Donahue in Good Company with Milk Bowl Win

Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl coverage presented by RPM Racing Engines

BARRE -- Three years ago, John Donahue's name was often little more than a footnote in American-Canadian Tour race finishes or year-end point standings. And three short years later, the Graniteville driver has firmly established himself as a driver that will be remembered long after his final lap.

With a win in the 47th running of the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Donahue became just the tenth driver in history to win each of the track's "big three" events -- he won the Memorial Day Classic in 2008, the Labor Day Classic, the site of his first ACT Late Model Tour win, in 2007, and now Sunday's Milk Bowl. The victory means his name will be now etched in all three granite monuments at the Barre track honoring past winners of the events, alongside pioneers Larry Demar and Russell Ingerson, Hall of Famers Jean-Paul Cabana, Bobby Dragon, Dave Dion, and Robbie Crouch, and modern-day heroes Jean-Paul Cyr, Dave Pembroke, and Brent Dragon.

It's something Donahue spent a lot of time thinking about, too.

"This'll put the third one on there now," Donahue said after his Milk Bowl victory. "[It means] a lot. A month ago, Tom (Curley, ACT president) brought us all up there, the drivers, and I'm looking on down through and I'm on two of [the monuments], and I said, 'Boy, I'd really like to be on that Milk Bowl one, that way my name is on all three of them.' I've been thinking about it since then."

And perhaps appropriately, it was one of those names already carved into each piece of the rock -- Milton's Brent Dragon -- that Donahue had to outduel to win the Milk Bowl.

Dragon won the opening 50-lap round of the three-segment, cumulatively scored race, with Donahue third. Donahue finished ninth in the middle leg, one spot better than Dragon, and trailed Dragon by one point entering the final 50 laps. And that's when Donahue turned up the wick.

Both drivers raced three-wide through traffic, along with Scott Payea, Brian Hoar, and Brad Leighton, who each would be within striking distance under the right circumstances, near the one-third mark of the final segment. Dragon and Donahue traded jabs on the track, knowing their mid-pack battle was almost certainly for the overall victory.

Dragon pushed three-wide under Donahue and Glen Luce on lap 17, then swapped lanes on the next lap. Donahue seized the opportunity, returning the three-wide favor. In the intense action, Dragon's car was shoved momentarily off the backstretch, while Donahue was able to squeeze by. Two laps later, Payea spun off the track with Dave Whitcomb and Eric Chase to bring out the caution flag.

Donahue and Dragon realigned in 13th and 14th for the restart on lap 20, which proved to be the decisive moment of the race. Traffic in Donahue's inside lane moved faster than Dragon's high side group, and Donahue picked his way through the field to finish fifth in the segment. But Dragon, his car knocked out of alignment from the contact on lap 18, was only able to muster a tenth-place finish in segment. With the final tally added up, Donahue's 17 segment points secured him his first Milk Bowl win, four points better than Dragon's 21, and nine better than Eric Williams of Hyde Park.

Donahue began his career as a Flying Tiger/Sportsman racer at Thunder Road in the mid-nineties, winning more than his share of races and championships, but had little in the way of headline-grabbing success in the top-tier Late Model class -- and certainly with the touring ACT division -- until recently. His Milk Bowl victory and planting the traditional kiss on a "trophy queen" cow, he says, is the crowning achievement of his racing career.

"It's right at the top. I've had a lot of good races, I won a [Labor Day] 200 here, but this is different," he said. "You've got three different segments, you stop, you have to think about it, re-do your car. This is one I've been wanting for a long time. I'm just going to soak this one in and be happy."

Williams' third-place finish went virtually unnoticed, overshadowed by the Donahue-Dragon saga, but his segment finishes of seventh, fifteenth, and fourth were good enough for the podium spot. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. of Hudson, N.H. (28 points) and Brian Hoar of Williston (29 points) finished fourth and fifth overall. The top-ten was completed by Dave Pembroke, Jamie Fisher, Nick Sweet, Joey Laquerre, and Chip Grenier. Track champion Jean-Paul Cyr, who won the third segment finished 11th overall, while second-segment winner Wayne Helliwell, Jr. finished 18th overall in his first start at Thunder Road.

***

Eighteen year-old Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown became the youngest driver in history to win a championship in Thunder Road's famed Tiger Sportsman division on Sunday, taking a four-point victory over Tony Rossi of Barre. Hebert overcame a tense moment on lap 17 of the 50-lap finale when hard contact with Mark Barnier cut Hebert's left-rear tire, sending him into a spin down the frontstretch. After pitting under the caution period, Hebert recovered for a 13th-place finish.

"It's ten times better that I ever thought it would be," said Hebert. "Ever since I was little, I dreamed of this. I never thought I would race at 16, say nothing about winning a championship at 18. The first year we really struggled and everybody seemed discouraged, but last year we put together some good runs. This year we worked on consistency and it really paid off for us."

Shawn Fleury of Middlesex took the lead from upstart Jason Corliss on lap 28, then cruised to his second win of the season. Mike Ziter followed Fleury past Corliss, but was penalized with under ten laps remaining for spinning a lapped car off the backstretch. Ziter was placed last in the 28-car field. Danville driver Corliss, the 2008 Street Stock champion making only his fourth appearance in the Tiger Sportsman division, finished second officially, with Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell third, Rossi fourth, and Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg in fifth.

Pete Ainsworth, who entered the final weekend with an eight-point lead in the division, failed to qualify for the main event. He slumped to a fourth-place championship finish behind Hebert, Rossi, and Brendan Moodie.

Tommy "Thunder" Smith of Williamstown moved into sole possession of first-place all-time in the Street Stock division with his 20th career win, his third of the season. Mike Martin of Craftsbury Common was the runner-up, with rookie Danny Doyle of Hancock third, Garry Bashaw of Lincoln fourth, and Randolph's Markus Farnham fifth. Veteran driver Gary Mullen of Tunbridge captured his first championship with a ninth-place finish, beating Martin for the title by 26 points.

Like Ainsworth, Junkyard Warrior point leader Donny Yates of North Montpelier failed to qualify for the Milk Bowl finale, but was still able to clinch his division's championship on the strength of six wins during the season. Ken Christman of Cabot took his third victory, over Keith Fortier of Hinesburg, Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield, Northfield's John Prentice, and Tommy Elwood of Morrisville.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- 47th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Sunday, October 4, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown-(Segment Finishes/Total Score)
1. John Donahue, Graniteville (3+9+5=17)
2. Brent Dragon, Milton (1+10+10=21)
3. Eric Williams, Hyde Park (7+15+4=26)
4. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H. (4+22+2=28)
5. Brian Hoar, Williston (16+4+9=29)
6. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex (5+19+7=31)
7. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne (10+13+8=31)
8. Nick Sweet, Barre (2+17+12=31)
9. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier (11+8+15=34)
10. Chip Grenier, Graniteville (9+25+3=37)
11. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton (8+29+1=38)
12. Phil Scott, Montpelier (6+27+6=39)
13. Scott Payea, Milton (12+5+23=40)
14. Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H. (13+6+22=41)
15. Tyler Cahoon, St. Johnsbury (22+2+20=44)
16. Glen Luce, Turner, Me. (18+16+11=45)
17. Tony Andrews, Northfield (24+3+18=45)
18. Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Dracut, Mass. (27+1+19=47)
19. Joey Doiron, Berwick, Me. (14+7+26=47)
20. Quinny Welch, Lancaster, N.H. (21+12+17=50)
21. Matt White, Northfield (15+28+16=59)
22. Chad Wheeler, Waterbury Center (19+30+13=62)
23. Mark Hayward, Unity, N.H. (25+11+27=63)
24. Mike Olsen, North Haverhill, N.H. (17+18+28=63)
25. Eric Chase, Milton (20+14+29=63)
26. Joey Becker, Jeffersonville (23+21+21=65)
27. Pete Potvin, III, Graniteville (28+24+14=66)
28. Rich Lowrey, Charlotte (26+20+25=71)
29. Mike Bailey, South Barre (30+23+24=77)
30. Dave Whitcomb, Essex Junction (29+26+30=85)

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (# - denotes rookie)
1. Shawn Fleury, Middlesex
2. #Jason Corliss, Danville
3. Derrick O'Donnell, Bradford
4. Tony Rossi, Barre
5. Bobby Therrien, Hinesburg
6. Ray Stearns, East Corinth
7. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott
8. Tommy Therrien, Hinesburg
9. Josh Demers, Middlesex
10. Lance Allen, Barre

Allen Lumber Street Stock/Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior (# - denotes rookie)
Pos.-Driver-Hometown (# - denotes rookie)
1. Tommy Smith, Williamstown (SS)
2. Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common (SS)
3. #Danny Doyle, Hancock (SS)
4. Garry Bashaw, Lincoln (SS)
5. Markus Farnham, Randolph (SS)

20. Ken Christman, Cabot (JW)
21. Keith Fortier, Hinesburg (JW)
22. Kevin Streeter, Waitsfield (JW)
23. John Prentice, Northfield (JW)
24. Tommy Elwood, Morrisville (JW)

(PHOTOS: 1. John Donahue hoists the Milk Bowl trophy after his first win in the classic event; 2. Donahue smooches Larolupine, the Milk Bowl trophy queen, as Governor Jim Douglas looks on; 3. Tiger Sportsman champion Jimmy Hebert; 4. Street Stock champion Gary Mullen. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

Seventeen Years Later, Andrews Wins Again at Thunder Road

BARRE -- The year 1992 was one of significance at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. It was the first year for the track's new Late Model division, fresh off an upgrade from the old Flying Tiger class. It was the year of "King" Richard Petty's retirement tour from a NASCAR career decorated by 200 wins and seven championships, a tour that brought Petty on a visit to the Barre track. It was also the last year that Northfield racer Tony Andrews, who dominated the Street Stock division and then had a brief but successful stint in the new Late Models, won a race.

But Thursday, on a night when Petty made his return to Thunder Road, so did Andrews to victory lane.

Andrews was asked after the race if he remembered the last time he won. He took a deep breath and smiled: "Nineteen ninety-two," he said. "Nineteen ninety-two."

The second-generation driver led the first 18 laps of the WDEV Radio/Calkins Portables 50 from the outside pole before losing the top spot to young Brooks Clark for seven trips around the high-banked quarter-mile. Andrews got back into the lead on lap 25 and never surrendered it again.

"It's just all my crew, they've stuck with me," said Andrews, who ranked 20th in points entering the event. "I've had a rough last couple weeks, the car hasn't been good. It's the same setup we've had, but this week we went through it with a fine-tooth comb and found two or three small things. It makes a difference here. Everybody's so equal, if you're off just a little bit it shows."

Clark was never more than an arm's length from Andrews through the race's five restarts from laps 18 through 45, despite Andrews using every restart trick in the book, and Clark only gave up the fight for the lead on lap 46 when Dave Pembroke and Cris Michaud were able to get underneath him. Pembroke held on for the runner-up finish over Michaud, while Clark beat Phil Scott for fourth place.

Andrews was very complimentary of Clark. "Brooks is a great kid," he praised. "He races me with respect, and I race him with respect. We never touched, neither one of us. He never touched me, I never touched him, and that's the way you want it. He's a good friend of mine and he's a good kid. He just came over and said, 'I overdrove.' I said, 'Yup, you did, but if you don't try it, you don't learn.'"

With the monkey off his back, Andrews realized his accomplishment, but also took a certain amount of pride in his own self-confidence.

"If you restart every time at the same time in the same place, they figure you out," Andrews said. "It's hard to [win against] these guys, they're good. I mean, they're champions. It's a real honor to beat these guys, it's hard. But it was just a matter of time. I didn't ever wonder if I was going to, it was when."

John Donahue finished sixth, followed by Mike Bailey, Jean-Paul Cyr, Doug Murphy, and Trampas Demers. Unofficially, Cyr now trails Pembroke in the point standings, 566-558; Cyr entered the night with a three-point edge over Pembroke.

Sophomore racer Josh Demers of Middlesex made the most of a lap 31 restart in the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature, passing rookie leader Steve "Mudflap" Quenneville on the outside and cruising to his first career victory in the division.

"That caution really helped us out big time, we needed that, I was kind of praying for that," said Demers. "The car was handling pretty decent on the outside, and [the caution] happened, and we did it, we got by him, and got our first victory of our Tiger career."

Completing a run that started deep in the pack, Tommy Therrien was able to sneak by Quenneville for the runner-up spot. Lance Allen finished fourth, with John Drinkwine a career-best fifth.

Tommy "Thunder" Smith of Williamstown won a photo finish Street Stock event over Jason Corliss, making his winning pass in the final corner of the 20-lap race. Bunker Hodgdon finished third over Markus Farnham and Bruce Melendy.

Lance Donald of Williamstown earned his first Junkyard Warrior win in a 15-lap race, beating Keith Fortier, Kevin Wheatley, Ken Christman, and Kevin Dodge, unofficially.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- WDEV Radio/Calkins Portables Night
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, July 30, 2009

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

ACT Late Model (50 laps)
1. Tony Andrews, Northfield
2. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
3. Cris Michaud, Northfield
4. Brooks Clark, Fayston
5. Phil Scott, Montpelier
6. John Donahue, Graniteville
7. Mike Bailey, South Barre
8. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton
9. Doug Murphy, Tunbridge
10. Trampas Demers, South Burlington

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (35 laps)
1. Josh Demers, Middlesex
2. Tommy Therrien, Hinesburg
3. #Steve Quenneville, Barre
4. Lance Allen, Barre
5. John Drinkwine, Barre
6. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
7. Tony Rossi, Barre
8. Jeff French, Northfield
9. Ricky Roberts, Washington
10. Scott Coburn, Barre

Allen Lumber Street Stock (20 laps)
1. Tommy Smith, Williamstown
2. Jason Corliss, Danville
3. Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick
4. Markus Farnham, Randolph Center
5. Bruce Melendy, Danville

Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior (15 laps)
1. Lance Donald, Williamstown
2. Keith Fortier, Hinesburg
3. Kevin Wheatley, Williamstown
4. Ken Christman, Cabot
5. Kevin Dodge, Barre

(PHOTO: Tony Andrews of Northfield snapped a 17-year winless streak Thursday night at Thunder Road. Photo by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

Curley "Not Sure" About Future of T-Road Streets, Warriors

BARRE -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl has had, by all accounts, a great season. With the Mid-Season Championship slated for Thursday evening, fans have already enjoyed some outstanding competition, especially in the headline Late Model division, some surprise feature winners, packed-house crowds on Memorial Day and at the Governor's Cup, and the season-long 50th anniversary celebration has been a memorable one.

Yet, promoter Tom Curley isn't having much fun.

The track's four-cylinder divisions, the Street Stocks and Junkyard Warriors, have been a constant thorn in Curley's side, and the Hall of Fame promoter has had enough.

"I guess I have run out of energy to carry on the constant fight with those that just don't get it," he said.

Citing declining car counts in the Warrior class and a lack of edge-of-your-seat action in both entry-level divisions over the past couple of seasons, Curley merged the two groups for 2009 running both on the track at the same time while keeping seperate championship point systems for each. The intent, he says, "would give us an opportunity to keep the (Warrior) division alive for a couple years while we figured out a new rules and format system for four-cylinder racing at Thunder Road."

Curley announced the merger at a rules meeting in Feburary, saying that the intent was to provide more excitement for race fans and drivers, while also beginning the integration of foreign-made cars into the domestic-only Street Stocks in order to help future growth in the division. He also noted that the Warrior class has begun to move away from its roots, which began in 2003 as a $500 claimer division with emphasis on using very little actual racing technology.

"It has been clear for a couple of years that the [Warrior] division is 'broken' as there is no place for the Buster Porters of the world, which is what made it fun back then," Curley said, using low-buck racer Porter, one of the original Warrior drivers, as an example. "It is also why there is no growth and why the division is on life support at this time."

CONSTANT NEGATIVITY

The merger has been exciting for race fans to watch, with three- and four-wide action, wild crashes, and obvious disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' of the two classes, all things that resembled shades of years gone by in the Street Stock and Warrior divisions. But as popular as the combination was in the grandstands, it had been repeatedly met with some resistance on the other side of the pit fence; after weeks of complaints and, in Curley's words, "constant negativity," the decision was made last Thursday to split the divisions apart and run seperate events as in years past. The major gripes by Street Stock drivers were that the Warrior cars were too slow, their drivers too inexperienced, and that the combination caused major wrecks, while the Warrior racers complained that they were being run over by impatient Street Stockers, and that on average, only one or two Warriors have been able to qualify for the 'A' main feature each week.

With the split last Thursday, however, the results were in many estimations boring in the Warriors and disastrous in the Street Stocks. Using last year's format of shorter-distance 20-lap Street Stock features and 15-lap Warrior features, and 2008's comparatively smaller purse payouts, the still-impatient Street Stocks summarily teed-off on each other, destroying a half-dozen cars in a race that took nearly a half-hour to complete, and a caution-free Warrior race with just 16 cars lacked any real excitement. The 'reserve' feature, which was implemented with the merger as a non-qualifiers race and had become unquestionably the most action-filled event on any given race night, was deleted from the program. Qualifying heats had reduced numbers due to the split, and therefore less excitement. The Street Stock last-chance qualifier -- the closest thing to the 'reserve' race -- went flag-to-flag without incident.

"It certainly was not as much fun as when there were 16 or 17 cars in heats trying to qualify, or for that matter, the 'reserve' feature had become one of my favorite events of the night," said Curley. "Without question, generally, the Warriors learned a lot about how to race in that event over the past month. They were lifting, taking a look in the mirror for advancing Street Stocks and got to the inside, etc. This was evidenced by the green to checkers effort [Thursday night], although not what the division was originally intended to be at Thunder Road, you have to be proud of the way they actually conducted themselves as far as racing goes, if you are a purist.

"As far as the Street Stocks, after qualifying, they were supposedly the 'cream of the crop' from the 42 who entered that were in the main event. It was the worst slugfest we have had this year. Sort of hard to blame the Warriors who [the Street Stocks] wanted exiled from the merger and were granted their wish."

POINT OF VIEW

Tommy "Thunder" Smith, the Street Stock division's all-time victory leader, has been one of the few outspoken drivers in favor of the merger. The Williamstown driver said he was reminded of the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the dawn of the Junkyard Warrior class, when fields of 50-plus Street Stocks would show up each week and the action was intense.

"I've never had a problem with the Warrior drivers," Smith said. "It shouldn't matter if they're slow, it's just racing, and I'm used to that. Some of us have been trying to help them out in the pits -- guys like me, Dave Allen, and David Greenslit -- and trying to help them drive better. For the most part they've done a good job, and I enjoy racing with them. And if they are slow, it's fun to use them as a 'pick' on the track."

Warrior driver Ken Christman agrees, sort of. "Racing-wise the merger has been pretty good, it definitely has made me a better racer," he said. "I learn a lot more about picking lines and set-ups of cars and tires." Christman, of Cabot, earned his first career win in last week's Warriors-only feature.

"But I have to say that I liked it split and not just because I won, but because I was able to keep the car in one piece and race against people I am actually competing in the points for," said Christman, who sits second in the standings behind Donny Yates. "It's tough when we are merged because the Street Stocks are a little faster and some get a little impatient and run us over. I have had to do a lot of fixing this year, more than last year. It's also [less fun] when you are the only car to make the 'A' feature and are guaranteed the win with no one to race against."

Christman and Smith both agree that there have been a lot of complaints from both divisions about the merger.

"[Warrior driver] Mark LaFleche is pretty adamant about not liking it, and I have had my gripes about it," said Christman. "I think I have heard a complaint from just about everyone about it."

"I don't mind it, but I know there are a lot of guys that don't like it," said Smith. "But last week when we ran seperate, it was a wreckfest, no fun at all. I wouldn't mind going back to the merger if it's going to be like that, and I'll bet they wouldn't either."

THE FUTURE

The problems that have arisen for Curley due to the merger and the following split are many, and at the moment, he's uncertain about what will take place. Smith and Christman offered a few suggestions in case of a potential reuniting of the divisions.

"My only complaint is that I think the Warrior drivers should have the opportunity to get more trophies," said Smith. "If they brought back the 'reserve' race, where there's more Warriors, give the top-three in both divisions trophies, rather just the top-three cars at the finish, which are usually always us Street Stocks. That might make it a bit more fun for them."

Christman thinks everyone would be having more fun if more Warriors had the opportunity to make the main events. "Right now when things are merged, it's the top nine cars qualify [in heat races]," he said. "It might be interesting to make it the top seven Street Stocks and top two Junkyard Warriors qualify to the 'A' feature, that way there would be more then one or two in the feature."

Obviously, Curley would like to see the divisions remain together throughout the year, but feels that no matter what, things have been tainted already.

"What is stupid is that both divisions now get to race far less laps than previously [while they're seperate]," he said. "We have gone back to the old purses which are about 25% less than the merger purses, and there will be nothing pure about he point title races, as we have changed formats in mid-stream."

"I'm not sure what is going to happen in the future," he said. "I guess we will just have to wait and see."




(PHOTOS: 1. The Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior division merger has produced some excitment in 2009; 2. Street Stocker Dan Lathrop (#6) gets upside down; 3. Jamie Davis (#43) got wrecked in the Street Stock-only feature last Thursday; 4. A trio of Warriors run each other clean up front during a heat race; 5. Warrior Ken Christman sees both positive and negative aspects of the merger. Photos 1-4 by Leif Tillotson, Photo 5 by Alan Ward)

Polewarczyk Finally Gets One At The Road

BARRE -- Maybe it was a bit late, but that made Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.'s first win in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Thunder Road on Thursday night all that much sweeter. The Hudson, N.H. driver, who turned 20 years old less than a month ago, crashed off the backstretch and out of an almost certain victory at the Barre track on Memorial Day weekend. He'd lost a couple of shots at winning the season-ending Milk Bowl. He'd been wrecked there countless times.

But now that's all behind him.

You couldn't ask for a better setting: Spectacular weather with a twilight start to a big event, a visiting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion in Tony Stewart, a packed house -- maybe an all-time record crowd -- jamming the hillside seats at the track. And Polewarczyk, despite what he might have said earlier, was still seething over his latest loss at Thunder Road.

The youngster wasted no time in getting to the front; after starting in eighth place on the 30-car grid, he was fifth by the end of lap 5. By lap 18, he was third. On lap 57, he was in the lead, a position he would never relinquish. But although he was never passed for the top spot, Polewarczyk was never really comfortably out front until lap 148.

A 45-lap duel with sophomore hometown favorite Nick Sweet, beginning at lap 101, kept the crowd holding its breath -- Sweet hugging the low lane trying to nose ahead, Polewarczyk rim-riding the high side, leading the race by a matter of only a foot at times -- and could likely be thought of as one of the finest battles for a victory in recent Thunder Road memory. A late caution period, followed by a surprise visit to the front by defending Governor's Cup winner Cris Michaud only hightened the tension.

After all, Polewarczyk was running the same high line on Memorial Day when he crashed. Sweet had never won in Late Model competition and was hungry to break through, and both he and Michaud were itching to earn a possible qualifying berth for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, one of the prizes awarded to the winner of the Governor's Cup 150. And with the caution and impending restart bunching the field with just five laps to go, who knew what was going to happen?

Green flag: Sweet gets the jump in the outside lane, a place he hasn't seen -- other than in lapped traffic -- since the 1/3-mark of the race. Sweet tries his best to hold his advantage, but Polewarczyk is too strong and leads the lap. Suddenly -- and everyone saw it coming, it seems -- the pair swap lanes, trying to get back to familiar territory. It works, but only for a moment, as Sweet opens the door and Michaud ducks underneath him, taking away second place. As the two-to-go signal comes from the flagstand, Polewarczyk eases into a two car-length lead.

White flag, almost there. What could go wrong now?

Turn 1: Tore the whole nose off on Labor Day here last year.

Turn 2: Popped a radiator here in 2005.

Backstretch: Remember Memorial Day?

Turn 3: Got into it with Karl Allard here at the Milk Bowl last year and got black-flagged.

Turn 4: Ouch, that first trip in 2004. A chunk of the wall ended up inside the car that night.

Frontstretch: And none of that matters anymore. Checkered flag. It's over.

The victory lane interview with Ken Squier was barely audible over the thousands of cheering fans that had not only come to see Tony Stewart, but to see if this kid Polewarczyk had what it took to win at one of the toughest race tracks around. He was drained, physically, emotionally, mentally. In 85-degree heat, he had raced his tail off for the win, and all the memories had undoubtedly haunted him to no end.

In the inspection area a few minutes later, he'd had a bit more time to let it sink in. So Joey, you've won at Thunder Road, how does it feel? Sweat-soaked, beat red, and wearing a winner's medal around his neck with the CARQUEST logo on it, a big grin comes across his face: "Pretty friggin' good."

And that's all he needed to say.

***

In support action, Pete Ainsworth and Jimmy Hebert celebrated split Tiger Sportsman feature victories in two very different ways. Middlesex racer Ainsworth was more or less uncontested as he notched the 10th win of his career in the division, boosting him into elite status among the all-time winners of Thunder Road's oldest class of race car. For him, it was just another day at the office. However, 18 year-old Hebert, of Williamstown, battled another youngster, Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell, and earned his first-ever win. He paused during his victory lap for a impromptu smoke show and donut on the backstretch.

"I bent my steering shaft down punching [the steering wheel] I was so excited," laughed Hebert. "I couldn't hardly turn doing the burnout."

Ainsworth was trailed across the finish line by Shawn Fleury and Doug Crowningshield, and a razor-close finish between David Finck and Joey Laquerre; Finck got the position. Following Hebert and O'Donnell were Mike Ziter, Eric Badore, and Jeff French.

Tommy "Thunder" Smith of Williamstown drove his Thunder Road 50th Anniversary-themed car to his first win of the year in the first of two Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior features after starting 19th. Bruce Melendy finished second after contact with David Greenslit approachign the final lap sent Greenslit spinning into the infield; Greg Adams, Jr. was third over Joe Blais and Troy Gray. David Whitcomb of Elmore earned his first Street Stock main event win in the nightcap, over Tim Campbell, Mike MacAskill, Ron Gabaree, and Gary Mullen.

Donny Yates of North Montpelier and Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield were the top Junkyard Warrior drivers in the respective features; each driver took his third win of the season.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, June 25, 2009

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

Late Model
1. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H.
2. Cris Michaud, Northfield
3. Nick Sweet, Barre
4. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
5. John Donahue, Graniteville
6. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
7. Trampas Demers, South Burlington
8. Phil Scott, Montpelier
9. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
10. Eric Williams, Hyde Park
11. Rich Lowrey, Williston
12. Brent Dragon, Milton
13. Tony Andrews, Northfield
14. Jason Bonnett, St. Albans
15. Eric Chase, Milton
16. Tony Stewart, Rushville, Ind.
17. Craig Bushey, Cambridge
18. Dennis Demers, Shelburne
19. Mike Bailey, South Barre
20. Joey Becker, Jeffersonville
21. Dave Paya, Milton
22. Reno Gervais, Island Pond
23. Steve Fisher, Shelburne
24. Brooks Clark, Fayston
25. Doug Murphy, Tunbridge
26. Cal Poulin, Braintree
27. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton
28. Matt White, Northfield
29. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué.
30. Robbie Crouch, Tampa, Fla.

Tiger Sportsman Feature #1
1. Pete Ainsworth, Middlesex
2. Shawn Fleury, Middlesex
3. Doug Crowningshield, Barre
4. David Finck, Barre
5. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier

Tiger Sportsman Feature #2
1. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
2. Derrick O'Donnell, Bradford
3. Mike Ziter, Williamstown
4. Eric Badore, Georgia
5. Jeff French, Northfield

Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior Feature #1
1. Tommy Smith, Williamstown (SS winner)
2. Bruce Melendy, Danville (SS)
3. Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick (SS)
4. Joe Blais, East Barre (SS)
5. Troy Gray, Fairlee (SS)

12. Donny Yates, North Montpelier (JW winner)

Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior Feature #2
1. David Whitcomb, Elmore (SS winner)
2. Tim Campbell, West Topsham (SS)
3. Mike MacAskill, Williamstown (SS)
4. Ron Gabaree, Barre (SS)
5. Gary Mullen, Tunbridge (SS)

14. Kevin Streeter, Watisfield (JW winner)


(PHOTOS: 1. An exhausted Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. (right) is joined in victory lane by Vt. Governor Jim Douglas after Polewarczyk's win at Thunder Road on Thursday night; 2. Tiger Sportsman winner Pete Ainsworth. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)