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33 Degrees of Thunderhill Raceway
Late Model Mark
April 13, 2009
Pinson, Alabama
For a couple of years now I have heard these words over and over. "You need to see the high-banks at Thunderhill Raceway." On April 10th, I made my first trip to do just that. This round of the Red Clay Report will be about my journey to see what all the hub-bub was all about.Thunderhill Raceway, or as some call it,"Summertown," is located in the Southern part of middle Tennessee. Tonight would have a show worth the miles as the busy Southern Regional Racing Series rolled in for the first of many visits in 2010.
It was a spectacular day weather wise, the weather was just perfect, clear blue skies and temps in the low 70s. Riding along with a fellow Dirt Late Model racechaser, we hit I-65 and headed up to Tennessee. Just across the stateline we exited onto Highway 31. Highway 31 is a scenic 2-lane road that cuts thru some beautifull country. Since it was April, eveything was so green and fresh looking.Just a short time later we made a turn onto Highway 64 in the small town of Pulaski. Before long we drove into the larger city of Lawrenceburg where we made a turn onto Highway 43. While in Lawrenceburg we stopped on the edge of town at a store that was full of racecars and fans to pick up some Powerball lottery tickets, it was up to $150 million dollars, I can dream right? The store parking lot was filled with drag racing cars as the very busy US 43 Dragway is just up the road. Many teams and fans were stocking-up before going racing. Summertown is just up the road a few miles and after a couple of tunrs on some scenic 2-lane roads we found the track. It's easy to find but you kind of wonder why someone would pick this location for a racetrack. This track, built in 1988 is in a somewhat hilly area dotted with a few house, maybe 4 or 5, some right across the road from the track.
When driving in to the track you see a full size Dirt Late Model on a tall poll with the track logo on it. It's like a Dirt Late Model billboard. The parking lot is well groomed grass, pleny of space and is very easy to grab a spot. When you pull in and park you can see the steep banks, we stopped and took a quick peak, my first words? Dang! Look how steep those turns are and there are no walls! After parking, we greeted many traveling Late Model junkies who had made the trip to Summertown. The track is owned and operated by Wayne and Carol Burns. great people to say the very least. Mrs. Burns works the pit gate and that is where we received our wristbands for the night. Mrs. Burns greeted us very warmly and was truly glad that we had made the trip up. The pits at Thunderhill are large and have quite a downhill slope, you get a workout walking around the pits. The pits have dozens of fresh, smooth concrete pads, terrace style, that teams can park the haulers and racecars on. There is a combination tech, fuel station located in the center. Racers pull onto the track in turn 1, it looks like the first drop of a rollercoaster when entering the racing surface. Racers exit the track at turn 3 and follow a return road the brings them right in front of the grandstands so fans can see 'em. The infield is open and empty with the exception of track safety personnel.
The grandstands while not large, are new, spacious, and have plenty of legroom. The aisles are painted yellow and have armrails, you can safely get to where you are sitting. Wayne says the track can hold 1800 fans. Above the grandstands running the entire length are skyboxes that are rented for the season with the scoring and announcing tower in the middle. The restrooms looked new and were just fine. The concessions were in a small building that you walked inside, ordered your food cafeteria style and paid the friendly lady at the end of the quick moving line. The concessions looked to be doing a brisk business this night. The track itself has very nice lights, a clear and crisp soundsystem with announcing duties handled by Lewis. It was hard not to notice that the facility was kept clean and trash free. People actually thro trash in the cans instead of being lazy and throwing it on the ground, imagine that. Everywhere you go at thunderhill you are treated with kindness and respect by track staff and officials. The track itself is something to behold,, I have been told that Thunderhill is the second highest banked track in dirt racing, I looks like a toss-up between a large 1/4mi. and a small 1/3mi. Walking on the track prior to hot laps, you noticed that even the straights are banked big time, the turns are banked at 33 degrees! The track looked liked it could use a load of water but Wayne said there would be no watering the rest of the night. Wayne said that it will be real dusty, even in the very first session, then it would rubber-up, get sealed over, then widen-out and get racy. At 6:35pm. the first cars on the track were the Super Late Models. It was hands down the most dust I have ever seen for a first session. After 2 laps you could not see the cars, my first thought was, oh no! After the 4 Late Model hot lap sessions the track indeed did seal over black and widen out. Awesome, a super high-banked drivers track, it sure was slick. During time trials that ran from 7:20 untill 7:40pm; the cars flat buzzin' the tires fight to get traction. 30 Super lates timed in with a total car count of 113 cars. The S.R.R.S. lock in the top 12, then ran 3 B-Mains to fill out the 24 car field.The B-Mains went off at 9:10, 9:21, and 9:35pm. Wayne says that each time he cracks the gates for a show he gets over 100 cars, sounds like a healthy pit to me. After all the heats the track took a 20 minute intermission and the drivers came to the stands for a meet n' greet, that was a nice touch. After a few Stocker features the 40 lap S.R.R.S. main event hit the track at 11:30pm for the $3000-to-win show. By this time the track had a nice "black ice" surface and as it turned out, a fairly good main event race. Only a few yellows slowed things, one yellow was caused by quick-timer of the night and race leader Daniel Miller. He was walking away with it, then a suspension piece broke and he sailed over turn 1 to end his night. The "Birmingham Bullet," Anthony Burroughs claimed his second win of the year holding off the fast closing Ray Cook. The feature was over at 11:50pm. At the stroke of midnight we hit the roads for the 152 mile drive back home to central, Alabama. It was worth every mile and the very late hour getting home.
In just one visit, I have found yet another good racetrack. Wayne Burns is such a nice person, a former racer of 25 years and track promoter for some time at North Alabama and Moulton Speedways. Now he is doing a great job. He is my kind of guy, a great calm personality who knows how to run a track and how to treat the racers and fans. He was gracious, accomodating and open to all of my many questions. I was super impressed right from the start, the only thing I think the track needs is a scoreboard, other than than, it's good to go! When good people do things right, success is bound to follow. Wayne and Carol Burns do things right, a true family track with family values, good respectable fans, good track conditions, and a good hard working staff in a clean facility. Will I go back up to watch a race, that is a no brainer, a resounding yes!! Thunderhill is a great place to watch a race. One last thought that crossed my mind on the drive home, I wondered what it would be like to see the track super tacky and hammerdown fast? 33 degrees of blazing fast Late Model action gave me goose bumps. Thank you Thunderhill Raceway for a great first night, I had a blast!!
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