ACT Tiger Tour Opens At White Mountain Saturday

(From ACT press release)

NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. -- White Mountain Motorsports Park will open the Bond Auto/Wix Filters Tiger Tour on Saturday, June 5. The Tiger Sportsman cars from throughout the region will begin their championship run in the first of four events for the 2010 race season.

“White Mountain was a natural for us to begin the 2010 campaign,” said Tom Curley, President of the American-Canadian Tour which sanctions the division. “WMMP took a major step to bring the ACT rules for the Tiger Sportsman division to the track this season, and we want to do whatever we can to try and help get this division in a growth trend at WMMP. We have encouraged the Thunder Road Tiger teams to visit WMMP whenever they can in 2010.”

All tour events will be 100 laps. The other scheduled events that will be held during the season are Thunder Road in Barre on July 1, Canaan Fair (N.H.) Speedway on August 21, and Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on October 9.

Seven-time ACT Late Model Tour champion Jean-Paul Cyr has assembled a group that will oversee the Tiger Tour on behalf of ACT. “I asked Jean if he had any interest in helping out this summer as we also have many races with the ACT Late Model Tour, the Serie ACT-Castrol Edge, and Thunder Road,” continued Curley. “He certainly has plenty of racing experience and he has brought some of his Late Model team to help with long-time members Randy Ploof and Bruce King joining him.”

The opening ACT Tiger Tour event is expected to draw 30 teams to White Mountain. Leading the pack will be Brendan Moodie from North Wolcott, Vt., winner on Memorial Day weekend at Thunder Road. Tiger Tour champion Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, N.Y., will make the long haul to the picturesque 1/4-mile oval in defense of his 2009 title. Former Thunder Road champions Shawn Fleury and Jimmy Hebert have both entered the White Mountain event, and Late Model drivers Chip Grenier and Dave Pembroke, both graduates of the Tiger division, will also be compete.

Pit gates open at noon, practice starts at 2:30 and post time is 5:00 on Saturday, June 5. For more information contact WMMP at http://www.whitemtnmotorsports.com/ or call (603) 745-6727.

The Juice: ACT's Bicentennial By The Numbers

-by Justin St. Louis
VMM Editor

Hey, the rain can't stop us all year, right? The weekend forecast looks pretty good, and two of Vermont's three tracks will get up and running on Saturday.

We're headed down Routes 7 and 22A to West Haven to take in the first asphalt practice session at Devil's Bowl Speedway in nearly 40 years early Saturday afternoon, then over Route 4 and up I-91 to Bradford for the Bear Ridge Speedway season opener.

If that wasn't enough, we're getting up bright and early Sunday morning to head wicked east to Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine for the American-Canadian Tour show.

Ayuh. (Or "Yessah" for you Mainers.)

There's short track racing everywhere, now that spring is actually here. Where are you headed?

***

Sunday's WJAB 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway will be the 200th championship event for the present-day ACT Late Model Tour.

With its deepest roots planted at Barre's Thunder Road, the series has ushered in several changes revolutionary to the short track world including "spec" crate engines, tires and shocks, and the first-ever trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway last fall. The series has gone through a few name changes, scheduling formats, rulebooks, and occasionally a cast or two of characters, but it is, for all intents and purposes, the same old Tour.

I'm a self-admitted stats junkie and have been looking for some sort of outlet lately, so without further ado, here's a look at the history of the ACT Late Model Tour by the numbers...

0 -- The number of wins for ACT Late Model Tour champions Phil Scott in 2002 and Jean-Paul Cyr in 2007.

0 -- Cautions in the Time Warner Cable 100 at Oxford Plains Speedway, the only caution-free race in ACT history. Eddie MacDonald scored his first ACT win in the race.

1 -- As in, the first race. Warren, Vt.'s Norm Andrews, a multi-time Thunder Road track champion in the 1970s and '80s, won the first-ever "ACT Late Model Sportsman International Series" event, a 25-lap race at the 9/10-mile Sanair Super Speedway tri-oval in St-Pie, Que., on April 26, 1992.

1 -- The number of Canadian drivers to win the ACT Late Model Tour championship -- Patrick Laperle, 2008.

1 -- In points, the margin of victory for Laperle over runner-up Scott Payea in 2008, the narrowest championship margin in history.

1 -- The number of ACT races Maine's Ryan Moore won in 2001... a year before he won the ACT Rookie of the Year title.

2 -- Norm Andrews' winning car number in the first event at Sanair.

2 hours, 42 minutes, 8 seconds -- The amount of time it took Ben Rowe to win the 2006 "Mega Classique" at Sanair Super Speedway, the longest race of record in series history.

3 -- Drivers to win in their first career ACT start: Norm Andrews (Sanair, 1992 -- ACT's first race), Ryan Moore (Oxford, 2001), D.J. Kennington (Lee USA, 2004).

3 -- Consecutive wins for Gary Caron in 1995 and Ben Rowe in 2006, the ACT Late Model Tour record for victory streaks. Interestingly, neither driver had ever won an ACT race prior to their threepeats.

3 -- The car number of the first last-place finisher, Jimmy Young, who was 26th with a transmission failure at Sanair. Young would make one more Late Model start in his first rookie attempt before going back to the Tiger Sportsman division and dominating for most of the decade. Young would return as an ACT rookie in 1999, finishing third -- where else? -- in his first start at Thunder Road.

4 -- The number of top-five finishes Scott Payea turned in during the first four races of his ACT career in 2005.

4 -- Races that have won by a last-lap pass for the lead. Jim Cilley beat Kevin Lepage at Thunder Road on August 26, 1993; Dave Whitcomb won in a famous three-wide photo finish at Airborne Speedway over Ron Weston on Sept. 22, 1996; Tracie Bellerose beat Phil Scott in a controversial finish at Thunder Road on Sept. 1, 2001 that resulted in suspensions for driver Joey Laquerre and ACT president Tom Curley; and Brent Dragon assumed the lead at Airborne on May 8, 2004 when Laquerre pit out of the lead under caution, one lap before rains cancelled the final 34 laps of the race. For Cilley, Whitcomb, and Dragon, the final lap was the only lap each driver led en route to his respective win.

4 -- Consecutive championships for Brian Hoar, 1997 to 2000.

5 -- Consecutive championships for Jean-Paul Cyr, 2003 to 2007, an all-time ACT record.

5 -- The number of events run in two-part "segments" in the 1992 season, out of eight total races.

6 -- The number of events held in 1994, the shortest schedule to date.

6 -- Career championships for Brian Hoar (first was in 1993).

7 -- Career championships for Jean-Paul Cyr (others in 1994 and 1996).

8 -- The number of car numbers to win the ACT Late Model Tour championship. They are: 14 (Phil Scott, 2002), 25 (Dave Whitcomb, 1992), 31 (Lance Ferno, 1995), 32 (Jean-Paul Cyr, 1994, 1996 and 2003-07), 37 (Brian Hoar, 2009), 45 (Brian Hoar, 1993 and 1997-2000), 75 (Pete Fecteau, 2001), and 91 (Patrick Laperle, 2008).

10 -- Combined top-five finishes by rookies Jamie Fisher, Scott Dragon, and Jimmy Young in 1999.

12 -- The number of different drivers to win in 2004, an ACT record. Six were first-time winners.

14 -- Drivers whose first career top-five ACT finish was a victory. They are: Norm Andrews in 1992, Pat Corbett in 1993, Kip Stockwell, Pete Fecteau and Billy Holbrook in 1996, Chris Fisher in 1998, rookie Jamie Fisher in 1999, Ryan Moore in 2001, Jacob McGrath in 2002, Joey Becker, Shawn Martin, Dale Shaw and D.J. Kennington in 2004, and Eddie MacDonald in 2007.

16 -- The number of events held in both 2002 and 2003, the longest schedules to date.

16 -- The number of events run at a distance of less than 100 laps.

16 -- The record for the ACT Late Model Tour's smallest starting field. It has happened twice, at Riverside Speedway (Ste-Croix, Que.) in 1992 and Sanair Super Speedway in 1993.

17 -- The number of times a driver has led every lap of an ACT Late Model Tour race. Norm Andrews led all 25 laps of the first-ever ACT event in 1992 for his only victory, and Pat Corbett did so in two of his three career wins. Jean-Paul Cyr has done it a record three times. Joey Laquerre and Cyr did it in back-to-back races at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., and Thunder Road in August 2002.

18 -- The record number of cautions in the "Massacre at Ste-Croix" at Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Que., on June 29, 2002. The mark was equalled at Autodrome St-Eustache on July 28, 2007.

18 -- The number of ACT Late Model Tour events held at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., since 1998.

19 -- The record for lead changes in a single event. It has happened twice -- the 2004 Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road and the 2009 Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway.

19 -- Jean-Paul Cyr's career win total, second all-time.

20 -- The number of ACT Late Model Tour events held at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Me., since 1995.

21 -- The age of champion Brian Hoar in 1993, the youngest of any ACT Late Model Tour champion.

23 -- The number of drivers with just a single ACT Late Model Tour win.

25 -- Brian Hoar's career win total, tops all-time.

25th race -- The Coca-Cola 100 on July 3, 1995 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vt., won by Gary Caron.

26 minutes, 30 seconds -- The amount of time it took Jean-Paul Cyr to win the 2002 Labor Day Classic 100 at Thunder Road, the quickest race of record in series history.

35 -- The number of drivers with multiple ACT Late Model Tour wins.

35 -- Brian Hoar's winning percentage through the first three seasons of the ACT Late Model Tour, 1992-94 (7 wins in 20 races).

36 -- The number of ACT Late Model Tour events held at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., second-most of any track on the circuit.

43 -- The largest starting field in ACT Late Model Tour history, at Sanair Super Speedway in 2006.

50th race -- The Fleur-de-Lys Classic on August 16, 1998 at Sanair Super Speedway in St-Pie, Que., won by Joey Laquerre.

51 -- The age of champion Pete Fecteau in 2001, the oldest of any ACT Late Model Tour champion.

57 -- The number of ACT Late Model Tour events held at Thunder Road in Barre, the most of any track on the circuit.

58 -- Different drivers to have won at least one ACT Late Model Tour event.

66 -- The number of laps run in the Spring Green at Airborne on May 8, 2004. It is the only ACT Late Model Tour race to date that has been cut short of its advertised distance (the race was scheduled to go 100 laps). Joey Laquerre pitted out of the lead under caution with a vibration on lap 65, only to have the rains come one lap later. Brent Dragon inhertied the lead and took the win. Laquerre finished 15th.

75th race -- The Currier Auto Group 100 on August 24, 2000 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., won by Phil Scott.

100th race -- The Subway 100 on June 23, 2002 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., won by Kenny Dufour.

125th race -- The New England Dodge Dealers Milk Bowl on October 5, 2003 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vt., won by Eric Williams.

150th race -- The Merchants Bank 150 on April 30, 2006 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vt., won by Jean-Paul Cyr.

175 -- Career starts for Brent Dragon, most all-time.

175th race -- The New England Dodge Dealers 150 on April 26, 2008 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Me., won by Ricky Rolfe.

184 -- In points, the margin of victory for Brian Hoar over runner-up Chuck Beede in 1999, the widest championship margin in history.

199th race -- The Merchants Bank 150 on May 2, 2010 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vt., won by Nick Sweet.

200th race -- The WJAB 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Me., to be run on Sunday at 2:00pm.

300 -- Laps run in the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway last September, the longest-distance ACT race in history.

24,182 -- Laps completed by the ACT Late Model Tour since 1992.

***

AROUND THE REGION:

Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...

Big Daddy's Speedway (Rumney, N.H.): Louie Cadwell of Vershire was the runner-up in the inaugural Sportsman Modified feature at Big Daddy's Speedbowl on Sunday, with Hartland's Ed Tobin fifth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction won the Mini Stock feature.

Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Rookie Dan Eastman of Thetford Center was sixth in the Sportsman Modifed opener on Friday, with Hartland's Ed Tobin ninth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was fifth in the Mini Stocks. Dakota Stender of Tunbridge won the Bandit feature with Mike Stender of South Strafford fifth.

NASCAR Nationwide Series: Shelburne's Kevin Lepage was 38th at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Friday night.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: David Stremme finished 24th at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Saturday night for Vermont-based Latitude 43 Motorsports.

PASS South Super Late Models: Steven Legendre of Danville finished 19th in Friday's event at Wake County Speedway in Raleigh, N.C.

Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Dallas Trombley of Rutland finished 13th in the Late Model feature on Friday night, while Robert Hagar of Windsor was tenth in the Modified event. Russ Davis of Cavendish won the Super Street feature over Chris Wilk of Mendon, with Mt. Holly's Kayla Bryant fifth. Pittsford's Kyle Davis won the Strictly Stock feature over Jacksonville's Kaitlin Stone and David Greenslit of Waitsfield.

***

THIS WEEK:

Friday, May 14
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 6:45pm (Regular Event)
Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 7:00pm (SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars)
Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 7:30pm (Regular Event)

Saturday, May 15
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 5:00pm (Regular Event)
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford -- 10:00am (Car Show @ Jiffy Mart), 6:00pm (Season Opener - Double Features)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Season Opener)
Devil's Bowl Speedway, West Haven -- 1:00pm (Open Practice)
Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Regular Event)

Sunday, May 16
Big Daddy's Speedbowl, Rumney, N.H. -- 4:00pm (Regular Event)
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. -- 1:00pm (Season Opener)


TOURING SERIES:

ACT Late Model Tour: Sun., May 16 -- Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me. (2:00pm)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Fri., May 14 -- Dover Int'l Speedway, Dover, Del. (SPEED/8:00pm - Tape Delay)
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Sat., May 15 -- Dover Int'l Speedway, Dover, Del. (ABC/1:00pm)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Sun., May 16 -- Dover Int'l Speedway, Dover, Del. (FOX/7:30pm)
Sprint Cars of New England: Fri., May 14 -- Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (7:00pm)

ACT Race at Lee USA Rescheduled

(From ACT press release)

LEE, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 originally scheduled for April 18 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., has been rescheduled for Friday, June 11. The event was originally scheduled as the American-Canadian Tour season opener but was postponed due to rain. It becomes the third event of the 2010 ACT season.

ACT teams will have a challenge in racing with Lee regulars who have gained experience in the longer distance ACT races over the years. The Lee contingent will be led by defending champion and current point leader Wayne Helliwell, Jr., of Dover, N.H. Helliwell has already scored two wins in the first two events at Lee this season and is currently leading the Ford Blue Oval Cup Challenge.

ACT favorites include past Lee winners Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., who won the 2008 NH Governor's Cup, and Jean-Paul Cyr, winner of a 2005 Lee event. Defending and six-time ACT Champion Brian Hoar has never won an ACT event at Lee but currently sits atop the ACT point standings. Other contenders include Scott Payea, who has two third place finishes in five career starts at Lee, Brent Dragon, John Donahue, Randy Potter, Jamie Fisher, and Glen Luce among others.

Before ACT teams can look ahead to the NH Governor’s Cup, they will have to battle in Sunday’s 150-lap event at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Me. Over forty teams are expected to fight for the thirty starting spots, over $25,000 in purse, and the second invitation to the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. Post time at Oxford is 2:00pm on Sunday, May 16.

ACT Post-Season Awards Top $100,000

WATERBURY -- The American-Canadian Tour sanctioning body will celebrate its 25th year in 2010, and is getting its race teams in on the festivities. For the first time, in the current Late Model phase of the ACT series, more than $100,000 in post-season awards will handed out.

“Our Late Model program has grown significantly over the past decade [and] ACT has tried to maintain the balance between keeping this division cost-effective, whether it is weekly racing or Tour racing," said ACT vice president Darla Hartt. "Most of our Tour competitors, and those weekly racers that have supported the ACT Late Model rules formula are primarily focused on winning championships, which is the way it should be. It is still great that we can reward the teams with some financial awards at the end of a long season of racing.”

Both the U.S.-based ACT Late Model Tour and the Canadian Série ACT-Castrol will pay their champions a bonus of $10,000 this season, part of a total of more than $80,000 in combined awards for the two touring series. The “King of the Road” at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl will receive $5,000, with over $20,000 in total point fund money awarded to Thunder Road competitors.

In addition, the ACT Late Model Tour Racing Electronics Rookie of the Year will receive a $1,000 bonus, and the new Ford Blue Oval Challenge Cup program will make available an additional point fund of over $10,000 with $5,000 going to the champion among approved Ford teams.

“This should be one of the most exciting and competitive seasons in recent memory,” said seven-time champion Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton. “It looks like I picked the right year to return to the Tour. I have always liked a challenge and this year sure looks like it has all the makings of being just that."

The season gets underway at Thunder Road's Merchants Bank 150 on Sunday.

The Juice: We Need the Little Guys

-by Justin St. Louis
VMM Editor

Not having Eric Williams to watch on the track at the Merchants Bank 150 this weekend is a dose of reality. As the defending winner of the race, the Hyde Park driver certainly would have been considered a contender against the invading American-Canadian Tour teams, and as a controversial driver with a controversial fan base, Williams' character will surely be missed.

Williams' biggest issue in not being able to race this weekend was a lack of time while running the family business and building a Tiger Sportsman car for his son, Tucker, largely in part because he is struggling to find funding for his team and could not afford to take time off work to build his own race car. He realizes he's not the only one, too.

"I'd say that probably 75 percent of the guys running Late Models are going to find a bit of a struggle this year in terms of money," Williams said. "You've got your [Brian] Hoar teams and your other big teams that have enough money to have whatever they need, but the little guys -- and there's a lot of little guys -- are gonna have a hard time this year."

Tunbridge racer Doug Murphy, who stole his own share of headlines last year by running up front with likely the smallest Late Model budget under the ACT umbrella, said his pre-season practice session on April 13 may have been his only appearance of the year.

"I've got old tires and no money," Murphy said, leaning on the only open trailer left in the division. "I lost almost all of my sponsorship over the winter. The only way I was able to show up last year was by picking up my paycheck before I bought my pit pass and using that money to buy gas and two tires."

Murphy's thoroughly battered ride was among the fastest cars at the test two weeks ago, but he says that speed won't matter if there's no sponsorship: "If it comes down to making the choice between putting food on the table for my family and going to Thunder Road, well, there's not much of a choice to make there."

Middlesex veteran Dave Pembroke, who trounced the ACT teams to win both the Memorial Day Classic and Labor Day Classic events at Thunder Road last year, showed up with blank quarterpanels at the April practice and said he doesn't have any sponsorship names to put on them.

Even Milton's Jean-Paul Cyr has admitted that while he hopes to contend for his eighth ACT Late Model Tour championship this year, his schedule will depend solely on cash. "We'd like to run the whole schedule, but it all comes down to money and how we're doing [on the track]," Cyr said. "If we're doing well then we'll figure out how to keep going, but [money] will be tight all year."

A recent Thunder Road press release indicated that "over fifty" Late Model teams are expected to attempt the Merchants Bank 150 on Sunday. Given the anticipation of the season's first race, a growing interest in the touring concept from teams in both the U.S. and Canada, and the enthusiasm of the locally-based regular Thunder Road teams, it's a safe bet that around 50 teams will in fact put on what should be a very competitive event. The official ACT/Thunder Road roster is larger this year than in recent years, and sponsorship appears to be solid across the board, but the stories of local racers like Williams, Murphy, and Pembroke do cause legitimate concern.

A bump from 13 ACT races last year to 14 this doesn't sound like much, but increased travel that includes an extra trip south to Waterford, Conn., a new drive southwest to Albany, N.Y., and the long hike north to Ste-Croix, Qué., could be all that some teams can handle. Thunder Road's weekly Late Model program was stronger last year than in recent seasons, averaging 24 to 26 cars each week, but if the smaller teams begin to start falling off the map then the whole program will be in trouble.

It's great for any series to have marquee drivers like Hoar, Cyr, Joey Polewarczyk, or Brad Leighton, but when racers like Pembroke at Thunder Road, Jeff White at Oxford, or Guy Caron at Twin State begin to worry about money -- the strong local racers that hold their own when ACT is in town -- that's when we all lose.

Keep an eye on the "little guys" this year. We need them now more than ever.

***

Monday I was walking the dog in shorts and a t-shirt. Wednesday morning I shoveled a foot of snow off my porch. By Friday I'll be back in shorts, and by Sunday night I'll be treating the second- and third-degree burns on my neck because I was too dumb to bring sunscreen to the track. Ah, racing season.

Despite the snow and wetness right now, Thunder Road officials have told VMM that they "don't expect to be roping anything off" in the parking lots this weekend due to mud and standing water.

Joey Polewarczyk might have said it best: "One thing I know about Thunder Road from all my years of going there is that I don't care if the forecast is for 100 percent chance of rain. We're all going to stand there under our umbrellas all day, but we're going to get that race in. Tom Curley and Ken Squier will make sure we get to race. They'll find a way to get it in, even if it takes all day and night."

Temperatures are expected to reach the high 70s and low 80s by this weekend aided by wind and sun, so everything should be good to go for race time.

But still, wouldn't it be kinda neat to see a Junkyard Warrior slide off the top of Turn 1 and into a snowbank?

***

I'm sorry, were you expecting the Capitals to sweep it in four games? #GoHabsGo

***

Looking briefly at the national levels, Québec native Derek White, who competed with the Série ACT-Castrol last year, will be racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Kansas Speedway this weekend, while Shelburne's Kevin Lepage will head to Richmond Int'l Raceway with the Nationwide Series.

David Stremme and Vermont's Latitude 43 Motorsports finished 27th in the Sprint Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend despite a mid-race crash, and will look to break back into the top-35 in owner points at Richmond. Stremme's average qualifying position in seven starts at Richmond is a solid 20.6. Latitude 43 ranks 37th in owner points, 162 markers behind 35th-place Front Row Motorsports' #38 car.

***

We're headed to Barre on Saturday morning for the annual Thunder Road car show and parade, then up to the track for practice. After that, we're taking a trip across the lake to Airborne Speedway for its season opener. Sunday morning, it's back to Thunder Road for the Merchants Bank 150. We're hoping to see y'all there, but make sure to keep an eye on the VMM blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook and YouTube pages for updates throughout the weekend!

***

THIS WEEK:

Friday, April 30
Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 7:30pm (Season Opener)

Saturday, May 1
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 9:00am (Car Show -- Downtown Barre, practice at track at 1:00pm)
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 5:00pm (Season Opener -- Modified 50-lap Syracuse qualifier)
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 1:00pm (Open Practice)
Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 10:00am (Car Show/Open Practice)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 10:00am (Car Show/Open Practice)
Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Season Opener/Modified Racing Series)
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. -- 2:00pm (Open Practice)

Sunday, May 2
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 1:00pm (Car Show -- Downtown Barre, practice at track at 1:00pm)
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 1:00pm (ISMA SuperModifieds)
Big Daddy's Speedbowl, Rumney, N.H. -- 12:00pm (Open Practice)

TOURING SERIES:

ACT Late Model Tour: Sun., May 2 -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (1:00pm)
ISMA SuperModifieds: Sun., May 2 -- Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. (1:00pm)
Modified Racing Series: Sat., May 1 -- Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. (6:00pm)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Sun., May 2 -- Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan. (12:30pm)
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Fri., April 30 -- Richmond Int'l Raceway, Richmond, Va. (7:00pm)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Sat., May 1 -- Richmond Int'l Raceway, Richmond, Va. (7:30pm)
Pro All Stars Series: Sat., May 1 -- Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Me. (3:00pm)

Hoar, Cyr Ready to Finally Battle for ACT Title

BARRE -- Goliath meets Goliath at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on Sunday. Williston's Brian Hoar and Milton's Jean-Paul Cyr -- the two all-time winningest drivers in American-Canadian Tour Late Model history -- will face each other head-to-head for the 2010 championship in the most anticipated matchup in recent memory.

***

TALE OF THE TAPE

Defending champion Hoar's 25 career wins top the all-time ACT Late Model Tour victory chart, while Cyr's 19 wins rank second. In 106 career starts, Hoar has 60 top-fives, 78 top-tens, and an average finish of 7.7. In 137 starts, Cyr has 60 top-fives, 86 top-tens, and a 9.3 average finish.

Hoar owns six ACT championships -- 1993, each year from 1997 to 2000, and 2009. Cyr's seven titles are an ACT record, having won in 1994, 1996, and each season from 2003 to 2007.

In addition to his ACT titles, Hoar was the track champion at both Airborne Speedway and Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in 1999, was that year's ACT Overall champion, was the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year in 2001, and won the 2006 New Hampshire Motor Speedway track championship.

Cyr won the Devil's Bowl Speedway championship in 1990 as a dirt track racer, won ACT's Am/Can Challenge title in 1996, is the reigning Thunder Road track champion, and is a successful off-road motorcycle racer, competing in the legendary Baja 1000 and Baja 500 events.

Hoar drove for his family-owned Goss Dodge team before joining Rick Paya's RPM Motorsports for the ACT championship last year. Paya was Cyr's crew chief from 2003-08, also serving as car owner the final two years. After a successful year driving for Joey and Jeff Laquerre, Cyr will race for veteran Gary Caron this season.

***

NEVER WORKED OUT

For one reason or another, Hoar and Cyr have raced the entire ACT schedule together just three times. As Cyr won championships in 1994 and 2007, Hoar endured tough seasons to finish a distant sixth each time. In 1996, the two entered the final event at Airborne Speedway in a tight battle with Dave Whitcomb. Hoar's car failed to come to life on the starting grid, though, and he was forced to watch from the sidelines.

"It's never really worked out," said Cyr. "The times he won it, I wasn't around. The times I've won it, Brian has either not been there or not been able to be up there with me."

Each driver won four consecutive ACT titles at different points, but each streak took place while the other was racing NASCAR. Hoar's 1993 and 2009 titles came when Cyr ran only weekly events at Airborne or Thunder Road.

"I think not being there at the same time as the other was good for our careers," said Hoar. "He made it look easy [in 2003-06], and I did in the '90s, but now there are a lot of new faces and it's going to be tougher. It's probably not realistic to think that we're going to be the only ones racing for the title, but it would be pretty cool."

And that championship in 1996? Cyr won by two points over Whitcomb. Hoar finished third on the trailer, 62 points back.

***

FAST FOES, FAST FRIENDS

"There are a lot of things that have to go just right for it to happen, and I'm hoping it happens," Hoar says of a potential championship showdown between he and Cyr. "We're at points in both of our careers where we've each won lots of races and championships. The only thing we really have left to do is to beat each other."

"If Brian wins the title this year, he'll tie my record [of seven ACT championships]," says Cyr. "I don't really want him to do that. If I'm able to pull it off and beat him, it will personally be one of the more rewarding championships I'll have had."

That intense focus should not draw bitter conclusions, though. While fierce competitors on the track, the two are close off the track; Cyr and Hoar go motorcycle riding, go-kart racing, and snowboarding together in the off-season. Cyr also remains close with Paya, speaking with him "at least once or twice a week."

Still, the drive to be the best racer is too great to ignore: "Jean is a great competitor and a great friend, but it would really suck to lose to him," Hoar says. "It would suck worse to lose to him than anyone else."

***

SOMEONE ELSE

Losing to someone else is a very real possibility for both drivers. Names dropped by Cyr and Hoar as potential race winners and title contenders included Scott Payea, Joey Polewarczyk, and part-timer Eric Williams, and both are concerned about Brent Dragon and John Donahue as championship spoilers.

Payea won the Spring Green 100 at Airborne and has finished second in each of the last three seasons, including to Cyr in 2007 and Hoar last year. He hopes that the potential battle between the two will work to his advantage.

"I'm sure it's going to weigh on Brian's mind and Jean's as well," Payea said. "That's fine with me. Let them have their own battle, and I'll go and try to steal the championship from both of them."

Dragon is also a three-time championship runner-up with nine career wins, including a score at Twin State Speedway last September and a pair of wins in Canada. Donahue won at White Mountain Motorsports Park in June and finished no worse than fourth in the final five championshp events of 2009, adding a win in the Milk Bowl and a fifth-place effort at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the process. Polewarczyk and Williams each had a win at Oxford Plains Speedway, and Williams also won at Thunder Road.

The list of top conteders -- full-time or otherwise -- also includes Brad Leighton, Patrick Laperle, Randy Potter, Dave Pembroke, Cris Michaud, Glen Luce, Jamie Fisher, Nick Sweet, and ACT newcomers Aaron Fellows, Travis Adams, Bradley Babb, and Chris Riendeau.

***

ADVANTAGE?

Cyr and Paya's long association creates advantages for both teams. Having won five of his seven ACT titles with Paya as either crew chief, car owner, or both, Cyr feels he knows Paya well enough to have educated guesses for each strategic decision Paya may make, but understands that Paya knows most Cyr's tricks behind the wheel, too.

"Rick is very clever, very methodical. He brings a whole different dimension to the Tour because he eats, breathes, and sleeps racing," says Cyr. "I've never actually competed against him because I've always been with him. It's going to be fun if there are any races where [Hoar and I] really running at par with each other. Rick has an advantage knowing how I drive, but I know his strategies. If he one-ups me I'll be able to look back at it and I'll know why and how he did it, but I think I can call his bluff, too."

Hoar doesn't see the Cyr-Paya familiarity as a problem. "I know I'm with a great team," he said. "Rick has had two very different styles of driver in me and Jean, and he's had similar results with both of us. The team does a great job, so it's up to me to work my [butt] off behind the wheel."

Cyr thinks this will be his best shot at challenging Hoar head-on. "I know the equipment he's in is great, because I used to drive it," he said. "The equipment I'm in this year is pretty aged and it's been around the block a few times, but I'm really optimistic. We tested at Canaan and I'm really pleased with how it went. Keith [Williams] and Kyle [Caron] did an unbelievable job putting the car together. It's up to the standards I'm used to. I wouldn't be racing this car if I didn't believe it could win."

(PHOTOS: 1. Brian Hoar; 2. Jean-Paul Cyr; 3. Scott Payea. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

RPM Racing Engines to Present VMM Coverage of ACT Opener

RPM Racing Engines of Georgia, Vt., will present Vermont Motorsports Magazine's coverage of the inaugural Albany-Saratoga 100 stock car race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., on Sunday, April 25. The race will be the first-ever event at the track for the American-Canadian Tour, and is the opening round for the 14-race asphalt Late Model series.

RPM Racing Engines is Vermont's top performance engine builder, specializing in stock car racing, drag racing, street rods, and marine engines. RPM is a licensed dealer of PowerMist Racing Fuels, Synergyn Racing Oil, and AR Bodies, and offers a full line of engine performance parts, service, and machining.

Vermont Motorsports Magazine is quickly becoming one of the northeast's leading sources for stock car racing news, and will provide online coverage of the Albany-Saratoga 100 through its popular blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page.

"Vermont Motorsports Magazine is thrilled to have RPM Racing Engines come aboard for the first-ever ACT race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway," said Editor Justin St. Louis. "RPM has earned the respect of racers all over the U.S. and Canada, and VMM is working hard to do the same thing. It's a privilege to work with RPM Racing Engines." St. Louis also said that Vermont Motorsports Magazine will promote RPM Racing Engines through the 2010 season.

RPM Racing Engines is among the nation's top builders for short track, crate, and "spec" engines, with winning programs in place with NASCAR, the American-Canadian Tour, the Champlain Valley Racing Association, Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan Fair Speedway, Devil's Bowl Speedway, Monadnock Speedway, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Twin State Speedway, and White Mountain Motorsports Park. RPM is a top builder of NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series spec engines, and saw Andrew Ranger win six races and the 2009 Canadian Tire Series championship with RPM powerplants. Rick Paya of RPM Racing Engines is an accomplished car owner and crew chief, winning five ACT Late Model Tour championships with driver Jean-Paul Cyr and the 2009 ACT title with Brian Hoar.

For more information on RPM Racing Engines, call (802) 524-7406 or visit http://www.rpmracingengines.net/.

Vermont Motorsports Magazine will offer on-site coverage of more than 60 short track events in 2010, including the Albany-Saratoga 100. VMM is online at http://vtmotormag.blogspot.com/ and is also on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

GOALS

Every racer needs something to work toward. An item to cross off a list. A trophy to put on the mantle. A reason to keep coming back.

A goal.

***

"The number-one goal is to create a very stout team that can be a threat week-in and week-out, and the number-two goal would be the Thunder Road title." --Jean-Paul Cyr on joining forces with Joey and Jeff Laquerre

"That's what I wanted, that's my baby." --Four-time New Hampshire Motor Speedway track champion Brad Leighton on becoming the first qualifier for the ACT Invitational at NHMS

"I have nothing to prove, people know how good we are. I just want to win races and try to go for it again this year." --Scott Payea

"My objective is win the championship. It's my year. I've finished second and third, it's my year." --Martin Roy

"I need more seat time out front so I'll be more comfortable in situations like this." --Trampas Demers, polesitter at Thunder Road's Merchants Bank 150, on his decision to race with the Série ACT-Castrol in Canada

"I can't really comment and give you anything other than baloney right now, I just don't know." --Sponsorless Eric Williams on racing the full ACT schedule after winning the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in May

"I hope to get a top-15 finish and learn about the track and the cars. But then again, I could go out and scare the hell out of myself. I'm just looking to have some fun this weekend." --Eric Chase on making his NASCAR Camping World Series East debut at NHMS

"I rememeber coming to the first race here and just looking at this place and thinking this is the cat's ass up here in New England, you know?" --Pete Potvin on the possibility of racing at NHMS

"I'd like to win this race if I have shot, but even if I finish 36th ten laps down I'll be able to say I came here and raced." --Stacy Cahoon on competing in the ACT Invitational at NHMS

---Overheard in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway infield following Friday's Camping World Series East event in September---
Tony Stewart: "Are you ready for next week?"
Joey Polewarczyk: "I'm not running Dover, we don't have the money for that."
Tony Stewart: "No, I know. I meant the Milk Bowl. That's a big deal."

"I want this one bad. Last night I stayed up and watched the last three years' Milk Bowls on DVDs that we have. I watched every part of them. I'm the most focused I've ever been for any race this year." --Joey Polewarczyk

"You watch what they do and try to follow in their footsteps. We just try to improve as we can. To be able to run up there with those guys, it's pretty cool." --Brooks Clark

"I'd like to finish top-ten in points. We'd get a check anyway, and I wouldn't mind a little bit more of ol' T-Bone's money. It spends nice." --Eric Williams, on hoping to win some ACT point fund money; series president Tom Curley's nickname has been "T-Bone" since the 1960s

"I’m Phil Scott -- native Vermonter, graduate of Spaulding High School and the University of Vermont, fisherman and snowmobiler, mechanic and laborer, truck driver and stock car driver, both a cyclist and a biker, father and business owner, State Senator, proud Republican, and as of today, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vermont." --The opening line of former Thunder Road, Airborne Speedway, and ACT champion Phil Scott's speech on Dec., 1, 2009, introducing himself as a candidate for the 2010 election

"I'm a huge race fan and I've always wanted to do this." --Bill Jenkins on becoming a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner

"You set goals, and I've never truly achieved any goal that I've ever set, believe it or not." --Jean-Paul Cyr

Cyr Returning to ACT, May Defend T-Road Title

COLCHESTER -- A Wednesday evening meeting may prove to be a very decisive point in the future of the American-Canadian Tour: Jean-Paul Cyr is back. The seven-time series champion has agreed to return in 2010, driving for veteran racer Gary Caron of Colchester. What's more, Cyr is also trying to piece together a run at his second-straight Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl championship in Barre with owner Joey Laquerre.

Both deals are dependent upon sponsorship dollars, but will potentially bring Cyr back to the circuit he dominated for most of the last decade, as well as giving him the potential to build a similar dynasty at Thunder Road.

Caron team member Keith Williams, who was also a member of Cyr's ACT Late Model Tour championship teams with owner Rick Paya from 2003-07, said the Cyr-Caron partnership has been in progress for a while. "It was a done deal before [Wednesday], we just put together some of the details at the meeting," said Williams. "We're going to make the opener at Lee (N.H.) and go to the first few races, and we'll continue if it's going well."

Cyr, of Milton, won ACT Late Model Tour championships as an owner/driver in 1994, 1996, and 2003-06. In two seasons driving for Paya, he was the champion in 2007 and finished third overall in 2008, his last full ACT season. Cyr won the 2009 Thunder Road title driving for a new team led by Laquerre and his son, crew chief Jeff Laquerre.

Caron won three consecutive ACT Late Model Tour events in 1995, and has been running part-time with ACT and at Thunder Road for several seasons while developing the career of his son, Kyle. Reportedly, Kyle Caron will continue to race weekly at Thunder Road in his own car.

Williams said Cyr will drive Caron's familiar #22 at all Tour events except May 2 and Sept. 5 at Thunder Road, when he would potentially drive the Laquerre #11 car. Williams said other drivers may be considered for the Caron car at Thunder Road races; Chip Grenier raced a limited ACT schedule for Caron in 2009.

(Cyr photo by Leif Tillotson)

Hoar, Gappens, Cyr Honored at ACT/Thunder Road Banquet

NHMS' Gappens "humbled" by MacTavish Award

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- A crowd of some 500 honored Brian Hoar of Williston on Saturday night at the Sheraton-Burlington Hotel & Conference Center, celebrating Hoar's sixth American-Canadian Tour championship.

Hoar, 37, captured his first championship on the series since 2000, driving for RPM Motorsports and car owner/crew chief Rick Paya. Paya previously won seven ACT championships with driver Jean-Paul Cyr; Cyr left the team after 2008 to drive for Joey Laquerrre and challenge for the track championship at Barre's Thunder Road, which he did successfully.

"The irony behind it all is that probably if [Cyr] hadn't decided to go with [Laquerre], I might not have the opportunity to be where I'm standing right now," Hoar said during his championship speech.

Jerry Gappens, Executive Vice President of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, was presented the prestigious Don MacTavish Award by ACT President Tom Curley, for the speedway's contributions to ACT racing.

Dover, Mass. native MacTavish, the 1966 NASCAR National Sportsman (present-day Nationwide Series) Champion, was killed in a crash at Daytona Int'l Speedway in 1969. MacTavish won his national title racing weekly at places like Catamount Stadium in Milton, and New York tracks including Airborne Speedway and Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Past recipients of the award include NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., Thunder Road founder Ken Squier, Curley, and drivers Robbie Crouch, Jean-Paul Cabana, Hoar, and Cyr.

NHMS hosted the first-ever ACT Invitational in September during Sylvania 300 weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. As a result, NHMS saw an increased Saturday crowd of 40,000 spectators, and ACT and its drivers gained national attention throughout the year.

"(The ACT Invitational) was a win-win for both parties," said Gappens, who grew up around the short tracks of Indiana. "Any time you get an award with Bill France, Sr.'s name on it, and all the other great people that have contributed to the success of short track racing, is quite an honor. I appreciate short track racing and haven't forgotten where I learned the sport from the grassroots up, so to get what I consider the highest honor, other than being the champion of the series, is very humbling and very much appreciated."

Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, N.Y., was crowned with his first ACT Tiger Sportsman Series championship. Duquette earned the title after a tie-breaker with St. Albans driver Jason Bonnett.

John Doiron of Berwick, Me., was given the ACT Crew Chief of the Year Award; Doiron coached his son, 16 year-old Joey, to the ACT Rookie of the Year title.

Tucker Williams of Hyde Park won the Dr. G.R. Nielsen Rookie Achievement Award as the top-performing freshman driver across all ACT/Thunder Road divisions; Williams, 18, was a four-time Street Stock winner at Thunder Road in 2009.

Cyr, of Milton, was honored with his first Thunder Road Late Model "King of the Road" championship in the track's 50th season. Thunder Road's support division champions were also honored: Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown (Tiger Sportsman), Gary Mullen of Tunbridge (Street Stock), and Donny Yates of North Montpelier (Junkyard Warrior). Rookies of the Year were Dylan Smith of Randolph (Late Model), Erik Steel of Barre (Tiger Sportsman), and Williams.

ACT/Thunder Road announcer Troy Germain was given the Ken Squier Award for his decade-long contributions to the sport.

Seth Leavitt of WCAX-TV Channel 3 was named the winner of the first-ever Pete Hartt Memorial Media Award. Mike McCune, Leavitt's colleague, accepted the award on his behalf. Hartt, the Sports Editor at the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, passed away in March.

Sportsmanship and "Most Improved Driver" awards were also given out in each division. Sportsmanship award winners were Chip Grenier (ACT Late Model Tour), Brooks Clark (TR Late Model), Brendan Moodie, Jr. (TR Tiger Sportsman), Mike Martin (TR Street Stock), and Ken Christman (TR Junkyard Warrior). Most Improved awards went to John Donahue (ACT Late Model Tour), Craig Bushey (TR Late Model), and Derrick O'Donnell (TR Tiger Sportsman).

Thunder Road Late Models to Open New Era at Devil's Bowl

From Thunder Road press release

WEST HAVEN -- The American-Canadian Tour Late Models from Thunder Road will open the newly paved Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Track promoter Jerry Richards said, “This is going to be a great way to bring the new asphalt to life at Devil’s Bowl. It has been over 30 years since the track was asphalt, but we think having Thunder Road’s Late Models on the ½-mile will certainly give our fans at 'The Bowl' a great opening event.”

Thunder Road Late Models will be joined by some of the regular ACT Late Model Tour teams for this grand opening of the original Champlain Valley Racing Association track, which was founded by legendary promoter C.J. Richards.

“When we learned that 'The Bowl' was being returned to asphalt we really wanted our teams to be a part of it," said Tom Curley, the President of ACT and managing partner of Thunder Road. "Most of the Thunder Road Late Models have raced various tracks on the ACT, and this just seemed like a great fit. We have no races scheduled at Thunder Road from May 2 until Memorial Day weekend, so I am sure there will be great support from the Late Model teams.

“I am sure there will be a number of teams from Chittenden County and central Vermont who will want to give Devil’s Bowl a try, and this change the CVRA is going through is something ACT wants to support.” The sister track of Devil’s Bowl, Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., will host an ACT Late Model Tour event on April 25th at the newly paved 4/10-mile speedplant.

Some of the expected entrants to the Devil's Bowl event include reigning Thunder Road champion Jean-Paul Cyr, a former champion at Devil’s Bowl, three-time Thunder Road champion Cris Michaud, and ACT star Brent Dragon.

“I think this is really great,” Dragon said. “My father and uncle were both a part of the five-track Northern NASCAR circuit back in the mid-‘70s, and I am really excited that we have a 'long track' back in Vermont."

Hoar in Familiar Territory, Having Fun as Championship Looms

Fall Foliage 300 weekend coverage by Vermont Motorsports Magazine


PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Brian Hoar has been in this position before, but he wasn't sure he'd be there again this year.

"When we agreed to put this together, we said we wanted to make a run at the championship," Hoar says of a meeting he had with car owner Rick Paya last October. "I don't know if 'expected' is the right word, but it was our goal, and we hoped to be in this position. at this point in the year."

With two races remaining, including Sunday's Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Hoar finds himself leading the ACT Late Model Tour championship standings by a slim 16 points over Scott Payea. It's not new ground for Hoar, either. The Williston driver has won five ACT championships, the most recent coming in 2000 after winning the Fall Foliage event, and is a former champion of Airborne, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre, and the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

The 2009 season had a bit of a rocky start for the RPM Motorsports team headed by Paya, who was Jean-Paul Cyr's crew chief for five ACT championships earlier in the decade. Through the first six races, there were just two top-five finishes and a dismal 22nd at White Mountain Motorsports Park. "We knew it would take a bit of time to learn each other and our preferences, but our intention the whole time has been to race for the ACT championship," said Hoar.

And apparently the jelling period has passed. Since White Mountain, the Hoar-Paya record has been sterling with finishes of sixth or better in each of the last five ACT championship events -- including back-to-back victories at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl -- and impressive results in the non-points Oxford 250 and Showdown 200 at Autodrome Chaudière.

Hoar says he is enjoying himself this season, not only working and winning with the RPM team, but racing against his main rival, Payea.

"Scott is a great guy, and I couldn't ask for a better driver to race against for the title," Hoar said. "My only regret about this year is that Jean isn't here [in the championship battle]. For all the titles we've both won, it seems like we've still never raced against each other for one. But I couldn't be more pleased with the way Scott races people. He's very smart and doesn't abuse his equipment. Some guys, like Brad Leighton and Patrick Laperle, those guys will risk it all to win. He's not that type of driver, and neither am I, typically, except for maybe Waterford this year. I see a lot of similarities between us as far as that goes. And I have a lot of respect for his team; his crew chief, Chris Companion, was my very first crew chief with our Goss Dodge team back in 1990 or '91, and his spotter, Ed, was a big part of our team. It's a great group of guys."

But, Hoar says, the pressure on Payea to win his first ACT championship -- versus what would be Hoar's sixth -- may be Hoar's biggest asset down the stretch. "I've won titles, and I've lost some really close battles," Hoar explains, "but at the end of the day, I've still got five championships. I'm not going to lose sleep if I don't win another one this year. Don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than to win my sixth ACT championship, but do I think the pressure to perform is greater on [Payea]? Yes, I do."

And because Hoar feels the pressure rests on Payea's shoulders, and those of third-place driver John Donahue, he'll be able to have more fun this weekend at Airborne and at the season finale at Oxford on October 11. "There is pressure on me, but there's definitely no more pressure than anyone else has on them. Those guys have to perform, too, and I'd rather be leading with two races to go than have to catch up. If I lose my focus, then that's my problem, but I don't see that happening. We're probably more prepared as a team for these next two races than anyone else. We can't wait for the 300 [at Airborne]. We had a blast there [in May], and I think we're ready for pit stops more than anyone else. And after our run at the 250, we're really looking forward to Oxford.

"The reality is that the chemistry with me and this team is there. I've had more fun racing this year than ever before, and that's whether we're at the track, or in the trailer on the way to a race, or on Tuesday nights when we're all in the shop together working on the car. I actually look forward to Tuesday nights more than anything.

"I wouldn't do this if I didn't think we could win."


(PHOTO: Brian Hoar gives a playful wink as he jokes with his RPM Motorsports teammates. Despite being in the middle of a tight championship battle, Hoar says he's having more fun racing this year than ever before. Justin St. Louis/VMM photo)

The Juice: Thanks, But I'll Take the Hat

-by Justin St. Louis

Jean-Paul Cyr won the tenth championship of his stock car career last Thursday. He's a seven-time champion of the ACT Late Model Tour, won a championship on the short-lived Am/Can Challenge Series, was a Pro Stock champion at Devil's Bowl Speedway, and is now a Thunder Road champion.

The accomplishments are many, the race victories are plentiful, and the name recognition stretches far beyond just the northeast. But for Cyr, 43, the trophies don't matter that much. He gives those away to children in his neighborhood, or to sponsors or family friends. He appreciates the titles, but they're each just one more goal crossed off a list.

The thing that meant the most to Jean-Paul Cyr on Thursday night, as he watched a fireworks display and sipped a celebratory beer with his teammates after the races were over, was a hat. A simple baseball-style cap, sea foam green in color, with a Thunder Road 50th Anniversary logo embroidered on it. It was given to him in victory lane -- or rather plopped crookedly on his head -- as Ken Squier transitioned from interviewing Cyr as the third-place finisher in the 100-lap season finale to introducing him as the newest 'King of the Road'.

"This is cool," Cyr said while watching the fireworks, in a moment as poignant as any that defines the proverbial 'stopping to smell the roses' adage. "This is what I wanted." Clearly, it's the little things in racing that Cyr enjoys. And that's a great thing.

"The best thing I ever got in racing was a scrapbook that Rick Paya's wife, Michelle, made for me," Cyr said. "It was after one of our Tour championships, maybe the second one (in 2004) that we won together. She put all kinds of pictures in it, and I don't know where she got them all, but any newspaper clipping that had my name in it, she found it and put it in there. It's a really nice scrapbook. This hat is a close second."

***

The story about Mark Lamberton joining the Richard Green Racing team on the ACT Late Model Tour has a few Joey Becker fans up in arms. Kids, Becker's not going anywhere. No disrespect to Dave Wilcox, Green's original Late Model pilot, but when Becker took over the #16 car in mid-2003, that's when the RGR team started to turn things around for the better, and Rick Green knows that. In fact, if you read the whole story, you'll see that Becker is racing at least two more times this year, including this Sunday at Thunder Road for the Labor Day Classic.

While the details of the 2010 season have yet to be finalized, it looks like Lamberton might run a full ACT schedule, but Becker will definitely remain in the car for the full Thunder Road season. We've spoken with Becker a few times hammering out the details of the new teaming-up, and in fact, he approached VMM with the story.

"I need to talk to you," Becker said.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked, knowing that usually when a driver says those words to me, it's because I've made them mad.

"It's a very good thing," Becker replied.

The addition of Lamberton to RGR helps everyone involved. First, Richard Green will have two very capable drivers racing his cars and giving him feedback. Second, Lamberton has helped the team achieve more already. Their third-place finish at Thunder Road two weeks ago was thanks in no small part to changes Lamberton made to the setup. Third, the drivers can help each other; Becker has become an accomplished runner at Thunder Road, while Lamberton has -- save for a handful of races toward the end of his previous participation with ACT -- struggled there. On the other hand, Lamberton has been good virtually everywhere else, and can give Becker pointers if and when he races some Tour shows outside of Thunder Road.

"Mark has helped us a lot for a long time. We've been looking for a time to put him in the car for most of this year, actually," said Becker. "The timing is right for him now. I wish I could be out there with him at the 300, but the second car isn't ready. Nothing would make me happier than to see him win a race with us, especially that one."

Even Tom Curley thinks it will help the whole operation. "I think Rick Green has made a great move here," Curley said. "Mark has obviously helped get Joey Becker going again at Thunder Road, and having him on the Tour next year, if that comes together, is some of the best news I could get to keep me motivated to hang around a little longer. Rick Green will have a lot of fun, Joey Becker will have a lot more fun, and ACT is going to be better off having Mark back in the driver's seat."

***

The Clash of the Titans 150 at Riverside Speedway last month was good, maybe the best race of the year up to that point. But Sunday, it took a back seat to a 25-lap Budget Sportsman feature at Devil's Bowl.

Between, youngsters Anthony Marro, Justin Comes, 14 year-old Hunter Bates, and Frank Hoard, III, fans were left with mouths agape -- even as dusty as it was Sunday -- following the race. Long story short, any one of those kids could make it big in the next few years if they race as hard, as clean, and with as much respect as they showed each other in that race. There were no less than six lead changes, and at least two moments where the lead changed hands during three-wide action.

Hoard used a last-lap move to steal the win from Bates by .0002 second -- read: maybe three inches at over 100mph -- with Comes third and Marro fourth. Outstanding stuff.

***

The six flips at Devil's Bowl that night, by the way, were also outstanding.

***

It took the whole summer, but I finally sat in Pete Hartt's favorite seat in the spotters section at Thunder Road on Thursday. You can stop calling me a weenie now, Pete.

***

You know how Thunder Road sometimes has the bad weather kinda just... not be there? Apparently Bear Ridge Speedway enjoys the same phenomenon, as they got the show in on Saturday night, despite a total deluge everywhere else. I didn't go because I didn't think there was a chance for racing that night, and because every other track in the area rained out that night. Next time, I'll know better.

***

With ACT releasing the first 28 names invited to the Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, we're left wondering who the final eight racers will be that get invited. Here's the list of drivers that either practiced or were invited to practice at NHMS that have not yet been invited to race:

J.R. Baril
Cris Michaud
Glen Luce
Guy Caron
Dave Whitcomb
Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
Alexandre Gingras
A.J. Begin
Trampas Demers
Nick Sweet
Sylvain Lacombe
Patrick Cliche
Eric Williams
Yvon Bédard
Chip Grenier
Claude Leclerc
Joey Laquerre
Shawn Knight
Corey Morgan
Dany Ouellet
Tyler Cahoon
Pete Potvin, III
Patrick Hamel
Quinny Welch
Stacy Cahoon
Martin Lacombe
Travis Adams

Keep in mind that there are also qualifying races left to run at Twin State Speedway on Friday, Thunder Road on Sunday, and Airborne Speedway on Sept. 13.

***

AROUND THE REGION:

Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...

Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Saturday's races were rained out.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Dave Camara of Fair Haven finished second to Matt DeLorenzo after a long battle in Wednesday's "CVRA vs. The World 100" Modified race, and Middlebury's Todd Stone was eighth. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester finished fifth in the Budget Sportsman race, with Middlebury youngster Hunter Bates eighth. Friday's regular weekly event was rained out.

Autodrome Chaudière (Vallée-Jonction, Qué.): Brent Dragon of Milton won $5,000 on Sunday by taking down the second annual Coors Light 200 Showdown, a non-points all-star race for ACT Late Model Tour and Série ACT-Castrol drivers, beating cross-town rival Scott Payea. Pete Potvin, III of Graniteville was an ACT career-best fifth, with Williston's Brian Hoar sixth, and Chip Grenier of Graniteville tenth.

Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. took his third Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night over Chris Donnelly of Piermont, N.H., Ryan Avery of Thornton, N.H., West Topsham's Bob Shepard, and Wayne Stearns of Thetford Center. Josh Harrington of Topsham posted his eighth Sportsman Coupe feature win of the season, defeating Bryan King of Topsham, Bradford rookie Billy Simmons, Steve Ellsworth of Corinth, and Mike McGinley of East Barre. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center hit double digits with his 10th Limited Late Model win of the year, beating Jeremy Hodge of Bradford, Shane Race of South Strafford, Will Hull of East Montpelier, and T.C. Forward of Lyme, N.H. Wilder's Andy Johnson took his fifth Fast Four win over Steve Bell and Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury, while Mark Harran, also of St. Johnsbury won his first Hornet feature of the season over Tom Placey of Bradford and Amanda Gray of East Thetford. Matt Shuart of Walkill, N.Y. took his first SCoNE 360 Sprint Car victory, while Matt Robie won the Granite State Mini Sprint 600cc feature. and Lacey Hanson of Orwell won the 500cc race.

Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse was seventh in Friday's Modified race with Hartland's Ed Tobin ninth. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center was the Street Stock winner with East Montpelier's Will Hull fourth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was the Fast Four winner with Wilder's Andy Johnson third and Ryan Dutton of Bradford seventh. Si Allen of West Windsor was seventh in the SCoNE 360 Sprint Car race.

Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Saturday's race event was rained out.

Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): Ray Hoard of Granville, N.Y. opened Sunday's double feature program with his first 358 Modified victory in three years, over Brandon's Vince Quenneville, Jr., New Yorkers Kenny Tremont, Jr. and Marc Johnson, and Tim LaDuc of Orwell. In the second Modified event, Middlebury's Todd Stone caputred the win over Quenneville, Tremont, LaDuc, and Hoard. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester won the first of two Budget Sportsman features over Middlebury racers Hunter Bates and Justin Comes by .0002 second. Derrick McGrew of Ballston Spa, N.Y. won the second Budget Sportsman feature over fellow New Yorkers Tim Hartman, Jr. and Jack Swinton. Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y. swept both Pro Street Stock features, beating Benson's Jeff Washburn, Fred Little of Salisbury, Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven, and Justin Perry of Hampton, N.Y. in the first race, then Little, Washburn, Bobby Schmidt of Gansevoort, N.Y., and Bill Smith of Ballston Spa, N.Y. in the second race. Hydeville's Bill Duprey copped both Limited features, beating Randy Alger in the first and Benson's Mike Clark in the second. The Mini Stock winner was Travis Tromans of Clifton Park, N.Y. while Andrew Smith of South Glens Falls, N.Y. was the Duke Stock winner. Don Harvey won the Empire Lightning Sprint race.

Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Saturday's races were rained out.

Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Rain washed out Saturday's race card.

SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars: Randy Howe of Lebanon, N.H. won Friday's event at Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway over Clay Dow of Ossipee, N.H. and Tunk Berry of Center Ossipee, N.H. Matt Shuart of Walkill, N.Y. won Saturday's event at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford over Berry and Shawn Lawler of Mason, N.H. Berry was named the 2009 Sprint Cars of New England champion, his first title on the series, over Dow and Si Allen of West Windsor.

Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Phil Scott of Montpelier posted his first win since 2007 in Thursday's 100-lap Late Model championship finale, beating Trampas Demers of South Burlington, Milton's Jean-Paul Cyr, Cris Michaud of Northfield, and Brooks Clark of Fayston; Cyr clinched his first track championship by 41 points over Scott. East Montpelier driver Joey Laquerre, Cyr's car owner, won the Tiger Sportsman feature over Jeff Bousquet of Montpelier, Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, David Finck of Barre, and Matt Potter of Marshfield. Lloyd Blakely of Barre won the Street Stock feature over David Allen of North Troy, Morrisville's Billy "Weiner" Hennequin, Bruce Melendy of Danville, and Gary Mullen of Tunbridge. Kevin Dodge of Barre was a first-time Junkyard Warrior winner over Waitsfield's Kevin Streeter, Bryan Nykiel of Berlin, Donny Yates of North Montpelier, and Buddy Chapman of Concord.

True Value Modified Racing Series: Andy Seuss of Hampstead, N.H. won Thursday's event at Thompson Int'l Speedway in Connecticut over Richard Savary of Canton, Mass. and Todd Owen of Somers, Conn. Peter Jarvis of Ascutney was ninth.

Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Aaron Fellows of Croydon, N.H. swept both the Late Model and Modified features on Sunday, with rookie Joey Jarvis of Ascutney earning the runner-up spot in the Modified race. Russ Davis of Cavendish won the Super Street feature with Chris Wilk of Mendon third. Kyle Davis of Pittsford was third in the Strictly Stocks, while Jeremiah Losee of North Springfield won the Wildcat race -- run in clockwise direction -- over Cody Small of Hartland and Robert Leitch of Cavendish.

White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Saturday's rains cancelled the race program.

***

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Friday, Sept. 4
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 6:45pm (Kids Rides)
Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 7:00pm (Championship Night -- final event of 2009)
Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 7:00pm (ACT Late Model Tour, NEMA Midgets)

Saturday, Sept. 5
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford -- 6:00pm (Hornet Queens)
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 2:00pm (ACT practice, Sportsman/SS/Warrior qualifying)
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 6:00pm (Charlie Trombley Memorial 100 -- final championship race for Modifieds)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Championship Night -- final event of 2009)
Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. -- 6:00pm (NEMA Midgets)
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Kids Rides)
White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Regular Event)

Sunday, Sept. 6
Devil's Bowl Speedway, West Haven -- 6:45pm (Championship Night -- final event of 2009 -- 50-lap double-point Modified race)
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 1:30pm (ACT Late Model Tour Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200)


TOURING SERIES:
ACT Late Model Tour: Fri., Sept. 4 -- Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. (7:00pm)
ACT Late Model Tour: Sun., Sept. 6 -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre (1:30pm)

Scott Wins Battle, Cyr Wins War at Thunder Road

BARRE -- Phil Scott knew his only chance to steal the 2009 championship at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl was to win the Vt. State Employees Credit Union 100 on Thursday night.

So, true to his plan, he went out and won the race. But the Vermont State Senator from Montpelier also needed Jean-Paul Cyr to falter, and that never happened.

Scott started 17th on the 28-car grid and survived -- although not totally unscathed -- a massive, 16-car pileup on the backstretch, which was triggered when Grant Folsom spun second-place runner Doug Murphy on lap 4. Four more early incidents, including another chain reaction crash on lap 14 that again briefly involved Scott, slowed the pace, but he was able to bounce his way through, continue without pitting, and pick off positions at a rapid rate.

Scott was outside leader Trampas Demers of South Burlington on the fifth and final restart on lap 39, but was initally unable to complete a pass and take command. A second attempt was made on the outside lane on lap 52 before Scott finally moved ahead four circuits later. From there, Scott stretched his legs, leading by as much as a half-lap distance over the balance of the event, which ran the final 61 laps without interruption.

The win was Scott's first since August 16, 2007.

"It does feel good to finally pull off a win here," Scott said. "We didn't have one last year and it was looking like we might not have one this year, at least in the regular season."

Cyr, the seven-time ACT Late Model Tour champion, entered the event 52 points ahead of Scott, himself a former ACT champion and three-time "King of the Road." Scott held up his end of the bargain with the victory, but his only hope for the title was to have Cyr finish worse than 24th. Cyr instead finished third, locking up his first Thunder Road title.

"We put a little pressure on ourselves, and I knew that [in order to win the championship] the only way our approach could be tonight was to try and win," said Scott. "Not that we don't try and win every other night, but it just put a little bit more emphasis on it that we had to do our part; in order to win a championship we had to win a race and see what happens from there, control our own destiny. Jean would have had to have a terrible night and we would have to win, so we can only do our part, and we did."

Like Scott, Cyr started deep in the field, in 23rd place. Cyr was never involved in any of the crashes in the early going, and was able to reach the top-five eight laps before halfway. A six-lap door-to-door battle with Brooks Clark eventually went Cyr's way on lap 54, moving him into fourth place and setting up an entertaining, position-swapping race for the runner-up position between he, Demers, Rich Lowrey, and Dave Pembroke for the rest of the event.

Slower lapped traffic took Pembroke out of the equation with 15 laps remaining, moments after he nosed ahead of Demers for second. Demers eventually held on behind Scott, with Cyr getting by Lowrey for third place on lap 98. Lowrey faded on the final lap, finishing sixth behind Cris Michaud and Clark. Eric Williams, Pembroke, Jamie Fisher, and NASCAR driver David Ragan, driving a car owned by Scott, completed the top ten finishers.

Milton racer Cyr was elated to have won the "King of the Road" title in his first full season at the track.

"[The championship ranks] right up there," Cyr said, comparing it to his previous ACT titles. "Right up there with probably the first one that I won, which was big for me. You know, it's the 50th year at Thunder Road with all the things they planned this year, and it's our first attempt at it. It definitely rates way up there."

During the winter, Cyr left the powerhouse RPM Motorsports team that he won his final five ACT championships with in order to form a new partnership to chase the Thunder Road title with owner Joey Laquerre and multi-time champion crew chief Jeff Laquerre, Joey's son. Skeptics doubted the combination, citing a team unfamiliar with itself racing a brand new car. To make matters worse, chassis construction was completed in mid-April, only weeks before the season began. Cyr and Jeff Laquerre's personalities jelled almost immediately, and after a few on-track growing pains, the team became a force.

"We got the car, like, right before the season started, so tensions were high," said Cyr. "But Joey and Jeff giving me the opportunity was really good. I really appreciate that. I'm really gratified by it. Jeff and I have had really good communication, we have mutual respect for each other. We seemed to click pretty well, I think we have a really good working relationship."

"It means a lot," said Jeff Laquerre. "New car, new team, and a great guy to work with. It came hard, and we started off the year very slow. We earned it, very much so. You couldn't ask for a better guy, too."

Unofficially, Cyr won the championship by 41 points over Scott, 908-867, with Michaud, Pembroke, and Fisher rounding out the top five point men.

To make things a bit sweeter, Joey Laquerre drove to victory in the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature. The East Montpelier driver's win was the 44th Thunder Road victory of his five-decade career, stretching his lead as the track's all-time win leader. Jeff Bousquet of Montpelier finished a career-best second, with Williamstown's Jimmy Hebert third. David Finck was fourth with Matt Potter fifth.

Hebert became the third different point leader in as many weeks in the division after his third-place finish, coupled with struggling performances by point leaders Tony Rossi, Pete Ainsworth, and Cody Blake.

Street Stock veteran Lloyd Blakely of Barre won the Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior main event over North Troy's David Allen and Billy "Weiner" Hennequin of Morrisville. Barre's Kevin Dodge was a first-time Warrior winner, finishing 21st overall in the race. Kevin Streeter and Bryan Nykiel were second and third, respectively.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Vt. State Employees Credit Union Night
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown (# - denotes rookie)

ACT Late Model (100 laps)
1. Phil Scott, Montpelier
2. Trampas Demers, South Burlington
3. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton -- 2009 Thunder Road Track Champion
4. Cris Michaud, Northfield
5. Brooks Clark, Fayston
6. Rich Lowrey, Charlotte
7. Eric Williams, Hyde Park
8. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
9. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
10. David Ragan, Unadilla, Ga.

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (35 laps)
1. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
2. Jeff Bousquett, Montpelier
3. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
4. David Finck, Barre
5. Matt Potter, Marshfield
6. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott
7. Tommy Therrien, Hinesburg
8. #Neal Foster, Waterbury
9. Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury
10. Mike Ziter, Williamstown

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior (25 laps)
1. Lloyd Blakely, Barre (SS)
2. David Allen, North Troy (SS)
3. Billy Hennequin, Morrisville (SS)
4. Bruce Melendy, Danville (SS)
5. Gary Mullen, Tunbridge (SS)

21. Kevin Dodge, Barre (JW)
22. Kevin Streeter, Waitsfield (JW)
23. Bryan Nykiel, Berlin (JW)
24. Donny Yates, North Montpelier (JW)
25. Buddy Chapman, Concord (JW)




(PHOTOS: 1. Phil Scott got a two year-old monkey off his back by winning the VSECU 100 at Thunder Road on Thursday night; 2. Like most of the Late Models at Thunder Road, Scott's car was torn up a bit after Thursday night's race; 3. Jean-Paul Cyr (bottom, center) and crew celebrate their Thunder Road track championship. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

Ragan to Drive Phil Scott Team Car

MIDDLESEX -- Car owner and crew chief Pete Duto confirmed Saturday that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan of Unadilla, Ga. will compete at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on Thursday in a car prepared by Duto as a teammate to multi-time "King of the Road" Phil Scott.

However, exactly which car Ragan will be in is still up in the air.

"The plan right now is to have (Ragan) in Phil's green car on Thursday," said Duto, who prepares Scott's cars and is the registered owner of the #55NH car run primarily on the ACT Late Model Tour by Brad Leighton.

Scott will drive the green car in a test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. on Tuesday, in preparation for the ACT Invitational on Sept. 19.

"Depending on how the test at Loudon goes, Ragan will be in that car," said Duto. "But if we need to make a lot of changes, then we'll put him in Brad's car. But then again, that's not for certain, either; there's a lot of (ACT) racing coming up with Claremont (Twin State Speedway), Labor Day (at Thunder Road), and everything else. We'll know more next week."

Ragan earned his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night.

Thursday's 100-lap Vt. State Employees Credit Union feature at Thunder Road will decide the 2009 "King of the Road." Scott, of Montpelier, enters the event 52 points behind leader Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton. Post time is 6:00pm.

Fisher Wins on Wild Night at Thunder Road

Six restarts, seven lead changes in Late Model 50


BARRE -- Maybe they're frustrated, or maybe they're not. Maybe it's the fact that the racing season is winding down, and they're hungry to pass that one extra car. Maybe it was the humidity. Whatever it was, something affected the drivers at Barre's Thunder Road on Thursday night, and the result was arguably the most competitive -- and roughest -- night of racing in the track's 50th season. Fans were treated to multiple lead changes, multiple crashes, a photo finish, a rollover, a payback, and championship point battle shifts. It was an event with a bit of everything in it.

Jamie Fisher of Shelburne came out on top of an exciting 50-lap Late Model feature, one day shy of a year since his most recent win. Fisher began his drive from 13th starting position and narrowly avoided disaster on lap 24 while running with John Donahue and Craig Bushey. Fisher dove low to make a three-wide pass on the backstretch, just as Donahue and Bushey began making contact. Bushey spun in Turn 3 to bring out the caution flag, leaving Fisher to restart the race in sixth place.

Fisher passed Donahue on the outside quickly, then blew by Mike Bailey and Joey Becker into third place on lap 31. He took second from Doug Murphy on the inside on lap 37, then the lead from Tony Andrews on the outside on lap 43, just as Bushey caught and dumped Donahue in retaliation for their earlier incident. Andrews bumped into Fisher on the restart, then Murphy hit Andrews before the race's sixth and final caution two laps later for, yet again, a spinning Craig Bushey.

Fisher was never challenged over the final five laps and cruised to the win, his fourth consecutive podium finish. Andrews, of Northfield, finished second, while Jeffersonville driver Becker got by Murphy late in the going for third place.

"The car was running good," Fisher said. "We were good on the outside, good on the bottom. It's really fun to race here when people actually give you some room and you can really do a nice job and advance."

Fisher, the 2003 Thunder Road champion, said that the frequent caution periods helped him in the beginning of the race, and respect from his competitors helped at the end. "At first (the cautions) played in our favor and then at the end we didn't need them, but we were still fast enough where we could keep it ahead of Tony. And Tony ran us clean, that's the biggest thing. In the first part of the year I don't think we got run clean enough (by competitors) and we kept wrecking. Now we're getting run clean and we can come home in one piece and just keep working on the car and make it go faster."

Before Fisher arrived at the front, Murphy, Andrews, and for a brief time, polesitter Steve Fisher -- the winner's brother -- had a fierce battle for the lead. Murphy led from the outside of the front row before Steve Fisher nosed ahead for three laps. Murphy was back in the lead on lap 5, but was beaten by Andrews on the race's first restart on lap 10. Murphy repaid the favor on the outside to take the lead back on lap 18, then Andrews did it again on lap 25 before Jamie Fisher took over on lap 43. Dave Pembroke finished fifth behind Murphy. Phil Scott took sixth, and point leader Jean-Paul Cyr rebounded after his car briefly shut down to finish in seventh place.

While battling Becker for fourth place on lap 39, Cyr's ignition switch turned off. He fell back to tenth place, but regained some of his lost ground. Unofficially, Cyr maintained his comfortable 52-point lead on Scott entering the final Late Model championship event next Thursday, a 100-lap race that will feature NASCAR driver David Ragan.

Craftsbury youngster Joel Hodgdon turned a frustrating season around with a photo-finish victory over Eric Badore in the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman event. Hodgdon, who entered the night 16th in points, ran from the tenth starting position to second place on lap 16, but was unable to pass Badore. The caution flag flew with two laps remaining, setting up one final sprint to the checkers. Hodgdon ran side-by-side with Badore, then, while sliding sideways in a last-ditch effort on the outside lane in the final corner, beat Badore to the finish by a bumper.

"I wanted that last yellow," said Hodgdon. "I knew the way that the restarts were going I would be able to get (past Badore) if I had one more shot." Badore, of Milton, finished second with East Corinth driver Ray Stearns third, Derick O'Donnell of Bradford fourth, and Barre's David Finck fifth.

Pete Ainsworth, Jr. entered the night with a 20-point lead over Tony Rossi, but was involved in two wrecks in the feature and retired the race in 27th place. Rossi, who finished seventh, now unofficially holds a 23-point edge over Ainsworth with three point-counting events left for the Tiger Sportsman class.

Street Stock driver Tim Campbell of West Topsham took his second win of the year in the 20-lap Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior main event. Campbell was challenged by Friday night winner M.C. Ingram with three laps remaining before Ingram spun, allowing Campbell to easily take the win. Joe Blais of East Barre finished second over Barre's Ron Gabaree. Ken Christman of Cabot was the top Warrior driver in 18th place, good enough for his second win of the season in that division. Lance Donald of Williamstown, 20th overall, was second in the Warrior division, with Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield driving a car borrowed from Cheryl Kingsbury to finish third in the Warrior class, 21st overall.

Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick flipped his car on the frontstretch on lap 8 in a pileup that also included Michael Moore, Tommy Smith, and Kevin Wheatley; no injuries were reported. Rookie Tucker Williams, the Street Stock point leader, finished eighth, while Warrior point leader Donny Yates failed to qualify for the main event. Street Stock driver Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick won the 'reserve' feature but opted to transfer to the main event, where he finished ninth.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Weekly Championship Series Event
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, August 20, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown (# - denotes rookie)

ACT Late Model (50 laps)
1. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
2. Tony Andrews, Northfield
3. Joey Becker, Jeffersonville
4. Doug Murphy, Tunbridge
5. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
6. Phil Scott, Montpelier
7. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton
8. Cris Michaud, Northfield
9. John Donahue, Graniteville
10. Matt White, Northfield

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (35 laps)
1. Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury
2. Eric Badore, Milton
3. Ray Stearns, East Corinth
4. Derrick O'Donnell, Bradford
5. David Finck, Barre
6. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
7. Tony Rossi, Barre
8. #Erik Steel, Barre
9. Jeff French, Northfield
10. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior (20 laps)
1. Tim Campbell, West Topsham (SS)
2. Joe Blais, East Barre (SS)
3. Ron Gabaree, Barre (SS)
4. #Scott Weston, Berlin (SS)
5. #Danny Doyle, Hancock (SS)

18. Ken Christman, Cabot (JW)
20. Lance Donald, Williamstown (JW)
21. Kevin Streeter, Waitsfield (JW)
22. Alex Whitcomb, Montpelier (JW)
25. Keith Fortier, Hinesburg (JW)

(PHOTO: Jamie Fisher of Shelburne pumps his fist in celebration of his Late Model victory at Thunder Road on Thursday night. Photo by Justin St. Louis/VMM)