Thunder Valley Raceway
Decker ends long skid, helps Rhodes to TVR title
CENTRAL CITY, Pa. (Sept. 5) — Tom Decker Jr. of Tyrone, Pa., broke an eight-year victory drought at Thunder Valley Speedway along with playing a role in the seventh track championship for Scott Rhodes of Somerset, Pa. Decker won for the first time anywhere since 2001 in becoming Thunder Valley's fourth first-time winner of the season.
Rhodes led the points chase going into the finale, but with his car heavily damage in heat-race action, he was forced to borrow a car from Decker's team to hold off Chuck Clise for the division championship.
With two first-lap cautions, the third time was a charm in the Late Model feature with Decker taking the early lead over Tim Burkholder and Chris Rhodes, stretching his margin while Greg Fetters, involved in one of the previous cautions, fought his way through the field.
With Decker still in control up front, Fegers broke into the top five by the sixth lap, took a spot from Clise on the next lap and overtook Chris Rhodes on a lap-12 restart. Fetters, looking for his first Thunder Valley victory, took second from Burkholder on the 15th lap and began cutting into Decker's lead at the half-mile oval.
But Decker's lead was too big and he held on for the victory over Fetters, Burkholder, Chris Rhodes and Clise.
Scott Rhodes, who was involving in a grinding wreck with Chris Harr in a heat, initially planned to head back to his race shop to get a backup car. But with the program moving along too quickly to allow that trip, Rhodes jumped into Decker's second car and finished eighth, good enough to edge Clise for the title.
Thunder Valley Speedway: (1) Tom Decker Jr., (2) Greg Fetters, (3) Tim Burkholder, (4) Chris Rhodes, (5) Chuck Clise, (6) Dan Lee, (7) Wayne Johnson, (8) Scott Rhodes, (9) Gene Kain, (10) Shawn Claar, (11) Dale Claycomb, (12) Yvette Hahn, (13) Matt Sala. Scratched: Lance Elson, Tom Decker Sr., Chris Harr. Heat race winners: Decker Jr., Clise.
