Thunder Mountain Speedway – Center Lisle, NY

 

Thunder Mountain Speedway spent the summer of 2017 in a losing battle with Mother Nature, raining out on multiple occasions including the Wade Decker Memorial race, which fell victim to rain twice in the season.  All of that changed on Saturday as we were gifted with a gorgeous day on the mountain.  It was standing room only as the grandstands were packed end to end. The racing was action packed in every feature.

 

The “wild child” Andy Bachetti and veteran “powerful” Paul Jensen ran side by side for the first half of the feature bringing fans to their feet.  Bachetti then took charge and drove his #4 Garrity modified to a $5,000 payday, holding off the #46 powerhouse of Jeremy Smith. Chris Stull, Corey Costa, and Steve Davis followed Smith across the line.  The modified dash for cash went to Chance Spoonhower in an impressive win over Andy Bachetti.  Spoonhower would go on to have motor troubles prior the feature making him unable to take the green.

 

The street stock division saw Donny Russell setting the early pace until the young Damon Decker, nephew of the late Wade Decker, began reeling him in. Decker was meticulous in his chase of Russell through heavy lap traffic. When Russell was caught up in a spinning lap car, his night was ended giving Decker the lead. Shane Wolf Jr. was in heavy pursuit of Decker with the 2ez of Earl Zimmer hot on his tail. In the end, Decker claimed the emotional victory fulfilling his goal for the season of winning this race.

 

The Xcel 600s turned out to be another exciting feature with Byron Worthing setting a torrid pace to claim victory over Will Eastman, Tom Shiner, Doug Windhausen and Dana Davis. The Xcels have proven to be a perfect fit at the speedway as they put on a thrilling show each week.

 

In the crate vs open sportsman race the excitement was never lacking from start to finish. The crates proved formidable opponents to the open sportsmans as the top three positions went to Thunder Mountain regulars in the crate division. Corey Cormier set the early pace with a commanding lead. Behind him, the action was hot and heavy throughout the field. The 713 of Tom Collins was working his way through the field.  As Collins moved into second place, a late race caution for a flipping Shayne Spoonhower set up a battle between Collins and Cormier. In the end, Cormier was up to the challenge driving his 20 Interstate Battery car to victory lane.  He was followed across the line by Collins, Mike Austin, Nick Mady, and Eric Leet.

 

The Wade Decker Memorial was created to celebrate the life and memory of Wade Decker who loved racing, and loved Thunder Mountain.  He was one of the first drivers to set foot on the track when it was built in 1992; he was there from the beginning.  The impact Wade had on racing competitors and fans was evident in the number of people who came out to support the race.  It was an amazing night for an amazing man.  Thank you to the fans, drivers and sponsors for participating.