Sicard Continues Tiger Dominance with Victory in Triple Crown Opener
N. Woodstock, NH – Barton, VT’s Shane Sicard showed once again why he’s the King of the Tigers at White Mountain Motorsports Park by winning the Jon Parks Tractor Triple Crown Series opener on Saturday, June 27. It was the second straight victory for Sicard in the Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers and kept him on top is his bid for a third straight division title.
Sicard actually crossed the line second in the 75-lap main event, hot on the heels of Graniteville, VT’s Stephen Donahue, who had gone wire-to-wire from the pole. However, Donahue was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for an illegal carburetor spacer, awarding another victory to the Barton veteran.
Barre, VT – Shelburne’s Trampas Demers continued his climb up the all-time winner’s list at Barre’s Thunder Road with his 13th career Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model victory at Community College of Vermont Night on Thursday, June 25. Demers led much of the 50-lap event before inheriting the victory following post-race technical inspection.
The veteran had crossed the finish line second after defending track champion Jason Corliss got around Demers on a restart with 10 laps to go to take the checkered flag. However, both Corliss and apparent third-place finisher Eric Chase were disqualified after their cars measured too wide, handing the victory to Demers. The results remain unofficial pending an appeal.
Thunder Road Continues Early-Summer Drive on CCV Night
Barre, VT – The cars and stars of Barre’s Thunder Road return to the high banks this Thursday, June 25 for Community College of Vermont Night. After their extra-long off-season finally ended last week, teams are looking to get into their summer groove and see who the players will be in the 2020 championship chases.
Even with only one event in the books, there is plenty to talk about for fans of local racing. From Marcel J. Gravel’s yeoman effort to gut out a win with a failing power steering system to surprising results for several expected championship contenders, storylines are forming for the season ahead.
Hackel Goes Topless on Top Groove to Win at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Warren pulls last-lap slide job for Limited Sportsman win
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Bobby Hackel had a plan at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Sunday, June 21, and he saw it through: Go to the top groove on the track, set sail, and win the race. Mission accomplished. Hackel headlined a list of eight feature winners that also included Anthony Warren, Andrew FitzGerald, Chris Conroy, Austin Chaves, John Flach, Stephen Denton, and Joey Trudeau.
Hackel’s win in the 30-lap Pepsi Sportsman Modified race came in the annual Father’s Day “Topless” Special, in which the cars race without roofs for a different look and feel. Outside polesitter Alex Bell’s car broke coming to the green flag, creating a massive scramble on the frontstretch, but after the restart 2016 Devil’s Bowl champion Hackel blasted from his third-place starting position into the lead.
Jason Grey in the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds and
Josh Harrington in the Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes make history breaking the ice to be first feature winners of the COVID-19 2020 season
Bear Ridge Speedway
The wait is finally over and it was evident with the exceptional car counts and racing excitement afforded the Bear Ridge Speedway drivers and their supporters. In accordance with the VT state guidelines, the drivers were able to compete, but with the absence of fans. The COVID-19 busters to claim the gold on week 8 the first week of the season at the Ridge were Jason Gray in the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, Josh Harrington in the DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes, Tyler Trembley in the C.A. Miller Limited Late Models, Kaleb Shepard in the LaValley’s Building Supply Dirt Stockers and Robert “Buddy” Welch in the Peanuts Auto Four Cylinders.
Gravel Dominates, Then Hangs on for Opening Night Victory
Barre, VT – Wolcott’s Marcel J. Gravel overcame both a late challenge from the defending champion and a very tired pair of arms to take the opening-night Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model win at Barre’s Thunder Road on Thursday, June 18. Gravel pulled out to a big lead before holding off a late bid by Jason Corliss for his second career victory in the 50-lap feature as seen on Northeast Sports Network.
After starting on the outside pole, Gravel quickly darted to the lead over Westford’s Darrell Morin. As Morin and Christopher Pelkey engaged in a lengthy battle for second, Gravel left both in the dust, eventually pulling out to nearly a quarter-track lead.
But even as he walked away, it quickly became a challenging night of a different kind for Gravel. Around the 15-lap mark, the leader’s power steering began to malfunction, and eventually quit altogether. With the feature going caution-free, it became a race against fatigue for Gravel as much as it was a race against the field.
