by Jay | Aug 26, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, Media, Photos, Vermont
Gray, Williams, Seals-It Team Celebrate Wins at Bear Ridge Speedway’s 45th Anniversary
Gray steals Modified win; Matczak/Seals-it team takes USAC Midget podium sweep
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Bear Ridge Speedway celebrated its 45th anniversary dirt track stock car racing season in style on Sabil & Sons Towing Night on Saturday with hard-nosed racing, exciting finishes, and a major milestone for one of the country’s most well-respected short track race teams.
Lyndon State College student Jason Gray of East Thetford, VT ran to his second Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified win of the season with a spirited charge in the second half of the special 45-lap main event. Gray’s No. 00 C.W. Gray & Sons Auctioneers, Inc.-sponsored Bicknell car ran from eighth place on a lap 22 restart to take the lead from Fairlee, VT’s Adam Pierson with five laps remaining. Pierson and fellow Fairlee resident Kevin Chaffee, the top-two point leaders, engaged in a battle for the runner-up spot, which took Chaffee took on the outside lane.
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by Jay | Aug 25, 2012 | Devils Bowl, New England, Vermont
Packed House Watches Proctor Take Big Step Toward Devil’s Bowl Championship
Twin Late Model features produce two first-time winners
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A full grandstand watched veteran open-wheel stock car driver Ron Proctor take a big step toward his second-straight NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bond Auto Parts Modified championship on Sugar & Spice Night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday, August 24. Proctor was in the thick of a fierce battle at the front of the 35-lap race when incidental contact between his car and leader Joe Williams broke a suspension part on Williams’ car and forced him to retire at lap. Almost simultaneously, Proctor’s championship rival, Vince Quenneville, Jr., suffered an engine failure while running in third place.
Proctor, of Charlton, NY, ran to the victory for his third win of the year, and opened up his point lead on Quenneville from a slim three points to a more comfortable 28-point cushion, unofficially, with just two races remaining in the championship season.
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by Jay | Aug 23, 2012 | Devils Bowl, Vermont
Championship Night Moved to September 7 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Weather-related postponement shuffles schedule, adds extra week
Mother Nature threw a kink in the stock car racing plans at Devil’s Bowl Speedway last week, but the resulting shuffling of schedules will allow race fans to enjoy an added week of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action.
The twin 20-lap features for the J&S Steel Late Model division that were scheduled to be run at last week’s Green Mountain Water Environment Association/Sunoco Race Fuels Night have been moved to Sugar & Spice Night, this Friday, August 24, along with the postponed 75-lap Enduro for 4- and 6-cylinder cars. Also on the card for Friday are regular events for the Bond Auto Parts Modified, Renegade, and Bomber divisions, a pancake eating contest, and the summer’s second round of Spectator Racing. All street-legal vehicles are welcome to compete in the spectator races; vehicles must be registered, inspected, and insured, and drivers must wear a helmet.
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by Jay | Aug 22, 2012 | Thunder Road, Vermont
In 2012, Barre’s own Nick Sweet has been busy with one of the most successful Thunder Road Late Model seasons in recent memory, but when the dust settles at the end of the month in Thunder Road’s Late Model division, his focus will turn to the race he owned in 2011: The Bond Auto Labor Day Classic.
Last year, Sweet lost the championship to Middlesex’s Dave Pembroke in late August, but was offered the seat of the RPM #57 car, teammate to eight-time Champion Brian Hoar, for the Labor Day Classic. Sweet flew to his first victory in the event, etching his name once more in the granite stones at Thunder Road.
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by Jay | Aug 22, 2012 | Thunder Road, Vermont
Packard Shines In Thunder Road Debut
15-year-old Follows With Strong Runs At Canaan Fair Speedway
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – Emily Packard’s storybook season continues to add new chapters.
Last Thursday night, Packard opened eyes when she made her Late Model debut against one of the deepest weekly fields in the region – on one of the trickiest tracks anywhere in the northeast – with a 10th-place finish in a 50-lap Late Model feature at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt.
Packard, 15, of East Montpelier, Vt., has competed in a Street Stock on the quirky quarter-mile throughout 2012 while also racing in the Late Model division on Saturday nights at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H.
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by Jay | Aug 22, 2012 | Thunder Road, Vermont
Three-time Thunder Road Champion and Vermont Lt. Governor Phil Scott will engage in more than political battles at Barre’s Thunder Road for the last Thursday night race of the summer. The Thursday finale will feature the 100-lap Aubuchon Hardware Late Model Championship event to close out the chase for the 2012 Late Model crown.
The all-time wins leader Scott, who has amassed a stunning 27 victories at Thunder Road, has been held winless in 2012. Scott remains third in the 2012 overall standings, and sits only five points off defending Champion Dave Pembroke. The situation is reminiscent to 2011, when Scott had been held winless until a convincing victory in the 100-lap finale, finishing second in overall points. Scott will attempt the feat again in 2012, working off a third place finish in last Sunday’s event, just as he was working off of a third place finish when he won the finale a year ago.
“I feel good coming in to the 100-lapper on Thursday,” said Scott. “Obviously we always want to be in it for the championship, but we’ve had a good year and with the momentum here from the last couple of weeks, I think we’ve got a good shot,” he finished.
Though the Late Model Championship race will end on Thursday, Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stock championships hit the homestretch with their third-to-last point counting event. Low-buck veteran Brendan Moodie, Jr, of Wolcott, leads the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen in a close points battle, holding on to a slim 16-point lead over two-time Champion Shawn Fleury. Jason Allen, Bobby Therrien, and Mike Martin remain within striking distance of the top spot.
Jefferson, NH’s Nick Pilotte has stretched out his lead over rookie sensation Dean Switser, Jr as they head into the final three events, but his 33-point lead is far from insurmountable. Switser, along with Tommy “Thunder”, the winningest driver in Street Stock history, “Wild” Willy Hennequin, and Bunker Hodgdon continue to battle for the 2012 Allen Lumber Street Stock title.
All three divisions will be in action for the final Thursday night of the summer, featuring the 100-lap Late Model Finale presented by Aubuchon Hardware. Post time is 6:00pm. Adult admission is $10, a family pass is $20, kids 6-12 are $3 and children under 6 get in free.
