Barre, VT – One of the most important events of the Thunder Road season goes to post this Thursday, July 23 at 6:30pm with the annual Times Argus Mid-Season Championships. Double points are on the line in all events for the Thunder Road Late Models, Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen, and Allen Lumber Stocks, which means championship aspirations will be reaffirmed, re-inspired, or even crumble away by the time the final checkered flag flies.
The annual mid-summer event includes extra-distance features for all divisions, with the Thunder Road Late Models going 75 laps instead of their normal 50. It’s a prime opportunity for a top contender to establish themselves at the top of the standings as three of the last six Mid-Season Champions in the Late Models went on to win the season-long title. Conversely, a poor performance can leave a driver spending the second half of the season scrambling to make up ground.
In the Thunder Road Late Models, Barre, VT’s Nick Sweet and N. Haverhill, NH’s Derrick O’Donnell look to again rise to the occasion. The two have gone nose-to-nose for the past month as both chase a third “King of the Road” crown. O’Donnell had the early edge, but Sweet now holds a 12-point advantage after four straight podium finishes, including a win in the Vermont Governor’s Cup 150 on July 9. However, O’Donnell’s Mascitti Bros. Racing team discovered engine problems following last Thursday’s event, and will have a new powerplant under the hood for double-points night.
Behind Sweet and O’Donnell sits a quartet of drivers eager to enter the championship picture. Cody Blake, John Donahue, Scott Dragon, and Jason Corliss rank third through sixth in the Late Model standings, ranging from 44 to 66 points behind Sweet. But with Thursday’s event paying 150 points for the feature win and another 28 for a heat win, any of the four could end the night as the point leader.
“Our mentality going into Mid-Season is always ‘business as usual’,” Corliss said. “You can’t force anything to happen or you’re going to get yourself in trouble. The key for us is to not hurt ourselves and just race our race, race our car, and hope that luck is on our side.
“Nick and Derrick have been in a league of their own the first half of the season,” he added. “But Derrick struggled a little bit last week, which shows everybody else that those guys can have a bad night. For us, it’s just a matter of being consistent and continuing to rattle off top-10s and top-fives, and keep working hard at the shop and doing our job at the race track.”
The Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen have been close atop the standings all season, but the Mid-Season Championships could see a number of drivers take command. Wolcott’s Brendan Moodie currently holds an eight-point lead over last week’s winner Mike Martin, with Christopher Pelkey another point back in third.
Waterbury Ctr.’s Jason Woodard is 19 points behind Moodie in fourth and could jumpstart his quest for a repeat championship with a double-point feature win. Barre’s Doug Crowningshield sits in fifth, 33 points behind Moodie.
Youngster Jaden Perry moved to the top of the Allen Lumber Street Stock standings last Thursday, but has a mere one-point edge over Tyler Austin and three points over Jamie Davis. Seventh-place Jamon Perry is 37 points behind his brother, leaving the division wide open with half a season to go.