10/20/2011
By NICK SCHWIEN
nschwien@dailynews.net
The night ended in a cloud of smoke for Terry Cunningham.
Normally when that happens to a stock car driver, it means engine failure and a sour mood.
That wasn’t the case Saturday night at the fifth annual Fall Nationals at RPM Speedway in Hays.
The WaKeeney driver captured the biggest win of his career — and a $3,000 payout to boot — by winning the stock car feature.
Then he pulled his yellow No. 19 car up to the frontstretch wall, with its nose to the cement. He mashed the gas, and did a burnout unseen before at RPM. The large crowd rose to its feet, letting out a thunderous cheer.
“That crossed my mind before the weekend,” Cunningham said about the celebration. “I did it for the fans who stayed up there in the cold and wind. I wanted to do something different. I’m not one to do something like that normally, because I don’t like to delay the show. But I did it for the fans. I wanted to give them a little something. I knew it wouldn’t damage the track, and it was hard and rubbered up already, so I went for it.”
The cheers from the crowd might have rivaled those of Cunningham as he crossed the finish line in the 30-lap feature.
After surviving a disastrous crash earlier this season at WaKeeney Speedway, Cunningham basically rebuilt his entire car.
The big win Saturday capped an amazing weekend for Cunningham, who hopped back into racing in 2004.
“It’s by far the biggest win I’ve had in my career,” he said. “And it’s the biggest win I could ever imagine. It’s pretty neat to have that big of a race close to home. When I got back into it in ’04, I never even dreamt I would be in that position. It was by far the biggest race win of my career, and the most money I’ve raced for.”
Cunningham’s stellar weekend began Friday, the first day of the two-day show in Hays. He drew a good number after checking into the pits, and it was a number many drivers would have cringed when seeing.
“It started with luck in the draw,” he said. “I went in the pits early and drew 13. The girls in the shack were freaking out when they saw it and said they should have taken it out of there. I asked them why. It was my lucky No. 13. That kind of told us how the weekend would go.”
The number wasn’t unlucky by any means for Cunningham. He went on to win his heat race and qualifying race Friday night, then won the pole dash Saturday to give him the prime starting spot for the feature.
He’d go on to lead all 30 laps Saturday night en route to the win, holding off Keith Knop and Jason Davis for the win.
Two drivers, Jason Rogers and Angel Munoz, originally finished third and fourth before being disqualified after the race.
In all the weekend races Cunningham competed in, he led all but two laps.
Only bad thing was, he couldn’t see the crowd cheering his burnout in celebration. The smoke from the tires was just that thick.
“I had felt like I was the bug all year long,” he said. “Finally, I turned into the windshield.”
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