Sweet Puts on a Clinic, Wins Late Model 100
Nick Sweet went home with the winner’s trophy/hardware on Aubuchon Night after a masterful performance in the Late Model 100 Friday at Thunder Road.
It was the first win of the season for the defending track champion, who came from 18th on the starting grid in the St. J Auto No. 88.
Sweet shot underneath eventual runner-up Jean-Paul Cyr for 2nd on lap 52, took the lead from Brett Gervais a lap later and then quickly drew out to a commanding advantage.
Cyr got home second just ahead of a fierce battle between Scott Payea (3rd) and Dave Pembroke (4th). Cody Blake rallied late for 5th, just ahead of Brooks Clark.
Sweet drove flawlessly throughout, including two key moves in traffic that set up his surge to the front. He eased in front of Blake to stay at Pembroke’s bumper and avoid getting caught in the slower lane on lap 28. Ten laps later, he dove under lapped car Bobby Eldred to slip ahead of Pembroke and set sail for Cyr.
“I’m really excited about this,” Sweet said in victory lane. “I want to thank my Dad especially for all his help. This is a turnaround race for us. It’s good to be finishing the season this way.”
“He really closed fast,” Cyr said. “I had the car up where it was working for me. Us old men have all we can do to keep with these young guys.”
Gervais started on the outside pole. He had a five car-length lead by lap 32, before Cyr and Sweet began to reel him in. He finished 9th, just behind Derrick O’Donnell and Jamie Fisher, one spot better than Brett Wheeler (10th).
In the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature, Brendan Moodie of Wolcott outlasted Chris Roberts after seven lead changes during their side-by-side duel and went on to his 2nd win of the season.
Moodie had raced on the outside of Roberts in his Bernie Sanders/Nathan Brown No. 94 for 14 laps before contact between Cam Ouellette and Jason Allen – running in 3rd and 4th at the time – brought out the third and final caution. The restart reset Moodie on the inside with Roberts on the outside. Moodie quickly got the upper hand as Jason Woodard and Mike Ziter used the low line to move into 2nd and 3rd.
Adam Pierson and Mike Martin finished behind Ziter to complete the top five. Eric Badore and point leader Shawn Fleury were next in line.
Darrell Morin of Essex Jct. won the Tiger Sportsman semi-feature after winning his heat race. Randy Gonyaw, Scott Coburn, and Ziter (2-3-4) also picked up valuable points in the semi.
Jennifer Getty of Cambridge held off Jamie Davis, who was perched at her rear quarter panel, to post her second Street Stock win. Donnie Yates took a run on the outside after Getty, but never drew alongside. “Super Joe” Fecteau and Davis gained ground in 2nd and 3rd before Davis took over the runner-up spot. Yates fought back for 3rd with Bunker Hodgdon 4th and Fecteau 5th.
The red flag was thrown for veteran Tommy “Thunder” Smith who wound up on his roof in his Allen Lumber Street Stock heat. Smith was not injured.
The final Late Model point race of the season and a 100-lap event for the Tiger Sportsman headline the VP Racing Fuels card on the final Thursday night race of the season August 29. The Late Models and Tigers will be joined by the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and the Rough Riders.
Aubuchon Hardware Night
Thunder Road – Barre, VT
Friday, August 23, 2013
Late Models Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Nick Sweet (88vt) Barre, VT
2. Jean-Paul Cyr (32vt) Milton, VT
3. Scott Payea (89vt) Milton, VT
4. Dave Pembroke (44vt) Middlesex, VT
5. Cody Blake (99vt) Barre, VT
6. Brooks Clark (68vt) Fayston, VT
7. #Derrick O’Donnell (60vt) N. Haverhill, NH
8. Jamie Fisher (18vt) Shelburne, VT
9. Brett Gervais (11nh) Island Pond, VT
10. Brett Wheeler (1vt) Waterbury, VT
11. Trampas Demers (85vt) S. Burlington, VT
12. David Whitcomb (25vt) Essex Jct., VT
13. Emily Packard (9me) E. Montpelier, VT
14. Phil Scott (14vt) Middlesex, VT
15. #Jason Corliss (66vt) Barre, VT
16. #Joey M. Laquerre (51vt) E. Montpelier, VT
17. Joey Becker (16vt) Jeffersonville, VT
18. Kyle Pembroke (27vt) Montpelier, VT
19. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT
20. Mike Bailey (00vt) South Barre, VT
21. Matthew White (42vt) Northfield, VT
22. #Robert Eldred (38vt) Waterbury, VT
23. Joey Laquerre (15vt) E. Montpelier, VT
24. Mark Norris (22me) Farmington, ME
25. Brent Dragon (55vt) Milton, VT
Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT
2. Jason Woodard (68) Waterbury Ctr., VT
3. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT
4. Adam Pierson (85) Bradford,VT
5. Mike Martin (01) Craftsbury Common, VT
6. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT
7. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT
8. Chris Roberts (9) Washington, VT
9. Jeffrey Bousquet (60) Worcester, VT
10. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT
11. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT
12. Jason Allen (29) Barre, VT
13. Christopher Pelkey (64) South Barre, VT
14. Randy Gonyaw (22) S. Barre, VT
15. #Cameron Ouellette (90) Barre, VT
16. Ty Gagne (17) Fairfax, VT
17. Darrell Morin (71) Essex Jct., VT
18. Joe Steffen (00) Grand Isle, VT
19. Josh Demers (10) Montpelier, VT
Allen Lumber Street Stocks Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Jennifer Getty (25) Cambridge, VT
2. Jamie Davis (43) Wolcott, VT
3. Donnie Yates (05) N. Montpelier, VT
4. Bunker Hodgdon (83) Wolcott, VT
5. Joe Fecteau (75) Hardwick, VT
6. Jaden Perry (02) Hardwick, VT
7. Gary Mullen (29) Tunbridge, VT
8. Kyle Streeter (37) Waitsfield, VT
9. #Patrick Tibbetts (48) Barre, VT
10. Tommy Smith (50) Williamstown, VT
11. Alan Maynard (10) Fairfax, VT
12. #George Butler (9) Randolph, VT
13. Derrick Mann (53) Duxbury, VT
14. #Tyler Austin (5) E. Calais, VT
15. Scott Maynard (59) Burlington, VT
16. Will Hennequin (47) Morrisville, VT
17. Kevin Dodge (8) Barre, VT
18. Alex Perkins (55) White River Jct., VT
19. Jamon Perry (62) Hardwick, VT