BARRE, VT – A host of “underdog” stock car drivers ruled the night at Barre’s Thunder Road on Thursday in front of a large crowd on Kinney Drugs Night. Mike “Beetle” Bailey and Jamie “Hurricane” Fisher split a pair of 50-lap Late Model features, while Chris Chambers earned his first NAPA Tiger Sportsman win of the season. Bailey, of South Barre, notched his first career win in the previously rained-out Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio Late Model 50 to begin the evening. Bailey had not finished inside the top ten since an eighth-place result on June 19. He won the Calkins/WDEV race going away in a caution-free affair that took just 12 minutes to complete. Fisher, of Shelburne, finished second after a long battle with Montpelier’s Phil Scott. John Donahue of Graniteville finished fourth on Scott’s bumper with rookie Matt White of Northfield fifth.
Fisher, the 2003 Thunder Road Champion, returned to victory lane in the regularly-scheduled Kinney Drugs 50, storming up the outside lane in the manner that earned him his nickname years ago. Fisher had not won a feature event since July 2006. He battled Colchester driver David Chagnon side-by-side for the lead for more than 30 laps before he was able to move ahead, then
survived late contact from Donahue to take the win. Chagnon, whose best finish of the season had been 14th, earned a career-best third place finish behind Donahue. Graniteville’s Chip Grenier and Scott completed the unofficial top five.
Point leaders Eric Williams of Hyde Park and Cris Michaud of Northfield did not fare well on the evening; Williams finished seventh and 12th in the two features, while Michaud finished eighth and 11th. Unofficially, Williams, with 837 points, leads a tied Michaud and Scott (821 each) by only 16 markers entering the final championship event next Thursday.
Chris Chambers of Brookfield took a hard-earned NAPA Tiger Sportsman win in the 30-lap Kinney Drugs event, after holding off a final-lap, outside-lane charge from Plainfield’s Tim Potter. Chambers and Potter entered the evening 30th and 29th in points, respectively. Rookie Dan Eastman of Thetford Center, 26th in points, finished third. Barre’s Scott Coburn and Jimmy Hebert of
Williamstown rounded out the unofficial top five finishers.
Rookie Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick grabbed his second checkered flag of the season in the 25-lap Allen Lumber Street Stock feature. Hodgdon won a door-to-door battle with Barre’s Erik Steel for the win. Tommy “Thunder” Smith of Williamstown finished third over Barre driver Josh LaCourse and Wolcott’s Steve Mandigo. Scott Weston of Berlin cruised to his third Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior victory of the season, nearly a half-lap ahead of Wolcott driver Jamie Davis. Travis Hull of Graniteville finished second, with Kevin Dodge of Barre and Neal Foster of Waterbury rounding out the unofficial top five in order.
NAPA Auto Parts and Make-A-Wish present the final Late Model championship event of the 2008 season on Thursday, August 28 at 6:30pm. Also on the card are double features for the Sportsman division, with regular events for the Street Stock and Warrior classes. General admission is $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $20 for a family of four. For more information,
call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Kinney Drugs Night
Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT – Thu., August 21, 2008
(# – denotes rookie)
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
Late Model (Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio – rained out 7/31 – 50 laps)
1. Mike Bailey, South Barre
2. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
3. Phil Scott, Montpelier
4. John Donahue, Graniteville
5. # Matt White, Northfield
6. Chip Grenier, Graniteville
7. Eric Williams, Hyde Park
8. Cris Michaud, Northfield
9. Dave Whitcomb, Essex Junction
10. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
Late Model (Kinney Drugs – 50 laps)
1. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
2. John Donahue, Graniteville
3. David Chagnon, Colchester
4. Chip Grenier, Graniteville
5. Phil Scott, Montpelier
6. Robbie Crouch, Tampa, FL
7. # Matt White, Northfield
8. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
9. Brooks Clark, Fayston
10. Doug Murphy, Tunbridge
NAPA Tiger Sportsman (30 laps)
1. Chris Chambers, Brookfield
2. Tim Potter, Plainfield
3. # Dan Eastman, Thetford Center
4. Scott Coburn, Barre
5. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
6. Brian Delphia, Duxbury
7. Eric Badore, Georgia
8. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott
9. Tony Rossi, Groton
10. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
Allen Lumber Street Stock (25 laps)
1. # Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick
2. Erik Steel, Barre
3. Tommy Smith, Williamstown
4. Josh LaCourse, Barre
5. Steve Mandigo, Wolcott
6. Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common
7. Bruce Melendy, Danville
8. Justin Gordon, Berlin
9. Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick
10. Jason Corliss, Plainfield
Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior (15 laps)
1. Scott Weston, Berlin
2. Jamie Davis, Wolcott
3. Travis Hull, Graniteville
4. Kevin Dodge, Barre
5. Neal Foster, Waterbury
6. Mike Gay, South Burlington
7. Justin Prescott, Williston
8. Jeremy Fleury, Williamstown
9. Lance Donald, Williamstown
10. Jeff Martin, Jr., Moretown