Thunder Road Late Model “Triple Crown” Returns on WDEV/Calkins Night
Barre, VT – Thunder Road Speedbowl wraps up the month of July this Thursday, July 30 with WDEV/Calkins Portable Toilets Night. In addition to a full card of racing for all weekly divisions, the event will see the return of the semi-feature and Maplewood “Triple Crown” for the Thunder Road Late Models.
The 15-lap semi-feature will pit the top finishers in the Late Model qualifying heats against each other for bonus points and purse money. A progressive cash bonus has also been posted for any driver who can complete the Triple Crown by winning their heat, the semi-feature, and the main event in the same night. The bonus begins at $500 and increases by $100 for each event until the Triple Crown is won. The program will run for the remaining Thunder Road Thursday night schedule.
“It’s going to have a big impact,” South Barre’s Mike “Beetle” Bailey said. “A lot of the guys are going to have more laps on their tires, so I think it’s going to bring a lot of drivers closer together. The points will tighten up as well. I think you’ll see harder racing for the points. The money will be good, but it’s all about the big picture.”
Whether points come from a heat, semi-feature, or main event, each one will count as the Thunder Road season nears the home stretch. N. Haverhill, NH’s O’Donnell landed a huge blow in his bid for a third straight “King of the Road” title last Thursday by winning the Times Argus Mid-Season Championship. His third win of the season gives O’Donnell a 26-point lead over fellow two-time Late Model Champion Nick Sweet of Barre with six point-counting races remaining.
“I’m trying not to look at points, as much as it’s right there in front of me,” O’Donnell said. “I’m just going to keep trying to win, and it’ll land where it’s going to land. Heat races will be worth a little more for us now, and it gives me more incentive now to get up there and try to win some more heats. But we try to win every time we go on the race track, whether it’s a heat, a consi, or a feature.”
Fellow Barre driver Cody Blake remains third in the Late Model point standings followed by Scott Dragon and John Donahue. St. Michael’s College student Kyle Pembroke emerged as a breakout star in July with two wins and is now sixth in points, while Bailey jumped from 13th to seventh after his runner-up finish last week.
Defending Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman Champion Jason Woodard of Waterbury Ctr. took advantage of double-points night to move to the top of the Tiger standings. Last year’s runner-up Brendan Moodie sits five points behind Woodard in the second spot. Christopher Pelkey ranks third with Mike Martin and Dylan Payea rounding out the top-five.
Hardwick’s Jaden Perry took control of the Allen Lumber Street Stocks with his Mid-Season Championship win and now holds a 35-point lead over Jamie Davis. However, the gap between Davis and fifth-place Tyler Austin is just eight points, leaving a number of drivers in position to take advantage should Perry stumble.
WDEV/Calkins Night at Barre’s Thunder Road is this Thursday, July 30, featuring the Thunder Road Late Models, Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen, and Allen Lumber Street Stocks along with the annual Port-A-Potty Grand Prix. Post time is 6:30pm with the front gates opening at 5:00pm. Admission is $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, and $25 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).