-by Justin St. Louis
VMM Editor
April what? Feels like June. I'm in shorts and a t-shirt as I write this column, and my lawn is as green as I've ever seen it this time of year. By the way, this week's "Juice" has no real direction, but rather it's just a mindless collection of thoughts and notes I've taken during the last few days. Then again, I guess that's pretty much what this column is every week anyway. Enjoy.
***
We continue to watch Kevin Lepage in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Since missing the cut at Daytona, the Shelburne native has easily made the starting field in all four events, qualifying no worse than 28th in Jack McNelly's #56 MacHill Motorsports cars.
Alas, Lepage is forced to "start and park" his car each week due to a lack of funding. A botched sponsorship deal with distributor Revolucion World Wide and its START Natural Energy Drink brand left the team scrambling for money to go racing. McNelly is funding the now-sponsorless operation out of his own pocket at this point, and can't afford the costs accumulated by completing the entire distance of each race.
On Wednesday, this post came from Lepage himself on a message board dedicated to his fan base: "First of all, the MacHill Team is a better team then what I'm showing," he wrote. "We need to take care of these two cars so I can be at the track each week. Second, until we get a sponsor we will continue to [start and park]."
***
Go support the Autism Puzzle Foundation's "Casino Night" fundraiser at the Barre Auditorium on Saturday. This is the fifth year that the benefit will have the stars of the American-Canadian Tour and Thunder Road on hand to deal Black Jack, Craps, and Roulette, and it's a great time for a great cause.
Over 150 items will be auctioned off, including trips to Ireland and Las Vegas, and $1,000 cash. The dealers will be ACT Late Model Tour champion Brian Hoar, "King of the Road" Jean-Paul Cyr, top dogs Phil Scott, Robbie Crouch, Dave Pembroke, John Donahue, Nick Sweet, Joey Laquerre, and Eric Chase, and ACT/Thunder Road president Tom Curley.
Click here for more information.
***
We got a nice response from Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl race director Scott Tapley regarding our comments on Keith Rocco's restarts on March 28. After suggesting that Rocco was kinda-sorta getting away with jumping the gun a little bit in last week's "Juice", Tapley responded with this:
"No special treatment for Rocco, in fact, his first three restarts were perfect. Our rule is that leader must maintain pace car speed and the leader, and only the leader, well be the first car to fire at the restart line in the middle of turn 3.
"His next restart, however, was a brake check at the line (I know because I race direct at the line), and I immediately told our spotter official to tell Rocco's spotter that that was his one and only warning on the brake check. He maintained his correct restarts for the remaining restarts with absoultely no question in my mind.
"[At] our season finale last year ... Keith's team argued for "extra" caution laps when the rule is four laps no matter what ... because of our pit in/out blending problems. (Editor's note: Waterford has a very odd pit road; the only entrance from the track surface is a swinging gate on the backstretch that can only be opened by an official during a yellow flag period.) We went green at our normal four laps and it took the Rocco team 18 laps to complete the change. A broken track bar braket cost him the title, as he entered the event the leader. The team claimed that we could have provided a "courtesy" [lap] but I my opinion it would nullify any rule ever made.
"If you dont have ruling consistency than you have no crediblity, and I'm proud of the fact that I and our officials have shown that in our first year of operation, much different than the Speedbowl I attended when I first moved to Connecticut in 2005."
So there you have it. Thanks to Scott Tapley for reading VMM, and thanks even more for the response.
***
Sad news comes with the passing of pioneer racer Ronnie "Satch" Hunt on Easter Sunday. Despite his youth, Hunt was a top driver in the barnstorming days of the open-wheel Coupes in Vermont and New Hampshire, winning multiple features in the #59 and #60 cars at Barre's Thunder Road and Northeastern Speedway near St. Johnsbury. At the time of his first win at Northeastern in 1960, he was just 19 years old.
Satch owned and operated Hunt's Auto Repair and AKM Recycling in his native Franconia, N.H., and was an active member of the community; he had roles with the Franconia Board of Adjustment and the Franconia Planning Board, was a town selectman and firefighter, and was a member of the LaFayette Lions Club. He also attended the Northeastern Speedway 50th reunion last July.
Satch was 68.
***
That NCAA title was one of the best basketball games you'll ever see. And thanks to Duke, I won a basketball hoop of my very own. #bracketology
***
There's something about Dale Brackett that you can get behind. Most small teams -- especially when they're based more than a thousand miles away from most of the action -- don't make it in the big leagues of NASCAR. I don't know whether or not Brackett's new NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team will, but at least he's got the right attitude about it.
"We're trying to make our own opportunity here," he said after failing to qualify for his debut at Martinsville on March 27. "It's a huge jump from where we've been, and we know that. There's no real way to prepare for it. But you've either got it or you don't."
Amen, fella.
***
Some numbers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East this year. Just for fun.
Races: 2
Winners: Darrell Wallace, Jr. (Greenville), Max Gresham (South Boston)
Oldest winner: Gresham, age 16 years, 11 months, 4 days
Number of starters: 30 (Greenville), 26 (South Boston)
Number of rookies: 16 (Greenville), 16 (South Boston)
Average age of Top 10 finishers: 22 (Greenville), 21 (South Boston)
Average age of Top 10 finishers at South Boston without Matt Kobyluck (age 40) and Eddie MacDonald (age 29): 18
Drivers younger than Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., (age 20) at South Boston: 13
My, how this sport has changed.
***
Our many thanks to Dave Parker and Subway of Barre, Montpelier, Waterbury, and Northfield for the live updates at Hickory Motor Speedway's Easter Bunny 150, part of the PASS National Championship series. Dave made it possible for us to get photos, interviews, and mid-race updates from North Carolina (much as he did for us at New Smyrna in January).
Unfortunately our northern drivers didn't fare too well overall, but what can you do?
Tarheel racer Preston Peltier won the race over Jay Fogleman and young Ryan Blaney. Maine's Cassius Clark led a bunch of laps before finishing fourth and Ben Rowe turned in a "miracle" performance to finish in eighth place, but that was the best we could get. New Brunswick racer Lonnie Sommerville was 25th, with Maine racers Johnny Clark 26th and Ryan Moore 28th, New Hampshire's Brad Leighton -- who entered the race as the National point leader -- 30th, and Danville, Vt.'s Steven Legendre a crashed-out 31st.
We had it all covered on our Twitter page on Saturday, including quotes from Moore and Legendre, and photos of guys like David Ragan and Max Papis, who were moonlighting from their regular gigs as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers to have a little short track fun.
If you're not on Twitter, you'll be missing some good stuff this year that you may not find on the VMM homepage, like in-race updates, photos, quickie interviews, contests, and who knows what else!
***
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Saturday, April 10
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 1:00pm (Open Practice)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 2:00pm (Open Practice)
TOURING SERIES:
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Fri., April 9 -- Phoenix Int'l Raceway, Phoenix, Ariz. (9:00pm)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Sat., April 10 -- Phoenix Int'l Raceway, Phoenix, Ariz. (7:30pm)
Showing posts with label Kevin Lepage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kevin Lepage. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Juice: Where Were YOU?
-by Justin St. Louis
JFK. The first moon landing. The Miracle On Ice. The Challenger space shuttle. September 11.
And now, electronic scoring.
Where were you when these life-changing events took place? I'll never forget where I was yesterday, messing around at my "real" job, reading Twitter on my phone, when messages came across from ACT and Thunder Road that the organizations would be switching to electronic scoring systems for 2010. I'm telling you I almost dropped my Blackberry right there.
I had to read it again. And again. Then I read the actual press release itself. Could this really be happening?
Since the dawn of its existence, Thunder Road has been very steadfast and proud of its traditional tape-scoring procedures. Hand-written scoresheets scribbled hastily each and every lap by as many as five or six people for as many as 200 laps. The practice was perfected at the Barre track in 1963 by Dr. Gordon Nielsen, and techniques and systems were developed there and spread to the masses at race tracks across the country, from tiny Vermont bullrings to the wide-open spaces of Daytona. But tape scoring is becoming a forgotten art, and yesterday it lost another battle in its war of surivial.
In an age where everything is done by computers (and here I am), Thunder Road and ACT -- or, more specifically, front man Tom Curley -- have been deadset against implementing electronic scoring, citing its many faults. In person, I have heard Curley go on maybe a dozen times in as many years about the disadvantages of electronic scoring. I agree with many of his arguments, including the dreaded "glitch" that seems to happen only in the most important of moments.
Many fans may not know this, but the first Modified Racing Series event at Thunder Road in 2008 was a nightmare for the electronic scoring system used that day. I have also witnessed first-hand several scoring-related delays at places like Oxford Plains and Lee USA speedways, transponders either not registering or simply "missing" a random lap at many other tracks, and myriad other problems.
As I understand it, each race car's transponder is in the same pre-determined location, so many inches or feet from the front edge of the front bumper, with a scoring loop buried in the racing surface the same number of feet or inches in front of the start/finish line. This means a car's transponder crosses the scoring loop at the same time the front bumper crosses the start/finish line. (For the record, the NEKC go-kart series has used electronic scoring at Thunder Road for many years, and the scoring loop wires are clearly visible in the asphalt about four to five yards before the start/finish line at the track; MRS has used this same system in both of its appearances at the track, and NASCAR used the system with its Busch North Series events in the late 1990s and early 2000s.)
But at most tracks, the scoring loop travels only a couple of feet into the infield, if at all. What if a car has to go through the infield for some reason and misses the loop, but is able to continue? Is the car not scored that lap?
How about this scenario, and say for the sake of the argument that the transponders are located on the rear frame rail of each car (which is quite common): What if two cars are racing for position coming to the line, and Car A spins but Car B continues, yet Car A -- now facing backwards -- has its transponder cross the line before the Car B, which although its nose may have crossed the finish first, its transponder is scored behind Car A's. Yeah, I made a diagram. According to the transponder, Car A is the winner, but according to everything else logical, Car B is the winner. In theory, you would think such a decision could be easily overturned by a race director or anyone else that physically witnessed the incident.
In a situation where there are between three and six human scorers watching every single car with their own eyes and writing everything down as it happens, it'd be a moot point and Car B would win every time. In this case, where transponders have replaced humans (and the impression that the official press release gives is that there won't be as many people sitting in the scoring tower as there used to be, meaning less eyes watching), it's plausible that such a scenario could be missed if it was to happen somewhere in the middle of the pack rather than at the front.
Is that a likely thing to happen often? Probably not. Am I reaching a little bit to try and prove a point? Absolutely. But it's entirely possible. And a computer error could ultimately cost someone a championship.
Here's why I feel I have some ground to stand on: I was a tape scorer for ACT in 2008. I worked the position at each Série ACT-Castrol event that year as well as ACT Late Model Tour races at Waterford, Kawartha, and White Mountain, the Showdown at Chaudière, and a handful of weekly races at Thunder Road, probably 15 events in total. Am I an expert? Of course not, but I did take a crash course with a very steep learning curve, and I now feel like I could get the job done at any track anywhere.
Tape scoring is without question the toughest job in racing, and I don't care who you ask. This media stuff is easy, trust me. Tape scoring is the dumps. You need 100% focus and concentration every second of every lap. You have to change your techniques all the time, even once a lap. You have to be able to anticipate, react, and get it right in the blink of an eye. You don't even get to watch the race, but rather focus on a group of six or eight or fifteen cars. But you feel damn proud of yourself when the night is over and nothing got totally botched.
Try scoring a 30-lap Tiger Sportsman feature at Thunder Road, when the pack never breaks up from side-by-side racing. And under those horrendous 60-watt lights hanging over the track. I've done it. It's hard and it totally sucks. But when that happens this year and one of those guys twitches out of Turn 4 and someone goes through the infield -- and I know you can picture it in your head -- and he misses the scoring loop, he's gonna be real mad when he recovers to finish seventh only to discover he never crossed the "line" on lap 13 and really finished in 26th, one lap down. And when titles come down to 13 points over the top three drivers like the Tigers saw in 2009, it will make a HUGE difference.
What about the practice of going back to the last complete green-flag lap when there's a wreck? Will that change? Will partial laps be deleted or not scored?
There are many, many advantages to electronic scoring, including better accuracy, instant results, lap-by-lap breakdowns, and more. Transponders take the inevitable and cruicial guesswork out of photo finishes or tight-quarters racing, and are usually able to handle an entire race without issue.
But when things are running smooth, it's no big deal. It's those freak incidents that get people up in arms.
I hope for everyone's sake that the transition to electronic scoring goes well. Because I'll certainly rememeber where I am if it doesn't.
***
We've heard encouraging news that the region's three dirt tracks are thinking about working together this season toward a common, successful goal. We've learned of an upcoming meeting between promoters Butch Elms of Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Dick Therrien, new boss at New Hampshire's Canaan Dirt and Canaan Fair Speedways, and first-time track operator Mike Rivers, who has completely rebuilt the track in Rumney, N.H., now known as Big Daddy's Speedbowl.
Wouldn't a Friday-Saturday-Sunday circuit be just awesome for the dirt racers around here? Cross your fingers, kids.
***
Joey Doiron is making a big mistake. At just 18 years old, he has decided to move from ACT to PASS in an attempt to win back-to-back Rookie of the Year titles. In a press release earlier this week, Doiron said he is looking forward to "going against guys like Richard Moody Racing, Scott Mulkern's team and Johnny Clark on all those different tracks with PASS this year," and eventually maybe moving up the NASCAR ladder.
Doiron is a likeable kid with some obvious talent. His parents have poured their hearts and souls into building a small-but-solid race team around their son. They have a huge behind-the-scenes ally in chassis man Dale Shaw, and could really turn some heads this year if they stuck with ACT. Moving to PASS is certainly not a bad thing, but the timing simply isn't right. Last year Doiron ran well in his first PASS start at his home track, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Maine, and started to get his ACT legs under him late in the season with impressive runs at Waterford, Twin State, and the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but that's only four races. Out of 15. He also failed to qualify at Lee, Thunder Road, and the Oxford 250, and struggled in races at Airborne, White Mountain, and Beech Ridge.
Doiron's late-season progress showed that he'd have certainly been ready to be in the top-five consistently in 2010, up a bunch from his 14th-to-24th-place runs earlier. Instead, he'll have to start over in a different series with a different car, and the learning curve goes instantly back to where it was at the beginning of last year.
What Doiron needs to do is focus on staying consistent, becoming a threat week in and week out in ACT, get some seat time out front, maybe win a race or two, and then make the jump. And running four or five PASS events on ACT off-weekends would be a great idea in the mean time.
While he is generally easy on equipment, he still has an average of only two crew members -- his parents -- at each race. He needs to establish himself, recruit some more help, and get comfortable racing against the likes of RPM Motorsports, Brent Dragon, John Donahue, the Pete Duto #55NH team, Joey Pole Racing, and the powerhouse ACT teams that are pound-for-pound every bit as good as the PASS-based Moody, Mulkern, and Clark organizations.
We just think Doiron would be better off running in fourth place in ACT than running 12th in PASS. If he had one year of solid consistency in ACT and then went to PASS, the momentum alone would give him a better shot at doing well in PASS right off the bat.
***
We're watching our TVs a bit more this year than we did last year, with eyes on Shelburne's Kevin Lepage in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Boris Said in the Sprint Cup ranks.
You might recall a sharp-tongued column from last summer about Lepage's recent disappointments, but maybe he's found something better this year in Jack McNelly's #56 Start Energy Drink Chevrolets. Last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Lepage practiced and qualified at around 25th place before falling out with a bad wheel bearing on lap 40.
Is this a start-and-park operation? It's hard to tell, but we don't think it will be. McNelly didn't run any races last year, and ran just four times in 2008 with drivers Danny O'Quinn and Travis Kittleson. We're going to wait and see on this, but the car has what appears to be decent sponsorship, and past results with McNelly's cars don't indicate a start-and-parker. Lepage may not win any races in the car, but it seems like a much better deal for Lepage than what he had with Derrike Cope and Jimmy Means last year.
Said, of course, is the pilot of Latitude 43 Motorsports, owned by new guy Bill Jenkins of West Wardsboro. Said finished 25th in the Daytona 500 on the lead lap despite two crashes, but fell out of Fontana in 38th place with a broken rear gear after chasing ignition problems all weekend.
Jenkins has made it clear that he fully intends to run the #26 Ford at every event on the Sprint Cup schedule this season, and is still locked into the lineup (based on last year's top-35 in owner points; the #26 points were purchased from Roush-Fenway Racing) for Las Vegas this weekend, Atlanta next weekend, and Bristol on March 21 before the team will have to worry about qualifying. With little in the way of sponsorship, but a talented team in Said and crew chief Frankie Stoddard, Jenkins remains confident that his team will succeed.
Said ranks 32nd in driver points with Jenkins 33rd in owner standings, 20 points ahead of 36th-place Bob Germain's #13 car and driver Max Papis.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Juice: Not Another Nick Sweet Column
-by Justin St. Louis
"That guy has got stone hands," Nick Sweet laughs after being congratulated by Tony Andrews on Thursday night.
A couple of minutes later, Eric Chase offers a handshake, and Phil Scott walks over to pat Sweet on the shoulder. A member of the wrecker crew gives him a nudge on his way past. Crew members, fans, even a couple of admiring young girls -- 14 or 15 years old, at most -- give some sort of congratulatory praise to Thunder Road's newest Late Model winner.
"I'm gonna crack a cold one I think," he says. "You want one? We've probably got some in the cooler."
"No, thanks, I'm working," I'm forced to reply. But I do appreciate the offer, and even more so, the fact that it came in the middle of an interview following the biggest moment in this young racer's career.
Nick Sweet seems genuinely happy just to be racing, and winning is merely a bonus. And although he's just 24 years old, the husband and father is mature enough to keep things in perspective. Go ahead and stick a microphone in his face and try to ask him a serious question, I dare you. Invariably, he'll pause at some point during the interview to say hello to somebody, or in the middle of praising his team, he'll giggle at his own goofy, self-deprecating one-liners and speak of how he forces his crew to work harder because he's not that good behind the wheel.
Here's an example, as Sweet speaks about the dedication of his crew while picking on himself about scuffing the decals on his car every race: "We were at the shop, heck, I was going home before them and I usually don't do that. I'm usually one of the last guys there, and I was like, 'Guys, I gotta go to work in the morning,' and they would just stay down there. And my dad, especially, without him this wouldn't be happening the way it is. He is just amazing. He does stuff that we shouldn't even be doing, he's so particular. He'll make sure it's right. That's what makes us so good, though, it's that kind of aspect. I'm very fortunate. I work hard on it, but he just puts that extra effort in, it makes it so much more. I go down, and I'm good at doing vinyl. I'm getting fantastic at that. I'm great at fixing the body panels, but when it comes to suspension, my dad is just right on it."
Another example, speaking about how his team is a tight-knit group: "We're a family-run team and that's what makes it fun. We stay close as a family, and it's even fun sometimes when you're fighting. It's like a woman, you've got to fight 'em every once in a while. It wouldn't be real if you weren't fighting, right? Wait, is Kristin (Sweet's wife) going to read this? You're like a family basically, that's how we are. We lose as a team, we win as a team, and you really find out who your real friends are when you're down."
Or this one, speaking about his chances for the 2009 Thunder Road championship after clinching his first career win: "All I care about is finishing. I'd like to come back and get a top five, that'd really be something, but we'll see. It's fun to think you're racing for it, but I just want to keep winning races now. I've been hungry for them, and maybe sometimes too hungry. Sometimes I get a little impatient and I run out of talent, it just happens."
It's refreshing to have a racer as fast as Nick Sweet understand that there's more to this game than just showing up, driving fast, saying the right things, and getting home in time for supper. His car is usually one of the last Late Models loaded up after the races. He sticks around and signs autographs and talks to fans until the lights are shut off. He encourages kids to sit in his race car. He's still a fan. In fact, his paint schemes have recently been designed in tribute to his childhood heroes. ("I'm hoping they'll think I'm Jeff Taylor and they'll cheer for me," Sweet joked at Oxford Plains Speedway last month, referencing the numbers he designed for his car in the same style of the multi-time OPS champion.)
I mused in this column space about six weeks ago that it was just a matter of time before Sweet broke into victory lane. Truth is, he was already a winner.
***
I got a rather pointed email from a friend and colleague of mine following last week's editorial on Vermont native Kevin Lepage struggling mercilessly in NASCAR's upper levels. "Unbelievably harsh treatment," it was called.
Folks, let's get one thing straight: I don't dislike Kevin Lepage at all. At my "real" job, we've got 52 television sets, and I make sure that at least one of them is tuned into Nationwide Series practice and qualifying every week. I hope for a miraculous run at the top of the speed charts every time, and it simply never comes. In fact, last week he didn't make the show at Michigan.
Look, I grew up cheering for the guy. When Lepage moved south, my parents bought me the die-cast cars and we followed his every move. When he came back home to Thunder Road to race the Milk Bowl in 1994 and a Thursday show in 1998, I foamed at the mouth to get inside the gates and watch him race. I served his mother lunch one time when I was working at Friendly's as a teenager, and I told people about it for years. As a Vermonter, I'm proud of what Kevin Lepage has achieved.
That doesn't mean I can't be disappointed with what he's doing now.
I have a friend that has been a big Atlanta Braves fan since we were kids. Huge John Smoltz fan. Do you think he doesn't have the right to be disappointed in what Smoltz is going through this year?
I want nothing but the best for Kevin Lepage, and I do understand that he has bills to pay. In this day and age, a driver past his prime "marketing years" (which start to end at age 22 these days), needs to take advantage of every opportunity he or she can get to stay in the racing business, and that's what Lepage is doing. I get that.
But I have a hunch that if he found something else to do to make ends meet -- Crew chief? Team manager? Official? Sponsor representative? Television analyst? -- and came back to moonlight as a driver in his short track roots, he'd be celebrated as a winner again. Sure, it's not the Sprint Cup Series, but who cares? It's racing, it's winning, and it's what he should be doing. He deserves to win. He's worked too hard for too long to run 37th or 42nd or not qualify.
That's all I was saying.
***
If you like wild crashes, you owe it to yourself to look at this Modified wreck produced by Cody Sargent at Albany-Saratoga. That's levitation, homes.
***
I don't care a hoot about football or Brett Favre, but this right here is awesome. You go get 'em, Rockford.
***
I had never had a good experience at Riverside Speedway. Ever.
The first time I went as a kid, it rained, it was cold, and my dad's friend crashed in the race. The second time I went, as a racer about eight years later, I got disqualified for a stupid bent wheel. The third time (the only other time I competed there), I did well in a race, but I got walled by every single Riverside regular that I raced against, and I got pulled over on the way home for doing six miles per hour over the speed limit while towing a trailer on a downhill slope. The next four or five times, it either rained, or there were fights or wrecks or just plain bad races. The last time I went in 2007, the program moved along so slowly that I got up and left before the show ended, despite paying $30 to get in.
The stretch of Route 2 from East Montpelier to Lancaster, N.H. isn't bad during the daylight, but that same stretch headed home in the opposite direction at night is THE WORST drive in America, and I feel that way when I'm on it coming home from Oxford, too, every time. And by the way, that's kinda the only way to get to Riverside and back for me.
I hadn't been there in two years, and I wasn't necessarily looking forward to going back. But Sunday, for the first time in my life, I was glad I went. I saw one helluva race, and Wayne Helliwell's story that day was as dramatic, compelling, and super-human as any I've seen in short track racing. The fact that it was so ungodly hot that the asphalt fell apart, I had to remind myself, was not the fault of Riverside itself, that's just the way it was. That could have happened anywhere.
I probably won't be back to Riverside this year, just because that's the way the schedule works out. But Sunday went a long way for me. Kudos to the staff and competitors.
***
I'll be honest, I reported Sunday's event at Devil's Bowl exactly as it was prepared in the track's official press release. And then I got a message from a guy that's been there all season, letting me know that, um, said press release might be a bit misleading.
This is the opening line from the release: "Ken Tremont Jr. hasn't officially won the track championship at Devil's Bowl Speedway yet, but the fat lady is definitely warming up backstage."
Well, that's foreshadowing, no? Continue reading...
"Tremont held off Todd Stone Sunday night to register his sixth win of the season in the 30-lap 358-modified feature on Judith L. Richards Memorial Night at Devil's Bowl. ... Frank Hoard Sr. set the pace for the first 11 laps of the modified feature, but Tremont had the Rifenburgh Construction small block humming and only needed seven laps to get from his eighth starting position to second.
Tremont used a restart on lap 11 to get the lead, and the rest of the field could do nothing more than watch his rear bumper for the rest of the feature. Stone, who started just behind Tremont, moved into second on lap 14, but had to be content with the No. 2 spot, and knows his reign as track champion is just about over."
Kinda paints the picture that it's all but over, right? Not so.
Turns out Todd Stone is, in fact, third in points at Devil's Bowl this year and his reign may be over soon. But it's not likely that he'll go away quietly. And neither will Tim LaDuc.
Depsite six wins, Tremont has only an 11-point edge over LaDuc and just 13 points on Stone with three events remaining, including the double-points season finale. With each position offering just two points more than the next (read: If Stone wins this Sunday, LaDuc is second, and Tremont is eighth, Stone and LaDuc would be tied for the lead with Tremont one point back in third, it's THAT close), it's far from over. If Tremont had a 70-point lead, then it might be time to warm up the bus, but that's not the case.
And I'll tell you right now that if I was a media guy working for a track, I'd hype the living crap out of a point battle like that -- a la Airborne Speedway with Martin Roy and Patrick Dupree, or the now-finished ACT Tiger Sportsman Series, which ended in a tie -- not calling it a day like Devil's Bowl.
***
Speaking of Airborne, Kenny Schrader is the one professional racer I have really wanted to see all season long on a short track, and Saturday's Modified race ought to be a good show.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Tiger Sportsman Series: Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, N.Y. won his first ACT championship on Thursday at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre after winning a tie-breaker with St. Albans driver Jason Bonnett. Bonnett finished sixth in the ACE Hardware 100 with Duquette 20th after a mid-race crash, but due to his victories at Airborne and Canaan Fair earlier in the season, Duquette was awarded the tie-breaker over the winless Bonnett. Shawn Fleury of Middlesex won the ACE Hardware 100 over Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell, Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, North Wolcott's Brendan Moodie, Scott Coburn of Barre, and Bonnett.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Aaron Bartemy of Sheldon took his second Modified win of the season on Saturday night, while Milton's Bill Sawyer was fifth in the Sportsman feature. Milton's Rob Gordon was the runner-up in the Renegade feature for the second week in a row, with Swanton's Kevin Boutin fourth, Mike Terry of Grand Isle fifth, Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax eighth, and Swanton's Dave Rabtoy tenth. Billy Jenkins of Milton was sixth in the Mini-Modified feature.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Dave Camara of Fair Haven took his first win of the season in the 358 Modified class on Friday night, while Todd Stone of Middlebury finished sixth. Rob Langevin of Londonderry was fourth in the Sportsman division. Fred Little of Salisbury finished foruth in the Pro Street Stock feature with Benson's Jeff Washburn seventh and Ed Thompson of Fair Haven eighth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Chris Donnelly of Piermont, N.H. took his fourth Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night, with Thetford Center's Wayne Stearns second, Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. third, Ryan Avery of Thornton, N.H. fourth, and Mike Dunn fifth. Kevin Chaffee of East Orange was sixth with East Thetford's Jason Gray ninth. Rookie Jason Horniak of Bradford held off Topsham's Josh Harrington to win the Sportsman Coupe feature over Billy Simmons of Bradford, Melvin Pierson of Topsham, and Bryan King of Corinth. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center won his ninth Limited Late Model feature of the year over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge, Shane Race of South Strafford, Will Hull of East Montpelier, and T.C. Forward of Lyme, N.H. St. Johnsbury's Steve Bell notched his first Fast Four win over Wilder's Andy Johnson, Ryan Dutton of Bradford, Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury, and John Dunham of West Lebanon, N.H. First-time Hornet winner Mike Chapin of Chelsea snapped a six-race win streak for Bradford's Tom Placey, who finished second. Bobby Bell of St. Johnsbury was third over Chelsea's Mike Ryan and Mike Santaw of Lyme, N.H.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse was the Modified runner-up with Hartland's Ed Tobin sixth. Will Hull of East Montpelier was the Street Stock runner-up, with Dan Eastman of Thetford Center third. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was the Fast Four winner with Ryan Dutton of Bradford third and Wilder's Andy Johnson seventh. Lacey Hanson of Orwell finished second in the Granite State Mini Sprint 500cc race.
Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Kris Lyman of West Hartford was eighth in the Pro Stock feature Saturday with South Royalton's Kevin Menard tenth, while Bradford's Arnie Stylges finished third in the Super Street race. Jamie Hodgdon of Ascutney won the Pure Stock feature with Rory Merritt of North Springfield tenth. Chris Lyman of Hartland won the Outlaw Mini Stock race over White River Junction drivers Bobby Prior and Josh Sunn and Chris McKinstry of Thetford. Ascutney's Tyler Lescord won the Bandit race over Mike Parker of Bradford.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y. took his sixth 358 Modified win of 2009 on Sunday over Middlebury's Todd Stone, Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon, Tim LaDuc of Orwell, and Ron Proctor of Charlton, N.Y. Brian Whittemore of Florence was sixth with Whiting's Jimmy Ryan eighth and Gardner Stone of Middlebury ninth. Seth Howe of South Londonderry won the 50-lap Budget Sportsman race over Indian Lake, N.Y.'s Paul Dunham, Jr., Jack Swinton of Hudson Falls, N.Y., Manchester's Frank Hoard, III, and Derrick McGrew of Ballston Spa, N.Y. Fred Little of Salisbury won the Pro Street Stock feature over Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven, Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y., Hampton, N.Y.'s Justin Perry, and Pat McLaughlin of Johnsonville, N.Y. Brandon's Mike Clark won his third Limited feature of the season with Hydeville's Bill Duprey fourth, and Nathan Woodworth of Essex Junction beat Rutland's Kayla Bryant in the Mini Stock/Duke Stock race.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 11th in the Super Stock race on Saturday, with Joe Rogers of Ludlow tenth in the Mini Stocks. Vernon's Heath Renaud beat Dick Houle of West Brattleboro to win the 4-cylinder Enduro.
PASS North Super Late Models: Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway ace Tom Scully, Jr. beat the PASS stars at his home track on Saturday night for his first win on the series. Maine racers Ben Rowe and Johnny Clark completed the podium, with Danville rookie Steven Legendre 17th.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Howard Switser of West Burke finished fourth in Sunday's "Clash of the Titans 150" Late Model event, behind Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Quinny Welch, and Randy Potter. Rick Utley, Jr. of Wheelock won Saturday's Street Stock feature over Concord's Brett Rowell. Johanna Christman of Cabot won the Angel event on Saturday.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Nick Sweet of Barre posted his first career Late Model win on Thursday over Shelburne's Jamie Fisher, Cris Michaud of Northfield, Phil Scott of Montpelier, and point leader Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton. Shawn Fleury of Middlesex won the ACE Hardware 100 for the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series. Garry Bashaw of Lincoln was a first-time Street Stock winner over Elmore's David Whitcomb, rookie Tucker Williams of Hyde Park, Michael Moore of East Haven, and Williamstown's Mike MacAskill, while Donny Yates of North Montpelier was the Junkyard Warrior winner over Barre's Kevin Dodge, Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield, Lance Donald of Williamstown, and Bryan Nykiel of Berlin. On Friday, Rich Lowrey of Charlotte won his second Late Model event of the season over Dave Whitcomb of Essex Junction, Fisher, Waitsfield's Grant Folsom, and Michaud. Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg took his first Tiger Sportsman win of the year over Marshfield's Matt Potter, Derrick O'Donnell of Bradford, Cody Blake of Barre, and Joe Steffen of Essex Junction. M.C. Ingram of Essex Junction won the Street Stock race over Williams, Moore, Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick, and Hancock's Danny Doyle, while Yates took his second Warrior win in 24 hours over Cabot's Ken Christman, Kevin Wheatley of Williamstown, Streeter, and Donald.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Rowan Pennink of Huntington Valley, Penn. notched his first career win at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday, followed by Connecticut driver Chris Pasteryak and Kenny Horton. Dwight Jarvis of Ascutney was 21st.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Guy Caron of Lempster, N.H. won the three-segment Late Model feature on Friday over Chris Bergerson and Marc Palmisano. Joey Jarvis of Ascutney was the Modified runner-up. Chris Wilk of Mendon beat Russ Davis of Cavendish to win the Super Street feature. Josh Lovely of Barre was third in the Strictly Stocks. Rob Leitch of Cavendish won the Wildcat feature, which was run in counter-clockwise direction, over Ludlow's Rob Olney, III and James Brow of Brattleboro.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantagne of McIndoe Falls finished sixth Saturday's Late Model feature, with Stacy Cahoon and son Tyler Cahoon of St. Johnsbury ninth and tenth, respectively. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was the Strictly Stock runner-up with Milton's Gordie Stone seventh, and Concord driver Rubin Call was third in the Strictly Stock Mini feature.
***
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Aug. 20
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 6:30pm (Kids Poster Contest)
Friday, Aug. 21
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 6:45pm (Empire Lightning Sprints)
Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 7:00pm (SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars)
Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 7:30pm (All-Star Race Trucks, Demolition Derby)
Saturday, Aug. 22
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford -- 6:00pm (Hornet Queens)
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 6:00pm (Special guest NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, plus SpeedSTR Midgets)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 6:00pm (New England Champ Kart Series)
Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. -- 6:00pm (All-Star Race Trucks)
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Late Model Triple Crown 100)
White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Regular Event)
Sunday, Aug. 23
Devil's Bowl Speedway, West Haven -- 6:45pm (Veterans Night)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 2:00pm (PASS North Super Late Models)
TOURING SERIES:
PASS North Super Late Models: Sun., Aug. 23 -- Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (2:00pm)
SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars: Fri., Aug. 21 -- Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (7:00pm)
Série ACT-Castrol: Sat., Aug. 22 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix, Qué. (5:00pm)
True Value Modified Racing Series: Sat.. Aug. 22 -- Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (6:00pm)
"That guy has got stone hands," Nick Sweet laughs after being congratulated by Tony Andrews on Thursday night.A couple of minutes later, Eric Chase offers a handshake, and Phil Scott walks over to pat Sweet on the shoulder. A member of the wrecker crew gives him a nudge on his way past. Crew members, fans, even a couple of admiring young girls -- 14 or 15 years old, at most -- give some sort of congratulatory praise to Thunder Road's newest Late Model winner.
"I'm gonna crack a cold one I think," he says. "You want one? We've probably got some in the cooler."
"No, thanks, I'm working," I'm forced to reply. But I do appreciate the offer, and even more so, the fact that it came in the middle of an interview following the biggest moment in this young racer's career.
Nick Sweet seems genuinely happy just to be racing, and winning is merely a bonus. And although he's just 24 years old, the husband and father is mature enough to keep things in perspective. Go ahead and stick a microphone in his face and try to ask him a serious question, I dare you. Invariably, he'll pause at some point during the interview to say hello to somebody, or in the middle of praising his team, he'll giggle at his own goofy, self-deprecating one-liners and speak of how he forces his crew to work harder because he's not that good behind the wheel.
Here's an example, as Sweet speaks about the dedication of his crew while picking on himself about scuffing the decals on his car every race: "We were at the shop, heck, I was going home before them and I usually don't do that. I'm usually one of the last guys there, and I was like, 'Guys, I gotta go to work in the morning,' and they would just stay down there. And my dad, especially, without him this wouldn't be happening the way it is. He is just amazing. He does stuff that we shouldn't even be doing, he's so particular. He'll make sure it's right. That's what makes us so good, though, it's that kind of aspect. I'm very fortunate. I work hard on it, but he just puts that extra effort in, it makes it so much more. I go down, and I'm good at doing vinyl. I'm getting fantastic at that. I'm great at fixing the body panels, but when it comes to suspension, my dad is just right on it."
Another example, speaking about how his team is a tight-knit group: "We're a family-run team and that's what makes it fun. We stay close as a family, and it's even fun sometimes when you're fighting. It's like a woman, you've got to fight 'em every once in a while. It wouldn't be real if you weren't fighting, right? Wait, is Kristin (Sweet's wife) going to read this? You're like a family basically, that's how we are. We lose as a team, we win as a team, and you really find out who your real friends are when you're down."
Or this one, speaking about his chances for the 2009 Thunder Road championship after clinching his first career win: "All I care about is finishing. I'd like to come back and get a top five, that'd really be something, but we'll see. It's fun to think you're racing for it, but I just want to keep winning races now. I've been hungry for them, and maybe sometimes too hungry. Sometimes I get a little impatient and I run out of talent, it just happens."
It's refreshing to have a racer as fast as Nick Sweet understand that there's more to this game than just showing up, driving fast, saying the right things, and getting home in time for supper. His car is usually one of the last Late Models loaded up after the races. He sticks around and signs autographs and talks to fans until the lights are shut off. He encourages kids to sit in his race car. He's still a fan. In fact, his paint schemes have recently been designed in tribute to his childhood heroes. ("I'm hoping they'll think I'm Jeff Taylor and they'll cheer for me," Sweet joked at Oxford Plains Speedway last month, referencing the numbers he designed for his car in the same style of the multi-time OPS champion.)
I mused in this column space about six weeks ago that it was just a matter of time before Sweet broke into victory lane. Truth is, he was already a winner.
***
I got a rather pointed email from a friend and colleague of mine following last week's editorial on Vermont native Kevin Lepage struggling mercilessly in NASCAR's upper levels. "Unbelievably harsh treatment," it was called.
Folks, let's get one thing straight: I don't dislike Kevin Lepage at all. At my "real" job, we've got 52 television sets, and I make sure that at least one of them is tuned into Nationwide Series practice and qualifying every week. I hope for a miraculous run at the top of the speed charts every time, and it simply never comes. In fact, last week he didn't make the show at Michigan.
Look, I grew up cheering for the guy. When Lepage moved south, my parents bought me the die-cast cars and we followed his every move. When he came back home to Thunder Road to race the Milk Bowl in 1994 and a Thursday show in 1998, I foamed at the mouth to get inside the gates and watch him race. I served his mother lunch one time when I was working at Friendly's as a teenager, and I told people about it for years. As a Vermonter, I'm proud of what Kevin Lepage has achieved.
That doesn't mean I can't be disappointed with what he's doing now.
I have a friend that has been a big Atlanta Braves fan since we were kids. Huge John Smoltz fan. Do you think he doesn't have the right to be disappointed in what Smoltz is going through this year?
I want nothing but the best for Kevin Lepage, and I do understand that he has bills to pay. In this day and age, a driver past his prime "marketing years" (which start to end at age 22 these days), needs to take advantage of every opportunity he or she can get to stay in the racing business, and that's what Lepage is doing. I get that.
But I have a hunch that if he found something else to do to make ends meet -- Crew chief? Team manager? Official? Sponsor representative? Television analyst? -- and came back to moonlight as a driver in his short track roots, he'd be celebrated as a winner again. Sure, it's not the Sprint Cup Series, but who cares? It's racing, it's winning, and it's what he should be doing. He deserves to win. He's worked too hard for too long to run 37th or 42nd or not qualify.
That's all I was saying.
***
If you like wild crashes, you owe it to yourself to look at this Modified wreck produced by Cody Sargent at Albany-Saratoga. That's levitation, homes.
***
I don't care a hoot about football or Brett Favre, but this right here is awesome. You go get 'em, Rockford.
***
I had never had a good experience at Riverside Speedway. Ever.
The first time I went as a kid, it rained, it was cold, and my dad's friend crashed in the race. The second time I went, as a racer about eight years later, I got disqualified for a stupid bent wheel. The third time (the only other time I competed there), I did well in a race, but I got walled by every single Riverside regular that I raced against, and I got pulled over on the way home for doing six miles per hour over the speed limit while towing a trailer on a downhill slope. The next four or five times, it either rained, or there were fights or wrecks or just plain bad races. The last time I went in 2007, the program moved along so slowly that I got up and left before the show ended, despite paying $30 to get in.
The stretch of Route 2 from East Montpelier to Lancaster, N.H. isn't bad during the daylight, but that same stretch headed home in the opposite direction at night is THE WORST drive in America, and I feel that way when I'm on it coming home from Oxford, too, every time. And by the way, that's kinda the only way to get to Riverside and back for me.
I hadn't been there in two years, and I wasn't necessarily looking forward to going back. But Sunday, for the first time in my life, I was glad I went. I saw one helluva race, and Wayne Helliwell's story that day was as dramatic, compelling, and super-human as any I've seen in short track racing. The fact that it was so ungodly hot that the asphalt fell apart, I had to remind myself, was not the fault of Riverside itself, that's just the way it was. That could have happened anywhere.
I probably won't be back to Riverside this year, just because that's the way the schedule works out. But Sunday went a long way for me. Kudos to the staff and competitors.
***
I'll be honest, I reported Sunday's event at Devil's Bowl exactly as it was prepared in the track's official press release. And then I got a message from a guy that's been there all season, letting me know that, um, said press release might be a bit misleading.
This is the opening line from the release: "Ken Tremont Jr. hasn't officially won the track championship at Devil's Bowl Speedway yet, but the fat lady is definitely warming up backstage."
Well, that's foreshadowing, no? Continue reading...
"Tremont held off Todd Stone Sunday night to register his sixth win of the season in the 30-lap 358-modified feature on Judith L. Richards Memorial Night at Devil's Bowl. ... Frank Hoard Sr. set the pace for the first 11 laps of the modified feature, but Tremont had the Rifenburgh Construction small block humming and only needed seven laps to get from his eighth starting position to second.
Tremont used a restart on lap 11 to get the lead, and the rest of the field could do nothing more than watch his rear bumper for the rest of the feature. Stone, who started just behind Tremont, moved into second on lap 14, but had to be content with the No. 2 spot, and knows his reign as track champion is just about over."
Kinda paints the picture that it's all but over, right? Not so.
Turns out Todd Stone is, in fact, third in points at Devil's Bowl this year and his reign may be over soon. But it's not likely that he'll go away quietly. And neither will Tim LaDuc.
Depsite six wins, Tremont has only an 11-point edge over LaDuc and just 13 points on Stone with three events remaining, including the double-points season finale. With each position offering just two points more than the next (read: If Stone wins this Sunday, LaDuc is second, and Tremont is eighth, Stone and LaDuc would be tied for the lead with Tremont one point back in third, it's THAT close), it's far from over. If Tremont had a 70-point lead, then it might be time to warm up the bus, but that's not the case.
And I'll tell you right now that if I was a media guy working for a track, I'd hype the living crap out of a point battle like that -- a la Airborne Speedway with Martin Roy and Patrick Dupree, or the now-finished ACT Tiger Sportsman Series, which ended in a tie -- not calling it a day like Devil's Bowl.
***
Speaking of Airborne, Kenny Schrader is the one professional racer I have really wanted to see all season long on a short track, and Saturday's Modified race ought to be a good show.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Tiger Sportsman Series: Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, N.Y. won his first ACT championship on Thursday at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre after winning a tie-breaker with St. Albans driver Jason Bonnett. Bonnett finished sixth in the ACE Hardware 100 with Duquette 20th after a mid-race crash, but due to his victories at Airborne and Canaan Fair earlier in the season, Duquette was awarded the tie-breaker over the winless Bonnett. Shawn Fleury of Middlesex won the ACE Hardware 100 over Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell, Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, North Wolcott's Brendan Moodie, Scott Coburn of Barre, and Bonnett.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Aaron Bartemy of Sheldon took his second Modified win of the season on Saturday night, while Milton's Bill Sawyer was fifth in the Sportsman feature. Milton's Rob Gordon was the runner-up in the Renegade feature for the second week in a row, with Swanton's Kevin Boutin fourth, Mike Terry of Grand Isle fifth, Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax eighth, and Swanton's Dave Rabtoy tenth. Billy Jenkins of Milton was sixth in the Mini-Modified feature.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Dave Camara of Fair Haven took his first win of the season in the 358 Modified class on Friday night, while Todd Stone of Middlebury finished sixth. Rob Langevin of Londonderry was fourth in the Sportsman division. Fred Little of Salisbury finished foruth in the Pro Street Stock feature with Benson's Jeff Washburn seventh and Ed Thompson of Fair Haven eighth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Chris Donnelly of Piermont, N.H. took his fourth Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night, with Thetford Center's Wayne Stearns second, Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. third, Ryan Avery of Thornton, N.H. fourth, and Mike Dunn fifth. Kevin Chaffee of East Orange was sixth with East Thetford's Jason Gray ninth. Rookie Jason Horniak of Bradford held off Topsham's Josh Harrington to win the Sportsman Coupe feature over Billy Simmons of Bradford, Melvin Pierson of Topsham, and Bryan King of Corinth. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center won his ninth Limited Late Model feature of the year over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge, Shane Race of South Strafford, Will Hull of East Montpelier, and T.C. Forward of Lyme, N.H. St. Johnsbury's Steve Bell notched his first Fast Four win over Wilder's Andy Johnson, Ryan Dutton of Bradford, Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury, and John Dunham of West Lebanon, N.H. First-time Hornet winner Mike Chapin of Chelsea snapped a six-race win streak for Bradford's Tom Placey, who finished second. Bobby Bell of St. Johnsbury was third over Chelsea's Mike Ryan and Mike Santaw of Lyme, N.H.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse was the Modified runner-up with Hartland's Ed Tobin sixth. Will Hull of East Montpelier was the Street Stock runner-up, with Dan Eastman of Thetford Center third. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was the Fast Four winner with Ryan Dutton of Bradford third and Wilder's Andy Johnson seventh. Lacey Hanson of Orwell finished second in the Granite State Mini Sprint 500cc race.
Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Kris Lyman of West Hartford was eighth in the Pro Stock feature Saturday with South Royalton's Kevin Menard tenth, while Bradford's Arnie Stylges finished third in the Super Street race. Jamie Hodgdon of Ascutney won the Pure Stock feature with Rory Merritt of North Springfield tenth. Chris Lyman of Hartland won the Outlaw Mini Stock race over White River Junction drivers Bobby Prior and Josh Sunn and Chris McKinstry of Thetford. Ascutney's Tyler Lescord won the Bandit race over Mike Parker of Bradford.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y. took his sixth 358 Modified win of 2009 on Sunday over Middlebury's Todd Stone, Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon, Tim LaDuc of Orwell, and Ron Proctor of Charlton, N.Y. Brian Whittemore of Florence was sixth with Whiting's Jimmy Ryan eighth and Gardner Stone of Middlebury ninth. Seth Howe of South Londonderry won the 50-lap Budget Sportsman race over Indian Lake, N.Y.'s Paul Dunham, Jr., Jack Swinton of Hudson Falls, N.Y., Manchester's Frank Hoard, III, and Derrick McGrew of Ballston Spa, N.Y. Fred Little of Salisbury won the Pro Street Stock feature over Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven, Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y., Hampton, N.Y.'s Justin Perry, and Pat McLaughlin of Johnsonville, N.Y. Brandon's Mike Clark won his third Limited feature of the season with Hydeville's Bill Duprey fourth, and Nathan Woodworth of Essex Junction beat Rutland's Kayla Bryant in the Mini Stock/Duke Stock race.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 11th in the Super Stock race on Saturday, with Joe Rogers of Ludlow tenth in the Mini Stocks. Vernon's Heath Renaud beat Dick Houle of West Brattleboro to win the 4-cylinder Enduro.
PASS North Super Late Models: Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway ace Tom Scully, Jr. beat the PASS stars at his home track on Saturday night for his first win on the series. Maine racers Ben Rowe and Johnny Clark completed the podium, with Danville rookie Steven Legendre 17th.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Howard Switser of West Burke finished fourth in Sunday's "Clash of the Titans 150" Late Model event, behind Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Quinny Welch, and Randy Potter. Rick Utley, Jr. of Wheelock won Saturday's Street Stock feature over Concord's Brett Rowell. Johanna Christman of Cabot won the Angel event on Saturday.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Nick Sweet of Barre posted his first career Late Model win on Thursday over Shelburne's Jamie Fisher, Cris Michaud of Northfield, Phil Scott of Montpelier, and point leader Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton. Shawn Fleury of Middlesex won the ACE Hardware 100 for the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series. Garry Bashaw of Lincoln was a first-time Street Stock winner over Elmore's David Whitcomb, rookie Tucker Williams of Hyde Park, Michael Moore of East Haven, and Williamstown's Mike MacAskill, while Donny Yates of North Montpelier was the Junkyard Warrior winner over Barre's Kevin Dodge, Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield, Lance Donald of Williamstown, and Bryan Nykiel of Berlin. On Friday, Rich Lowrey of Charlotte won his second Late Model event of the season over Dave Whitcomb of Essex Junction, Fisher, Waitsfield's Grant Folsom, and Michaud. Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg took his first Tiger Sportsman win of the year over Marshfield's Matt Potter, Derrick O'Donnell of Bradford, Cody Blake of Barre, and Joe Steffen of Essex Junction. M.C. Ingram of Essex Junction won the Street Stock race over Williams, Moore, Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick, and Hancock's Danny Doyle, while Yates took his second Warrior win in 24 hours over Cabot's Ken Christman, Kevin Wheatley of Williamstown, Streeter, and Donald.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Rowan Pennink of Huntington Valley, Penn. notched his first career win at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday, followed by Connecticut driver Chris Pasteryak and Kenny Horton. Dwight Jarvis of Ascutney was 21st.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Guy Caron of Lempster, N.H. won the three-segment Late Model feature on Friday over Chris Bergerson and Marc Palmisano. Joey Jarvis of Ascutney was the Modified runner-up. Chris Wilk of Mendon beat Russ Davis of Cavendish to win the Super Street feature. Josh Lovely of Barre was third in the Strictly Stocks. Rob Leitch of Cavendish won the Wildcat feature, which was run in counter-clockwise direction, over Ludlow's Rob Olney, III and James Brow of Brattleboro.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantagne of McIndoe Falls finished sixth Saturday's Late Model feature, with Stacy Cahoon and son Tyler Cahoon of St. Johnsbury ninth and tenth, respectively. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was the Strictly Stock runner-up with Milton's Gordie Stone seventh, and Concord driver Rubin Call was third in the Strictly Stock Mini feature.
***
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Aug. 20
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 6:30pm (Kids Poster Contest)
Friday, Aug. 21
Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 6:45pm (Empire Lightning Sprints)
Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 7:00pm (SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars)
Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 7:30pm (All-Star Race Trucks, Demolition Derby)
Saturday, Aug. 22
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford -- 6:00pm (Hornet Queens)
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 6:00pm (Special guest NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, plus SpeedSTR Midgets)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 6:00pm (New England Champ Kart Series)
Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. -- 6:00pm (All-Star Race Trucks)
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Late Model Triple Crown 100)
White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. -- 6:00pm (Regular Event)
Sunday, Aug. 23
Devil's Bowl Speedway, West Haven -- 6:45pm (Veterans Night)
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. -- 2:00pm (PASS North Super Late Models)
TOURING SERIES:
PASS North Super Late Models: Sun., Aug. 23 -- Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (2:00pm)
SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars: Fri., Aug. 21 -- Canaan Dirt Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (7:00pm)
Série ACT-Castrol: Sat., Aug. 22 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix, Qué. (5:00pm)
True Value Modified Racing Series: Sat.. Aug. 22 -- Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (6:00pm)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Juice: Either Come Back or Get Out
-by Justin St. Louis
When is Kevin Lepage going to find something else to do? The guy should have retired five years ago and opened up, I don't know, a boat sales shop or a car dealership or a movie theater or something. Instead, he's now become just a guy that everyone says, "Who is that?" about when the Nationwide Series finishes are posted. And it's a shame.
Lepage was one of the racers I cheered for while I was growing up, because he won his share of races, mostly while driving and maintaining his own cars, and was one of the only Vermont drivers in the late 1980s and early '90s that could keep pace with the Canadian and Maine-based cars. He had some Vermont work ethic in him. He went out and got his own sponsorship dollars from Citgo and Allen Lumber, built his operation from the ground up, and became one of the better drivers in the northeast. One of the few that could beat Junior Hanley a couple times a year. His magical 1993 season was an exciting thing to watch, capped off by his Milk Bowl double win in both the Pro Stock and Late Model divisions.
When Lepage moved south out of his Shelburne, Vt. roots in 1994, he again did it on his own, with his own cars and equipment, and a hard-earned sponsorship from Vermont Teddy Bear. He finally got hooked up with some top-notch cars owned by David Ridling in 1996 and broke through with his first Busch Series win at Homestead, finishing eighth in points. The next year he had a handful of impressive runs in the #91 Winston Cup car, and began a full-season effort in 1998 with the team, only to be picked up midstream by powerhouse Jack Roush. Along the way, he took another Busch win at Bristol. It really was a very proud time for Vermonters with an interest in racing. When Lepage came back to Thunder Road, he was treated like a bona fide celebrity, which, in this area of hard-working folks that do what they can to scratch out a modest living, he probably deserved.
But then the bottom sort of started to fall out. Lepage's downfall in the Cup Series might be blamed on the fact that he was in the Roush's "R&D" car, the #16 ride. Ted Musgrave had been moderately successful in the car, but as the Roush organization began to expand around the time Lepage arrived, the car became more of an in-race test dummy. With Lepage's on-track performances likely suffering from that scenario, his market value dipped. After a breakup with Roush, Lepage was rideless for the first part of 2001 before taking over the once-stout Kodak #4 car for Larry McClure. Then came the Jim Smith #7 team that became the bastard child of Geoff Bodine's ex-team, which was the ex-team of the late Alan Kulwicki. Then McClure's stuff again in 2003, followed by pick-up rides in third-rate cars owned by people no one had ever heard of.
Lepage re-opened his Busch Series team during the first stint with McClure, then stepped into the potent #37 Timber Wolf car after Jeff Purvis was injured. Lepage put the car on the pole position a couple of times, but for whatever reason, never produced the finishes to back up the qualifying performances. And again, his market value dipped on that series.
Since around 2004, Lepage has been a go-to guy for any car owner looking to do the start-and-park thing, which is a great way to make enough money to pay your monthly bills, but a horrible excuse to own a "race" team. His current gig is on the Nationwide Series, splitting time between a car owned by former driver Jimmy Means, and running a two-car team with Derrike Cope -- whose career practically mirrors Lepage's, by the way, from the hometown beginning to today. Lepage's best finish this year has been 33rd in one of Means' cars at Texas Motor Speedway, when he finished 11 laps down. So far, it's the only race he's finished, and it's also the only race he's made it past halfway in.
That's just plain embarrassing. For all of us.
Let's face it, Kevin Lepage was probably never going to be the next Dale Earnhardt. But he could have been the next Ricky Rudd or Geoff Bodine, guys who owned their own stuff or drove for other prominent teams here and there, ripping off a Cup win or three every year.
For a guy that was proud to come from humble beginnings -- building a respectable career after flopping around at Thunder Road and Catamount Stadium for a few years -- this is not how it should have been. Kevin Lepage was not the next Dale Earnhardt; there were five or six Kevin Lepage types from the northeast that could have gone south and done as well or better. But Lepage himself was living the short track racer's dream, and built a name for himself at the top levels of the sport. Then, somewhere along the way, he forgot about that.
Would he have been better off running a Cup team on his own? Should he have stayed in the Busch/Nationwide Series full-time after losing the Roush ride, and tried to become a star there? There's really no telling now. It's a moot point. Kevin Lepage was on his way, but the road got rocky and it seems like Lepage just threw up his hands and gave up. And once he did that, he should have started himself a business outside of racing -- his Cup and Nationwide career winnings have totalled over $15 million, he could have probably afforded a restaurant or something -- and returned to the short tracks of the Carolinas or even back home in New England. There would have been no shame in that at all. There still would be no shame in it.
But to a kid like me that grew up saving newspaper clippings of the local guy making it big in NASCAR, well, we've given up on Kevin Lepage, at least nationally. He should get himself a short track car and begin a new career, or pick up where he left off in 1993. Rich Bickle did it, Dave Mader did it, Jimmy Horton did it, and they were wildly successful after their cup of coffee in NASCAR. Or just get out entirely. Do it for all of us. Do it for Vermont.
Lepage should think back to victory lane at at Claremont Int'l Speedway in 1987, where he was standing next to a car hastily cobbled together by he and his father after getting dropped from the E.J. Prescott ride, and remember why he ever got in a race car in the first place. Was it so he could split $22,000 with Derrike Cope after a 10-lap tour of Gateway Int'l Raceway, or was it so he could be the best racer on the track? Get out, come home, and build a Late Model. Win a Thursday night show at Thunder Road. Do it for all us.
But most of all, do it for yourself.
***
Not gonna lie, I'm excited to get back to Bear Ridge this Saturday night.
***
I'm hearing ACT point leader Scott Payea will drop in on Thunder Road tonight to test some new setups in his car.
***
Brian Hoar on his race for the win at Waterford Speedbowl last weekend: "This is the funniest thing I've ever said in my life, but Brad Leighton thought I drove him rough. That's bulls**t. And that's a direct quote. Write that down. He got his hand caught in the candy jar. I stuck my car up to his door and he came down and made contact. It was bulls**t. I'm obviously not going to hit the brakes. I like Brad, I've known him for a long time, but I knew it was going to be hard racing. If he's got a problem with me, we'll work it out."
Joey Polewarczyk on racing with Hoar, after the two tangled at Airborne Speedway in May and again last weekend at Waterford: "He blatantly drove over my nose. I'm not taking his crap any more. It's happened to me too many times."
Hoar on his incident with Polewarczyk at Waterford: "He's upset because he spun out. We were racing side-by-side and we touched. It wasn't hard, I didn't chop him. It was nothing intentional. I rather would have raced Joey Polewarczyk for the lead than Brad Leighton, given the choice. One time we had a minor problem on the track, and I thought it was over by the end of the race. I'm sure I've got an 'X' on my back now, but I'd like to think that he and his team will calm down."
Sounds like we missed a good one.
***
I'm 26. I started going to races regularly when I was four years old, and have been at no less than five races a year since then. So, by my calcuations, I've got only 18 years left before I'll know what I'm talking about. At least I'm over the hump, right?
***
I like the term "Money Month". It's catchy, and, quite honestly, there's a ton of dough on the line for the ACT teams.
***
My biggest fear is that the upcoming ACT Invitational qualifier at Wiscasset Raceway in Maine this Sunday will turn out to be a bad joke. Between track reports and what we're hearing from everyone out that way, Wiscasset will be lucky to get 25 Late Models for a show that pays the winner $5,000 and a trip to Loudon. At that point, you have to worry about track owner Doug White, who will pay another $5,000 to the winner of a companion 150-lap Pro Stock race on the same day -- one that is expected to draw no more than 20 or 22 cars -- and has been losing money every time the gates swing open this year. Good luck, Mr. White.
***
Two words: Jason Bay.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: Brian Hoar of Williston made it two-for-two by winning the Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut on Saturday night. Point leader Scott Payea of Milton finished third behind Randy Potter, and Graniteville's John Donahue was fourth. Brent Dragon of Milton finished sixth, and Tyler Cahoon of St. Johnsbury earned his second top-ten finish of the season and of his ACT career in tenth place.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Don Scarborough of Brandon was the top Vermonter in Saturday's Modified race, finishing sixth. Rich Watson of Milton was the lone Sportsman driver in the feature, finishing 15th. Milton's Rob Gordon was the runner-up in the Renegade feature; Swanton's Dave Rabtoy was ninth, with Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax tenth. Billy Jenkins of Milton was seventh in the Mini-Modified feature, and Brad Bushey of Georgia was tenth in the Bomber race.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Todd Stone of Middlebury finished fifth in the 358 Modified feature on Friday night, while Rob Langevin of Londonderry was the runner-up in the Sportsman class. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester finished fifth in the Budget Sportsman feature. Lori Langevin of Londerderry was third in the Pro Street Stock feature with Manchester's Chuck Towslee fifth, Fred Little of Salisbury seventh, and Ed Thompson of Fair Haven eighth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. posted his second Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night, over Bob Shepard of West Topsham, Travis Shinn of Groton, N.H., Blake Shepard of Newton, N.H., and Jeremy Huntoon of Bradford. Josh Harrington of Topsham won the three-segment Sportsman Coupe "Madness" event over Melvin Pierson of Topsham, Bryan King of Corinth, and Bradford rookies Billy Simmons and Jason Horniak. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center won his eighth Limited Late Model feature of the season over Troy Comeau of Alexandria, N.H., Will Hull of East Montpelier, Dan Cook of South Tamworth, N.H., and Jeremy Hodge of Bradford. Sharon's Mitch Durkee won the Fast Four feature, followed by Wilder's Andy Johnson, Steve Bell of St. Johnsbury, Mark Brown, and Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury. Tom Placey of Bradford won his sixth consecutive Hornet feature, with Groton's Charlie Lakin, Karl Sheldon of St. Johnsbury, Amanda Gray of East Thetford, and Bobby Bell of St. Johnsbury completing the top five. Misty Bell of St. Johnsbury won the Hornet Queen race.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse finished sixth in the Modified feature on Friday night, with Todd Petschke of Windsor seventh. Will Hull of East Montpelier was the Street Stock runner-up, with Ascutney's Cricket Williams eighth and Dan Eastman of Thetford Center tenth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was the Fast Four runner-up with Wilder's Andy Johnson third and Ryan Dutton of Bradford eighth.
Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Kris Lyman of West Hartford was the Pro Stock runner-up on Saturday, while Bradford's Arnie Stylges finished third in the Super Street race. Jamie Hodgdon of Ascutney won the Pure Stock feature with Kyle Davis of Pittsford eighth and Rory Merritt of North Springfield ninth. White River Junction drivers Bobby Prior and Josh Sunn went 1-2 in the Outlaw Mini Stock race, with Robert Gioia of East Thetford third and Chris Lyman of Hartland fifth. Kyle Small of Quechee won the Bandit race over Ascutney's Tyler Lescord.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): Defending track champion Todd Stone of Middlebury took his first 358 Modified win of the season on Sunday, over Kris Vernold of Glens Falls, N.Y., Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon, Gardner Stone of Middlebury (Todd's father), and Ray Hoard of Granville, N.Y. Jimmy Ryan of Whiting was sixth, with the top-ten completed by Don Mattison of Wells, Cullen Howe of South Londonderry, point leader Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y., and Frank Hoard, Sr. of Manchester. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester won the Budget Sportsman feature over South Londonderry's Seth Howe, Jack Swinton of Hudson Falls, N.Y., Josh Joseph of South Glens Falls, N.Y., and C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. Salisbury's Fred Little won the Pro Street Stock race over Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y., Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven, Mike Bussino, and Chuck Towslee of Manchester. Randy Alger won the Limited feature over Bill Duprey of Hydeville, and Colin Clow of Troy, N.Y. won the Mini Stock feature.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 11th in the Super Stock race on Saturday. Dick Houle of West Brattleboro won the 4-cylinder Enduro.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Bob Ailes, Sr. of St. Johnsbury was the runner-up in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Howard Switser of West Burke third, Paul Schartner, III of Lyndonville sixth, Stephen Hodgdon of Danville eighth, and Brett Gervais of Island Pond ninth. Derek Ming of Island Pond won again in the Outlaw Sportsman division over Davey Ofsuryk of Newport Center. West Burke's Jesse Switser was the Street Stock runner-up with Lyndonville's Dean Switser fourth. In twin Dwarf Car features, Concord's Toby Merchant posted finishes of second and fourth, while Lyndonville's Ernie LaPlant was third and ninth. Andy Simpson of Lyndon Center beat Anthony Mason of Orleans for the Cyclone win, while sisters Lyndsay and Johanna Christman of Cabot finished second and fourth in the Angels, resepectively.
SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars: Mark Cole of Lebanon, N.H. won at Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway on Friday night over Ossipee, N.H.'s Clay Dow and Lacey Hanson of Orwell. Dow won at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford on Saturday night, with Matt Shuart second and Bob Giuliani of Middletown, N.H. third.
Série ACT-Castrol: Patrick Laperle of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué. won the Luminaire Napert 150 at Autodrome Chaudière on Saturday night for his second-straight win. Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished 20th.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): On Thursday, Rich Lowrey of Charlotte was the Late Model winner over Shelburne's Jamie Fisher, Milton's Jean-Paul Cyr and Eric Chase, and Phil Scott of Montpelier. Mark Barnier of Essex Junction won the Tiger Sportsman feature over Milton's Eric Badore, Joel Hodgdon of Craftsbury, Hinesburg's Tommy Therrien, and Ricky Roberts of Washington. Ron Gabaree of Barre won the Street Stock feature over rookies Danny Doyle of Hancock and Scott Weston of Berlin, Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick, and Tim Campbell of West Topsham. Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield took his fifth Junkyard Warrior win of the year over Donny Yates of North Montpelier, Alex Whitcomb of Montpelier, John Prentice of Northfield, and Ken Christman of Cabot. On Sunday, Bill Davis of Monson, Mass. won $5,000 with his victory in the 25th Annual M&M Beverage Enduro 250. Mike MacAskill of Williamstown won the 50-lap Street Stock special over Elmore's David Whitcomb, Tommy Smith of Williamstown, rookie Tucker Williams of Hyde Park, and Danville's Jason Corliss. Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick made his return to the Warriors with a win over Williamstown's Lance Donald, Kevin Dodge of Barre, Keith Fortier of Hinesburg, and Christman.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. took another win and extended his point lead at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Me. on Saturday night. David Pinkham of Buxton, Me. was second, followed by Ascutney's Dwight Jarvis.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Dallas Trombley of Rutland won the Late Model feature on Friday with Ascutney's Chris Riendeau seventh. Peter Jarvis of Ascutney won the Modified feature, with son Joey Jarvis fourth, Robert Hagar of Windsor fifth, Nate Kehoe of Windham seventh, and Leo Martin of Windsor tenth. Russ Davis of Cavendish won the Super Street feature with Dave Davis of White River Junction fourth, Bruce Jaycox of Hartland seventh, and Chris Wilk of Mendon ninth. Josh Lovely of Barre was the Strictly Stock runner-up with Tara Tarbell of Springfield fifth, Kyle Davis of Pittsford sixth, and and Jeremy Blood of West Hartford seventh. Kyle Small of Quechee won the Wildcat feature over Jeremiah Losee of North Springfield and Cody Small of Hartland.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantagne of McIndoe Falls was the runner-up in Saturday's 100-lap feature, with Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury third and Eric Williams of Hyde Park eighth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was fifth in the Strictly Stock feature, and Concord driver Rubin Call was the Strictly Stock Mini runner-up.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre has a doubleheader week with full race cards on Thursday and Friday -- including the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series finale on Thursday -- while regular events are on tap at Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State on Friday night. The PASS North Super Late Models are at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway on Saturday night, while the True Value Modified Racing Series is at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl, and regular events are scheduled for Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Airborne, Canaan Fair, Monadnock, Riverside, and White Mountain. Wiscasset (Me.) Raceway holds an ACT Invitational qualifier on Sunday, Riverside (N.H.) Speedway has the $5,000-to-win "Clash of the Titans 150" Late Model event with PASS Sportsman also on the card, and Devil's Bowl Speedway in West Haven will have a 50-lap Budget Sportsman feature and regular event.
When is Kevin Lepage going to find something else to do? The guy should have retired five years ago and opened up, I don't know, a boat sales shop or a car dealership or a movie theater or something. Instead, he's now become just a guy that everyone says, "Who is that?" about when the Nationwide Series finishes are posted. And it's a shame.
Lepage was one of the racers I cheered for while I was growing up, because he won his share of races, mostly while driving and maintaining his own cars, and was one of the only Vermont drivers in the late 1980s and early '90s that could keep pace with the Canadian and Maine-based cars. He had some Vermont work ethic in him. He went out and got his own sponsorship dollars from Citgo and Allen Lumber, built his operation from the ground up, and became one of the better drivers in the northeast. One of the few that could beat Junior Hanley a couple times a year. His magical 1993 season was an exciting thing to watch, capped off by his Milk Bowl double win in both the Pro Stock and Late Model divisions.
When Lepage moved south out of his Shelburne, Vt. roots in 1994, he again did it on his own, with his own cars and equipment, and a hard-earned sponsorship from Vermont Teddy Bear. He finally got hooked up with some top-notch cars owned by David Ridling in 1996 and broke through with his first Busch Series win at Homestead, finishing eighth in points. The next year he had a handful of impressive runs in the #91 Winston Cup car, and began a full-season effort in 1998 with the team, only to be picked up midstream by powerhouse Jack Roush. Along the way, he took another Busch win at Bristol. It really was a very proud time for Vermonters with an interest in racing. When Lepage came back to Thunder Road, he was treated like a bona fide celebrity, which, in this area of hard-working folks that do what they can to scratch out a modest living, he probably deserved.
But then the bottom sort of started to fall out. Lepage's downfall in the Cup Series might be blamed on the fact that he was in the Roush's "R&D" car, the #16 ride. Ted Musgrave had been moderately successful in the car, but as the Roush organization began to expand around the time Lepage arrived, the car became more of an in-race test dummy. With Lepage's on-track performances likely suffering from that scenario, his market value dipped. After a breakup with Roush, Lepage was rideless for the first part of 2001 before taking over the once-stout Kodak #4 car for Larry McClure. Then came the Jim Smith #7 team that became the bastard child of Geoff Bodine's ex-team, which was the ex-team of the late Alan Kulwicki. Then McClure's stuff again in 2003, followed by pick-up rides in third-rate cars owned by people no one had ever heard of.
Lepage re-opened his Busch Series team during the first stint with McClure, then stepped into the potent #37 Timber Wolf car after Jeff Purvis was injured. Lepage put the car on the pole position a couple of times, but for whatever reason, never produced the finishes to back up the qualifying performances. And again, his market value dipped on that series.
Since around 2004, Lepage has been a go-to guy for any car owner looking to do the start-and-park thing, which is a great way to make enough money to pay your monthly bills, but a horrible excuse to own a "race" team. His current gig is on the Nationwide Series, splitting time between a car owned by former driver Jimmy Means, and running a two-car team with Derrike Cope -- whose career practically mirrors Lepage's, by the way, from the hometown beginning to today. Lepage's best finish this year has been 33rd in one of Means' cars at Texas Motor Speedway, when he finished 11 laps down. So far, it's the only race he's finished, and it's also the only race he's made it past halfway in.
That's just plain embarrassing. For all of us.
Let's face it, Kevin Lepage was probably never going to be the next Dale Earnhardt. But he could have been the next Ricky Rudd or Geoff Bodine, guys who owned their own stuff or drove for other prominent teams here and there, ripping off a Cup win or three every year.
For a guy that was proud to come from humble beginnings -- building a respectable career after flopping around at Thunder Road and Catamount Stadium for a few years -- this is not how it should have been. Kevin Lepage was not the next Dale Earnhardt; there were five or six Kevin Lepage types from the northeast that could have gone south and done as well or better. But Lepage himself was living the short track racer's dream, and built a name for himself at the top levels of the sport. Then, somewhere along the way, he forgot about that.
Would he have been better off running a Cup team on his own? Should he have stayed in the Busch/Nationwide Series full-time after losing the Roush ride, and tried to become a star there? There's really no telling now. It's a moot point. Kevin Lepage was on his way, but the road got rocky and it seems like Lepage just threw up his hands and gave up. And once he did that, he should have started himself a business outside of racing -- his Cup and Nationwide career winnings have totalled over $15 million, he could have probably afforded a restaurant or something -- and returned to the short tracks of the Carolinas or even back home in New England. There would have been no shame in that at all. There still would be no shame in it.
But to a kid like me that grew up saving newspaper clippings of the local guy making it big in NASCAR, well, we've given up on Kevin Lepage, at least nationally. He should get himself a short track car and begin a new career, or pick up where he left off in 1993. Rich Bickle did it, Dave Mader did it, Jimmy Horton did it, and they were wildly successful after their cup of coffee in NASCAR. Or just get out entirely. Do it for all of us. Do it for Vermont.
Lepage should think back to victory lane at at Claremont Int'l Speedway in 1987, where he was standing next to a car hastily cobbled together by he and his father after getting dropped from the E.J. Prescott ride, and remember why he ever got in a race car in the first place. Was it so he could split $22,000 with Derrike Cope after a 10-lap tour of Gateway Int'l Raceway, or was it so he could be the best racer on the track? Get out, come home, and build a Late Model. Win a Thursday night show at Thunder Road. Do it for all us.
But most of all, do it for yourself.
***
Not gonna lie, I'm excited to get back to Bear Ridge this Saturday night.
***
I'm hearing ACT point leader Scott Payea will drop in on Thunder Road tonight to test some new setups in his car.
***
Brian Hoar on his race for the win at Waterford Speedbowl last weekend: "This is the funniest thing I've ever said in my life, but Brad Leighton thought I drove him rough. That's bulls**t. And that's a direct quote. Write that down. He got his hand caught in the candy jar. I stuck my car up to his door and he came down and made contact. It was bulls**t. I'm obviously not going to hit the brakes. I like Brad, I've known him for a long time, but I knew it was going to be hard racing. If he's got a problem with me, we'll work it out."
Joey Polewarczyk on racing with Hoar, after the two tangled at Airborne Speedway in May and again last weekend at Waterford: "He blatantly drove over my nose. I'm not taking his crap any more. It's happened to me too many times."
Hoar on his incident with Polewarczyk at Waterford: "He's upset because he spun out. We were racing side-by-side and we touched. It wasn't hard, I didn't chop him. It was nothing intentional. I rather would have raced Joey Polewarczyk for the lead than Brad Leighton, given the choice. One time we had a minor problem on the track, and I thought it was over by the end of the race. I'm sure I've got an 'X' on my back now, but I'd like to think that he and his team will calm down."
Sounds like we missed a good one.
***
I'm 26. I started going to races regularly when I was four years old, and have been at no less than five races a year since then. So, by my calcuations, I've got only 18 years left before I'll know what I'm talking about. At least I'm over the hump, right?
***
I like the term "Money Month". It's catchy, and, quite honestly, there's a ton of dough on the line for the ACT teams.
***
My biggest fear is that the upcoming ACT Invitational qualifier at Wiscasset Raceway in Maine this Sunday will turn out to be a bad joke. Between track reports and what we're hearing from everyone out that way, Wiscasset will be lucky to get 25 Late Models for a show that pays the winner $5,000 and a trip to Loudon. At that point, you have to worry about track owner Doug White, who will pay another $5,000 to the winner of a companion 150-lap Pro Stock race on the same day -- one that is expected to draw no more than 20 or 22 cars -- and has been losing money every time the gates swing open this year. Good luck, Mr. White.
***
Two words: Jason Bay.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: Brian Hoar of Williston made it two-for-two by winning the Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut on Saturday night. Point leader Scott Payea of Milton finished third behind Randy Potter, and Graniteville's John Donahue was fourth. Brent Dragon of Milton finished sixth, and Tyler Cahoon of St. Johnsbury earned his second top-ten finish of the season and of his ACT career in tenth place.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Don Scarborough of Brandon was the top Vermonter in Saturday's Modified race, finishing sixth. Rich Watson of Milton was the lone Sportsman driver in the feature, finishing 15th. Milton's Rob Gordon was the runner-up in the Renegade feature; Swanton's Dave Rabtoy was ninth, with Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax tenth. Billy Jenkins of Milton was seventh in the Mini-Modified feature, and Brad Bushey of Georgia was tenth in the Bomber race.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Todd Stone of Middlebury finished fifth in the 358 Modified feature on Friday night, while Rob Langevin of Londonderry was the runner-up in the Sportsman class. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester finished fifth in the Budget Sportsman feature. Lori Langevin of Londerderry was third in the Pro Street Stock feature with Manchester's Chuck Towslee fifth, Fred Little of Salisbury seventh, and Ed Thompson of Fair Haven eighth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. posted his second Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night, over Bob Shepard of West Topsham, Travis Shinn of Groton, N.H., Blake Shepard of Newton, N.H., and Jeremy Huntoon of Bradford. Josh Harrington of Topsham won the three-segment Sportsman Coupe "Madness" event over Melvin Pierson of Topsham, Bryan King of Corinth, and Bradford rookies Billy Simmons and Jason Horniak. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center won his eighth Limited Late Model feature of the season over Troy Comeau of Alexandria, N.H., Will Hull of East Montpelier, Dan Cook of South Tamworth, N.H., and Jeremy Hodge of Bradford. Sharon's Mitch Durkee won the Fast Four feature, followed by Wilder's Andy Johnson, Steve Bell of St. Johnsbury, Mark Brown, and Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury. Tom Placey of Bradford won his sixth consecutive Hornet feature, with Groton's Charlie Lakin, Karl Sheldon of St. Johnsbury, Amanda Gray of East Thetford, and Bobby Bell of St. Johnsbury completing the top five. Misty Bell of St. Johnsbury won the Hornet Queen race.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse finished sixth in the Modified feature on Friday night, with Todd Petschke of Windsor seventh. Will Hull of East Montpelier was the Street Stock runner-up, with Ascutney's Cricket Williams eighth and Dan Eastman of Thetford Center tenth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was the Fast Four runner-up with Wilder's Andy Johnson third and Ryan Dutton of Bradford eighth.
Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Kris Lyman of West Hartford was the Pro Stock runner-up on Saturday, while Bradford's Arnie Stylges finished third in the Super Street race. Jamie Hodgdon of Ascutney won the Pure Stock feature with Kyle Davis of Pittsford eighth and Rory Merritt of North Springfield ninth. White River Junction drivers Bobby Prior and Josh Sunn went 1-2 in the Outlaw Mini Stock race, with Robert Gioia of East Thetford third and Chris Lyman of Hartland fifth. Kyle Small of Quechee won the Bandit race over Ascutney's Tyler Lescord.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): Defending track champion Todd Stone of Middlebury took his first 358 Modified win of the season on Sunday, over Kris Vernold of Glens Falls, N.Y., Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon, Gardner Stone of Middlebury (Todd's father), and Ray Hoard of Granville, N.Y. Jimmy Ryan of Whiting was sixth, with the top-ten completed by Don Mattison of Wells, Cullen Howe of South Londonderry, point leader Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y., and Frank Hoard, Sr. of Manchester. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester won the Budget Sportsman feature over South Londonderry's Seth Howe, Jack Swinton of Hudson Falls, N.Y., Josh Joseph of South Glens Falls, N.Y., and C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. Salisbury's Fred Little won the Pro Street Stock race over Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y., Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven, Mike Bussino, and Chuck Towslee of Manchester. Randy Alger won the Limited feature over Bill Duprey of Hydeville, and Colin Clow of Troy, N.Y. won the Mini Stock feature.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 11th in the Super Stock race on Saturday. Dick Houle of West Brattleboro won the 4-cylinder Enduro.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Bob Ailes, Sr. of St. Johnsbury was the runner-up in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Howard Switser of West Burke third, Paul Schartner, III of Lyndonville sixth, Stephen Hodgdon of Danville eighth, and Brett Gervais of Island Pond ninth. Derek Ming of Island Pond won again in the Outlaw Sportsman division over Davey Ofsuryk of Newport Center. West Burke's Jesse Switser was the Street Stock runner-up with Lyndonville's Dean Switser fourth. In twin Dwarf Car features, Concord's Toby Merchant posted finishes of second and fourth, while Lyndonville's Ernie LaPlant was third and ninth. Andy Simpson of Lyndon Center beat Anthony Mason of Orleans for the Cyclone win, while sisters Lyndsay and Johanna Christman of Cabot finished second and fourth in the Angels, resepectively.
SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars: Mark Cole of Lebanon, N.H. won at Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway on Friday night over Ossipee, N.H.'s Clay Dow and Lacey Hanson of Orwell. Dow won at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford on Saturday night, with Matt Shuart second and Bob Giuliani of Middletown, N.H. third.
Série ACT-Castrol: Patrick Laperle of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué. won the Luminaire Napert 150 at Autodrome Chaudière on Saturday night for his second-straight win. Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished 20th.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): On Thursday, Rich Lowrey of Charlotte was the Late Model winner over Shelburne's Jamie Fisher, Milton's Jean-Paul Cyr and Eric Chase, and Phil Scott of Montpelier. Mark Barnier of Essex Junction won the Tiger Sportsman feature over Milton's Eric Badore, Joel Hodgdon of Craftsbury, Hinesburg's Tommy Therrien, and Ricky Roberts of Washington. Ron Gabaree of Barre won the Street Stock feature over rookies Danny Doyle of Hancock and Scott Weston of Berlin, Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick, and Tim Campbell of West Topsham. Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield took his fifth Junkyard Warrior win of the year over Donny Yates of North Montpelier, Alex Whitcomb of Montpelier, John Prentice of Northfield, and Ken Christman of Cabot. On Sunday, Bill Davis of Monson, Mass. won $5,000 with his victory in the 25th Annual M&M Beverage Enduro 250. Mike MacAskill of Williamstown won the 50-lap Street Stock special over Elmore's David Whitcomb, Tommy Smith of Williamstown, rookie Tucker Williams of Hyde Park, and Danville's Jason Corliss. Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick made his return to the Warriors with a win over Williamstown's Lance Donald, Kevin Dodge of Barre, Keith Fortier of Hinesburg, and Christman.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. took another win and extended his point lead at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Me. on Saturday night. David Pinkham of Buxton, Me. was second, followed by Ascutney's Dwight Jarvis.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Dallas Trombley of Rutland won the Late Model feature on Friday with Ascutney's Chris Riendeau seventh. Peter Jarvis of Ascutney won the Modified feature, with son Joey Jarvis fourth, Robert Hagar of Windsor fifth, Nate Kehoe of Windham seventh, and Leo Martin of Windsor tenth. Russ Davis of Cavendish won the Super Street feature with Dave Davis of White River Junction fourth, Bruce Jaycox of Hartland seventh, and Chris Wilk of Mendon ninth. Josh Lovely of Barre was the Strictly Stock runner-up with Tara Tarbell of Springfield fifth, Kyle Davis of Pittsford sixth, and and Jeremy Blood of West Hartford seventh. Kyle Small of Quechee won the Wildcat feature over Jeremiah Losee of North Springfield and Cody Small of Hartland.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantagne of McIndoe Falls was the runner-up in Saturday's 100-lap feature, with Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury third and Eric Williams of Hyde Park eighth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was fifth in the Strictly Stock feature, and Concord driver Rubin Call was the Strictly Stock Mini runner-up.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre has a doubleheader week with full race cards on Thursday and Friday -- including the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series finale on Thursday -- while regular events are on tap at Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State on Friday night. The PASS North Super Late Models are at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway on Saturday night, while the True Value Modified Racing Series is at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl, and regular events are scheduled for Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Airborne, Canaan Fair, Monadnock, Riverside, and White Mountain. Wiscasset (Me.) Raceway holds an ACT Invitational qualifier on Sunday, Riverside (N.H.) Speedway has the $5,000-to-win "Clash of the Titans 150" Late Model event with PASS Sportsman also on the card, and Devil's Bowl Speedway in West Haven will have a 50-lap Budget Sportsman feature and regular event.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Lepage Enters Darlington Nationwide Race
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Vermont native Kevin Lepage is on the official entry list for the NASCAR Nationwide Series' Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Friday. Lepage will drive the #52 Means Racing Ford for car owner Jimmy Means.Lepage has two previous starts in Nationwide Series competition this season, finishing 36th in Derrike Cope's #73 Dodge at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March, and 33rd in a Means Racing Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway in April. The Shelburne driver has two career Nationwide Series victories and four pole positions to his credit in 247 starts.
The Means Racing #52 entry has had six drivers in the first nine events in 2009; 18 year-old 
Trevor Bayne posted a season-best finish of 23rd at Bristol. Brad Teague failed to qualify the car at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in April, while Kevin Hamlin (right) missed the field at Richmond (Va.) Int'l Raceway last week.
Trevor Bayne posted a season-best finish of 23rd at Bristol. Brad Teague failed to qualify the car at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in April, while Kevin Hamlin (right) missed the field at Richmond (Va.) Int'l Raceway last week.(Lepage photo creidt: NASCAR/Getty Images; car photo credit: Josh Wilson Photography)
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