2023 Season 3 Round 9 Thunder Results
Thunder Series Review
Chicagoland Speedway played host to Round 9 of Series 3 of the Wednesday night Thunder Series, with 16 drivers attempting to make the 90 lap journey in what turned out to be a very twitchy car setup.
Barry Neale would claim pole position, ahead of Josh Michelmore, Ryan Jones and Karl Withey.
At the drop of the green, Jones would get onto the bumper of Neale, whilst Michelmore tried to go around the high side through turns 1 and 2, however this would be the closest the field would get to Neale all night. By the end of lap 6, Neale had managed to already pull a 2.3 second lead, with Michelmore in second, leading a large chasing pack of cars.
Numerous drivers lined up to challenge Michelmore’s second position, and it wasn’t until lap 17 when Jones was able to make a pass into turn 1. At this point in the race, Neale had gained more time out front, with his lead now over 5 seconds.
As the race continued, the pace started to settle as drivers continued to battle the nervous car setup in an attempt to make the tyres last until around mid race distance, for what would be the only stop for fuel, if the race remained green.
Nearing half race distance, Neale held an 8 second lead over Jones, who was under heavy attack from Jason Martin and Michelmore, with Ruben Phelps and Edward Foster not too far off joining the battle.
At the end of lap 50, and Neale would head to pit lane for fuel and tyres, with drivers slowly coming in over the following laps, the last of which was Michelmore at the end of lap 56. Once everyone was back up to speed, Neale held a 13 second lead over Martin, Phelps, Foster and Michelmore. Neale would remain unchallenged out front, as the race ran green. Michelmore would move through the field on fresher tyres and come home in second, 14 seconds behind Neale, with Foster, Phelps and Martin all in close quarters, rounding out the top 5.
Race Summary:
90 Laps
0 Cautions for 0 Laps
3 Leaders
3 Lead Change
1st - #22 Barry Neale
2nd - #31 Josh Michelmore
3rd - #53 Edward Foster
4th - #06 Ruben Phelps
5th - #21 Jason Martin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Nil
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Lap 56 - #53 Edward Foster for “attempting to wreck – intentionally” #11 Ryan Jones – Dismissed. #53 did not deviate from racing line and there was a significant speed difference as #11 had just exited the pits.
Post Race - #53 Edward Foster towards #11 Ryan Jones (Abusive language) – Upheld, 5 point penalty
Other:
Nil
Series 3 standings:
Josh Michelmore extends his lead in the series to 17 points over Jason Martin with 3 races remaining. Matthew Raymond is a further 6 points behind in third, with Norman Clark and Ryan Jones completing the top 5. Next week the series heads to Homestead Miami Speedway for a 105 lap event
2023 overall standings:
The battle for overall honours is heating up, with Jason Martin’s narrow points lead in the series over Josh Michelmore down to just 9 points. Matthew Raymond holds a very comfortable position in third, ahead of Ruben Phelps and Norman Clark.
Chicagoland Speedway played host to Round 9 of Series 3 of the Wednesday night Thunder Series, with 16 drivers attempting to make the 90 lap journey in what turned out to be a very twitchy car setup.
Barry Neale would claim pole position, ahead of Josh Michelmore, Ryan Jones and Karl Withey.
At the drop of the green, Jones would get onto the bumper of Neale, whilst Michelmore tried to go around the high side through turns 1 and 2, however this would be the closest the field would get to Neale all night. By the end of lap 6, Neale had managed to already pull a 2.3 second lead, with Michelmore in second, leading a large chasing pack of cars.
Numerous drivers lined up to challenge Michelmore’s second position, and it wasn’t until lap 17 when Jones was able to make a pass into turn 1. At this point in the race, Neale had gained more time out front, with his lead now over 5 seconds.
As the race continued, the pace started to settle as drivers continued to battle the nervous car setup in an attempt to make the tyres last until around mid race distance, for what would be the only stop for fuel, if the race remained green.
Nearing half race distance, Neale held an 8 second lead over Jones, who was under heavy attack from Jason Martin and Michelmore, with Ruben Phelps and Edward Foster not too far off joining the battle.
At the end of lap 50, and Neale would head to pit lane for fuel and tyres, with drivers slowly coming in over the following laps, the last of which was Michelmore at the end of lap 56. Once everyone was back up to speed, Neale held a 13 second lead over Martin, Phelps, Foster and Michelmore. Neale would remain unchallenged out front, as the race ran green. Michelmore would move through the field on fresher tyres and come home in second, 14 seconds behind Neale, with Foster, Phelps and Martin all in close quarters, rounding out the top 5.
Race Summary:
90 Laps
0 Cautions for 0 Laps
3 Leaders
3 Lead Change
1st - #22 Barry Neale
2nd - #31 Josh Michelmore
3rd - #53 Edward Foster
4th - #06 Ruben Phelps
5th - #21 Jason Martin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Nil
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Lap 56 - #53 Edward Foster for “attempting to wreck – intentionally” #11 Ryan Jones – Dismissed. #53 did not deviate from racing line and there was a significant speed difference as #11 had just exited the pits.
Post Race - #53 Edward Foster towards #11 Ryan Jones (Abusive language) – Upheld, 5 point penalty
Other:
Nil
Series 3 standings:
Josh Michelmore extends his lead in the series to 17 points over Jason Martin with 3 races remaining. Matthew Raymond is a further 6 points behind in third, with Norman Clark and Ryan Jones completing the top 5. Next week the series heads to Homestead Miami Speedway for a 105 lap event
2023 overall standings:
The battle for overall honours is heating up, with Jason Martin’s narrow points lead in the series over Josh Michelmore down to just 9 points. Matthew Raymond holds a very comfortable position in third, ahead of Ruben Phelps and Norman Clark.
