| Thursday Night Thunder Sounds Real Good to Steve Dorer | By Jack Smith
-KARNAC.com
Punta Gorda, FL —  Billed as Thursday Night Thunder, the first of a series of weeknight races scheduled at Charlotte County Speedway, the fan turnout was better than expected and while the drivers who came to race were some of the best, the numbers were not quite what was expected.
Although some race fans around Florida may have thought this race dreamed up by promoter LeRoy Davidson was just an April Fools prank, the 1000 race fans who braved the chilly temperatures were treated to a pretty good 100 lap Super Late Model race.
Davidson, though certainly pleased with the success of the first TNT race, could not match the thrill Lakeland's Steve Dorer experienced by winning in dominating fashion against Super Late Model names like Anderson and Anderson, McLeod, Bigley, Carlton and Powell.
Steve Dorer started on the pole and led every lap en route to the one of the biggest wins of his career. Not that it was an easy win by any stretch, in a race where it looked like just surviving would be an accomplishment, and saw the tracks' wreckers get a workout.
On the opening circuit around the three-eights mile mile asphalt oval, two separate crashes, one in turn 1 and and the other in turn 4 took out Wayne Anderson, James Powell III and former track Late Model Champion Brad Barcus.
With 10 laps down and 90 to go the field had shrunk to 12 cars, and except for a few minor cautions the fans were treated to some good green flag racing including a show by Dick Anderson. Anderson in the sixth spot after the early cautions and nursing a borrowed car, patiently worked on McLeod's rear bumper eventually slipping past him and Bigley to get the third position on the track at lap 25.
McLeod (foreground) narrowly escaped disaster several times finishing 5th
While Dorer opened up a good lead on the field Anderson was working on getting around the second place car of Ricky Carlton. On lap 35 that all changed when, while trying to get underneath Carlton coming into turn four, the tough veteran made contact spinning Carlton out. To the cheers of some fans and groans from others the cagey veteran was ordered to the rear by the track officials.
At the halfway mark Anderson had made it back to the fourth spot behind Carlton.
The remainder of the race saw Dorer dogged by Hooters ProCup racer Billy Bigley, Jr., Carlton shadowed by Anderson but with no passes made; several times Anderson and Bigley looked like there might be openings on the tight little speedway.
Dorer said in the Winners Circle, "It's awesome, especially beating some of the guys who are here, Dicky Anderson and Wayne and Billy and Carlton, them guys are the best there is in Florida."
As Dorer wheeled the RaceCar Engineering machine in front of the flag stand, flames were clearly visible in the wheel assembly, and after being checked out by a crew member it was clear Lady Luck rode with Steve Dorer on this April Fools Day. He only had two lug nuts left on the wheel with three studs broken off.
When Announcer Steve Hashem asked Dorer how many laps he thought were left on that wheel, Dorer replied, "It don't matter now."
 Listen to Steve Dorer Post Race Interview..
1. 10 Steve Dorer
2. 28 Billy Bigley
3. 3 Ricky Carlton
4. 86 Dick Anderson
5. 78 BJ McLeod
6. 2 Brian Richardson (98 laps)
7. 8 Sean LeMaster (98 laps)
8. 127 Kenny Vaughn (98 laps)
9. 90 Paul Combast (97 laps)
10. 48 Johnny Kay (54 laps)
11. 35 Mike LeMaster (16 laps)
12. 27 Joe Winchell (9 laps)
13. 84 Wayne Anderson (0 laps)
14. 37 James Powell (0 laps)
15. 10b Brad Barkis (0 laps)
16. 77 Patrick Williams (0 laps)
DNS 88 Randy Fox
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