Greenbrier Raceway's 30th Annual
THUNDERJET CHALLENGE Race
Report (Scroll to
bottom of page
for race score card and photos)
April 6, 2024 – It is hard to
believe, but 2024 marked the 30th running of
Greenbrier Raceway’s THUNDERJET CHALLENGE.
This year, many regulars
were absent for one reason or another, but we still had a
decent number of racers to compete.. A total of 13 drivers
were on hand to make the field. As usual,
there would be 2 rounds of qualifying… The top 6 from round 1
would go into the Main, and the 2 top racers from round 2
qualifying (or “Second Chance” qualifying) would fill out the
8 driver Main. Again, the reason for an 8 driver main (instead
of a final 4) would be to have extra drivers on hand for
Marshaling the Main as many drivers would cut out and leave
the race once qualifying was over.
Round 1 Qualifying(5 minute
Heats)
First
up
would be John Durbin, Jeff Eve, Rick Kibler, and Steve
Dickinson. Steve would start by turning 29 laps in the first
5-minute heat with John D. right on his heels with 25 laps.
Rick would be the first driver with problems as he would loose
a tire just seconds before the heat end. The remainder of
qualifying would be Steve turning 27 – 28 laps while Jeff
would make his move with a couple 27’s and a 26.
Round 2 would be Roger Townley, Chris Mathewson, Bernie
Bartella, and Dave Failing. Dave would start on Red with a
hard hitting 28 laps while everyone else ran in the 24 – 25
range. As the heat continued, Dave would sink to 26 lap
segments. Another mishap would happen when Chris put his car
in the wrong lane and Roger would hit him and loose a tire…
again, with just seconds left in the heat.
The last to qualify in round 1 would be Bob Dickinson,
Warren Hurd, Derick Durbin, Ralph Thieleman, with John Peckham
as the sit-out in a 5-man segment. In this round, Bob and John
P. would battle it out going back and forth between 26 and 27
laps per heat. After 40 minutes of intense racing, John P.
would come out on top just 1 lap above Bob … 106 to 105.
At the end of Round 1, the top 6 qualifying for the
Main would be Steve D. (112), John P. (106), Bob D. (105),
Dave F. (104 + 38 sec.), Jeff E. (104 + 7 sec.), and John D.
(97).
While 5-minute Qualifying heats could be tough,
20-minute Main heats would be brutal… it was at this time 3rd
place Bob Dickinson decided not to race the Main and bow out
of the race. With the removal of Bob, 7th place
Chris Mathewson would now move up as fill the 6th
Main Driver position.
With
the top 6 drivers in place for the Main, it was time to do it
again. All remaining drivers would race (qualify) for the
remaining 2 positions for an 8 car field in the Main.
Second
chance Qualifying was interesting as it would quickly turn
into a “Kenny Roger” round…. “You picked a fine time to
leave me loose wheel” ….as Rick would loose a tire 2 – 3 times throughout
the round and Warren would loose a complete tire & hub.
With
Qualifying finally complete, Roger Townsley and Ralph
Thieleman would emerge as the last 2 racers for the Main. It
was now time for Lunch (actually, closer to Supper), and to
hand out Door Prizes supplied by our Generous Sponsors.
MAIN(20
Minute Heats)
Dave
F., Roger T., John D., and John P. would start the first half
of the Main. Dave started off with 111 laps in heat 1 to
John's 103. Heat 2, Dave cranked out 116 laps but started to
slip during heat 3 and 4 to 107 / 105 respectively. In Heat 2,
John's guide pin broke due to rough marshaling and a “track
call” was issued (the ONLY reason for stopping the race –
damage by Marshal) giving time for John to replace the pin.
The
second half of the Main would be Ralph T., Steve D., Jeff E.,
and Chris M.. Starting
on the white lane, Jeff had nothing but trouble… Car issues,
getting mixed up in crashes, jumping a lane at the lap counter
and loosing a lap, etc.. and decided to end his race and
trailer his car.
In
Heat 2, it was Steve's turn with problems. The “wreck of the
race” came when Steve’s car jumped onto an adjacent lane and
ran FULL SPEED into the track guard rail… literally shattering
the front body mounting post. Steve did get the front screw to
hold on by ONE THREAD, keeping the guide pin in place, and
continued the race. The remainder of the race was a nail biter
as every time something would happen, Steve would take a deep
breath, his face would cringe, but kept on racing, knowing the
slightest bump could spell the end of the race for him.
In
the end, Steve’s car would hold together (to the surprise of
everyone – including Steve) and total a race winning 441 laps
– just 2 laps over Dave Failing’s 139, with John Peckham
coming in 3rd with 416.
2024 THUNDERJET CHALLENGE Race
Result Finals
Welcome to Greenbrier Raceway
Pits are loading up....
Race on the big screen (Drivers Lounge)
Race Control area (tech, lap counter,
Face Book live streaming)
Getting some practice in
All cars go threw pre-tech
After pre-tech, cars are
marked, collected & put in impound
Note: Orange is the 2024
designated color
Field of 13 Vintage Thunder
Jets
Official Greenbrier Pace Car
Qualifying has begun...
Top 8 qualifying cars ready
for the Main Race
Before the Main, it was time to
hand out Door Prizes, including....
AFX HO Mega G+ Alfa Romeo F1 2023 Limited
Edition
Donated by Everwild Raceway Park - Warren Hurd
Custom built 1955 Stocker Donated by Sea Breeze Speedway - Dave Failing
Custom built 30th Anniversary Grave Digger
Monster Truck Donated by H.O.M.T.P.A, - John
Peckham
... and a big Thank You to the rest of our sponsors
RACE TIME !!!
Right from the start, Steve
Dickinson had a major crash (How he kept
it together and the guide pin on is a mystery)
Top 3 Winners
Top 3 Winners
Greenbrier Raceway Park would like
to thank everyone involved in Greenbrier's 30thAnnual THUNDERJET CHALLENGE,
and a special thanks to all our Sponsors for helping support the
hobby, and really for making Greenbrier's THUNDERJET
CHALLENGE the success it has been !!!
Once again, Greenbrier Raceway would like to
thank all involved in making Greenbrier's 30th Annual
THUNDERJET CHALLENGE the success it was, and a special thanks
to this years FEATURED sponsors for their generous donations:
