Terrance holds off Roy in TNT opener

PLATTSBURGH — It was opening night of Thursday Night Thunder at the Airborne Park Speedway last week, and the fans who braved the chilly temperatures to take in the action didn’t go away disappointed.

The crowd was treated to an evening of hard-fought competition and several thrilling battles on A-Verdi Storage Night on Thursday.

The first feature of the evening was the 30-lap main event for the DirtCar 358 Modifieds.

After an impressive run in his heat race, Carey Terrance was equally dominant in the feature. Terrance and Mike Mahaney brought the field to the green flag, with Terrance grabbing the lead. Dany Gagne slipped underneath Mahaney in the opening laps but was no match for Terrance, who consistently pulled away.

Two cautions in a row on lap 14 brought the field back together. On the restart, Felix Roy pulled off a two-for-one, passing Mahaney and Gagne to move to the second spot and set his sights on Terrance.

With Terrance working the high line, Roy ran to the bottom, trying to reel him in. Terrance bobbled and slipped out of the groove on lap 26 at the exit of turn two. Roy advanced to the rear bumper of Terrance but couldn’t make the pass.

Roy took a last-ditch shot off of four coming to the checkers, but Terrance escaped with the victory. Roy crossed the line second, followed by Mahaney, Gagne and Tim Fuller.

Shane Pecore enjoyed winning the J&S Steel feature so much on opening night he returned to the Big A to try to duplicate that effort. The Cornwall, Ontario, driver roared from the No. 2 spot on the grid to make it two-for-two on the young campaign.

Codie Aubin started on the pole and controlled the point for the first seven laps. Pecore had lost a position to Joey Scarborough but drove around Scarborough and Aubin on the high side on lap eight.

Scarborough powered around Aubin for second place a lap later, but Pecore built a healthy cushion between himself and the Brandon, Vermont, driver.

Pecore completed his second straight run to the checkers with Scaborough second, Cory Castell third, Aubin fourth and Nick Heywood fifth.

At the end of April, David Johnson rolled to victory in the opening night feature for the Rain Pro of Vermont Limited Sportsman division.

Johnson made it two in a row as he chased down early pacesetter Gary English to collect the top spot on the podium.

English sprang from the top starting spot on the grid and assumed control for the first 11 laps. It appeared as though English might run away and hide from the pack, but Johnson was biding his time.

Boomer Patterson briefly nosed ahead of Johnson for the number two spot at the halfway point. The caution light came on for a spin with nine laps remaining, and Johnson decided it was time to go.

On the restart, Johnson went from third to first, flying past both Patterson and English, and held off his challengers the rest of the way. English maintained the second spot, Brogan Roberts placed third, Patterson slipped to fourth and Lea-Jeanne Lauziere rounded out the top five.

In the Renegade Division, 2024 champion Shawn Duquette launched from outside the front row and captured the lead from pole sitter Tyler Irwin off of turn two on the opening lap. Duquette had to overcome a couple of restarts but led the event from flag to flag with all of the tight battling taking place behind him.

Duquette had fashioned a commanding lead over second-place Tylor Terry, but the caution came out with two laps to go. On the restart, Brad Bushey seized second and began to pressure Duquette.

Billy Thwaits muscled his way around Terry and Bushey, coming to the white flag. Thwaits got underneath Duquette off turn four, but Duquette won the drag race to the finish line for his first win of the season.

Thwaits was second, Bushey third, Tylor Terry fourth, and Nathaniel Guay fifth.

In the mini stock 15-lap feature, Jeremiah King won a duel with Joe Warren and fought off a hard charge from Brandon Osher to pull out the victory.

King led the first circuit, but Warren captured the point on lap two. After a lap four restart, King worked his way back around Warren to reclaim the top spot. Warren continued to hound King while Osher attempted to force himself into the fray.

Fluid on the racing surface led to an extended caution period.

With the race reaching the 15-minute time limit, race control informed drivers that the next yellow would end it. One lap later, the caution flew, and King nabbed the victory. Warren came under caution in second. Osher, Kyle Botala, and Nick Harndon rounded out the top five.

The action continues Thursday night for one of the marquee events of 2026 when the DirtCar 358 Modified Series invades Airborne Park for the Battle of Plattsburgh — 75 laps, $5,000 to win.

The J&S Sportsman will race 30 laps for $1,500. The Renegades, Mini Stocks and Limited Sportsman will also be on the card.

Grandstand gates open at 5:30 p.m. with Hot Laps at 6:15 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.

Grandstand admission is $25. Pit admission is $45. Kids 12 and under are free.