A Big Night for Thornton Racing

It was arguably the best night of racing for the Thornton Racing team this season at the fast and furious Bridgeport Speedway. Drivers Tommy Beamer and Steve Durand both came away with top five finishes.

A happy Tommy Beamer after the race. Photo by Linda Force.

In the Crate Sportsman feature, Beamer started in the 10^th spot and was leading the race by lap three. He used his usual high grove to make his way to the front. With the other cars battling for position, Beamer found himself leading the race by almost a straightaway before a caution came out on lap 10. When the green flag dropped again, Beamer was battling with new point leader Ryan Anderson for the lead. It was evident that Beamer’s car was starting to fade away with the race nearing an end and Anderson was able to pass him on the bottom. Anderson went on to win the race, with Beamer not far behind in second.

Since joining the Thornton Racing team in the second week of the season, Beamer has only finished outside of the top five one time. Despite missing the first race, Beamer is closing in on third place in the overall point standings. He still has a legitimate chance to compete for the championship with the season only halfway over. With Beamer’s success so far this season, the Thornton family is planning on putting him in a big block for next season.

Durand getting some advice from his car owner. Photo by Linda Force.

Just weeks ago, Steve Durand returned to big block action after recovering from a hip operation. Durand is driving a new car this season and he knew that he was going to need a little bit of time to adjust. However, Durand made it clear Saturday night that he was going to be a force at Bridgeport for the remainder of the season. Durand started on the pole in his heat race and the car was having handling issues. Despite the handling problem, he still qualified the car fourth. He elected not to make any changes to the car, which turned out to be the right decision. In the feature, Durand started on the pole and quickly jumped out to a lead. Before a caution on lap 10, Durand was leading the race by a full straightaway and was about to hit lap traffic. When the green dropped again, Durand maintained his lead with heavyweights Richie Pratt Jr. and Rick Laubach close behind. With another caution grouping the field together, Pratt Jr. was able to get by Durand on the restart. Laubach eventually made his way by later in the race. When the checkered flag dropped, Durand crossed the line with an impressive third place finish.

You can watch Beamer and Durand compete every Saturday night at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. Be sure to like Thornton Racing on Facebook for updates, pictures, and news surrounding the team. The Thornton family is always open to anyone interested in sponsoring the team. 

New body and paint scheme for Tommy Beamer

After winning the crate sportsmans feature last week, Tommy Beamer got a new body and paint job. Special thanks to Jason and Rick Thornton for designing and lettering the car! Oh and there is always room on the car for more sponsors!

Pictures below:

Beamer sweeps to victory at Bridgeport Speedway

It was a good night of racing at the fast and furious Bridgeport Speedway located in South Jersey. In the Crate Sportsman division, Tommy Beamer was victorious in the main event, passing points leader Brett Kressley with two laps remaining to secure the win for the Thornton Racing Team. Beamer made the outside lane work, quickly moving into the top five after starting in ninth. Beamer has been nothing but impressive since hopping in the Thornton Racing machine, finishing in the top five in all four of his starts this season. Despite missing the first week of the season, Beamer finds himself just outside the top five in the point standings this year.

Tommy Beamer in victory lane for his Thornton Racing team

The funny thing is, Beamer was not expecting to be driving for anyone at the beginning of the 2012 racing season, and the Thornton Racing team was expecting to have their crate machine sitting in the garage all year.  During opening week at Bridgeport Speedway, Don and Patty Thornton were watching the races from the grandstands, waiting for their big-block driver Steve Durand to return to action. That night at the track, the Thornton family spoke to a long-time friend who happened to know Beamer. All it took was one text message, and Beamer was at the Thornton shop later that week getting the car set up and ready to go for week two.

No one really knew what to expect, since Beamer had experience racing 358’s and big blocks, but he had never competed in the crate division. His first time out in the car was supposed to be a learning experience. However, Beamer ended up finishing in fifth place and quickly discovered what needed to be done to be a contender in the crate division. Beamer finished third in the next two races before winning in his last time out. Don’t be surprised if you see him in victory lane a few more times this season.

The Thornton Racing team expects to have their big-block driver, Steve Durand back on the track at the end of May. Durand is currently recovering from his second hip operation and is extremely eager to get back behind the wheel.  Durand had a rough season in the crate division last year, with the team struggling to find out why their motor was lacking power. It wasn’t until the very end of the season that they realized the motor they had been using was defective, only running on seven cylinders. He is excited that the speedway brought back the big blocks and is hoping to have a successful season. 

Open your eyes people, racism still exists

Photo by Russianmachineneverbreaks.com

I usually only cover Philadelphia sports related stories and topics but this is something that I can’t keep to myself. After Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward scored the game winning goal in overtime last night in game seven to send the Boston Bruins packing, an outburst of racist comments broke out all over the internet. Yet, many people believe that because slavery is over and our President is African-American that racism is officially over. The only thing I have to say to those people is get an education and open your eyes.

@Squirtis17: Can't believe the bruins lost to a nigger #wtf

@Begos_8: Joel Ward your a nigger. Holtby, get a life. I never wanna see Tim Thomas in a bruins jersey ever again

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@Clifford_BigRed: what a coincidence, a nigger stole the stanley cup from the bruins! I tell you right now it is not stereo typing.

@Gaucherhockey24: Bruins lost to a dumb cotton picking purple dicked Nigger!!!! 

@JDevine04: I cant believe we let a fucking nigger score on us in hockey to end our season.. #fml #pissed #FUCK #Bruins

@oliviaschnetzka all these bandwagon racists man..ive been racist way before the bruins lost to a nigger!

@CrispoCream: #bruins just got beat by a nigger I thought hockey was a white mans game #wtf fuck ward

@rawrimdinoJessi: FUCKJNG NIGGER! #bruins

@Spee_Durr: You know the games over when the nigger scores. Goodbye bandwagon fans, see you all next April. #Bruins losing in #Game7#breaksmyheart

@SteezyDABASSGOD: Fuck noooo #bruins #fuck #nigger nigger u suck your black go play b ball

Those were just a few of thousands of racist comments made by Bruins fans after the game. Unfortunately, I am pretty confident that fans from all over the nation would have reacted in a pretty similar way if their favorite team lost a significant game.

Racism in sports is something that will go on forever. It is not only with African-Americans, but every group that is not of the dominant culture in America. Look at Jeremy Lin, the guy had his first bad game in the NBA and ESPN put an article on their homepage titled “A chink in the armor.” And even when Lin was playing well, his head was placed above a fortune cookie with the title “the Knicks good fortune.” It may not sound racist and it may just be all fun and games, but at the end of the day it is racist. Fortune cookies are more popular in America and are only really associated with Asians because they hand them out when we order Chinese food. I know Philadelphia fans remember in the pre-season when someone proceeded to throw a banana at Flyers player Wayne Simmonds.

Sports are something that almost everyone in our country can relate to. They bring people together and are a reason to celebrate with our family and friends. It shouldn’t be about race. Nothing in this world should be about race. Who cares if about 80 percent of NBA players are African-American and only about three percent of NHL players are of African descent. That doesn’t mean that the NHL is a white sport and the NBA is a black sport. Last time I checked, we live in a society that is supposed to be equal, but that is clearly not the case. Incidents like these only give African-Americans a reason to want to play other sports besides hockey. Why would they want to play in the NHL if every time they score a goal, racist comments explode all over the internet, or every time they appear in a game something could be thrown at them?

Incidents like these absolutely disgust me. The racist comments were obviously made by people who are uneducated and believe that because they are part of the dominant group, they are better than all other members of society. Racism is something that is never going to stop because of the colorblindness and lack of awareness that exists in the world today. It is really unfortunate that Ward’s goal cannot be celebrated or talked about without the subject of racism being brought up. Nobody is perfect, but that is not an excuse for racism. 

The future of Cole Hamels

       First, with the Giants signing SP Matt Cain to a huge contract extension, the Phillies must make signing Cole Hamels a priority before the season is over. Currently injured players Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are making more money than Hamels this season. In my opinion, Hamels has done more for the organization over the past few years than any other player on the team. 

       As an even bigger surprise, SP Joe Blanton (who was sent to the bullpen last season) and OF Juan Pierre (who barely made the team this season), are also making more money than Hamels this season. 

       Hamels is set to start the regular season home opener against Miami on 4/9. Regardless of how he performs early on, the Phillies need to sign him before the all-star break because he is the youngest of the three aces, making him one of the most important players on the roster. 

       Now that the Los Angles Dodgers actually have some money to spend, Hamels will undoubtedly be at the top of their radar when next off season swings around. They will be willing to offer a lot of money, money that the Phillies may not be able to match unless they make some salary cap moves. Not to mention, Hamels is originally from California, making the Dodgers even more of a likely candidate to snag Hamels from the Phillies. 

Sixers and Flyers face big opponents tonight

Both the Sixers and the Flyers face big matchups tonight as the playoffs are approaching for both teams. The Sixers travel to Miami to face LeBron James and Heat while the Flyers will stay home to face division leader and rival the New York Rangers.

Coming off a much needed win against Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Flyers face another tough opponent on their quest to secure the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. With a win, New York will clinch first place in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers are currently one point behind Pittsburgh for the fourth seed. Securing the fourth seed means that the Flyers would have home ice advantage in their opening playoff series which will most likely be against the Penguins.

The Rangers have outplayed the Flyers all season long, winning all five matchups, including the Winter Classic that was played in Philadelphia. The Flyers have been solid at home this season with a 21-12-6 record. That statistic doesn’t mean anything as the Rangers are 23-11-5 on the road this season.

Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh was a good win but proved to be costly as well. The Flyers will be without Danny Briere and defensemen Nick Grossman tonight against the Rangers. Briere suffered a back contusion after being on the wrong end of a hard hit at the end of the game against Pittsburgh. Grossman will be out 7-10 days after a knee-to-knee collision. The good news is that there is a possibility that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov might return to the lineup after missing the last three games. Sergei Bobrovsky performed well in his absence, posting a 2-0-1 record and stopping 85 of 93 shots faced.

Switching sports, the Sixers face a tough road matchup against the Miami Heat tonight. The Heat are 21-2 at home this season but are coming off a blowout loss against the Boston Celtics. The Sixers are 10-13 on the road and are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Currently, the Sixers are one game back on the Celtics for the Atlantic Division lead. If the Sixers win tonight and beat the Raptors tomorrow, there is a strong chance that they will be back in first place. The Celtics do not play tonight but face a tough matchup against the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow night. If they can’t catch the Celtics before the season is over, the Hawks, Pacers and Magic are still catchable in the playoff picture. The Sixers are currently one game back on the Hawks, two games back on the Pacers and two and a half games back on the Magic.

Looking at the playoff picture, the Sixers can end up anywhere from the three seed to the seventh seed. The Sixers do not necessarily have an easy remaining schedule, playing the Celtics one more time and Magic and Pacers twice. Many of the upcoming games will play a very important factor on how the playoff picture turns out.

Hopefully, the Sixers will catch a Miami team that has been in a bit of a slump and be able to beat them for the first time this season. A win against a team like this is a huge confidence builder, something the Sixers will need as the regular season comes to an end. 

Sixers face a must win against Boston Friday

The Sixers started their Wednesday night loss division rival New York by missing their first 14 attempts from the field. They looked terrible despite only losing the game by three points and failing to foul at the end of the fourth quarter.

This is their fourth loss in their last five games and they now sit only one game ahead of the second place Celtics. They can extend that lead with a win over Boston on Friday night. If Boston wins their game tonight against Milwaukee and they beat the Sixers on Friday then they will overtake the Sixers for the division lead.

In order for the Sixers to maintain their division lead, they need better production out of Lou Williams and Evan Turner. Turner was showing signs of promise just last week, but shot 1-7 from the field and scored only two points against Knicks on Wednesday.

The Sixers were out rebounded by the Knicks 47-39 and let them snag 14 offensive rebounds. This is something that they cannot allow the Celtics to do if they want to win the game Friday night. The game against Boston could arguably be the Sixers biggest game of the season.

A loss against the Celtics could drop the Sixers as far down as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference as the season winds down. They only have 19 regular season games remaining. About half of those games are against teams in playoff contention with winning records. The road won’t be easy and they will have to play like they were at the beginning of the season if they want to make a run in the playoffs.