By Ben Deatherage
Cottage Grove, Oregon- The Summer Thunder Sprint Series returned to Cottage Grove Speedway for the second straight night of action on Saturday, August 3rd. It marked the thirteenth race of the 2019 campaign for the Washington State-based tour. Seventeen cars from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Oklahoma were on hand as well as one team from British Columbia, Canada.
In the main event, Tony Gualda took full advantage of his inside front row starting position. The Hollister, California ace, racing for Langley, British Columbia car owners Doug and Kathy Rutz, jumped out in front of the field on the opening circuit. Gualda had to battle early keeping potential competitors behind him. On every challenge, he managed to keep all adversaries in check.
Once the pressure was off, several stoppages took place that kept the field all bunched up. In a nine-lap span from circuits twelve and twenty-one, three stoppages occurred. Each restart Tony kept his mount ahead of the rest of the competition.
Leading every single lap Tony Gualda became the ninth winner of 2019 with STSS and overall is the thirty-first different victor since the series’ inception in 2013. Gualda also kept the theme of a non-repeat winner at CGS during Summer Thunder visits with six different drivers in six shows emerging triumphant.
Seth Bergman, of Owasso, Oklahoma, put forth a runner-up performance followed by third finishing Marysville, Washington pilot Colton Heath. Heath drives for car owners Kelly Welch and Alan Larson. Salem’s Kyle Miller was fourth while capping off the top five finishing order would be Tanner Holmes, from Jacksonville.
Seth Bergman was once again the fastest driver in time trials to earn another quick time award. Winners of the three heat races were Cam Smith of Mill Creek, Washington, Tony Gualda, and Kyle Miller.
The Summer Thunder Sprint Series next head to Grays Harbor Raceway, in Elma, Washington, on Sunday, September 1st. The tour will then head to the Central Washington State Fair Raceway, in Yakima, Washington, towards the end of the month on the 20th and 21st to cap off the current campaign. For more information, log on to summerthundersprintseries.myracepass.com/ or check out their page on Facebook.
Race Results:
Summer Thunder Sprint Series Race #13
Saturday, August 3rd, 2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
A-Feature: 1. Tony Gualda; 2. Seth Bergman; 3. Colton Heath; 4. Kyle Miller; 5. Tanner Holmes; 6. Devon Borden; 7. Tyler Thompson; 8. Matt Hein; 9. Lance Sargent; 10. Bailey Sucich; 11. Brian Boswell; 12. Eric Fisher; 13. Hunter Stanley; 14. John Stuart; 15. Chris Bullock; 16. Cam Smith; DNS Duke Johnson