Jorgenson Takes Second Straight Thursday Thunder Win

Jensen Jorgensen scored his second straight Legends Pro division victory in Week 2 Thursday Thunder action on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thunder Ring layout. Photo: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Week 2 of the Thursday Thunder Legends Series presented by Papa John’s Pizza hit the quarter-mile Thunder Ring Thursday night, as the 10-week summer racing series continued at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Jensen Jorgensen initiated a win streak by emerging victorious for the second time in as many weeks in the night’s headlining Racing Radios Pro Division feature, while Scott Moseley’s nine-race winning streak in the Plemons Investments Masters Division – which dates back to Week 3 of last season – came to an end.

Meanwhile, seven of the eight feature races saw new winners from Week 1, as drivers competed for coveted season titles in one of the toughest quarter-mile series in the nation.

Jorgensen faced a tall order in the Racing Radios Pro Division feature, as he started all the way back on the outside of the fourth row. But if his dominant performance from the season-opening race was any clue, it wasn’t surprising that he was already cruising into the third-place position just six laps in.

Pole winner Dawson Fletcher was nursing a narrow lead by the eighth lap of the 25-lap feature. His rearview mirror was full of Jorgensens, with Jensen’s sister, Taylor, running in second and Jensen behind her in third.

Just two laps later, Taylor nabbed the lead away from Fletcher on the 10th lap, and it was a Jorgensen family clinic two more laps after that, as Jensen surpassed Fletcher himself and slid into the second-place slot halfway through the race.

Taylor and Jensen ran 1 and 2, displaying a their strength on the track both as a team and as siblings, for four more laps, before Jensen put it into overdrive, wresting the lead from his sister with 11 laps to go and made it look easy down the stretch, winning by several car lengths for his second straight Pro Division victory to begin the season.

“Man, a one-two, that’s awesome,” Jorgensen said. “We’ve been talking about that all year in the shop getting the cars ready. Me and my dad and my sister were like ‘we’ve got to get a one-two this year,’ and to have that happen in Week 2 is just amazing.”

Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived, as Taylor’s finish was disqualified after an issue in a post-race technical inspection. That propelled Corey Heim into the runner-up finish, with Fletcher in third, Matthew Barnard in fourth and William in fifth.

Despite turning the fastest lap in pre-race qualifying, Scott Moseley had his work cut out for him in his quest to extend his nine-race winning streak in the Plemons Investments Masters Division, thanks to a new rule in 2017 that prevents a previous week’s winner from starting any higher than the eighth position in current-week action.

And Bill Plemons, Jr. – the only driver other than Moseley to win a Masters Division feature race at Thursday Thunder in the past 15 races – on the pole, the task was even taller.

As the 20-lap feature race progressed, Plemons, Jr. stayed easily ahead of the 13 other drivers, but Moseley was on the hunt, and he could smell blood in the water.

Halfway through, Moseley had driven up and into the third-place position, just two cars behind the lead, and was closing on Plemons, Jr. fast. With just five laps remaining until the checkered flag flew and time running short for Moseley, he propelled himself into second-place and set his sights on the lead.

Though piloting the faster car and shrinking the gap between himself and Plemons, Jr. as the final laps ticked off the scoreboard, Moseley ran out of time before he could seize upon his momentum, and Plemons, Jr. held him off down the stretch, halting Moseley’s series-high win streak at nine races and driving into victory lane for the first time since Week 2 of last year.

“He’s tough. He’s really tough,” Plemons, Jr. said. “He came from the Pro (division) and moved into the Masters (division). He’s 41-42 years old, and I’m almost 70, so he ain’t easy to catch.”

Robbie Woodall finished third, while Mark Swan came home in fourth and Tony Armbruster finished in fifth.

In other action, Cale Hall led the Plemons Young Lions field down to the green flag. Hall would lead a packed lineup through several cautions over the first 14 laps, until Clay Thompson snatched the lead from him as the leaders entered the backstretch on the race’s 15th lap.

Thompson would retain his lead through two more late-race cautions and subsequent restarts and sealed off the win in the time-shortened feature on the 16th lap.

It was Thompson’s first victory in a Legends car after a 15th place finish in Week 1 and his first time back in victory lane since he snapped Joey Logano’s record of eight consecutive wins in a single season in Week 9 last year.

“It feels great,” Thompson said. “I didn’t think I’d get that one, as far back as I was starting, but you never give up.”

Harrison Halder finished second, followed by Hall in third, Hunter Johnson in fourth and D.J. Canipe in fifth.

Cale Hall’s elder brother, Cody, also found himself on the pole in the Semi-Pro Division feature and dominated through the first 18 laps of the 20-lap race. But a patient Brandon Brock, who had been shadowing Hall’s every move since the drop of the green flag, took advantage of some space to Hall’s inside as the pair exited turn 2 on the 19th lap and used good straightaway speed to rob Hall of the lead in the closing laps of the race.

Brock would hold on for the final two circuits to pull off the unlikely victory, besting his Week 1 runner-up finish by taking both the checkered flags and the lead in the overall standings.

Connor Younginer finished in second, with Hall in third, Rafe Slate in fourth and Amber Fleeman in fifth.

In the Wallace Electric Rookie Bandolero Division feature, Aprilia Holt led flag to flag to secure her first Thursday Thunder victory after finishing second last week, while Carter Griffis, Ford Childers, Cole McKeehan and Bailey North rounded out the top five.

Michael Gannon and Josh Hicks started the Outlaws Division feature in positions 1 and 2 respectively but would end it in opposite spots once the checkered flag flew.

After qualifying on the pole, Gannon led each of the first five laps before Hicks took advantage of an early-race restart to maneuver to the inside of him and into the lead just six laps in.

Hicks led the rest of the way, improving on his runner-up finish in Week 1, with Gannon placing second behind him and Kenny Brady rounding out the top-three. Blaze Crawford finished in fourth, with Ashton Whitener in fifth.

Trey Tadrzak led every lap of the Chargers Division feature for the second consecutive week to take the checkered flag in front of three other drivers, but he would be disqualified in post-race technical inspection, ceding the victory to Hunter Burns. Nick Woodall finished in second, with Ian Hampton in third.

Grant Thompson led every lap of the Ricky Sanders Racing, Inc. Bandits Division feature for his first victory of the season. Week 1 winner Kenneth Henderson used good speed to drive from his eighth-position start to finish runner-up for his second consecutive top-two finish. Keaton Hendrix finished in third, with Ryan Younginer in fourth and Lucas Ruark in fifth.

The Thursday Thunder Legends Series continues with Week 3 action on Thursday, June 15. For more information, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Thursday Thunder – June 8, 2017

Week Two Race Results

Pro
1. Jensen Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA
2. Corey Heim – Marietta, GA
3. Dawson Fletcher – Canton, GA
4. Matthew Barnard – Fort Worth, TX
5. William Martin – Douglasville, GA
6. Bubba Harry – Stockbridge, GA
7. Joshua Hicks – Senoia, GA
8. Canon Cochran – Ringgold, GA
9. Mike Weed – Franklin, GA
10. Currie Pierce – Griffin, GA
11. Russell Fleeman – Decula, GA
12. Jeff Holden – Gainesville, GA
DQ: Taylor Jorgensen – Stockbridge, GA

Masters
1. Bill Plemons, Jr. – Locust Grove, GA
2. Scott Moseley – McDonough, GA
3. Robbie Woodall – McDonough, GA
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5. Tony Armbruster – Covington, GA
6. Wade Brewer – Hampton, GA
7. Dennis Hecht – Hoschton, GA
8. Wes Potter – Covington, GA
9. John Ponzio – Tyrone, GA
10. James Meredith – Locust Grove, GA
11. Rod Nelson – Knoxville, TN
12. Dale Jackson – Clinton, TN
13. Randy Shubert – Conyers, GA
14. Bill Whatley – Acworth, GA

Young Lions
1. Clay Thompson – Bowersville, GA
2. Harrison Halder – Cumming, GA
3. Cale Hall – Griffin, GA
4. Hunter Johnson – Hampton, GA
5. D.J. Canipe – Fallston, NC
6. Sammy Smith – Des Moines, IA
7. Lawson Ingold – Social Circle, GA
8. Josh Stark – Rochester, NY
9. Ryan Rackley – Valdosta, GA
10. Gracie Trotter – Charlotte, NC
11. Carden Cochran – Ringgold, GA
12. Holt Halder – Cumming, GA
13. Gauntt Hudgins – Savannah, GA
14. Audrie Ruark – Suwanee, GA

Semi-Pro
1. Brandon Brock – Hampton, GA
2. Connor Younginer – Stockbridge, GA
3. Cody Hall – Griffin, GA
4. Rafe Slate – Eatonton, GA
5. Amber Fleeman – Dacula, GA
6. Parker Brewer – Hampton, GA
7. Davis Rochester – Lebanon, TN
8. Brandon Collins – Hampton, GA
9. David Lawrence – Senoia, GA
10. Andrew Dollar – Atlanta, GA
11. Pierce Brewer – Hampton, GA
12. Hudson Halder – Cumming, GA

Rookie Bandolero
1. Aprilia Holt – Senoia, GA
2. Carter Griffis – Homerville, GA
3. Ford Childers – Montrose, GA
4. Cole Mckeehan – Winder, GA
5. Bailey North – Hampton, GA

Outlaws
1. Joshua Hicks – Senoia, GA
2. Michael Gannon – Canton, GA
3. Kenny Brady – Marietta, GA
4. Blaze Crawford – Fayetteville, GA
5. Ashton Whitener – Monticello, GA
6. Max Brady – Marietta, GA
7. Blaise Maddox – Locust Grove, GA
8. Gage Roberts – Milledgeville, GA
9. Grayson Dickey
10. Hayden Swank – Woodstock, GA
11. Nathan Jackson – Mcdonough, GA
12. Garrett Jorgensen – Canton, GA
13. Shelby Ruark – Suwanee, GA
14. Ricky Springer – McDonough, GA

Chargers
1. Hunter Burns – Thomaston, GA
2. Nick Woodall – McDonough, GA
3. Ian Hampton – Stockbridge, GA
DQ: Trey Tadrzak – Stockbridge, GA

Bandits
1. Grant Thompson – Mobile, AL
2. Kenneth Henderson – Alto, GA
3. Keaton Hendrix – Homerville, GA
4. Ryan Younginer – Stockbridge, GA
5. Lucas Ruark – Suwanee, GA
6. Brody Graham – Flowery Branch, GA
7. Colsen Cochran – Ringgold, GA
8. Justin Campbell – Griffin, GA
9. Garrett Erwin – Covington, GA
10. Wilder Etheredge – Atlanta, GA
11. Carson Ruark – Suwanee, GA
12. Max Hennebaul – Monroe, GA
13. Tony Yawn – Roanoke, AL

 

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