Tucson Speedway Roadrunner 9/16 Recap
Thunder Trucks, Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks & Hornets
Photo: Evan McNelia (Tucson Speedway 9/16/23)
David Levitt dominated the Thunder Truck field winning both races in a Double Feature Main Event at Tucson Speedway in the Roadrunner, a NASCAR Points Event.
Levitt now has 11 wins on the season, extending his season points lead. With one Truck race remaining he said that he and his team will be looking to make it 12 of 14 closing the season on Oct. 14.
Zane Mckissick is 2nd in the truck standings and started on the pole with a 16.684-second lap in qualifying. With two 25-lap mains, he hoped to use the good starting position to try to gain a tire advantage for later.
“If we get out in front on the first main we are definitely going to try to save a bit for the 2nd main,” Mckissick said after qualifying. “But we can run about 75 laps on a set of tires and keep a pretty consistent time”
Levitt started the first main on the front row after qualifying 2nd. Mckissick put up a good battle for the lead fighting side-by-side for several laps during the run before Levitt cleared him with a strong run off of Turn 2.
“I was just trying to not overdrive the entry,” Levitt said. “I figured if I did not overdrive the entry I would have a decent exit. I was trying to back the turn up a little bit so I think was allowing him to get a bit of a run on the inside, but I could get more of a drive-off.”
Mckissick finished the first main in 2nd about four-tenths of a second back. Keirstin Jones got her best finish of the season, placing 3rd in the first main. She was celebrating her birthday at the track so the podium finish came at a great time for the team.
With the field inverted for the 2nd main, the fast trucks had to find the space to pass from the back. Adam Farr was the quickest to get to the front and he held a solid lead for a good portion of the 2nd main. It took Levitt some time to make his way back up through the field but he was there to pressure Farr in the closing run.
As the pair battled for the lead a lapped truck driven by Ron LeDuke got up the track and Farr had to slam the brakes to minimize contact. LeDuke had been off of the pace all night and he exited the track after the incident.
Levitt managed to slip underneath the commotion and took the lead late on his way to victory. Farr recovered well from the incident and held onto 2nd. Levitt said after the race that that isn’t the way that he likes to win races.
“He was all over the place in the corner,” Farr said. “Initially [Levitt] had gone under so I was going to go under. [LeDuke] was on the bottom so I tried to go around up top and he just comes flying up across the track and I had to slam on the brakes and just go around him.”
Track rookie Kalvin Catlin earned a 3rd-place finish in the 2nd main after placing 4th in main-1. He made his way from 5th in the second race and overcame a brief spin after contact.
Catlin was running the bottom with Levitt on his outside battling for 2nd-place. In the middle of Turns 1 and 2, they made contact which got Catlin sideways for a moment and Levitt made the pass. Catlin handled the slide and held onto his position in 3rd until the finish.
“I think he thought he was clear, but he definitely was not,” Catlin said. “Chopped me down, almost put me into a spin, so I just corrected it and kept it drifting the whole way through. Was able to hold onto it but it definitely made me burn up my tires a bunch.”
Keirstin Jones took 4th in the second main and Zane Mckissick struggled a little more making his way through the field and placed 5th.
Jen Hall was doing it all at the Roadrunner as she ran in every class that was raced. Hall entered the evening third in the WIMNA (Women in Motorsports North America) points standings. She placed 6th in both Truck Features and 7th in the Modified main.
During the Pro Stock race, Hall got into some contact with Larry Leetch who started on the front row after placing 2nd in the 6-lap Heat Race. Hall cut a tire and had to get a quick fix, but she got back onto the track and earned a 2nd place finish.
She also finished 3rd In the Mini-Stock and Hornet combined race.
Nick O’Neill earned his 6th Modified win of the season after battling through contact early in the race. Despite having the most wins in the division, he still trails Brian Harrington Jr. in the points race. The win will help him inch closer but Harrington Jr. finished 2nd, keeping it close.
Brice Bonnett scored 3rd, back on the podium after three straight 4th-place finishes.
Pro Stock points leader Barry Levitt earned his ninth win of the season beating out Jen Hall, Gary Cheek and Larry Leetch. Barry, David’s father, turns 75 in 2 weeks and has been racing against Gary and Larry for a while. All three are within a year of each other age-wise.
“I work hard to keep myself in good shape,” Barry said. “Even for the little bit that we race it makes a difference.”
Garrette Gilliam ran away with the win in the Mini-Stock and Hornet combined race after heat-winner, Jim Bates, spun out early in the race on the backstretch. Bates battled all the way back to 2nd though he finished a long way behind Gilliam. Hall finished 3rd in a Hornet, one spot in front of the current Hornet points leader Matthew Taylor.
Gilliam now has four wins on the season and is drawing ever closer to Bates in the Mini-Stocks points battle.
Tucson Speedway will have action rolling again on Saturday, Sept. 30 in the ‘Bad to the Bone.’ The event will feature racing from Super Late Models, Pro Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Legends, Bandolero Bandits and Bandolero Outlaws. Tickets are available on MyRacePass.
Thunder Trucks and Modifieds will be back racing on Oct. 14 in the Hank Arnold Memorial.