Roy Beats Dupree for Trombley 100 Win, Championship

Roy is first Canadian to win track title since 1971

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Martin Roy's car owner, Jean-Claude Fortin, issued some unsolicited advice to Airborne Speedway champion Patrick Dupree at the 2008 awards banquet: Enjoy your reign as king now, because 2009 will belong to us. After a win on opening day in May, Roy backed up Fortin's claim, saying, "It's my year." On Saturday night, both men were proven correct.

Roy dominated the second half of the Charlie Trombley Memorial 100-lap championship finale for the headline Modified division on Saturday night at the Plattsburgh, N.Y. track, holding off Dupree for the win and the championship, unofficially, by 14 points.

Roy started 13th on the 30-car field and quickly worked his way through traffic, passing Dupree for eighth place on lap 2. Roy reaching third place by passing Chris Cayea on lap 10, then moved under Cameron Grady to take second away on lap 24. Pierre Berthiaume led the first 46 laps from the pole position, but his car shut down following a restart, allowing Roy to slip by and inherit the lead. Dupree, who started 11th, used a tire-saving strategy for the first half of the race, content to ride in the back half of the top-five while racing with Andy Heywood and Mike Bruno before taking second place form Heywood on the 57th lap.

After a restart on lap 65, Dupree turned the wick up a bit, running Roy down in lapped traffic. However, a red flag for a nasty crash on lap 79 involving Heywood, George Foley, and Michel Viens effectively put a stop to Dupree's charge. Roy was faster than Dupree immediately following each late-race restart, while Dupree was much faster after about three laps of green flag racing (Dupree turned a 16.007-second lap -- the fastest lap of the year in any feature race, on lap 94, three laps after a restart), but late cautions kept Dupree stuck behind Roy.

The victory was Roy's seventh of the year in 15 events -- jus shy of 47% of the races run -- and solidified him as the champion, unofficially, by 14 points over Dupree, who won three times. During the season, the pair finished within one position of each other on eight occasions; on four of those nights, Roy beat Dupree for a victory, and twice Dupree beat Roy to win.

"I'm very happy. The competition is very hard at this place and it's very special for me to win in the U.S.A.," said Roy, with help from interpreter Steve Morin. Roy, of Napierville, Qué., is the first Canadian driver since Denis Giroux in 1971 to win a headline division championship at Airborne.

Dupree was extremely frustrated with his runner-up finish in the race -- although not necessarily the championship -- and placed the blame on himself. "I was thinking I was going to save tires [for the longer distance race], but I should have went right for the front. I was a much faster car. I gave that one away. Maybe not the championship, but tonight's race I gave away, like a (expletive) moron. Yup, just gave it away, watched [Roy] drive right by. Oh well, thought we had to save the tires, but they were fine."

The Saranac Lake, N.Y. racer thought that less caution periods could have helped his chances to pass Roy at the end of the race. "Yeah, I'd say at that point a longer green flag run would have helped us because I would have got him, but he's got a lot of motor in his starts and everything. He's got so much freaking motor, it pulls pretty good on the starts, it takes three or four laps to get back settled in, and the freaking caution comes out. If we had some green flag I would have got him, but it was my fault letting him go in the first place, he went right to the front."

Roy was appreciative of his season-long title fight with Dupree, which remained clean and respectful throughout the year. "It was very tight, very tight. Every race, it's like it's me and Patrick finish before [one another], finish after, finish before, finish after, and [it happened again] tonight. I was very, very nervous. In my life, I've lost three championships at the last [race]. In 2007 at this place, at Granby in '07, and Granby in '06. At Granby in '06 we ran at the rear in the feature, and we got in a wreck in '07 while leading the feature. That could have given us enough points to win the championship, so we were nervous about [something similar tonight]. You always think about the bad times instead of the good times, like when we won in '05 at Drummond. But tonight nothing bad happened. It's a happy time."

Dupree liked the idea of a close point battle, but felt as though Roy's team was better overall. "You know, it was close, but we were nowhere near as good as those guys," he said. "I mean, we had a little bit of bad luck, but we didn't 'get it' nearly as much as they did as far as the setups. We worked at it a lot, but with the new [progressively banked track surface constructed in April] we were struggling a little bit more. It was pretty good, like, tonight was probably the best it's been, but the track is so weird, it loosens up now [at night]. The later it goes, the looser the track seems to get, and everyone's got to deal with the same thing."

Behind Roy and Dupree on the track, Castleton racer Bruno finished third. Leon Gonyo of Chazy, N.Y. finished fourth, with Richard Tisseur of Chateauguay, Qué. fifth. Matt Woodruff, Cayea, Mike Reyell, Jason Durgan, and Mike Phinney completed the unofficial top ten.

Robin Wood of Plattsburgh posted his sixth Sportsman feature win of the season in a rough 25-lap event. Bucko Branham was the runner-up, with Travis Bruno inheriting third place after apparent finisher Tylor Terry faield post-race inspection. Jamy Begor and Jim Bushey completed the unofficial top five. Rob Gordon of Milton won the 25-lap Renegade feature over point leader Nick Heywood, Kevin Boutin, Lance Rabtoy, and Randy LaDue. Randy Martin of Keeseville, N.Y. won the Mini-Modified feature, and Bill Joyal of AuSable Forks, N.Y. was the Bomber winner.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Charlie Trombley Memorial Night presented by Cold Spring Granite and Bimbo Bakeries
Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown

Ernie's Discount Tools Modified (100 laps)
1. Martin Roy, Napierville, Qué.
2. Patrick Dupree, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
3. Mike Bruno, Castleton
4. Leon Gonyo, Chazy, N.Y.
5. Richard Tisseur, Chateauguay, Qué.
6. Matt Woodruff, Bloomingdale, N.Y.
7. Chris Cayea, Mooers, N.Y.
8. Mike Reyell, West Chazy, N.Y.
9. Jason Durgan, Morrisonville, N.Y.
10. Mike Phinney, Keeseville, N.Y.

J&S Steel Sportsman (25 laps)
1. Robin Wood, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
2. Bucko Branham, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
3. Travis Bruno, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
4. Jamy Begor, Mooers, N.Y.
5. Jim Bushey, Mooers Forks, N.Y.

Versatile Trailer Sales Renegade (25 laps)
1. Rob Gordon, Milton
2. Nick Heywood, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
3. Kevin Boutin, Jr., Swanton
4. Lance Rabtoy, Fairfax
5. Randy LaDue, West Chazy, N.Y.

Keeseville NAPA Mini-Modified (15 laps)
1. Randy Martin, Keeseville, N.Y.
2. Billy Thwaits, Clintonville, N.Y.
3. Justin Doner, Keeseville, N.Y.
4. Rick Doner, AuSable Forks, N.Y.
5. Dustin Duvall, Keeseville, N.Y.

Monster Energy Bomber (15 laps)
1. Bill Joyal, AuSable Forks, N.Y.
2. Jayson Blondo, Champlain, N.Y.
3. Chad Collins, Morrisonville, N.Y.
4. Josh LeClaire, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
5. Curtis Seymour, Jr., Plattsburgh, N.Y.

VIDEO: Roy Gets Biz With Airborne Title Dance

Martin Roy has a knack for winning Modified races at Airborne Speedway, and Saturday night he earned his seventh feature win of the season, clinching his first track championship at the Plattsburgh, N.Y. track.

But as good as the Frenchman is at winning, he's way better at throwin' down on the roof in victory lane. Here, he starts out with the old two-fisted Rocky salute, then breaks down into a disco squat, gets back up, and it's on. We're talkin' full-on boogie here, with some swirly leg-kick moves, shakin' of a couple other parts, a couple hockey goal-type kneeling fist-pumps, and then the congratulatory hugs with the crew and a victory lane interview with track announcer Rob Knowles. "It's a happy time," laughed Roy, of Napierville, Québec. "I'm there for the show. I give a show to the spectators."

(Video by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

Scott Wrecks, Dragon Wins at Twin State

CLAREMONT, N.H. -- It's been eight years, 11 months, and four days since Phil Scott won an ACT Late Model Tour race. And unfortunately for Scott, that time will extend for at least one more day. The Vermont State Senator and former ACT champion was practically a shoo-in to end the dry spell at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, N.H. on Friday night before a pair of late-race incidents, both involving number-four point driver Randy Potter, effectively ended Scott's night.

Scott led every step of the Twin State 100 from the pole position, navigating lapped traffic with ease, before a lap 70 caution brought second-place runner Brent Dragon to Scott's tail for a restart. The yellow caution flag flew for Guy Caron, who after some tight, sometimes physical racing with Potter, was dumped off the backstretch by Potter by into the infield.

With Dragon pressuring Scott for the lead a dozen laps later, Potter spun just before Turn 1, coming to rest with the front half of his car on the racing surface. Potter got his stalled car refired in time to move out of the way as the leaders approched, but in a brief instant, the yellow flag flew just as Potter inexplicably drove out onto the track directly into their path. Scott jammed on his brakes and drove to the high side in an attempt to avoid, but collided hard with Potter and spun into the wall; Dragon got by unscathed on the inside.

Despite heavy cosmetic damage, Scott refired his car on his own, but was placed at the rear of the field for the restart with Potter. It was then smooth sailing for Dragon, who held off John Donahue through that restart and another final one on lap 93 for the win.

Scott was obviously disappointed with the wreck. "I guess I could have paid attention [to what Potter was doing] more. I saw him coming out, I just thought he was going to stay there," Scott said. "I did what I thought was right, and usually a car that's spun on the inside usually comes down and stays low, it doesn't cross the track. I don't know if he didn't see how quickly we were coming."

Potter left the pit area almost immediately after the race concluded and was unavailable for comment.

Scott was also frustrated with the call made by race director Tom Curley to place him at the rear of the field for the lap 82 restart, thinking that the caution flag flew for Potter before the accident. Scott fell off the pace at the restart until debris cleared itself away from the right-front tire of his car under the green flag. "As it turned out, I don't know as we could have held on to the lead anyhow, but I wasn't happy with [the call]," Scott said. "But you know, you make the calls as you see them, and obviously [Curley] was throwing the yellow for [Potter]. And [Curley] was letting some cars spin and stay there [until they refired during other incidents in the race], so it's not like it was anything directed at me, but sometimes, you know, it's tough to take."

Prior to the lap 82 wreck, Dragon had several chances to force his way into the lead past Scott, both on the inside and outside lanes. In fact, Dragon was just under Scott's car at the time of the accident.

"I think I could have beat Phil. We were pressuring him pretty good, and it's too bad he got wrecked," Dragon said. "He was so tight in the middle of the corner, and I could have drove up underneath him. Even on the straightaway there was a couple times I had my nose in there. And I had him outside, too, but I really wanted to go underneath him and just beat him on the straightaway nice and clean, because I knew once I got all the way beside he'd just let me go. It would have been interesting, it would have been fun."

Scott saw it differently, thinking he had the car to beat. "I was just being very, very careful trying to protect the bottom when we had that restart [on lap 70] with the lapped car on the outside," he said. "I didn't want to slip up into him and I didn't want to have Brent dive underneath me, so I was just biding my time a little bit, protecting the bottom. Once I got out and started hitting my marks again, I don't know as Brent could have caught us. We had a very stout car. We'll try [Sunday at Thunder Road] to go out and win that race."

For Dragon, the win was his third of 2009, but his first victory of the year on the ACT Late Model Tour. He won a pair of events in Canada prior to the Twin State 100 -- the Coors Light 200 Showdown all-star event at Autodrome Chaudière last Sunday, and a Série ACT-Castrol event at Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué. in June. Dragon joked that he was relieved to finally be able to put an end to the season-long ribbing he's taken from friends and competitors that he couldn't win a race in the United States.

"This is our first win in the States this year, so I guess I can be a U.S. citizen again," Dragon laughed. "Everybody's been beating on me about being a Canadian all year."

ACT Late Model Tour point leader Scott Payea had a quiet, but impressive drive from 19th starting position to finish in third place. The finish was his sixth third-place effort of the year, coupled with a win at Airborne Speedway in May. Rookie Joey Doiron, 17, finished an ACT career-best fourth, with Brian Hoar, Payea's chief rival for the championship, in fifth place. Daniel Descoste finished a career-best sixth, in front of Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Ben Rowe, and Twin State Speedway regulars Aaron Fellows and Dallas Trombley.

Unofficially, Payea maintained a narrow five-point lead over Hoar entering Sunday's Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road in Barre.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Twin State 100
ACT Late Model Tour -- Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H.
Friday, Sept. 4, 2009

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

1. Brent Dragon, Milton
2. John Donahue, Graniteville
3. Scott Payea, Milton
4. #Joey Doiron, Berwick, Me.
5. Brian Hoar, Williston
6. Daniel Descoste, St-Joseph-du-Lac, Qué.
7. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H.
8. Ben Rowe, Turner, Me.
9. Aaron Fellows, Croydon, N.H.
10. Dallas Trombley, Rutland
11. Stéphane Descoste, Oka, Qué.
12. Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H.
13. Darrell Keane, Springfield, Mass.
14. Phil Scott, Montpelier
15. Chris Riendeau, Ascutney
16. Tyler Cahoon, St. Johnsbury
17. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
18. Todd Davis, Claremont, N.H.
19. Pete Potvin, III, Graniteville
20. Marc Palmisano, Hadley, Mass.
21. Chip Grenier, Graniteville
22. Bryan Town, Charlestown, N.H.
23. Chris Bergeron, Claremont, N.H.
24. Mark Hayward, Unity, N.H.
25. Punky Caron, Goshen, N.H.
26. Guy Caron, Lempster, N.H.
27. Eric Williams, Hyde Park
28. Dennis Stange, Athol, Mass.
29. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Twp., Me.
30. Glen Luce, Turner, Me.


(PHOTOS: 1. Bretn Dragon waves to the crowd after his victory in the Twin State 100; 2. Phil Scott's car became a mangled mess after a lap 82 crash while Scott was leading. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

VIDEO: Punky Wins, Fellows Fast

The following video shows qualifying heat #4 at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, N.H. on Friday night, for the ACT Late Model Tour Twin State 100. The legendary Howard "Punky" Caron (#81) made his first ACT appearance since the 1980s a good one, winning the heat race over Bryan Town (#11), Stéphane Descoste (#10QC) and Aaron Fellows (#29). After a first-lap run-in with Guy Caron (#8), Fellows put on an impressive display of driving, from ninth at the start; his "+5" handicap put him on the outside pole for the Twin State 100, in which he eventually finished ninth.

(Video by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

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

-by Justin St. Louis

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

***

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

***

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

***

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

***

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

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

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

***

AROUND THE REGION:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

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

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

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


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

ACT Invitational: 28 Teams on Invite List for NHMS Event

LOUDON, N.H. -- Six names have been added to the list of drivers invited to the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway later this month.

ACT released 22 names last week following a two-day "Test & Tune" session at the 1.058-mile superspeedway that were invited to compete at the race. On Tuesday, Maine drivers Ricky Rolfe, Shawn Martin, and Joey Doiron, Connecticut racer Timmy Jordan, and Vermonters Jamie Fisher and Eric Chase were added to the list.

Fisher, of Shelburne, is a former track champion at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre, and both he and Milton driver Chase are veteran competitors there and on the ACT Late Model Tour. Chase also made his NHMS debut in a NASCAR Camping World Series East event in June.

The list of 28 drivers invited to the ACT Invitational is as follows:

Car No.-Driver-Hometown-Invite Berth
9ON Brandon Watson, Stayner, Ont., Kawartha Speedway At-Large Invitee
10NH Ben Rowe, Turner, Me., ACT Late Model Tour At-Large Invitee
11VT Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, Thunder Road Champion
11RI Ryan Vanasse, Warwick, R.I., Seekonk Speedway Point Leader
14VT Phil Scott, Montpelier, Thunder Road At-Large Invitee
14ON Sean Kennedy, Dunrobin, Ont., NHMS Qualifier Winner
17MA Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., NHMS Qualifier Winner
18VT Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, ACT/Thunder Road At-Large Invitee
21QC Jean-François Déry, Québec, Qué., NHMS Qualifier Winner
26VT John Donahue, Graniteville, NHMS Qualifier Winner
35CT Bruce Thomas, Groton, Conn., Waterford Speedbowl Point Leader
37VT Brian Hoar, Williston, NHMS Qualifier Winner
40VT Eric Chase, Milton, ACT/Thunder Road At-Large Invitee
44VT Dave Pembroke, Middlesex, NHMS Qualifier Winner
47CT Tim Jordan, Plainfield, Conn., Waterford Speedbowl At-Large Invitee
48QC Karl Allard, St-Félicien, Qué., Série ACT-Castrol At-Large Invitee
51ME Ricky Rolfe, Albany Twp., Me., ACT Late Model Tour At-Large Invitee
55VT Brent Dragon, Milton, NHMS Qualifier Winner
55NH Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H., NHMS Qualifier Winner
71ON Dan McHattie, Cavan, Ont., Kawartha Speedway Point Leader
73ME Joey Doiron, Berwick, Me., ACT Late Model Tour At-Large Invitee
80QC Donald Theetge, Boischatel, Qué., NHMS Qualifier Winner
89VT Scott Payea, Milton, NHMS Qualifier Winner
91QC Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, Qué., NHMS Qualifier Winner
94ME Shawn Martin, Turner, Me., Oxford Plains Speedway At-Large Invitee
97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Hudson, N.H., NHMS Qualifier Winner
02NH Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H., ACT Late Model Tour At-Large Invitee
04ME T.J. Watson, Cundy’s Harbor, Me., NHMS Qualifier Winner

BREAKING NEWS: Lamberton to Return to ACT

New York racer to run Twin State, Airborne events; eyeing full season in 2010

CLAREMONT, N.H. -- Three years ago, Mark Lamberton was one of the hottest drivers on the ACT Late Model Tour, and certainly the face of New York-based Late Model racing in northern New England. Friday, he'll try to rekindle those flames as he returns to the race track at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, N.H.

The Mooers Forks, N.Y. driver has been absent from ACT competition since finishing fifth in championship points in 2006, but will make his return behind the wheel of the #16 Richard Green Trucking Ford normally driven by Joey Becker. Lamberton has been a part-time crew member with the team for two seasons, and has also been serving as crew chief for Sportsman driver Bill Sawyer at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this year. With Lamberton turning wrenches, Becker turned in a season-best third-place finish at Thunder Road in Barre on August 20.

Lamberton's most recent on-track experience was in the Modified division at Airborne in 2007.

"I've been hanging around the last few years looking for the right opportunity to come along," said Lamberton. "I've raced a Modified, I've worked on cars, I tried a bunch of things, but [racing with ACT] is what I want to be doing. In all my years of racing, it was the most fun I ever had. I've missed it."

Initial plans call for Lamberton to be in the Rick Green-owned car at Twin State on Friday and at the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway on Sept. 13. Becker will drive the car at Thunder Road on Sunday in the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 and at the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl later in the month. Ironically, it was Becker and Lamberton that turned in one of the most memorable finishes in Thunder Road history in 2004, as they traded the lead more than a dozen times during the final 35 laps of the Memorial Day Classic -- Lamberton spun, Becker won.

Green said that he was considering putting Lamberton in a full-time ACT Late Model Tour ride for 2010 when he got a call from ACT President Tom Curley. "Tom approached me about getting Mark into one of my cars at the 300," Green explained, noting that Curley thought Lamberton, who won both the Foliage event and the Airborne Speedway Late Model track championship in 2001, might be an added attraction to the race. "I had already thought about having him race for us on the Tour next year, but when Tom called, I figured we might as well speed up the process and get things rolling sooner rather than later."

Curley clearly thinks highly of Green's new driver. "[Lamberton's family] along with his whole team always represented to me exactly why I have stayed in this business for so long," Curley said Tuesday. "If I could have 30 Mark Lambertons on the road each week, I would keep doing this until I either dropped dead or became so senile that they threw me out. He is in the same racer mold as Brent Dragon, Randy Potter, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, Donald Theetge, Jamie Fisher, Karl Allard, as well as a bunch of others, and you know how much respect I have for those kinds of racers and teams.

"Mark is one of the best natural racers I have ever known," Curley continued. "He captured my respect when I watched him struggle for years at Thunder Road, and he kept coming back until he finally became pretty good there. I loved that tenacity that he brought to his racing. He is a hell of a good racer that understands the business as much as he understands how to race cars. "

Curley also said that should Lamberton win one of the events at Twin State or Airborne -- both of which are qualifiying races for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 19 -- he would consider inviting him to compete in the race, despite not having any track time at the 1.058-mile superspeedway. "I said to someone the other day that [Lamberton] would be about the only driver I would consider inviting to the Invitational without having been to the test-and-tune (last week). I have that much respect for him as a long track racer," Curley said. Lamberton's three ACT Late Model Tour wins all came at Airborne, a fast, 4/10-mile oval, and a significant number of his career ACT top-five finishes have come at Airborne, the 5/8-mile Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué., and the 9/10-mile Sanair Super Speedway near Montréal.

"Mark has helped us change a lot on the setup of the car already, so these races will be a good test to get any bugs worked out," said Green. "And he's a very good driver, so who knows, maybe we can make something out of it. It should be fun."

Lamberton finished fourth at Twin State in his own car at ACT's last visit in 2004. "It was a few years ago and in a different car, but I liked the track at Claremont and I'm hoping we can do well there again. And the 300, I can't wait for that. I wanted to get a ride for that race as soon as [ACT] announced it last year. I hope I make Rick and Joey proud."



(PHOTOS: 1. Mark Lamberton will return to the driver's seat this weekend at Twin State Speedway in one of Richard Green's #16 cars; 2. Lamberton (#29) and Joey Becker (#16) battle at Thunder Road in 2004; 3. Lamberton (#29) on the way to winning the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in 2001. Photo 1 by Justin St. Louis/VMM; Photos 2 and 3 by Gene Gagne/OutsideGroove.com)