(Press release from Thunder Road International Speedbowl)
Setting the stage for Sunday’s 45th Labor Day Classic 200, the rain-delayed Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night program went off with a bang on Friday. Tight, competitive racing throughout the divisions wowed the crowd, as did the annual Run-What-U-Brung spectator drags which brought the rabid fanbase to their feet on more than one occasion.
Leading off the evening to give them as much time as possible to prepare for Sunday’s American-Canadian Tour invasion, Keegan Lamson and Stephen Martin lead the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model field to green. Lamson got the early bite on the inside groove as Martin shuffled back giving Darrell Morin free-range of the outside lane. The lone caution flag flew early as rookie Cody Schoolcraft got the shove from Chip Grenier in turn three to spin around in turn four. Lamson and Morin remained side-by-side following the restart until Morin poked out to lead lap 8.
Behind the leaders, top point chasers Stephen Donahue, Scott Dragon and Kaiden Fisher remained nose-to-tail blazing through traffic and bouncing off one another in their pursuit of a top-five run. Rookie Justin Prescott powered up the outside of Morin to lead lap 21 as Donahue jumped to the bottom before battling hard with Dragon among the top three. Dragon overtook the lead on lap 26 before powering away from Donahue and Prescott as fellow championship chasers Marcel Gravel, Nick Sweet, Cody Blake and Fisher remained mired in traffic out back. Scott Dragon took down his fourth win of the season with Stephen Donahue and Justin Prescott completing the podium.
The rk Miles Street Stocks got rowdy early as a loose Juan ‘Paco’ Marshall overcorrected up into Cam Powers who along with Dean Switser spun around in turn two. With damage sustained in hitting the backstretch wall, Powers remained pit-side for the rest of the event. The ‘Crunch Bunch’ continued to stir under the restart as top rookie Ryan Foster flew sideways in turn four, collecting multiple machines in the melee and calling out the yellow once again. One final caution saw Derek Farnham pushed off the outside pole by Todd Raymo at the start/finish line on lap two.
Under the return to green flag racing, Patrick Tibbetts powered off the bottom over Taylor Hoar to lead the field as Tyler Whittemore, Jamie Davis and Trevor Jaques followed on the outside. At the halfway point Whittemore made a beeline to the outside of Tibbetts and led lap 15 with Jaques and Jeffrey Martin in hot pursuit behind him. As the three ran in a pack at the end, the final run around lap-car Travis Gay saw Jaques try for one last jump to the inside of Whittemore but it was too late. Tyler Whittemore took down his first win of the 2023 season followed by Jaques in second and Jeffrey Martin sub-driving for Kyle Gravel in third.
The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers kept the show rolling with Matt Ballard and Kevin Streeter leading the pack with Streeter taking off like a rocket from the field in the outside lane. Adam Maynard broke out of the side-by-side pack to take second and set his sights on Streeter’s straightaway lead on lap 9 with Jason Pelkey and Cooper French following on the outside. Working slowly but surely, Maynard methodically worked his way to the rear bumper of Streeter, jumping to his outside with four laps remaining and a rear-view mirror full of Jason Pelkey. Sideways across the line in a blanket of smoke, Kevin Streeter kept the lead to take the win over Adam Maynard and Jason Pelkey.
The thrilling showdown of the night saw eighteen road-raging fans take to the Thunder Road highbanks in their daily drivers for the annual Run-What-U-Brung challenge. After whittling away the crowd in one-on-one drags across the asphalt, it came down to two. Richie Turner, the former Enduro 200 winner, piloting a red Ford Focus took on Jennifer Buker in a black Subaru Impreza for the final showdown. Turner seemed to miss the shift at the start and although he made up for it on the backstretch, Buker put the hammer down to claim the 2023 Run-What-U-Brung championship!
Kevin Wheatly and Robert Catchapaw tried to one-up the Run-What-U-Brung superstars by bringing the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors to life under the green flag before a hard-hit for newcomer Derek Tetrault brought out the caution on lap 1. Wheatley and Brodie Frazier restarted the field as Mike Slingerland, Neal Foster and Tyler Wheatley joined the fray. Contact between Jason Kirby and Nate Brien brought the yellow flag back out on lap seven and ended Brien’s day with a smashed radiator. Neal Foster would take the jump on the restart to win followed by a late-charge by Tyler Wheatley for second and father Kevin Wheatley rounding out the evening’s final podium.
Thunder Road returns to action on Sunday, September 3rd for the 45th Labor Day Classic 200 presented by New England Federal Credit Union for the American-Canadian Tour. The American-Canadian Tour title is coming down to the wire and the championship hopefuls must contend with the Thunder Road highbanks twice more in 2023 starting with the challenging Labor Day Classic 200. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks, Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors and visiting Mighty Mini Stock Tour will also be in attendance. Sunday’s Post Time is set for 1:00pm with adult general admission available for $25, kids 12-6 for $10 and children 5 and under free!
For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.
Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT
Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night
Friday, September 1, 2023
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Run-What-U-Brung Champion –
Jennifer Buker Lincoln, VT
Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models – (50 Laps)
1. 0VT Scott Dragon Milton, VT
2. 31VT Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT
3. 04VT #Justin Prescott Milton, VT
4. 17VT Darrell Morin Westford, VT
5. 01VT Stephen Martin Craftsbury Common, VT
6. 55VT #Keegan Lamson Berlin, VT
7. 86VT Marcel J. Gravel Wolcott, VT
8. 18VT #Kaiden Fisher Shelburne, VT
9. 64VT Chris Pelkey Graniteville, VT
10. 16VT Brandon Lanphear Morrisville, VT
11. 99VT Cody Blake Barre, VT
12. 9VT Chip Grenier Orange, VT
13. 88VT Nick Sweet Barre, VT
14. 8VT Chris Roberts Washington, VT
15. 14VT Phil Scott Berlin, VT
16. 27VT Kyle Pembroke Montpelier, VT
17. 4VT Scott Coburn Barre, VT
18. 7VT Brendan Moodie* Wolcott, VT
19. 38VT Tyler Cahoon Danville, VT
20. 48VT Jean-Paul Cyr Milton, VT
21. 31KS #Cody Schoolcraft Claremont, NH
*Sub Driver for Cooper Bouchard
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers – (40 Laps)
1. 67VT Kevin Streeter Waitsfield, VT
2. 45VT Adam Maynard Milton, VT
3. 64VT Jason Pelkey Barre, VT
4. 4ME Cooper French Northfield, VT
5. 00VT Brandon Gray E. Thetford, VT
6. 54VT Colin Cornell E. Burke, VT
7. 07VT Sam Caron Milton, VT
8. 13VT Ty Delphia Duxbury, VT
9. 37VT Kyle Streeter Waterbury Ctr., VT
10. 33VT Matt Ballard Williamstown, VT
11. 68VT Jason Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
12. 90VT Cameron Ouellette Barre, VT
13. 20VT Robert Gordon Milton, VT
14. 23NY Cam Gadue Highgate, VT
15. 31VT Logan Powers Middlesex, VT
16. 78VT #Tyler Pepin Barre, VT
17. 56VT Chris Laforest Barre, VT
18. 05VT Craig Bushey Fletcher, VT
19. 26VT #Luke Peters Groton, VT
20. 22VT Travis Patnoe Wolcott, VT
DNS 8NH Rich Lowrey South Hero, VT
rk Miles Street Stocks – (25 Laps)
1. 74 Tyler Whittemore Barre, VT
2. 57 Trevor Jaques Milton, VT
3. 5 Jeffery Martin* Barre, VT
4. 34 Patrick Tibbetts Plainfield, VT
5. 0 James Dopp Northfield, VT
6. 71 Jesse Laquerre Berlin, VT
7. 7 Kyle MacAskill Williamstown, VT
8. 16 Dean Switser, Jr. Waterford, VT
9. 9 #Logan Farrell Barre, VT
10. 43 Jamie Davis Johnson, VT
11. 48 Taylor Hoar South Hero, VT
12. 2 Haidyn Pearce Chelsea, VT
13. 22 Thomas Smith Williamstown, VT
14. 55 Parker Gagne Fairfax, VT
15. 33 Curtis Franks Topsham, VT
16. 08 #Ryan Foster Waterbury, VT
17. 96 Thomas Peck Waterbury, VT
18. 24 Todd Raymo Swanton, VT
19. 13 #Travis Gay S. Burlington, VT
20. 88 #Paul Rocheleau Georgia, VT
21. 50 Eric MacLaughlin Milton, VT
22. 39 Derek Farnham Bethel, VT
23. 04 Scott Weston Berlin, VT
24. 30 Cameron Powers E. Montpelier, VT
25. 79 Juan ‘Paco’ Marshall Pittsfield, VT
DNS 68 Kyler Davis Berlin, VT
*Sub Driver for Kyle Gravel
Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors – (20 Laps)
1. 19 Neal Foster Moretown, VT
2. 31 Tyler Wheatley Brookfield, VT
3. 13 Kevin Wheatley Brookfield, VT
4. 26 Corey Martin Northfield, VT
5. 88 Frank Putney Graniteville, VT
6. 99 Fred Fleury Graniteville, VT
7. 17 Brodie Frazier E. Montpelier, VT
8. 74 Keegan Tabor Williamstown, VT
9. 75 Bert Duffy Milton, VT
10. 42 Karsen Murphy Northfield, VT
11. 81 Mike Slingerland Fairfax, VT
12. 96 Bill O’Connor S. Washington, VT
13. 71 Jason Kirby Milton, VT
14. 77 Zach Garvey Milton, VT
15. 33 Brayden Murphy Barre, VT
16. 83 Gavin Hodgdon Hyde Park, VT
17. 03 Robert Catchapaw Waterbury, VT
18. 97 Eddie Thompson Colchester, VT
19. 16 Nate Brien Williamstown, VT
20. 50 Nick Copping Barre, VT
21. 30 Derek Tetrault St. Albans, VT
DNS 43 Anderson Boyd Berlin, VT
Leave a Reply