DIRTcar East Series event two for the Sportsman Modifeds winner Jason Gray Kevin LaForest recorded as official winner in the Peanuts Auto LLC Four Cylinders
Bear Ridge Speedway
Feature winners in the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds hosted DIRTcar East Series event Jason Gray; Josh Harrington in the Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes; Tyler Tremblay in the C.A. Miller Limited Late Models; Lucas Wheeler in the LaValley Building Supply Dirt Stocks, and Kevin LaForest in the Peanuts Auto LLC Four Cylinders.
The DIRTcar East Series event number two is officially in the record books. The Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds welcomed in several outsides for the event and together they put on a whale of a show for the fans. The Series offers a bit of a different format with qualifying races set by time trials. Fast time of the night would be recorded by a competitor who has been around the Ridge a time or two in the past at 14.804 seconds recorded by Kevin Chaffee. After the qualifying races the top four in each event were brought out to victory lane for a redraw to set the front of the field for the 42 lap main event. The fans and drivers were afforded a couple of historic surprises, the first being the DIRTcar World Racing Group Chief Starter Dave Farney appearing on the flag stand to shepherd the field thru their event. The second was a FOUR WIDE parade lap around the ¼ mile clay oval. This historic event has been a long time coming, and April May and Butch could not be more humbled or proud to be a part of the DIRTcar World Racing Group, and to have had the opportunity to host it. For April May it was almost better than Christmas! Our home track drivers put on a whale of a show and we are very proud of all of them and send out a huge thank you to all the drivers who came across the green mountain range to join us. The event had a bit of a rough start, but after the final caution on lap eight the event went green to checkers for the remaining 34 laps. When the Farney double checkers waved on the field our own hometown 2020 track champion Jason Gray was the one leading the field across the line. Coming home in second was David Boisclair out of Latham NY, home tracks Malta and Airbourne, and Jordan Fornwalt in third. Kevin Chaffee came home in fourth with visiting Andrew Buff out of Latham NY, home tracks Malta and Glen Ridge coming home in fifth.
PRACTICE NOTES: Massive Field Turns Out for Thunder Road Practice Day
Barre, VT — A huge field of cars filed through the pits for the Thunder Road Car Show and Practice Day on Saturday, May 1. When all was said and done, 119 drivers across 4 divisions took to the track in preparation for the Community Bank N.A. 150 on FloRacing this Sunday, May 2. The speeds were as big as the fields with racers storming out of the gates after a long, cold Vermont winter.
The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models saw 32 drivers on-hand. For many, it was their first session on the new Hoosier Racing tire. Whether it was the tire, the track conditions, or the eagerness to go racing again, the Late Models set a blistering pace. Times were noticeably quicker than last year with several drivers setting marks in the sub-12.3 second bracket.
Triple Crown Entries Pouring in for White Mountain & Thunder Road
Triple Crown Event Highlights White Mountain Season Opener on May 8
N. Woodstock, NH & Barre, VT — The Flying Tigers are about to take center stage for the first of half a dozen times in what’s shaping up as a tremendous 2021 for the class. Entries have been pouring in for both the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road and the J.P. Sicard Triple Crown Series at North Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park as the racers of “North America’s Best Support Division” get ready for their time in the sun.
The White Mountain Motorsports Park season opener this Saturday, May 8 is also the first round in the J.P. Sicard Triple Crown. On Sunday, May 30, the Myers Triple Crown gets underway as part of the 58th Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. Racers such as Jason Woodard, Jaden Perry, Joel Hodgdon, Colin Cornell, Russell Clark, and Brandon Gray will do battle in long-distance races that are never short on thrills.
“It’s just so competitive,” East Burke, VT’s Colin Cornell, a Triple Crown winner at both Thunder Road and White Mountain, said. “The plus-minus qualifying is a lot of fun for me, because it gives me that much more motivation to qualify well and pass more cars. Other than that, I love having more laps, and it’s very competitive as result — you get the best of the best.”
“I like that it’s at both tracks,” Cornell added. “White Mountain was my home track where I started out racing in the Kids Trucks. Then I brought (the team) over to Thunder Road, but I can still go back to White Mountain for these Triple Crown shows.”
ACT & Thunder Road Honor Best of 2020 at Banquet of Champions
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Thunder Road Speedbowl honored the top performers of their 2020 seasons at the Banquet of Champions on Saturday, May 1. Drivers, crews, officials, and special guests gathered at Thunder Road prior to the track’s season-opener for a night of celebration before throwing the green flag of 2021.
Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert was recognized as the 2020 ACT Champion. In his ninth season with the ACT Late Model Tour, the Hebert Excavation team had 2 wins and 7 podium finishes in 9 point-counting events.
Despite challenges from both fellow competitors and from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Hebert and team were able to put everything together for their first ACT title. In his acceptance speech, Hebert credited the series for getting a season in despite the challenges and for taking care of its competitors, which helped sway his decision to defend the title in 2021.
Clark Gets First ACT Victory in Wild Community Bank N.A. 150
Perry, Martin, and Fleury Earn Wins in Support Division Action
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — Fayston, VT’s Brooks Clark roared from deep in the field to get his first American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory in a wild Community Bank N.A. 150 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, May 2. Clark took the lead for good from Shelburne, VT’s Trampas Demers with 21 laps to go and held him off for the victory after starting 21st on the grid.
The biggest victory of Clark’s career came in an event with more twists and turns than a campfire mystery tale. Several early contenders were sidelined by a spate of midrace carnage before Clark and Demers, two accomplished locals, put on a show down the stretch for both the Barre crowd and a worldwide audience on FloRacing.
Huge New Season on the Horizon at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Well over 100 cars expected for Mike’s Fuels Night on May 1
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway is ready to set records in 2021. The historic Vermont dirt track opens its 55th season of racing on Saturday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m., as Mike’s Fuels of Bridport presents the action, and race fans are in for a summer for the ages, as the fastest-growing track in the Northeast skyrockets into the new year.
The new season is expected to smash modern-era records, as a huge wave of new drivers across five racing divisions has entered the fray. A diverse field of nearly 80 cars attended an open practice session last weekend, and all signs point to an opening-night car count well past 100 entries.
