Modified Racing Series coverage presented by GossCars.com
BARRE-- It was nearly as simple as copying and pasting last year’s Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic results at Barre’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl on Sunday: Steve Masse dominated the Modified Racing Series event, and Dave Pembroke dominated the Late Model race.
But it wasn’t that simple.
While he stole the headlines with his career-first MRS win last year, Masse was nearly an afterthought to the MRS portion of the event in 2010, after a controversial finish involving Les Hinckley and Rowan Pennink at Airborne Speedway on Saturday night centered the focus on those two drivers.
Hinckley would prove to be a non-factor at Thunder Road, but Pennink kept everyone’s attention with two frightful trips over the top of the first turn, one of which sent his car into a barrel roll.
But once Pennink’s dust settled and he eventually retired from the event, Masse assumed the lead role. Masse was unchallenged virtually the entire 100-lap distance, leading by as much as a half-lap.
“I like this track,” said the 20 year-old Bellingham, Mass., driver, whose two career Modified Racing Series victories have both come at the track known to chew up and spit out veterans three times his age. “For some reason I know how to drive it. I feel like I’ve got a good grip on it. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Masse wrecked his primary car at Airborne on Saturday night and rolled out his back-up car to win at Thunder Road.
“The car was awesome, that’s it,” said Masse, who started fifth on the 24-car field. “[The win] is a tremendous thing. We found something [wrong with the car] over the long break we just had, and I think we’re going to be a contender all year long from now on. We should be fast at every track.”
Rob Goodenough of Swanzey, N.H., drove from seventh at the start to finish as the runner-up, and Ken Barry of Preston, Conn., came from 12th to finish a season-best third. Three-time MRS champion Kirk Alexander of West Swanzey, N.H., was fourth and rookie Max Zachem of Preston, Conn., was fifth. Hinckley finished sixth with Ascutney rookie Joey Jarvis seventh. Charlie Pasteryak, Dwight Jarvis, and Eddy Spiers completed the unofficial top ten.
Pembroke’s drive wasn’t quite as easy initially during the 100-lap Late Model feature, coming from 14th at the start.
As Pembroke drove through the field, Graniteville’s John Donahue battled Jeffersonville driver Joe Becker at the front, banging doors and fenders several times. Nick Sweet, who had arguably the fastest car on the track, made his way by Becker on lap 37 and raced outside Donahue for the lead until they came together on lap 46.
Sweet spun to bring out the yellow flag, leaving Pembroke in fourth place for the restart. Donahue and Becker resumed their previous fight up front, with the final blow coming on lap 68. As Becker slid up the track, Pembroke dived under both drivers to take the lead, then cruised to a large lead. He withstood a lap-96 restart and beat Donahue by two car-lengths to the finish. Donahue nipped Hyde Park’s Eric Williams by a foot for second place; Becker faded to sixth.
“I don’t want to say that luck was why I won, but it helped that I didn’t have to pass Nick to win the race. He had the fastest car, I think,” Pembroke said. “When [Donahue] and Joe Becker kind of touched a little bit getting into [Turn 1], Becker had to chase his car up the track and I just was able to turn under him.”
Pembroke’s Memorial Day Classic victory was his third in four years in the event. His name now ranks among some of the all-time Thunder Road elite winners and champions, including multi-time Memorial Day winners Dave Dion, Jean-Paul Cabana, and Robbie Crouch.
“I used to come here as a kid [to watch them race], and now… I don’t even know,” Pembroke said of his accomplishment. “It’s crazy. Crazy.”
Joey Laquerre of East Montpelier was fourth behind Williams, with Charlotte’s Rich Lowrey fifth. Tracie Bellerose, Jamie Fisher, Sweet, and Brent Dragon followed Becker across the line to complete the top ten.
Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott held off a race-long challenge from Hinesburg’s Tom Therrien to win the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature. Ricky Roberts was third, with Lance Allen and David Finck rounding out the top five.
Travis Hull of Graniteville earned his first career Street Stock victory over Mike MacAskill, Dan Lathrop, Jamie Davis, and Dave LaFleche. Ken Christman of Cabot earned his second Junkyard Warrior win in as many starts, beating Josh Erwin and Brock Parrott. Amanda Habel of Roxbury earned her first win the Street Stock/Warrior reserve feature.
Showing posts with label Joey Becker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joey Becker. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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)
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)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Lamberton to Return to ACT
New York racer to run Twin State, Airborne events; eyeing full season in 2010
CLAREMONT, N.H. -- Three years ago, Mark Lamberton was one of the hottest drivers on the ACT Late Model Tour, and certainly the face of New York-based Late Model racing in northern New England. Friday, he'll try to rekindle those flames as he returns to the race track at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, N.H.
The Mooers Forks, N.Y. driver has been absent from ACT competition since finishing fifth in championship points in 2006, but will make his return behind the wheel of the #16 Richard Green Trucking Ford normally driven by Joey Becker. Lamberton has been a part-time crew member with the team for two seasons, and has also been serving as crew chief for Sportsman driver Bill Sawyer at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this year. With Lamberton turning wrenches, Becker turned in a season-best third-place finish at Thunder Road in Barre on August 20.
Lamberton's most recent on-track experience was in the Modified division at Airborne in 2007.
"I've been hanging around the last few years looking for the right opportunity to come along," said Lamberton. "I've raced a Modified, I've worked on cars, I tried a bunch of things, but [racing with ACT] is what I want to be doing. In all my years of racing, it was the most fun I ever had. I've missed it."
Initial plans call for Lamberton to be in the Rick Green-owned car at Twin State on Friday and at the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway on Sept. 13. Becker will drive the car at Thunder Road on Sunday in the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 and at the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl later in the month. Ironically, it was Becker and Lamberton that turned in one of the most memorable finishes in Thunder Road history in 2004, as they traded the lead more than a dozen times during the final 35 laps of the Memorial Day Classic -- Lamberton spun, Becker won.
Green said that he was considering putting Lamberton in a full-time ACT Late Model Tour ride for 2010 when he got a call from ACT President Tom Curley. "Tom approached me about getting Mark into one of my cars at the 300," Green explained, noting that Curley thought Lamberton, who won both the Foliage event and the Airborne Speedway Late Model track championship in 2001, might be an added attraction to the race. "I had already thought about having him race for us on the Tour next year, but when Tom called, I figured we might as well speed up the process and get things rolling sooner rather than later."
Curley clearly thinks highly of Green's new driver. "[Lamberton's family] along with his whole team always represented to me exactly why I have stayed in this business for so long," Curley said Tuesday. "If I could have 30 Mark Lambertons on the road each week, I would keep doing this until I either dropped dead or became so senile that they threw me out. He is in the same racer mold as Brent Dragon, Randy Potter, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, Donald Theetge, Jamie Fisher, Karl Allard, as well as a bunch of others, and you know how much respect I have for those kinds of racers and teams.
"Mark is one of the best natural racers I have ever known," Curley continued. "He captured my respect when I watched him struggle for years at Thunder Road, and he kept coming back until he finally became pretty good there. I loved that tenacity that he brought to his racing. He is a hell of a good racer that understands the business as much as he understands how to race cars. "
Curley also said that should Lamberton win one of the events at Twin State or Airborne -- both of which are qualifiying races for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 19 -- he would consider inviting him to compete in the race, despite not having any track time at the 1.058-mile superspeedway. "I said to someone the other day that [Lamberton] would be about the only driver I would consider inviting to the Invitational without having been
to the test-and-tune (last week). I have that much respect for him as a long track racer," Curley said. Lamberton's three ACT Late Model Tour wins all came at Airborne, a fast, 4/10-mile oval, and a significant number of his career ACT top-five finishes have come at Airborne, the 5/8-mile Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué., and the 9/10-mile Sanair Super Speedway near Montréal.
"Mark has helped us change a lot on the setup of the car already, so these races will be a good test to get any bugs worked out," said Green. "And he's a very good driver, so who knows, maybe we can make something out of it. It should be fun."
Lamberton finished fourth at Twin State in his own car at ACT's last visit in 2004. "It was a few years ago and in a different car, but I liked the track at Claremont and I'm hoping we can do well there again. And the 300, I can't wait for that. I wanted to get a ride for that race as soon as [ACT] announced it last year. I hope I make Rick and Joey proud."
(PHOTOS: 1. Mark Lamberton will return to the driver's seat this weekend at Twin State Speedway in one of Richard Green's #16 cars; 2. Lamberton (#29) and Joey Becker (#16) battle at Thunder Road in 2004; 3. Lamberton (#29) on the way to winning the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in 2001. Photo 1 by Justin St. Louis/VMM; Photos 2 and 3 by Gene Gagne/OutsideGroove.com)
CLAREMONT, N.H. -- Three years ago, Mark Lamberton was one of the hottest drivers on the ACT Late Model Tour, and certainly the face of New York-based Late Model racing in northern New England. Friday, he'll try to rekindle those flames as he returns to the race track at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, N.H.The Mooers Forks, N.Y. driver has been absent from ACT competition since finishing fifth in championship points in 2006, but will make his return behind the wheel of the #16 Richard Green Trucking Ford normally driven by Joey Becker. Lamberton has been a part-time crew member with the team for two seasons, and has also been serving as crew chief for Sportsman driver Bill Sawyer at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this year. With Lamberton turning wrenches, Becker turned in a season-best third-place finish at Thunder Road in Barre on August 20.
Lamberton's most recent on-track experience was in the Modified division at Airborne in 2007.
"I've been hanging around the last few years looking for the right opportunity to come along," said Lamberton. "I've raced a Modified, I've worked on cars, I tried a bunch of things, but [racing with ACT] is what I want to be doing. In all my years of racing, it was the most fun I ever had. I've missed it."
Initial plans call for Lamberton to be in the Rick Green-owned car at Twin State on Friday and at the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway on Sept. 13. Becker will drive the car at Thunder Road on Sunday in the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 and at the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl later in the month. Ironically, it was Becker and Lamberton that turned in one of the most memorable finishes in Thunder Road history in 2004, as they traded the lead more than a dozen times during the final 35 laps of the Memorial Day Classic -- Lamberton spun, Becker won.Green said that he was considering putting Lamberton in a full-time ACT Late Model Tour ride for 2010 when he got a call from ACT President Tom Curley. "Tom approached me about getting Mark into one of my cars at the 300," Green explained, noting that Curley thought Lamberton, who won both the Foliage event and the Airborne Speedway Late Model track championship in 2001, might be an added attraction to the race. "I had already thought about having him race for us on the Tour next year, but when Tom called, I figured we might as well speed up the process and get things rolling sooner rather than later."
Curley clearly thinks highly of Green's new driver. "[Lamberton's family] along with his whole team always represented to me exactly why I have stayed in this business for so long," Curley said Tuesday. "If I could have 30 Mark Lambertons on the road each week, I would keep doing this until I either dropped dead or became so senile that they threw me out. He is in the same racer mold as Brent Dragon, Randy Potter, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, Donald Theetge, Jamie Fisher, Karl Allard, as well as a bunch of others, and you know how much respect I have for those kinds of racers and teams.
"Mark is one of the best natural racers I have ever known," Curley continued. "He captured my respect when I watched him struggle for years at Thunder Road, and he kept coming back until he finally became pretty good there. I loved that tenacity that he brought to his racing. He is a hell of a good racer that understands the business as much as he understands how to race cars. "
Curley also said that should Lamberton win one of the events at Twin State or Airborne -- both of which are qualifiying races for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 19 -- he would consider inviting him to compete in the race, despite not having any track time at the 1.058-mile superspeedway. "I said to someone the other day that [Lamberton] would be about the only driver I would consider inviting to the Invitational without having been
to the test-and-tune (last week). I have that much respect for him as a long track racer," Curley said. Lamberton's three ACT Late Model Tour wins all came at Airborne, a fast, 4/10-mile oval, and a significant number of his career ACT top-five finishes have come at Airborne, the 5/8-mile Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué., and the 9/10-mile Sanair Super Speedway near Montréal."Mark has helped us change a lot on the setup of the car already, so these races will be a good test to get any bugs worked out," said Green. "And he's a very good driver, so who knows, maybe we can make something out of it. It should be fun."
Lamberton finished fourth at Twin State in his own car at ACT's last visit in 2004. "It was a few years ago and in a different car, but I liked the track at Claremont and I'm hoping we can do well there again. And the 300, I can't wait for that. I wanted to get a ride for that race as soon as [ACT] announced it last year. I hope I make Rick and Joey proud."
(PHOTOS: 1. Mark Lamberton will return to the driver's seat this weekend at Twin State Speedway in one of Richard Green's #16 cars; 2. Lamberton (#29) and Joey Becker (#16) battle at Thunder Road in 2004; 3. Lamberton (#29) on the way to winning the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in 2001. Photo 1 by Justin St. Louis/VMM; Photos 2 and 3 by Gene Gagne/OutsideGroove.com)
Friday, August 21, 2009
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)
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)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tiger Sportsman Series: Roberts Disqualified, Suspended Indefinitely
WATERBURY -- Joey Roberts drove arguably the best race of his career on Saturday night. It will be his last race for a while, at least under the ACT banner.Roberts, of Georgia, Vt., has been disqualified from his second-place finish in the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series at Canaan Fair (N.H.) Speedway on Saturday, and has been suspended indefinitely from ACT competition.
Following the Canaan Fair 100 on Saturday, the engines of the top three finishers -- including Roberts, winner Shawn Duquette, and third-place finisher Joey Becker -- were pulled for inspection by ACT. According to an ACT press release, Roberts' engine, built by Island Racing Service in South Hero, was deemed illegal and the finish was disallowed, with Roberts forfeiting all championship points and purse money associated with the race.
The suspension, however, stems from "subsequent behavior not in keeping with the rules of ACT racing." Roberts was fined $1,000 and indefinitely suspended from all ACT-sanctioned competition -- which includes weekly events at Barre's Thunder Road, where Roberts ranks 14th in the Tiger Sportsman class -- and has also been "banned from entering any pit area conducting an ACT event until further notice."
With the disqualification, Becker will inherit the second-place position and Jason Bonnett will move up to third place. The final round of the Tri-State Series is at Thunder Road on Thursday, August 13.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
VIDEO: Hurricane Warning
A few years back, Ken Squier tagged Shelburne driver Jamie Fisher with the nickname "Hurricane" for his ability to storm up Thunder Road's tricky outside groove. Here's an example as to why Fisher got the name. On Thursday night, the former "King of the Road" had one of his best long-distance runs in years at the track, finishing fourth. In his qualifying heat, shown here, Fisher (#18) waited patiently down low to pass Joey Becker (#16), then moved to the high side to make quick work of Patrick Laperle's #91.
Video by Justin St. Louis/VMM
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