Thunder Hill Speedway
Sweeping Phillips wins MLRA at Thunder Hill
MAYETTA, Kan. (June 16) — After going nearly two-year years between scoring his 101st and 102nd victories on the Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association tour, Terry Phillips made sure he didn’t wait nearly as long before winning his 103rd race. | Slideshow | Video
Phillips, who returned to victory lane for the first time in MLRA action since 2010 Friday night at Valley Speedway, didn’t wait long at all between victories this time around. The Springfield, Mo., driver scored a $3,000 victory Saturday night at Thunder Hill Speedway to complete a sweep the tour’s doubleheader weekend.
The fourth-starting Phillips overtook Jesse Stovall of Galena, Mo., for the lead on lap 16 of Saturday’s 30-lap feature and held off a late challenge from reigning series champion and current points leader John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., to earn the victory.
"The car was working real good," Phillips said of his Bloomquist Race Car. "Something happened at the end. I don't know if I sealed a tire or what. I wasn't near as comfortable, but the car was still pretty good. I'm kind of getting the hang of what to do."
Behind Phillips, the positions were constantly changing. Anderson and Stovall matched each other’s slidejob for slidejob, in an effort to secure second place.
Anderson, who earlier in the race washed up the racetrack in turn four and lost several positions, cleared Stovall for good later in the race, but fell short of overtaking Phillips in settling for second.
Stovall wrapped up the weekend with two top-five finishes, ending his night with a third place showing.
Tommy Weder Jr. of Woodward, Okla., lurked near the front for the duration of the race and ended up fourth in the final rundown. Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon, Mo., continued his streak of solid finishes with a fifth-place effort in his first ever visit to Thunder Hill.
Notes: Phillips drove a Bloomquist Race Car powered by a Hatfield Racing Engine with sponsorship from Andy’s Frozen Cusard, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Don Babb Motorsports, Keyser Manufacturing and Vita Tub. … Phillips’ 103 victories leads the tour’s all-time winlist ahead of Al Purkey (49) and Billy Moyer (38). … The MLRA tour returns to action with another weekend doubleheader June 29-30 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., and Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa.
MLRA @ Thunder Hill: (1) Terry Phillips, (2) John Anderson, (3) Jesse Stovall, (4) Tommy Weder Jr., (5) Tony Jackson Jr., (6) Eric Turner, (7) Jason Hughes, (8) Mark Dotson, (9) Dave Eckrich, (10) Kevin Sather, (11) Chase Junghans, (12) Bill Koons, (13) Brian Kenkel, (14) Randy Foote, (15) Dave Conkwright, (16) Brand Wagoner, (17) Billy Koons, (18) Earl Kinderkncht, (19) Mark Ronnebaum, (20) Justin Asplin, (21) Dustin Walker. Heat race winners: Phillips, Stovall, Weder.
