The third night of racing in the Thursday Thunder Legends Series kicked off Thursday with 91 drivers battling it out on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thunder Ring. From start to finish the night was highlighted by dominating performances and nail-biting finishes.
Early in the night, South Carolina native Beckham Malone and Nicholas Denton (Pascagoula, Miss.) stole the show as they dueled for the win in the Bandits feature. After starting on the pole, Malone nudged out to an early lead and looked to make it three wins in a row to kick off the series, but Denton filed in close behind and refused to allow Malone any room to breathe. Following a series of cautions on the 16th lap, Denton surged to the lead on the restart after battling side by side with Malone through turns three and four. One lap later the yellow flag waved for a fourth time, lining up the lead duo nose to tail once again. This time it was the #23 car of Malone that got the edge on the restart, diving to the inside of Denton and propelling his car back to the lead. Once out front, Malone managed to fend off Denton for the final two laps and claimed his third consecutive victory.
Capping off the night, the Byron Powersports Semi-Pro feature ended with a familiar face driving into victory lane. The pole sitter Luke Yarbrough (Milton, Ga.) controlled the race for the first seven laps, pulling away from the rest of the field. However, the field was quickly tightened back up after a caution on the seventh lap. Yarbrough controlled the restart but was quickly turned around by the #24 Jadyn Daniels (Harrisburg, N.C.) who restarted directly behind him. Wednesday night’s winner Donovan Strauss was the beneficiary from their misfortune, inheriting the lead after both Yarbrough and Daniels dropped to the back of the field. Strauss did not let the opportunity go to waste, driving away from the field during the remaining 13 laps to win on back-to-back nights.
In the Masters feature, Robbie Woodall of McDonough, Ga., managed to hold off a last lap push from Joey Clanton (Brooks, Ga.) to drive his #72 into victory lane. North Carolina native Landon Rapp crossed the stripe first in the WJP Investments Pro feature, keeping Cody Hall (Griffin, Ga.) in his rear-view mirror despite several late race restarts.
The Associates Group Young Lions feature was dominated from flag to flag by Garrett Erwin (Covington, Ga.) who claimed his first win of the season. One race later Neal Dulin (Harrisburg, N.C.) continued his dominance of the Outlaws feature, leading all 20 laps for the second time in three races.
In other action, Coleman Moody (Griffin, Ga.) won his second Chargers feature of the season and Virginia native Wyatt Coffey took the Fr8Auctions Rookie Bandolero feature in dominating fashion.
Here are the unofficial results from Thursday’s Round 3 action:
The Associates Group Young Lions:
1. Erwin, Garrett (Covington, GA)
2. Dickens, Josh (Miami, FL)
3. McElearney, Sean (Babylon, NY)
4. Buice, Lanie (Locust Grove, GA)
5. Esposito, Gianni (Dacula, GA)
6. Kuehl, Lacy (Sarasota, FL)
7. Phillips, George (Charlotte, NC)
8. Bulger, Hudson (Perry, GA)
9. Ryan, Noah (Griffin, GA)
10. Hocutt, Clay (Mobile, AL)
11. Reynolds, Jackson (Marietta, GA)
12. Gaul, Cooper (Seminole, FL)
13. Walker, Aidan (Knoxville, TN)
Byron Powersports Semi-Pro:
1. Strauss, Donovan (Marietta, GA)
2. Wagman, Jarrett (Titusville, FL)
3. Lastra, Mason (Tampa, FL)
4. Taylor, Jonathan (Roswell, GA)
5. Sutton, Dawson (Lebanon, TN)
6. Brown, Carson (Moseley, VA)
7. Dibble, Oliver (Owens Cross Roads, AL)
8. Daniels, Jadyn (Harrisburg, NC)
9. Treschl, Jason (Lagrange, GA)
10. Yarbrough, Luke (Milton, GA)
11. Gannon, Michael (Canton, GA)
12. Hampton, Ian (Stockbridge, GA)
13. Tadrzak, Trey (Stockbridge, GA)
14. Wilkerson, Stuart
WJP Investments Pro:
1. Rapp, Landon (Concord, NC)
2. Cody, Hall (Griffin, GA)
3. Cornman, Sam (mount dora, FL)
4. Watson, Timothy (Panama City, FL)
5. Graham, Gavin (Lakeland, FL)
6. Clanton, Christopher (Brooks, GA)
7. Jorgensen, Jensen (Stockbridge, GA)
8. Hendrix, Keaton (Homerville, GA)
9. Jackson, Nathan (McDonough, GA)
10. Gumm, Garrett (Brooks, GA)
11. Woodall, Nick (Canton, GA)
12. Pierce, Currie (Griffin, GA)
13. Jorgensen, Taylor (Stockbridge, GA)
14. Hall, Cale (Griffin, GA)
Masters:
1. Woodall, Robbie (McDonough, GA)
2. Clanton, Joey (Brooks, GA)
3. Plemons, Bill Jr (Locust Grove, GA)
4. Young, Phillip (Dallas, GA)
5. Swan, Mark (Athens, GA)
6. Wehunt, Ronnie (Canton, GA)
7. Carpenter, Steve (Land O’lakes, FL)
8. Meredith, James (Locust Grove, GA)
Bandits:
1. Malone, Beckham (Rock Hill, SC)
2. Denton, Nicholas (Pascagoula, MS)
3. Bloodworth, Austin (McIntyre, GA)
4. Bongiovanni, Dylan
5. Cauble, Carson (Salisbury, NC)
6. Kendrew, Makenna (Senoia, GA)
7. Christensen, Lane
Fr8Auctions Rookie Bandoleros:
1. Coffey, Wyatt (Waynesboro, VA)
2. Lee, Billy (Ruskin, FL)
3. Soto, Javier (Marietta, GA)
4. Hodges, Matt (Live Oak, FL)
5. Sherman, Carson (Loganville, GA)
6. Rudolph, Briella (Griffin, GA)
7. Behnke, James (Canton, GA)
8. O’Connor, JT (McDonough, GA)
9. Glass, Colton (Juliette, GA)
10. Teal, Emma (Monticello, GA)
11. Young, Luke (Dallas, GA)
12. Youngblood, Wyatt (Concord, GA)
13. Sanders, Paxton (Williamson, GA)
Outlaws:
1. Dulin, Neal (Harrisburg, NC)
2. Sanders, Bryce (Ola, GA)
3. Britt, Emma (McDonough, GA)
4. Smith, Carson (Charlotte, NC)
5. Erickson, Carter (Cumming, GA)
6. O’Neil, Baylor (Grantville, GA)
7. Butler, Conner (Forsyth, GA)
8. Hicks, Katelyn (Senoia, GA)
9. Flater, Mitchell (Conyers, GA)
10. Asztalos, Sebastian (Temple, GA)
11. Kade, Kayli (Hampton, GA)
DQ. Bacon, Kyle (Buchanan, GA)
Chargers:
1. Moody, Coleman (Griffin, GA)
2. Anderson, David (Buford, GA)
3. Bacon, Kyle (Buchanan, GA)
4. Young, Lisa (Dallas, GA)
5. Arenas, Emily (Social Circle, GA)
6. McKnight, Evan (Orlando, FL)
7. Kinley, Taylor (Elleville, GA)
8. Almond, CJ (Atlanta, GA)
9. Moon, Jack (Cumming, GA)
10. Stotts, Jackson (Rock Hill, SC)
AMS PR
