Flying Tigers Ready for Second Leg of Triple Crown on Cody Chevrolet Night
Barre, VT — The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers are ready to take back the spotlight this Thursday, August 6 at Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac Night. Thunder Road’s oldest and most storied division will go 75 laps in round two of the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series that features the top weekly racers in Vermont plus the best regional challengers to the throne.
For many fans, the Flying Tiger class is already the main reason to attend Thunder Road or order the Northeast Sports Network pay-per-view every week. With the track’s biggest car counts, a back-and-forth point battle, and eight different winners in eight events, the Tigers have lived up to their billing as “the best support division in North America”.
For the last four seasons, the Myers Container Services Triple Crown has given the Tigers the stage they deserve. The first event of the year on July 9 saw 35 drivers attempt to qualify and featured one of the year’s best duels between eventual winner Brandon Lanphear of Morrisville, then–point leader Jaden Perry of Hardwick, and leading rookie Kasey Beattie of St. Johnsbury. There’s every reason to believe the encore will be just as spectacular if not more so.
Thursday’s long-distance showdown will play a pivotal role in both the Triple Crown and season-long championships. With only three series events, each one is crucial for the title. Lanphear, Perry, and Beattie are the obvious Triple Crown frontrunners. Lanphear now has two career wins in 75-lap events while Perry led the overall standings for several events earlier in the year. Beattie already has several podium finishes between Thunder Road and New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park.
However, several of the other top-10 finishers in the series opener have already found Victory Lane this year, and the rest are a weekly threat to win. Racers such as 2017 Triple Crown Champion Mike Martin, Opening Night winner Mike Billado, impressive sophomore Logan Powers, and multi-time winner Trevor Lyman would jump right into the Triple Crown title conversation with a win.
As for the season-long championship, it’s the familiar name of Waterbury Center’s Jason Woodard that tops the standings. Woodard fell out of the Triple Crown opener with a broken hub but has been on fire ever since. However, Barre’s Cameron Ouellette and Craftsbury’s Martin are just 10 and 18 points behind, respectively. Derrick Calkins, Lanphear, Powers, and Perry are also very much in contention for the overall title.
Thursday’s car also includes full championship action for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models and Allen Lumber Street Stocks. For the third straight year, the Late Model battle for “King of the Road” looks like it will go down to the wire. Wolcott’s Marcel J. Gravel remains atop the standings with a 16-point edge over defending “King of the Road” Jason Corliss of Barre.
Shelburne’s Trampas Demers and Milton’s Scott Dragon, two familiar players in recent championship fights, are right on Corliss’s tail. Teammates Christopher Pelkey and Bobby Therrien are tied for fifth and have been consistently fast all year long. Should either get that elusive first win of the year, it could prove to be the missing title piece.
In the Allen Lumber Street Stocks, the championship remains the Brandon Gray show. The East Thetford veteran has nearly a full event’s worth of points over two-time champion Jamie Davis of Wolcott in the runner-up spot. He is the only Street Stock driver to finish in the top-10 of every feature, constantly finding a way from the back to the front while showing a newfound maturity behind the wheel.
Only 36 points separate second-place Davis from ninth-place Luke Peters, meaning a lot can change should the opportunity present itself. There is also a fantastic battle for Rookie of the Year between Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher, Peters, and Kyler Davis with two of the three having found Victory Lane this year. The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors have been given the night off to prepare for their trip to White Mountain this Sunday and the Road Warrior Challenge next week.
Thunder Road opens the month of August with Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac Night this Thursday, August 6 at 7:00pm. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers have a 75-lap main event in round two of the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models and Allen Lumber Street Stocks join them on the card.
Admission is $15 for adults and $3 for kids ages 12 and under with limited fan attendance. Advance tickets will be on sale until 10:00am Thursday, August 6 at https://happsnow.com/event/Thunder-Road-Speedbowl. Face masks are required for all attendees per Vermont state mandate. For those who can’t make it to the track, a $15 pay-per-view is available on the Northeast Sports Network at www.NSNsports.net/sponsors/racing.
For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ThunderRoadVT.
For more about the Northeast Sports Network, visit www.NSNsports.net or follow them on Facebook and Twitter at @NSNsports.
