by Jay | Aug 20, 2009 | New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Shelburne’s “Hurricane” Jamie Fisher captured his 15th career Late Model win at Thunder Road and his first during the 50th Anniversary Season. Fisher took the lead from Tony Andrews with just under 10 laps remaining and held on through two late restarts to secure the win. Andrews would hold on for second followed by Joey Becker, Doug Murphy and Dave Pembroke.
Second place point man Phil Scott finished sixth but didn’t gain much on point leader Jean-Paul Cyr who finished seventh. Unofficially the distance between the top two in the point standings did not change headed into the final Late Model points counting race and the final Thursday night event, next Thursday, August 27. Cris Michaud, John Donahue and Matt White rounded out the top ten.
Joel Hodgdon of Craftsbury nosed out Eric Badore at the line for the win in the NAPA Tiger Sportsmen feature. Hodgdon and Badore raced door handle to door handle during a green-white-checkered finish with Hodgdon coming home with his second career Tiger feature win. Ray Stearns would follow them to the line to finish third, Derrick O’Donnell fourth, and David Finck rounded out the top ten. Jimmy Hebert, Tony Rossi, Erik Steel, Jeff French, and Brendan Moodie rounded out the top ten.
Pete Ainsworth’s point lead took a hit as he finished 27th. Unofficially Tony Rossi’s seventh place finish was enough to move him ahead of Pete Ainsworth with only three point counting events remaining in the 2009 NAPA Tiger Sportsmen season.
Tim Campbell of West Topsham took the Allen Lumber Street Stocks feature win from his sixth starting position. Campbell outran second place finisher Joe Blais and third place Ron Gabaree to score his sixth career Street Stock victory. Rookies Scott Weston and Danny Doyle rounded out the top five.
Cabot’s Ken Christman was the top finishing Power Shift Junkyard Warrior followed by Lance Donald and Kevin Streeter.
Next week, Thursday, August 27 is the final Thursday Night event of the 50th Anniversary Season. NASCAR star David Ragan will be joining us in the finale celebration when he battles the Barre highbanks in the 100 lap Late Model feature. It will be the final point counting event for the Late Models and the 50th Anniversary “King of the Road” will be crowned. The evening will be capped off with the biggest display of fireworks ever at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. All of this on VSECU night next Thursday, August 27. Post time 6 pm.
Late Model Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Jamie Fisher (18) Shelburne, VT, 2. Tony Andrews (1) Northfield, VT, 3. Joe Becker (16) Jeffersonville, VT, 4. Doug Murphy (4) Tunbridge, VT, 5. Dave Pembroke (44) Montpelier, VT, 6. Phil Scott (14) Montpelier, VT, 7. Jean-Paul Cyr (11vt) Milton, VT, 8. Cris Michaud (6) Northfield, VT, 9. John Donahue (26vt) Graniteville, VT, 10. Matt White (42vt) Northfield, VT, 11. Craig Bushey (05) Cambridge, VT, 12. Dylan Smith (34) Randolph, VT, 13. Nicholas Sweet (88) Barre, VT, 14. David Whitcomb (25) Essex Jct., VT, 15. Brooks Clark (68) Fayston, VT, 16. Mike Bailey (00) Barre, VT, 17. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT, 18. Jerry Lesage (74) Winooski, VT, 19. Cal Poulin (87) Braintree, VT, 20. Grant Folsom (81) Waitsfield, VT, 21. Rich Lowrey (8vt) Charlotte, VT, 22. Steve Fisher (24) Shelburne, VT, 23. Trampas Demers (85) South Burlington, VT, 24. Reno Gervais (12vt) Island Pond, VT, 25. Jay Laquerre (50) East Montpelier, VT, 26. Pete Fecteau (75) Morrisville, VT.
NAPA Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Joel Hodgdon (36) Craftsbury, VT, 2. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT, 3. Ray Stearns (89) E. Corinth, VT, 4. Derrick O’Donnell (68) Bradford, VT, 5. David Finck (37) Barre, VT, 6. James Hebert (58) Williamstown, VT, 7. Tony Rossi (90) Barre, VT, 8. #Erik Steel (32) Barre, VT, 9. Jeff French (06) Northfield, VT, 10. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT, 11. Cody Blake (99) Barre, VT, 12. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT, 13. #Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT, 14. Tim Potter (28) Plainfield, VT, 15. Tom Therrien (48) Hinesburg, VT, 16. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT, 17. Bobby Therrien (4) Hinesburg, VT, 18. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT, 19. Lance Allen (18) Barre, VT, 20. Mark Barnier (0) Essex Jct., VT, 21. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT, 22. Jason Corliss (61) Danville, VT, 23. John Drinkwine (98) Barre, VT, 24. Ricky Roberts (9) Washington, VT, 25. Joey Laquerre (15) E. Montpelier, VT, 26. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT, 27. Pete Ainsworth Jr. (80) Middlesex, VT, 28. Matt Potter (23) Marshfield, VT.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors Unofficial Results – 1. Timmy Campbell (34ss) W. Topsham, VT, 2. Joe Blais (14ss) E. Barre, VT, 3. Ron Gabaree (9ss) Barre, VT, 4. Scott Weston (04ss) Berlin, VT, 5. #Danny Doyle (51ss) Hancock, VT, 6. William Hennequin (47ss) Morrisville, VT, 7. David LaFleche (2ss) Graniteville, VT, 8. #Tucker Williams (99ss) Hyde Park, VT, 9. Greg Adams Jr. (38ss) Hardwick, VT, 10. Gary Mullen (29ss) Tunbridge, VT.
by Jay | Aug 15, 2009 | New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Charlotte’s Rich Lowrey won for the second time in three events in the Late Model division at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Lowrey’s win on Pepsi Night was his second feature win of the 2009 season, along with his win last Thursday night, August 6. Dave Whitcomb led the majority of the race before losing the battle with Lowrey in the final two laps. Whitcomb held on for second followed by Jamie Fisher in third. Grant Folsom and Cris Michaud rounded out the top five. Jean-Paul Cyr widens his lead in the championship point standings with his sixth place finish. Nick Sweet finished seventh followed by Matt White, Craig Bushey and Jerry Lesage.
Hinesburg’s Bobby Therrien won his second career NAPA Tiger Sportsmen feature after surviving a wild final lap. Therrien took over the lead with just under five laps remaining and weaved his way through a wreck on the final lap to take the win. Matt Potter just beat Derrick O’Donnell to the line to claim second with O’Donnell third. Young Cody Blake finished fourth followed by Joe Steffen in fifth.
Martin Ingram of Essex Jct. captured his first career Allen Lumber Street Stock victory on Pepsi night. Ingram started on the pole but had to battle the entire race to hang on for the win. Rookie Tucker Williams finished second followed by Michael Moore in third. Greg Adams came home fourth followed by another rookie Danny Doyle in fifth.
Donnie Yates of North Montpelier was the top finishing Power Shift Junkyard Warrior for the second night in a row. Yates was chased to the line by Ken Christman and Kevin Wheatley for the Warrior top three.
Next Thursday, August 20 is the second to last nightly event in the 2009 50th Anniversary Season at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. All four divisions will be in action plus there will be a poster contest for kids. Post time is set for 6:30 pm.
Late Model Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Rich Lowrey (8vt) Charlotte, VT, 2. David Whitcomb (25) Essex Jct., VT, 3. Jamie Fisher (18) Shelburne, VT, 4. Grant Folsom (81) Waitsfield, VT, 5. Cris Michaud (6) Northfield, VT, 6. Jean-Paul Cyr (11vt) Milton, VT, 7. Nicholas Sweet (88) Barre, VT, 8. Matt White (42vt) Northfield, VT, 9. Craig Bushey (05) Cambridge, VT, 10. Jerry Lesage (74) Winooski, VT, 11. Dave Pembroke (44) Montpelier, VT, 12. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT, 13. Mike Bailey (00) Barre, VT, 14. Tony Andrews (1) Northfield, VT, 15. Brooks Clark (68) Fayston, VT, 16. Reno Gervais (12vt) Island Pond, VT, 17. Pete Fecteau (75) Morrisville, VT, 18. Phil Scott (14) Montpelier, VT, 19. Cal Poulin (87) Braintree, VT, 20. Trampas Demers (85) South Burlington, VT, 21. Steve Fisher (24) Shelburne, VT, 22. Dylan Smith (34) Randolph, VT, 23. Doug Murphy (4) Tunbridge, VT, 24. Joe Becker (16) Jeffersonville, VT, 25. John Donahue (26vt) Graniteville, VT.
NAPA Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Bobby Therrien (4) Hinesburg, VT, 2. Matt Potter (23) Marshfield, VT, 3. Derrick O’Donnell (68) Bradford, VT, 4. Cody Blake (99) Barre, VT, 5. Joe Steffen (00) Essex Jct., VT, 6. Tom Therrien (48) Hinesburg, VT, 7. Tony Rossi (90) Barre, VT, 8. #Erik Steel (32) Barre, VT, 9. Jeff French (06) Northfield, VT, 10. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT, 11. David Finck (37) Barre, VT, 12. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT, 13. Pete Ainsworth Jr. (80) Middlesex, VT, 14. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT, 15. Steven Quenneville (88) Barre, VT, 16. Joel Hodgdon (36) Craftsbury, VT, 17. Lance Allen (18) Barre, VT, 18. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT, 19. Joey Laquerre (15) E. Montpelier, VT, 20. Ricky Roberts (9) Washington, VT, 21. Mark Barnier (0) Essex Jct., VT, 22. Ray Stearns (89) E. Corinth, VT, 23. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT, 24. James Hebert (58) Williamstown, VT, 25. #Shawn Powell (40) Jericho, VT, 26. Josh Demers (10) Middlesex, VT, 27. #Kevin Godfrey (21) Wentworth, NH, 28. Doug Crowningshield (14) Barre, VT, 29. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Martin Ingram (7ss) Essex Jct., VT, 2. #Tucker Williams (99ss) Hyde Park, VT, 3. Michael Moore (06ss) East Haven, VT, 4. Greg Adams Jr. (38ss) Hardwick, VT, 5. #Danny Doyle (51ss) Hancock, VT, 6. Bruce Melendy (68ss) Danville, VT, 7. Mike Martin (01ss) Craftbury Comn,VT, 8. William Hennequin (47ss) Morrisville, VT, 9. Ron Gabaree (9ss) Barre, VT, 10. Bunker Hodgdon (83ss) Hardwick, VT, 11. David Greenslit (20ss) Waitsfield, VT, 12. David LaFleche (2ss) Graniteville, VT, 13. Markus Farnham (13ss) Randolph Ctr, VT, 14. Gary Mullen (29ss) Tunbridge, VT, 15. Timmy Campbell (34ss) W. Topsham, VT, 16. Scott Weston (04ss) Berlin, VT, 17. Joe Fecteau (75ss) Hardwick, VT, 18. Gary Bashaw (92ss) Lincoln, VT, 19. Tommy Smith (50ss) Williamstown, VT, 20. Donny Yates (05jyw) N. Montpelier, VT, 21. Ken Christman (4jyw) Cabot, VT, 22. Kevin Wheatley (31jyw) Williamstown, VT, 23. Kevin Streeter (61jyw) Waitsfield, VT, 24. Lance Donald (52jyw) Williamstown, VT, 25. #Daniel Lathrop (6ss) Hyde Park, VT, 26. Keith Fortier (35jyw) Hinesburg, VT, 27. Tyler Therrien (16ss) Barre, VT, 28. Dave Whitcomb (77ss) Elmore, VT, 29. David Allen (11ss) North Troy, VT, DSQ Michael MacAskill (3ss) Williamstown, VT.
by Jay | Aug 14, 2009 | New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, NY survived a ride on Thunder Road’s infamous “Widowmaker” during the third and final Tiger Sportsmen Tri-State Series 100 to unofficially clinch the title. Duquette won the first to Tri-State Series races at Airborne Speedway and Canaan Fair Speedway on his way to building up a 22 point lead in the championship point standings. Just under halfway through the 100 lap feature that lead disappeared as he wrecked just after the start-finish line.
At that point Jason Bonnett took over the point lead and only needed to finish in the top nine if Duquette didn’t return. After about 20 laps of hardwork by his crew, Duquette was able to return to the race and pick up several more valuable spots. In the end it was just enough as Duquette tied with Bonnett with Duquette winning the tie breaker because of his previous two wins.
Shawn Fleury of Middlesex, VT took home the win in the ACE Hardware Tri-State 100 after an intense battle with Derrick O’Donnell. O’Donnell would hold on for second followed by Jimmy Hebert, Brendan Moodie and Scott Coburn rounding out the top five.
In Late Model action Nick Sweet of Barre scored his first career victory in a Late Model stock car. He was chased to the line by Jamie Fisher, Cris Michaud, Phil Scott and point leader Jean-Paul Cyr to complete the top five. Dave Pembroke, who was in second place in the championship point standings headed into the night, took a rough ride off the top of turn two and finished 25th.
The Allen Lumber Street Stocks and the Power Shift Junkyard Warriors are running together once again. Lincoln’s Gary Bashaw captured the win for the Street Stocks followed by Dave Whitcomb and Tucker Williams. Donnie Yates of North Montpelier was the top finishing Warrior, while Kevin Dodge and Kevin Streeter finished second and third.
Thunder Road International Speedbowl will be back in action tomorrow night (Friday, August 14) for the second part of the doubleheader. Post time is 6:00 pm for the regular four divisions plus a 50’s/60’s Sock Hop with hoola-hoop contest, costume contest and dance contest in the pits immediately following the races.
Tiger Sportsmen Tri-State Series 100 Unofficial Results – 1. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT, 2. Derrick O’Donnell (68VT) Bradford, VT, 3. James Hebert (58) Williamstown, VT, 4. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT, 5. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT, 6. Jason Bonnett (79) St. Albans, VT, 7. David Finck (37) Barre, VT, 8. Joey Laquerre (15) East Montpelier, VT, 9. Ray Stearns (89) East Corinth, VT, 10. Josh Demers (10) Middlesex, VT, 11. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT, 12. Erik Steel (32) Barre, VT, 13. Joel Hodgdon (36) Craftsbury, VT, 14. Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT, 15. Neal Foster (19vt) Waterbury, VT, 16. Howard Stoner (57) Altona, NY, 17. Toby Ebersole (82) Peru, NY, 18. Joey Becker (09) Jeffersonville, VT, 19. Kevin Godfrey (21) Wentworth, NH, 20. Shawn Duquette (18ny) Morrisonville, VT, 21. Mark Barnier (0) Essex, Jct. VT, 22. Joe Steffen (00vt) Essex, Jct. VT, 23. George May (16) Barre, VT, 24. Lance Allen (18vt) Barre, VT, 25. Skip Liberty (59) Peru, NY, 26. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT, 27. Richard LaFond (84) Colchester, VT.
Late Model Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Nicholas Sweet (88) Barre, VT, 2. Jamie Fisher (18) Shelburne, VT, 3. Cris Michaud (6) Northfield, VT, 4. Phil Scott (14) Montpelier, VT, 5. Jean-Paul Cyr (11vt) Milton, VT, 6. Craig Bushey (05) Cambridge, VT, 7. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT, 8. Pete Fecteau (75) Morrisville, VT, 9. Reno Gervais (12vt) Island Pond, VT, 10. Jerry Lesage (74) Winooski, VT, 11. Cal Poulin (87) Braintree, VT, 12. Grant Folsom (81) Waitsfield, VT, 13. Rich Lowrey (8vt) Charlotte, VT, 14. Brooks Clark (68) Fayston, VT, 15. Trampas Demers (85) South Burlington, VT, 16. David Whitcomb (25) Essex Jct., VT, 17. Joe Becker (16) Jeffersonville, VT, 18. Tony Andrews (1) Northfield, VT, 19. Steve Fisher (24) Shelburne, VT, 20. Mike Bailey (00) Barre, VT, 21. Scott Payea (89) Milton, VT, 22. Doug Murphy (4) Tunbridge, VT, 23. Dylan Smith (34) Randolph, VT, 24. John Donahue (26vt) Graniteville, VT, 25. Dave Pembroke (44) Montpelier, VT, 26. Matt White (42vt) Northfield, VT.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors Feature Results – 1. Gary Bashaw (92ss) Lincoln, VT, 2. Dave Whitcomb (77ss) Elmore, VT, 3. #Tucker Williams (99ss) Hyde Park, VT, 4. Michael Moore (06ss) East Haven, VT, 5. Michael MacAskill (3ss) Williamstown, VT, 6. Lloyd Blakely (30ss) Graniteville, VT, 7. Greg Adams Jr. (38ss) Hardwick, VT, 8. Bruce Melendy (68ss) Danville, VT, 9. Jason Corliss (61ss) Danville, VT, 10. Tommy Smith (50ss) Williamstown, VT, 11. Troy Kingsbury (39ss) Waitsfield, VT, 12. Bunker Hodgdon (83ss) Hardwick, VT, 13. #Justin Gay (16ss) Barre, VT, 14. Mike Martin (01ss) Craftbury Comn,VT, 15. Gary Mullen (29ss) Tunbridge, VT, 16. #Danny Doyle (51ss) Hancock, VT, 17. Marvin Johnson (24ss) Essex Jct., VT, 18. David Allen (11ss) North Troy, VT, 19. Timmy Campbell (34ss) W. Topsham, VT, 20. #Jamie Davis (43ss) Wolcott, VT, 21. #Daniel Lathrop (6ss) Hyde Park, VT, 22. Donny Yates (05jyw) N. Montpelier, VT, 23. Kevin Dodge (8jyw) Barre, VT, 24. Kevin Streeter (61jyw) Waitsfield, VT, 25. Lance Donald (52jyw) Williamstown, VT, 26. Bryan Nykiel (80jyw) Berlin, VT, 27. Keith Fortier (35jyw) Hinesburg, VT, 28. Jennifer Getty (25ss) Cambridge, VT, 29. #Amanda Habel (09ss) Roxbury, VT, 30. Scott Maynard (59ss) So. Burlington, VT..
by Jay | Aug 13, 2009 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Thursday Night racing during 50th Anniversary Season celebration at Thunder Road International Speedbowl will finish with a bang, literally, on Thursday, August 27. The event, which is sponsored by the Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU), will feature NASCAR star David Ragan, who will compete in the final Late Model point counting race. As part of the celebration and in honor of Ragan’s appearance the Late Models will run 100 laps to decide the 50th Anniversary “King of the Road.”
The point battle is shaping up to be one of the closest in Thunder Road history. Currently the top three drivers, Jean-Paul Cyr, Dave Pembroke, and Phil Scott are separated by only 14 points. The competition will only become more intense as we continue the countdown to the finale.
As part of the finale celebration, drivers from the original flat head days to the stars of today have been invited to a private luncheon. These Thunder Road heroes will then be available in the concession area to tell their stories and sign autographs for the fans throughout the night.
The action won’t stop there when following the event the biggest display of fireworks in the history of the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” will be set off in celebration of the conclusion of 50 years of the traditional Thursday night racing at the Barre highbanks. All of this plus the NAPA Tiger Sportsmen, Allen Lumber Street Stock, and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors action is available for only $12 for adults, $3 for kids 6 to 12 and only $25 for a family of four (two adults and two kids).
The NAPA Tiger Sportsmen, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors will wrap up their seasons with the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 featuring the American Canadian Tour followed by the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl. The Labor Day Classic is scheduled for 1:30 pm on Sunday, September 6 and the Milk Bowl will be on Sunday, September 27 at 1:00 pm with Booth Bros./H.P. Hood qualifying on Saturday, September 26 at 1:30 pm.
Next up is this week’s doubleheader with only four nightly events remaining in the 2009 50th Anniversary Season. Thursday, August 13 will be ACE Hardware Night featuring the third and final Tiger Sportsmen Tri-State Series 100 plus Late Model, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors. Then Friday, August 14 is Pepsi Night featuring all four weekly divisions plus the Pepsi Sock Hop after the races with a live DJ and prizes. Post time Thursday is 6:30 pm, and Friday is 6:00 pm. Bring your ticket stub from Thursday Nights event and adults are only $5 while kids under 12 are free.
by Jay | Aug 9, 2009 | New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Bill Davis of Monson, MA earned $5,000 with his win in the 250 lap 25th Annual M&M Beverage Enduro. Davis along with over 150 other cars from all over the northeast attempted to snag the big pay check. Long time leader Adam Gray of Belchertown, MA dropped out with less than 30 laps remaining and handed the victory to Davis. The event saw lots of action including several pile-ups and even a roll over.
Williamstown’s Michael MacAskill took home his second career Allen Lumber Street Stock win and first of the season in a special 50 lap event. MacAskill took the lead from Dave Whitcomb with two laps to go and survived a green-white-checkered finish. Whitcomb finished second followed by Tommy “Thunder” Smith, Tucker Williams and Jason Corliss. Forty cars started the fifty lap feature.
Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick made a return to the Power Shift Junkyard Warrior division and won the Monza style two segment event. Hodgdon finished third in the first segment and won the second segment, both from the rear of the fifteen car field. Lance Donald also finished with a third and a win but lost the tie breaker because Hodgdon beat him in the second segment. Donald finished second followed by Kevin Dodge who compiled six points with a second and a fourth.
The 50th Anniversary Season at Thunder Road will continue with a double header this Thursday, August 13 and Friday, August 14. Thursday will be the Vermont ACE Hardware dealers event featuring the third and final Tiger Sportsmen Tri-State Series 100 lap event. Thunder Road Late Models, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors will join the card. Friday the action will continue with the rescheduled Pepsi Night. It will be a regular event for all four divisions with a 50’s/60’s themed sock hop in the pit area immediately following the racing. There will be a live DJ, a hoola-hoop contest and a costume contest. Post time on Thursday will be 6:30pm and Friday’s post time is set for 6:00pm.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks Unofficial Top Five – 1. Michael MacAskill (3) Williamstown, VT, 2. Dave Whitcomb (77) Elmore, VT, 3. Tommy Smith (50) Williamstown, VT, 4. #Tucker Williams (99) Hyde Park, VT, 5. Jason Corliss (61) Danville, VT.
Power Shift Warriors Unofficial Results – 1. Bunker Hodgdon (20) Hardwick, VT, 2. Lance Donald (52) Williamstown, VT, 3. Kevin Dodge (8) Barre, VT, 4. Keith Fortier (35) Hinesburg, VT, 5. Ken Christman (4) Cabot, VT, 6. Kevin Streeter (61) Waitsfield, VT, 7. John Prentice (87) Northfield, VT, 8. Donny Yates (05) N. Montpelier, VT, 9. Mark LaFleche (63) Williamstown, VT, 10. Thomas Elwood (33) Morrisville, VT, 11. Cheryl Kingsbury (13) Waitsfield, VT, 12. Alex Whitcomb (78) Montpelier, VT, 13. Matt Monaghan (11) Colchester, VT, 14. Justin Town (53) E. Barre, VT, 15. Bryan Nykiel (80) Berlin, VT.
by Jay | Jul 14, 2009 | Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Montpelier’s Dave Pembroke holds the Late Model points lead by a slim 11 points over Barre’s Nick Sweet at Thunder Road International Speedbowl Season heading into this Thursday’s Times Argus Mid-Season Championship Night. Double points will be on the line. Pembroke and Sweet head into what is possibly the most important event in their campaign to become the “King of the Road” in the 50th Anniversary Season.
Although the eventual champion has not won the Times Argus Mid-Season Championship event since Cris Michaud did it in 2004, it is clear that the event plays a big role in crowning the champion. Since 2003 the soon to be “King of the Road” finished no worse than 8th place with double points on the line. In all but one of those years the champion would leave the Mid-Season Championship event with the point lead. The only exception being in 2007 when champion Dave Pembroke trailed by only one point after Times Argus Mid-Season Championship Night.
Double points are up for grabs in all four of the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” divisions, including the NAPA Tiger Sportsmen. James Hebert of Williamstown leads the Tiger point’s battle by a mere three points over Derrick O’Donnell. The top five are currently separated by just 10 points.
The Allen Lumber Street Stocks point race is just as tight as 2008 champion Jason Corliss of Danville holds an eight point advantage.
Double points should give Ken Christman a chance to close the 26 point gap between himself and the Power Shift Junkyard Warrior point leader Donnie Yates of Montpelier. Four-time feature winner Kevin Streeter is 40 points out of the lead.
Times Argus Mid-Season Championship Night is this Thursday, July 16. All four divisions will be fighting for double points. There will also be an autograph session with all the drivers during intermission. Post time is set for 6:30pm.
