The next two weeks will feel like a flashback to the old USAC Midget days for race fans old and new with Late Model Stock Car racing’s reincarnation of Thursday Night Thunder.
Back-to-back weeks will see Thursday night matinees. Tonight, Kingsport Speedway will kick off the spring Bristol Speedweek 2015 and, next Thursday night, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown will kick off a flurry of marquee races at marquee venues.
Much like the old USAC days, the next two Thursday nights will see racing’s future collide with other generations at historic venues. At Kingsport, the Allison family legacy lives on. In his first time in a Street Stock, Robbie Allison, 23, won at Kingsport Speedway. On the Late Model Stock Car side, the track that’s hosted future stars like Chad Finchum will see the continuation of a three way championship duel between Zeke Shell, Kres VanDyke and Ronnie McCarty.
Kingsport’s Thursday night matinee will be followed up by a Friday night encore in the mountains outside of Abingdon, Virginia as Lonesome Pine Raceway will roar to life with twin races for the Late Model Stock Car division.
Those two races will serve as delicious appetizers for race fans in western Virginia and eastern Tennessee as they congregate to Bristol Motor Speedway by the thousands for Sunday’s Food City 500, but for Late Model Stock Car fans, the entree comes next Thursday night.
For the second consecutive season, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown will be hosted at the iconic South Boston Speedway in Virginia. It’s a race that Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart have won. It’s also a race that CE Falk and Matt Bowling have won. The always exciting exhibition puts NASCAR’s stars of today up against the stars of tomorrow.
Reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series Champion Chase Elliott and former Daytona winner David Ragan will square off against the likes of Matt Waltz, Lee Pulliam, Myatt Snider, Chad Finchum, Payton Ryan, Tyler Ankrum and defending race winner Matt Bowling among others.
The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown takes place next Thursday night at South Boston, but get your tickets now. This spectacle was a sell-out show last year and is expected to be once again this year.
Next Thursday’s Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown is only the beginning of an exciting week in short track racing in the region. It will be followed up by the Racing For Wishes 150 at Shenandoah Speedway on Friday night, Bowman Gray Stadium’s 67th season opener on Saturday night and the Jerry Moody Memorial at Southern National Motorsports Park on Sunday.
