Peach State Speedway ARA race one summary

Teenager Cruises To Another ARA Win

JEFFERSON, GA - Teenager Stephen Leicht of Asheville, NC, cruised to victory in the U.S. Auto Sales Twin 125 American Racing Association (ARA) Southern Thunder late model victory Sunday night at Peach State Speedway.

After leading the first 84 laps and winding up fifth in the opening Kool Seal Challenge Series race, Leicht led Mickey Cain of Gainesville, GA lead the Southern Thunder race's first 33 laps before moving to the front in his #99 Action Racing Collectibles Chevrolet on lap 34. He led rest of the 125-lap race around the half-mile oval to claim his fourth ARA Southern Thunder victory of the season.

Dwayne Buggay of Marietta, GA (#15 Atlanta Auto Brokers Ford) was second, with Paul Kelley of Snellville, GA (#24 Kelley Motorsports Chevrolet) third and Jeff Gore of Powder Springs, GA (#5 Gorman Excavating Chevrolet) fourth.

Leicht, 14, was the only driver to compete in both events, dominated the Southern Thunder race. He had to endure three restarts following cautions in the final 25 laps, but was always able to pull away. His margin of victory over Buggay was about three seconds.

"The car was perfect," Leicht said. " I could run it anywhere I wanted, and I was down on the apron in a lot of the turns. I got good acceleration out of the corners, and I had great restarts."

That made up for the disappointment of a shock absorber problem that dropped Leicht out of the lead in the Kool Seal Challenge race earlier in the evening.

The ARA returns to Peach State Speedway for a another doubleheader on Sunday, Sept. 2.

<pre> American Racing Association Southern Thunder Results Peach State, Aug. 12, 2001

Fih, Srt, Q., Car#, Driver,  Hometown,            Sponsor,          Car Make,  Laps
 1,  7,  2,  99,  Stephen Leicht,  Asheville, GA,  Racing Collectibles,  Chevrolet,  125
 2,  4,  4,  15,  Dwayne Buggay,  Marietta, GA,  Atlanta Auto Brokers,  Ford,  125
 3,  6,  1,  24,  Paul Kelley,  Snellville, GA,  Kelley Motorsports,  Chevrolet,  125
 4,  1,  6,   5,  Jeff Gore,  Powder Springs, GA,  Gorman Excavating,  Chevrolet,  125
 5,  3,  8,  25,  Mike Love,  Maysville, GA,  Gainesville Bowling Center,  Chevrolet,  125
 6,  9,  9,  12,  Casey Green,  Bishop, GA,  Wiggins Chevrolet/Pontiac,  Chevrolet,  125
 7,  11, 11,  4,  Jeremy Broome,  Chattanooga, TN,  Volunteer Homes,  Chevrolet,  125
 8,  5,  5, 92.5, John Lovett,  McDonough, GA,  92.5 - The Bear,  Dodge,  125
 9,  8,  3,  04,  Michael Lance,  Dacula, GA,  Lance Used Auto Parts,  Chevrolet,  125
10,  14, 14, 85,  Kevin Perry,  Jefferson, GA,  Lee Street Auto Parts,  Chevrolet,  125
11,  19, 19,  4,  Marc Brenner,  Birmingham, AL,  Walker's Game Ear,  Chevrolet,  124
12,  21, 21, 32,  Keith Barrett,  Lawrenceville, GA,  Jacky Jones Ford,  Ford,  124
13,  17, 17,  9,  Tom Stokes,  Six Mile, SC,  Stokes Motorsports,  Chevrolet,  119
14,  10, 10, 98,  Russell Fleeman,  Dacula, GA,  US Auto Sales,  Chevrolet,  118
15,  15, 15, 71,  Michael Hillman,  Douglasville, GA,  Manning Enterprises,  Chevrolet,  99
16,  20, 20,  7,  Bryan Manning,  Villa Rica, GA,  Manning Enterprises,  Chevrolet,  94
17,  2,   7, 37,  Mickey Cain,  Gainesville, GA,  Winkler Heating and Air,  Ford,  83
18,  16, 16, 48,  Puddy Bullard,  Covington, GA,  Coronado Stone Products,  Chevrolet,  64
19,  12, 12, 74,  Ricky Moore,  Gainesville, GA,  Fred Odom Trucking,  Chevrolet,  46
20,  13, 13, 21,  Royce Bray,  Hull, GA,  Dalton Auto Service,  Chevrolet,  43
21,  18, 18, 10,  David Wragg,  Gainesville, GA,  Hardman Racing,  Chevrolet,  6

-ARA-