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RACE REPORTS
May 8, 2004
The pit area was packed Saturday night with Street Stocks, Modifieds, and Late Models for a full night of racing.
The grandstands at Thunderhill Speedway were also full with race fans anticipating a great night of excitement and action.
There were over 40 Late Models in attendance that night all wanting the chance to take home a victory. But, only one would
prevail. Every Late Model had a chance to hot lap for 3 laps to feel how the car was handling and if they needed to make any
changes. There were 5 heat races, and McAninch Motorsports was set to race in Heat Race #2, with a starting position of fourth
row inside. During the first two laps Ryan gained four positions before a caution flew. After the restart there was no stopping
the 52 Machine as he would work himself up to 1st place. As Ryan pulled away from the pack, the second caution had been thrown.
Ryan had to maintain his position for four laps. After the second green flag had dropped, it was Ryan's for the taking!!!
With a 1st place finish, Ryan automatically qualified for the 30 lap A-Feature and would start the race on the pole. With so
many Late Models competing, TORA had 2 B-Features and would only transfer the top 2 of each race to compete in the main event.
As the green flag dropped Ryan McAninch and Al Purkey competed for the lead on the first lap only to have the yellow flag thrown.
After the second start, the race was caution free until the checkered dropped. Ryan had a great start, but could not hold
off Al Purkey and Steve Kosiski. Ryan maintained 3rd place until the final 3 laps. With 3 laps remaining Ryan faced lapped
traffic, slowing him down; which gave Kyle Berck the opportunity to close the gap. The next lap, Kyle Berck was able to pass
Ryan on the bottom, taking third position. It wasn't over yet. On the last lap Ryan drove hard and was side by side with
Kyle Berck out of turn 4, but was only a nose shy from finishing third. The McAninch Motorsports Team finished the night
with a fourth place finish!!!
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