1. Night of Modifieds – Southern National Speedway

    October 14, 2006 by Winstead

    With limited practice time, the SunTrust Mortgage sponsored car was 1st on the track for qualifying. A.J. qualified 2nd, behind Buddy Emory who qualified on the pole position. After the starting redraw, the 99 was relegated to the 4th starting position. Dropping back a few positions on the start we were able to battle back up to the 4th position, in which A.J. finished. Not bad for the first time ever at this track. The companion event The NASCAR Wheelen Southern Modified Tour was postponed due to the rain showers that came through the area at the conclusion of the Rolling Thunder Modified Tour race.

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  2. Shenandoah Speedway

    October 6, 2006 by Winstead

    Rolling Thunder Modifieds Excite Crowd
    These open wheel cars cause quite a stir as Rolling Thunder racing made its second appearance at MMS this season running Twin 40′s. The first of the nights’ action saw A.J. Winstead win the first race by taking the lead on lap 38 securing his first victory of the year. Winstead, who has been out of auto racing for six years because of job related opportunities, made a return to the oval track with a new confidence. Winstead said, “After a six-year hiatus, this is my sixth race of the year and I finally get a win.”

    Winstead elaborated on the reasons he got back into the oval tracks. He said, “I started racing Motocross and after a compound fracture in my right leg I thought it would be nice to race in something that had a cage around me.”

    In the second race of the Twin 40′s, Doug Paash held off Thomas Stinson taking home the victory. Paash took the lead on lap one and stayed in the top spot for the remainder of the race. After the race Paash said, “It was a good race compared to the first one. To lead the whole thing is great. I’ve never done that before. My first victory I had was won in the last three laps.”

    Stinson, the points leader in RTM had a different view of the race. An annoyed Stinson said, “It was a tight race but it’s all about the points. We’re in it with the #2 (Paash) and all year long he blocks us all the time, running us into the wall, he slams on the breaks when there is a caution and we slam into him. It’s uncalled for. TJ Guthrie finished fourth while the eariler winner A.J. Winstead rounded out the top four.

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  3. Southside Speedway

    by Winstead

    Thomas Stinson came into the evening with his third consecutive Modified championship tucked in his pocket. But he raced like the title depended on this race.

    Stinson started fourth and spent most of the early part of the race chasing Lin O’Neil. From third place, Mike Rudy slipped past both of them on Lap 18. By Lap 24, Stinson had passed O’Neil and set off in pursuit of Rudy, whom he finally passed on the low side on Lap 47 of the 50-lap race.

    “Mike’s my buddy, and I hated to take this away from him,” Stinson said. “But it was R.J. Smith Companies night at the track and they had the VIP suite filled.” R.J. Smith Companies is Stinson’s main sponsor.

    Fred Key won the Grand Stock 30-lap event. The Pro-Six, MACKA and Street Stock Race of Champions did not finish in time to make this edition.

    Being the final night of the season, a number of other trophies were presented, including rookies of the year. They were: Late Model Sportsman — Greg Fernandez; Modified — Russ Ellis; Grand Stock — Tony Ingram Jr., and Street Stock — Joe Henderson.

    Contact staff writer Walt Amacker at wamacker@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6554.

    RESULTS

    LATE MODEL (50 laps): 1. Billy Morris; 2. Steve Zuskin; 3. Ray Ashworth; 4. Chris Dodson; 5. Bubba Hubbard; 6. Russ Ellis; 7. John Drudge; 8. Rob Jenkins; 9. Jason Pittman; 10. Chris Hopkins; 11. Joey Bryant; 12. Greg Holt; 13. Wayne McGee; 14. Brandon Hendrick; 15. Chris Mueller; 16. Charles Lamb Jr.; 17. Greg Fernandez

    MODIFIED (50 laps): 1. Thomas Stinson; 2. Mike Rudy; 3. Lin O’Neil; 4. Rusty Wood; 5. Chris Hoylman; 6. Russ Ellis; 7. Robert Conner; 8. A. J. Winstead; 9. Kyle Wood; 10. Ryan Wilbourne; 11. Edward Moore; 12. Michael Johnson; 13. Bret Hamilton; 14. Tiger Williams; 15. Aubrey Thurston.

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