Sweet Takes First ACT Victory at Thunder Road

BARRE – The first 80 laps of Sunday’s Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl appeared to be a continuation of Dave Pembroke’s dominance of American-Canadian Tour events at the Barre track. After starting from the outside pole, the Middlesex driver had a full straightaway lead by lap 12 and was pulling away. That all changed on a lap 80 restart, though, as Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, Que., and hometown driver Nick Sweet arrived on the scene.

Laperle rode the outside line to take the lead on lap 81, then the trio waged a 40-lap battle at the front. Pembroke reassumed the lead on lap 96 before Sweet took over 14 circuits later. Pembroke and Sweet swapped the point four more times between laps 112 and 121 before Sweet took control for good. Defending ACT champion Brian Hoar of Williston arrived late in the going for second place, with Laperle third and Pembroke fourth.

“These long races are all about patience,” said Sweet, who started 12th on the 30-car grid. “You have to set up for these kinds of races. You can’t burn the tires off too soon, and I saved it. I’ve learned a lot over these past couple years, and look at me now, I’m winning races.”

For Sweet, in his third season of racing the top-tier Late Model division, the Merchants Bank 150 was his first ACT victory. For his competitors, though, it felt like a long time coming.

“I closed in on Nick the last five laps and tried to nerve him up a little bit, but he did a great job,” said Hoar. “He didn’t nerve up much. He’s definitely a future champion.”

“This is the first race we’ve had to worry about Nick Sweet,” Pembroke said sarcastically; the two are weekly competitors at Thunder Road. “We knew last year that Nick was a great, great driver.”

Mark Lamberton of Mooers Forks, N.Y., had a strong return to full-time competition by finishing in fifth place. The unofficial top ten was completed by Craig Bushey, Joey Laquerre, Chip Grenier, polesitter Scott Payea, and Mark Hayward in a career-best tenth.

With the win, Sweet became the first driver to qualify for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.

Veteran driver George May of Barre won the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature in a caution-free event. May’s last win at Thunder Road came in 1994. Mike Ziter of Williamstown was second, followed by Cody Blake, Joel Hodgdon, and Josh Demers.

Street Stock driver Mike MacAskill of Williamstown dominated the first of two Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior combined features, with Travis Hull second and Bunker Hodgdon third. Tim Campbell of West Topsham beat Greg Adams, Jr., by two feet to win the second feature, with Barre’s Ron Gabaree third. Cabot’s Ken Christman and Kevin Wheatley of Williamstown were the top-finishing Junkyard Warrior drivers in their respective features.

REVISED Merchants Bank 150 Results

OFFICIAL RESULTS – Merchants Bank 150 (revised 5/06)
American-Canadian Tour – Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Sunday, May 2, 2010

(Pos.-Driver-Hometown)

ACT Late Model Tour (150 laps)
1. Nick Sweet, Barre
2. Brian Hoar, Williston
3. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, Que.
4. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
5. Mark Lamberton, Mooers Forks, N.Y.
6. Craig Bushey, Cambridge
7. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
8. Chip Grenier, Graniteville
9. Scott Payea, Milton
10. Mark Hayward, Newport, N.H.

Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman (35 laps)
1. George May, Barre
2. Mike Ziter, Williamstown
3. Cody Blake, Barre
4. Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury
5. Josh Demers, Middlesex

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior #1 (30 laps)
1. Mike MacAskill, Williamstown (SS)
2. Travis Hull, Graniteville (SS)
3. Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick (SS)
4. Jean LeBlanc, Gorham, N.H. (SS)
5. Billy Hennequin, Morrisville (SS)

14. Ken Christman, Cabot (JW)
17. Kevin Hebert, Williamstown (JW)
20. Tommy Elwood, Morrisville (JW)

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior #2 (30 laps)
1. Tim Campbell, West Topsham (SS)
2. Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick (SS)
3. Ron Gabaree, Barre (SS)
4. Scott Weston, Berlin (SS)
5. Joe Fecteau, Hardwick (SS)

7. Shawn Swallow, Stark, N.H. (JW)
10. Kevin Wheatley, Williamstown (JW)
11. Kevin Dodge, Barre (JW)

Sweet Breaks Through in Late Models

Pembroke's crash hurts title chances


BARRE -- A long list of first-time feature winners at Thunder Road in 2009 got one name longer on Thursday night. Hometown sophomore Nick Sweet drove from 12th starting position to knock off his first career Late Model victory, becoming the fourth first-time winner in the division this season and the tenth consecutive non-repeat winner at the track.

Mike Bailey of South Barre led the majority of the first 30 laps, only letting Eric Chase nose ahead on three circuits after a lap 8 restart. Bailey was drilled in the right-side door on lap 29 by the lapped car of Matt White, however, and gave way to Sweet's Saint J Auto Pontiac one lap later. Sweet led the final 20 laps virtually uncontested, but was forced to outrace former track champions Jamie Fisher, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, Reno Gervais, and point leader Jean-Paul Cyr to take the win, as a final restart of lap 40 bunched the field.

Fisher held on for his second runner-up finish in a row, with Michaud third, Scott fourth, and Cyr fifth. Bailey limped home in 20th place.

Sweet suffered engine problems last week and his team was still trying to solve the issue as of Thursday afternoon. "I can't say enough about the guys, they worked their butts off this week," said Sweet. "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.

"We lose as a team, we win as a team, and you really find out who your real friends are when you're down. I mean, look at us, we were down tonight. This is what happens in racing. You're at your lowest point in the season, you don't think it can get any worse, all of sudden you're like, 'I'm so sick of it, I can't wait for it to be over,' and then you win a race. And look at us now, I've got a grin on my face, I'm on the ninth cloud, and we're going to come back tomorrow."

The caution flag that flew on lap 40 was for championship contender Dave Pembroke of Middlesex, who was shoved off the track by White in Turn 2 and slid down the embankment before slamming into a dirt retaining wall. Pembroke's crew attempted to make repairs and sent their driver back to the track, but after driving down pit road, Pembroke parked the Vt. State Employees Credit Union Chevrolet before with heavy suspension damage. Pembroke entered the event second in points, just 11 markers behind Cyr. To make matters infinitely worse for Pembroke, top-five race finishers Scott, Michaud, Sweet, and Fisher are also tightly grouped in order behind Pembroke in the point standings, and the next green flag is set to fly at 6:00pm on Friday -- approximately 20 hours after Pembroke's crash, therefore severely limiting time for repairs.

Pembroke offered no comment on the incident, but his team plans to work throughout the day on Friday in order to race.

Shawn Duquette of Morrisonville, N.Y. clinched the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series championship in a tie-breaker with Jason Bonnett despite crashing in the division's ACE Hardware 100. Shawn Fleury of Middlesex won the race after a late pass of Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell. Click here for the Tiger Sportsman event story.

Garry Bashaw of Lincoln earned his first career Street Stock win in the nightcap feature. Bashaw began racing in 2000 and had never won a main event. The win came in the first Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior combined 'A' feature run at Thunder Road since July 5. David Whitcomb of Elmore finished second over Tucker Williams, Michael Moore, and Mike MacAskill. Donny Yates of North Montpelier was the top-finishing Warrior driver in 21st place, taking his fourth win of the season in the division. Kevin Dodge of Barre was second, with Waitsfield's Kevin Streeter third. Street Stock driver Scott Maynard of South Burlington walked away from a multi-time rollover off Turn 2 that destroyed his car. MacAskill won the 'reserve' feature to qualify for the main event.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- ACE Hardware Night
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, August 13, 2009

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

ACT Late Model (50 laps)
1. Nick Sweet, Barre
2. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
3. Cris Michaud, Northfield
4. Phil Scott, Montpelier
5. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton
6. Craig Bushey, Cambridge
7. Eric Chase, Milton
8. Pete Fecteau, Morrisville
9. Reno Gervais, Island Pond
10. Jerry Lesage, Winooski

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (100 laps)
1. Shawn Fleury, Middlesex
2. Derrick O'Donnell, Bradford
3. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
4. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott
5. Scott Coburn, Barre
6. Jason Bonnett, St. Albans
7. David Finck, Barre
8. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
9. Ray Stearns, East Corinth
10. Josh Demers, Middlesex

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior 'A' Feature (25 laps)
1. Garry Bashaw, Lincoln (SS winner)
2. David Whitcomb, Elmore (SS)
3. #Tucker Williams, Hyde Park (SS)
4. Michael Moore, East Haven (SS)
5. Mike MacAskill, Williamstown (SS)

21. Donny Yates, North Montpelier (JW winner)

Street Stock/Warrior 'Reserve' Feature (25 laps)
1. Mike MacAskill, Williamstown (SS)
2. Tommy Smith, Williamstown (SS)
3. Gary Mullen, Tunbridge (SS)
4. Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common (SS)
5. #Danny Doyle, Hancock (SS)