Contenders rebound, championship fights tighten in Round 5 of Thursday Thunder

As the green flag dropped on the second half of the Thursday Thunder season, several championship contenders rose to the occasion to strengthen their leads or close the gap on their title foes.

The WJP Investments Pro Division feature was the greatest example of this in Round 5. After a pair of runner-up finishes to division point leader Garrett Gumm (Brooks, Ga.) last week, Jensen Jorgensen (Stockbridge, Ga.) knew he'd need a bold effort to close the gap in the championship. That's why after posting the fastest qualifying time Jorgensen opted to start at the back of the field, hoping to make up the ground in the race and earn much needed passing points along the way.

With some quick passes on the initial start and savvy lane selection on a restart, Jorgensen was up to 2^nd within a handful of laps and knocking on the back bumper of Gumm for the lead. After a spirited battle Jorgensen managed to do what he couldn't last week: wrestle the top spot away from Gumm and set sail for his second victory in the 2024 Thursday Thunder season.

"It seems like I have a really good short run car and it seems like Garrett (Gumm)' has a really good car in the back 15 laps," Jorgensen said. "I knew I had to get to him early… just get by him and get as far ahead as I could. I did just that and it worked out perfect."

Meanwhile, The Associates Group Young Lions division saw the championship point leader rebound after a dramatic setback last week to add to his advantage in the championship standings. Cole Denton (Pascagoula, Miss.) had a wheel come loose while leading in Round 4, ending his night early. This week Denton lurked in 2^nd behind polesitter Ashton Williams (Yucaipa, Cal.) until a restart with just a few laps remaining gave him an opportunity to pounce.

The final four laps saw three lead changes between the pair and Denton ultimately crossing the finish line first. In victory lane a relieved Denton said, "I didn't think I was going to have it at the end and then that caution came out… I felt like if (Williams) was in the same spot as me he would've given me a little bump too. (So) I went ahead and did a little bump and got the win."

The title fight narrowed in the Bandits division after Wyatt Coffey (Waynesboro, VA) was put on the backfoot by an early incident while James Behnke (Canton, Ga.) took home his second trophy of the season. With the victory Behnke moved into a tie with Coffey for the championship lead.

In the Masters division Phillip Young (Dallas, Ga.) held off Locust Grove's Bill Plemons Jr. to earn his second victory of the 2024 campaign. In the Adrenalin Powersports Outlaws Division Bryson Nichols (Hampton, Va.) led from flag to flag to earn his third win this season despite several early challenges from Round 2 winner Carson Cauble (Salisbury, N.C.).

Kyle Bacon (Buchanan, Ga.) parked his No. 48 in victory lane for the fourth time in five rounds in Semi-Pro competition. Bowen Mayhue (Radiator Springs, Ariz.) earned his first career victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Chargers Racing Experience while the Rookie Bandolero Racing Experience brought Casen Tate (Zebulon, Ga.) back to victory lane for the third time this season.

Thursday Thunder returns Wednesday, July 3rd, for Round 6 of Legends racing.

Here are the complete results from Round 5 of Thursday Thunder 2024:

Chargers

1. Mayhue, Bowen (Radiator Springs, AZ)
2. Soto, Javier (Marietta, GA)
3. Lee, Billy (Ruskin, FL)
4. Franklin, Will (Covington, GA)
5. Shirley, Brennen (Rainbow City, AL)
DNS. Young, Luke (Dallas, GA)

Rookie Bandoleros
1. Tate, Casen (Zebulon, GA)
2. Pennington, Daylen (Stapleton, GA)
3. Pierce, Flynt (Griffin, GA)
4. Shirley, Reese (Rainbow City, AL)
5. Sanders, Connor (Dublin, GA)
6. Glass, Cam (Juliet, GA)
7. Treschl, Ava (Hogansville, GA)
8. Lofy, Craig (Bonaire, GA)

Adrenalin Powersports Outlaws
1. Nichols, Bryson (Hampton, VA)
2. Cauble, Carson (Salisbury, NC)
3. Sherman, Carson (Loganville, GA)
4. Zacharias, Owen (Myrtle Beach, SC)
5. Impellizzeri, Lily (Norton, OH)
6. Erickson, Carter (Cumming, GA)
7. Tatum, Kinsley (Cordele, GA)
8. Young, Luke (Dallas, GA)

Bandits
1. Behnke, James (Canton, GA)
2. Rudolph, Briella (Griffin, GA)
3. Coffey, Wyatt (Waynesboro, VA)
4. Glass, Colton (Juliette, GA)
5. Cannon, Corbin (Conway, SC)
6. Johnson, Evan (Vancleave, MS)
7. Bauer, Jordan (Murfreesboro, TN)
8. Gray, Delaney (LaGrange, NC)
9. Truett, Camden (Myrtle Beach, SC)
10. Burnett, Jaxon (Snohomish, WA)

Masters
1. Young, Phillip (Dallas, GA)
2. Plemons Jr., Bill (Locust Grove, GA)
3. Swan, Mark (Athens, GA)
4. Pierce, Dwight (Griffin, GA)
5. Chambers, Mike (Griffin, GA)
6. Young, Lisa (Dallas, GA)
7. Chambers, Lamar (Griffin, GA)

The Associates Group Young Lions
1. Denton, Cole (Pascagoula, MS)
2. Sanders, Bryce (Ola, GA)
3. Williams, Ashton (Yucaipa, CA)
4. Laprade, Matthew (New Smyrna Beach, FL)
5. Bongiovanni, Dylan (Cumming, GA)
6. Christensen, Lane (Pendergrass, GA)
7. Warner, Austin (Dallas, GA)
8. O'Neil, Baylor (Grantville, GA)
9. Haire, Will (Savannah, GA)
10. Flater, Mitchell (Conyers, GA)
11. Olmsted II, Max (Greenwood, IN)
12. Youngblood, Carson (Flowery Branch, GA)
13. Lamarre, Jack (Hoschton, GA)

Semi-Pro
1. Bacon, Kyle (Buchanan, GA)
2. Ryan, Noah (Griffin, GA)
3. Harrison, Layton (Dinwiddie, VA)
4. Reynolds, Jackson (Marietta, GA)
5. Gaul, Cooper (Seminole, FL)
6. Britt, Emma (Hampton, GA)
7. Martinez, Jesse (West Palm Beach, FL)
8. Hicks, Katelyn (Senioa, GA)
9. Tadrzak, Trey (Stockbridge, GA)
10. Cosier, Brian (Marietta, GA)
11. Linc, Jacob (Lake Orion, MI)
12. Holle, Jerrod (Tampa, FL)

WJP Investments Pro
1. Jorgensen, Jensen (Stockbridge, GA)
2. Gumm, Garrett (Brooks, GA)
3. Pierce, Currie (Griffin, GA)
4. Taylor, Jonathan (Roswell, GA)
5. Woodall, Nick (Canton, GA)
6. Esposito, Gianni (Dacula, GA)
7. Crane, Madeline (Meansville, GA)

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