In some ways, the 23rd season of Thursday Thunder Legends and Bandolero racing is unlike any of the 22 that have come before it. Social distancing guidelines have altered the procedures for racers in the garage and prevented spectators from attending.
But as the season kicked off two nights of racing on Wednesday and Thursday, one thing quickly became clear: Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thunder Ring is producing the same intense, bumper-to-bumper action that it has for over two decades.
This was perhaps most evident on Wednesday night in The Associates Group Insurance Pro feature. Jensen Jorgensen led from the jump but was stalked throughout the feature by Caleb Heady. For 18 laps, the pair ran nose-to-tail, with Heady slipping by Jorgensen at one point only to have the Thursday Thunder veteran cross him over to retain the top spot.
Finally on lap 19 Heady nudged Jorgensen’s No. 32 out of the way and took the lead for good, leading the final 7 circuits in his No. 82. The victory is Heady’s first in the division.
Earlier in the evening, Ashton Whitener led the way in the Semi-Pro division as the feature surpassed the time limit, which dictates that a race will end either with the checkered flag or upon the next caution flag. On what became the final lap, Whitener was shuffled off the bottom lane by contact and Kenny Brady took advantage and challenged Whitener on the inside. As the pair flashed across the stripe, a spin further back in the pack triggered a caution that ended the race.
By virtue of leading at the line, Brady was awarded the victory while Whitener was relegated to second in the opening night feature.
Defending Masters division champion Bill Plemons, Jr. appeared to be picking up right where he left off in 2019 when he won the pole for Wednesday night’s feature, but from there seemingly anything that could go wrong for Plemons did. In the first set of corners, Plemons spun off the bumper of another competitor, forcing him to relinquish all-important track position as Ronnie Wehunt took over the top spot.
Five laps later, while battling for third, Plemons was again involved in a caution that sent him to the rear of the field once more. However, over the final 14 laps Plemons slowly but surely worked his way up to second and up to the rear bumper of Wehunt. On the final lap, Plemons gave Wehunt a shot entering the final set of corners to move him up the track, dove to the inside and edged Wehunt by a nose at the line to take the win.
As the sun set over Atlanta Motor Speedway, Isaac Bevin set sail from the rest of the WJP Investments Young Lions field. Bevin led all 20 laps of the feature en-route to his first Thursday Thunder victory, topping Gavin Graham and Mason Maggio in second and third, respectively.
Donovan Strauss took the lead five laps into the Outlaws Bandolero feature, but almost immediately was involved in a caution that forced him to go to the rear of the field. When the next caution came out six laps later, Strauss had rebounded to second behind Kyle Bacon. That caution bunched up the field and put Strauss on the rear bumper of Bacon when the race resumed, and Strauss wasted no time reclaiming the top spot. Strauss led the final five circuits before taking his first Thursday Thunder feature win, followed by Bailey North in second and Bacon in third.
Other winners on Wednesday night included Tristan McKee in Bandits, Beckham Malone Rookie Bandoleros Chance Frank Chargers.
On Thursday night, Round 2 of the 2020 season was capped by the Outlaws division feature, which had the wildest finish of the evening. Clay Hocutt led for the majority of the race but contact between he and Donovan Strauss sent the top two cars to the rear of the field. Bailey Buchanan inherited the lead for the final restart with two laps to go, but a whole race worth of action was yet to come.
As Buchanan held serve coming to the white flag, Bailey North nudged her way to second around Kelley Puckett and closed into the back bumper of Buchanan. As North squeezed to the inside of Buchanan in turn one, the two made contact that shot Buchanan out of the groove, allowing North, Puckett, and Ryan Younginer to slip past heading to the final set of corners.
There, even more drama unfolded as Puckett dove to the inside of North as the duo raced to the checkered flag. Neither of them would make it there first, as a slip by Puckett sent North spinning and slowed Puckett enough to allow Younginer to drive past and on to victory with Buchanan in second.
“Honestly I really didn’t think I was going to win that,” Younginer said. “Until the last corner and they started wrecking. I just kinda sent it.”
In other feature action, Caleb Heady backed up his Round 1 victory with another win in Round 2 for The Associates Group Pro division. 2019 Thursday Thunder champion Bill Plemons, Jr. picked up his second victory of 2020 in the Masters division feature while Blaze Crawford picked up his first career Semi-Pro feature win.
Mason Maggio, previously a Bandolero racer, picked up his first win in a Legends car on the Thunder Ring in the WJP Investments Young Lions feature. Tristan McKee earned back-to-back wins in the Bandits division, while Beckham Malone and Lanie Buice took the checkered flags in the Rookie Bandoleros and Chargers features.
Thursday Thunder continues Wednesday, July 8, with Round 3 on the Thunder Ring. Fans can catch all the action live on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Facebook page starting at approximately 7 p.m.
For more information, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.
Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Thursday Thunder Round 1 – July 1, 2020
Young Lions
1. Isaac Bevin – Louisville, KY
2. Gavin Graham – Lakeland, FL
3. Mason Maggio – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
4. Michael Gannon – Canton, GA
5. Preston Tatro – Brasleton, GA
6. Tony Yawn III – Roanoke, AL
7. Nathan Jackson – McDonough, GA
8. Keaton Hendrix – Homerville, GA
9. Matthew Kade – Hampton, GA
10. Jackson Reynolds – Marietta, GA
11. Justin Campbell – Griffin, GA
Semi-Pro
1. Kenny Brady – Marietta, GA
2. Ashton Whitener – Monticello, GA
3. Ricky Springer – McDonough, GA
4. Brandon Brock – Hampton, GA
5. Jason Treschl – Lagrange, GA
6. Connor Younginer – Stockbridge, GA
7. Thomas Everson – Ulton, NH
8. Graham Campbell – Braselton, GA
9. Trey Tadrzak – Stockbridge, GA
10. Jonathan Taylor – Roswell, GA
11. Blaze Crawford – Fayetteville, GA
12. Max Brady – Marietta, GA
13. Taylor Hull – Senoia, GA
14. Ian Hampton – Stockbridge, GA
15. Tyler Garrison – Muscatine, IA
16. Jadyn Daniels – Harrisburg, NC
17. Landen Lewis – Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Pro
1. Caleb Heady – Shelbyville, KY
2. Jensen Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
3. Cale Hall – Griffin, GA
4. Gage Roberts – Milledgeville, GA
5. Christopher Clanton – Brooks, GA
6. Timothy Watson – Panama City, FL
7. Nick Woodall – Canton, GA
8. Taylor Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
9. Gauntt Hudgins – Savannah, GA
10. Kenneth Henderson – Alto, GA
11. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA
Masters
1. Bill Plemons, Jr. – Locust Grove, GA
2. Ronnie Wehunt – Canton, GA
3. Mark Swan – Athens, GA
4. Phillip Young – Dallas, GA
5. James Meredith – Locust Grove, GA
6. Barry Bowen – Jackson Lake, GA
Bandits
1. Tristan McKee – Williamsburg, VA
2. Aiden Garcia – Easley, SC
3. Garrett Gumm – Brooks, GA
4. George Phillips – Charlotte, NC
5. Garrett Erwin – Covington, GA
6. Bryce Sanders – Ola, GA
7. Baylor O’Neil – Grantville, GA
8. Mitchell Flater – Conyers, GA
9. Nicolas Denton – Pascagoula, MS
10. Lee Brown – Acworth, GA
11. Nathaniel Harry – Concord, NC
Rookie Bandoleros
1. Beckham Malone – Rock Hill, SC
2. Carson Brown – Moseley, VA
3. Kayli Kade – Hampton, GA
4. Makenna Kendrew – Senoia, GA
5. Katelyn Hicks – Senoia, GA
6. Sebastain Asztalos – Temple, GA
7. Emma Britt – McDonough, GA
8. Julia Buchanan – Senoia, GA
9. Conner Butler – Forsyth, GA
10. Bo Powers – Atlanta, GA
Outlaws
1. Donovan Strauss – Marietta, GA
2. Bailey North – Hampton, GA
3. Kyle Bacon – Buchanan, GA
4. Brianna Freeman –
5. Bailey Buchanan – Senoia, GA
6. Clay Hocutt – Mobile, AL
7. Ryan Younginer – Locust Grove, GA
8. Kelley Puckett – McDonough, GA
Chargers
1. Chance Frank – Griffin, GA
2. Amanda Woodall – Canton, GA
3. Cole Nelson – Jefferson, GA
4. Lisa Scott – Dallas, GA
5. Meredith Kepley – Falls Church, VA
Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Thursday Thunder Round 2 – July 2, 2020
Young Lions
1. Mason Maggio – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
2. Michael Gannon – Canton, GA
3. Isaac Bevin – Louisville, KY
4. Keaton Hendrix – Homerville, GA
5. Justin Campbell – Griffin, GA
6. Preston Tatro – Brasleton, GA
7. Tony Yawn III – Roanoke, AL
8. Matthew Kade – Hampton, GA
9. Nathan Jackson – McDonough, GA
10. Jackson Reynolds – Marietta, GA
11. Gavin Graham – Lakeland, FL
Semi-Pro
1. Blaze Crawford – Fayetteville, GA
2. Jonathan Taylor – Roswell, GA
3. Graham Campbell – Braselton, GA
4. Brandon Brock – Hampton, GA
5. Max Brady – Marietta, GA
6. Ashton Whitener – Monticello, GA
7. Taylor Hull – Senoia, GA
8. Jason Treschl – Lagrange, GA
9. Jadyn Daniels – Harrisburg, NC
10. Trey Tadrzak – Stockbridge, GA
11. Thomas Everson – Ulton, NH
12. Kenny Brady – Marietta, GA
13. Ian Hampton – Stockbridge, GA
14. Tyler Garrison – Muscatine, IA
15. Ricky Springer – McDonough, GA
16. Landen Lewis – Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Pro
1. Caleb Heady – Shelbyville, KY
2. Jensen Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
3. Gage Roberts – Milledgeville, GA
4. Timothy Watson – Panama City, FL
5. Taylor Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
6. Christopher Clanton – Brooks, GA
7. Nick Woodall – Canton, GA
8. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA
9. Gauntt Hudgins – Savannah, GA
10. Kenneth Henderson – Alto, GA
11. Cale Hall – Griffin, GA
Masters
1. Bill Plemons, Jr. – Locust Grove, GA
2. Ronnie Wehunt – Canton, GA
3. Mark Swan – Athens, GA
4. Robbie Woodall – McDonough, GA
5. Phillip Young – Dallas, GA
6. James Meredith – Locust Grove, GA
7. Tony Armbruster – Covington, GA
Bandits
1. Tristan McKee – Williamsburg, VA
2. Aiden Garcia – Easley, SC
3. Garrett Gumm – Brooks, GA
4. Garrett Erwin – Covington, GA
5. Bryce Sanders – Ola, GA
6. Mitchell Flater – Conyers, GA
7. Nicolas Denton – Pascagoula, MS
8. Lee Brown – Acworth, GA
9. George Phillips – Charlotte, NC
10. Nathaniel Harry – Concord, NC
11. Baylor O’Neil – Grantville, GA
Rookie Bandoleros
1. Beckham Malone – Rock Hill, SC
2. Carson Brown – Moseley, VA
3. Katelyn Hicks – Senoia, GA
4. Kayli Kade – Hampton, GA
5. Lane Mueller – Locust Grove, GA
6. Kerbi Mueller – Locust Grove, GA
7. Caroline Powers – Griffin, GA
8. Julia Buchanan – Senoia, GA
9. Claire Collins – Dallas, GA
10. Bo Powers – Atlanta, GA
11. Emma Britt – McDonough, GA
12. Sebastain Asztalos – Temple, GA
Outlaws
1. Ryan Younginer – Locust Grove, GA
2. Bailey Buchanan – Senoia, GA
3. Clay Hocutt – Mobile, AL
4. Brianna Freeman – Bremen, GA
5. Gianni Esposito – Dacula, GA
6. Bailey North – Hampton, GA
7. Kelly Puckett – McDonough, GA
8. Donovan Strauss – Marietta, GA
9. Kyle Bacon – Buchanan, GA
Chargers
1. Lanie Buice – Locust Grove, GA
2. Amanda Woodall – Canton, GA
3. Lisa Scott – Dallas, GA
4. Meredith Kepley – Falls Church, VA
5. Chance Frank – Griffin, GA
