – Hampton, GA
5. Tony Armbruster – Covington, GA
6. Sccott Wessel – Joanna, SC
7. Dennis Hecht – Hoschton, GA
8. Wes Potter – Covington, GA
9. Joe Tapley – Colbert, GA

Young Lions Legends drivers battle through turn two during Saturday's Furious Five Series action at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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