ANDERSON — Carthage’s Johnny Magee captured his third WMDH Thunder Car Enduro of the year in dominating fashion leading the final 164 laps on the way to victory at Anderson Speedway on Saturday.
Magee took over the lead on lap 36 when early race leader Ronnie Rose tangled with a lapped car in Turn 2.
From there Magee dominated the event nearly lapping the entire field. Shawn Cullen finished second followed by Rod Phipps, a lap down, Nick Warner and Herb Rose.
The only thing that could have kept Magee from the win was several incidents among lapped cars that took place in front of him, that he was able to avoid. The last one was on the final lap exiting Turn 4 when the car of Ronnie Basham III spun as Magee was headed to the checkered flag.
Magee started the year by capturing the first two 200-lap Enduro’s of the year and his streak was broken by Nick Warner in August.
“We had a pretty good car all night,” Magee said. “I was just trying to keep it in one piece. The second half went pretty quick.”
The second half of the Enduro was only stopped for a red flag with eight laps remaining when Artie Ware spun in Turn 2 losing a left rear tire.
Ronnie Phipps night ended on lap 172 while he was running fifth and by lap 181 the fourth place car of Amonett slowed and went to the pits. That put Nick Warner and Herb Rose into the top five, both multiple laps behind the leader.
Early race leader Ronnie Rose was chased at the drop of the green flag by Magee, Kentucky driver Raymond Johnson, Ryan Amonett and Ronnie Phipps, through the first 25 laps.
The complexion of the race changed on lap 36 when Rose made contact with the lapped car of Justin Dibbern in Turn 2. Rose spun losing a tire and ending his night of competition.
From there Magee inherited the lead and pulled away from the remainder of the field.
At the halfway break only Shawn Cullen and Rod Phipps remained on the lead lap and 24 of the 48 cars were still running.
Early contender Artie Ware from Kentucky pulled to the infield on lap 26, Rob Allman’s night ended on lap 34 while running fourth and Johnson along with Randy Hoppes ducked into the pits on lap 55.
The first half of the race was red-flagged a total of 12 times.
The biggest incident took place on lap 14 when the car of Brad Cain failed to start on the front straight and collected the cars of Josh Poore and Hannah Lundy.
Ricky Tharp, subbing for Jack Leisure, led all 100 laps to capture the second annual Ed Maynard Memorial for the Front Wheel Drive division.
Tharp was chased for most of the lap by defending race winner Nick Warner, but was only seriously challenged when the leaders encountered lapped traffic.
Gary Bragg Jr. moved into the second spot with 15 laps remaining but was unable to close on Tharp.
On the restart Gary Bragg Sr. spun in Turn 2 which knocked him out of a top-five finish. Warner suffered a flat right rear tire and was forced to the tail of the lead lap cars with two laps remaining.
At the finish it was Tharp, Chris Teeple, Elliott McKinney, Peter Carsoro and Josh Tharp, who started 22nd in the 40-car field.
Leisure was taken to Saint John’s Medical Center before the racing program when he started suffering from pneumonia, with Tharp filling in for the victory.
Fast qualifier Kevin Harmon pulled into the infield while running second on lap 49.
Local Sports
Magee dominates Enduro, as Tharp claims Maynard victory
- Local Sports
-
-
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
-
Indians slay Spartans
The last time these two girls basketball teams met on Jan. 17, Anderson defeated Connersville 83-74 in overtime. Lady Tribe coach Chad Cook knew the Spartans would come out with a chip on their shoulder ready for revenge in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class 4A sectional.
-
Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
-
Wapahani ends Lapel’s season
With both teams scrapping for loose balls and rebounds often, the second game of the first-round girls basketball sectional Tuesday night at Shenandoah seemed destined to become a backyard brawl. And as is so often the case, the more experienced team came out on top. A sloppy but hard-fought contest turned into little more than a war of attrition late as finally Lapel ran out of gas, falling to Wapahani 49-33.
-
Madison-Grant survives, advances
Madison-Grant girls basketball coach Kyle Douglas reminded his team before Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional opener that the state tournament marks the beginning of a new season. With 4.6 seconds remaining against Alexandria, Argylls senior Taylor McNutt held the first game of that new season in her hands at the free-throw line. She calmly made her first attempt, and wild scramble for the loose ball erupted when her second try glanced off the rim. The clock expired before either team could gain possession, and Madison-Grant (14-8) escaped with a 58-57 victory and a ticket to Round 2.
-
Daleville bucks Liberty Christian, heads into Class A semifinals
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the host Wes-Del Warriors.
-
Tribe win over Spartans 50 - 46
Photos from the opening round of the Class 4A Sectional at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
-
Arabians advance after 55-45 win over Cougars
Photos from the Greenfield-Central sectional as the Pendleton Heights Arabians faced the Cougars.
-
Girls teams eye possible sectional titles
Many of this year’s girls basketball teams featured many young players on their rosters.
As a result, there was uncertainty about how many teams would contend for sectional titles. -
Boilers honor Lewis at halftime against IU
Purdue basketball fans took time out Saturday in the middle of a heated rivalry game with Indiana to honor Anderson High School graduate Troy Lewis, whose No. 23 jersey hangs from the rafters at Mackey Arena.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
