Laperle Wins Dramatic Milk Bowl Finale
BARRE, VT – Stock car drivers Craig Bushey and Jason Corliss celebrated their first track championships at Barre’s Thunder Road on Sunday, as part of the 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event. Bushey, of Cambridge, earned the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division title by just 13 points over Joey Laquerre, while Plainfield racer Corliss clinched the Allen Lumber Street Stock
championship by an even-narrower 1 point over Lloyd Blakely. Bushey’s 14th-place finish in the 30-lap Chittenden Bank finale was enough to secure the Sportsman crown, despite Laquerre’s
strong fifth-place run. Unofficially, the margin of victory was 978-965 points. Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott took his second victory of the season, with Bradford’s Derrick O’Donnell second and Thetford
Center rookie Dan Eastman third. Ricky Roberts of Websterville finished fourth ahead of Laquerre. Rookie Cody Blake finished sixth, unofficially, with Joel Hodgdon, Alex Perkins, Eric Badore, and rookie Chris Lacey completing the top ten finishers in order.
Corliss pulled out a surprise championship run in the Street Stock class. Blakely entered the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event with a nine-point lead over Corliss and Greg Adams, Jr., who were tied in second. After qualifying heats, Blakely stretched his advantage to 11 over both drivers, but a 10th-place result in the 25-lap main event left him one point shy of Corliss, who finished fourth in the race and beat Blakely 1035 points to 1034. Adams took ninth place in the race and in the standings with
1025.
Donat Premont of Marshfield earned the Street Stock victory to cap off a late-season comeback. Premont, the 1999 Street Stock champion, had taken several seasons off before re-joining the class in August. Garry Bashaw of Lincoln finished second ahead of Randolph Center’s Markus Farnham in a career-best third place. Corliss beat rookie Bunker Hodgdon to the line for fourth place. Mike Martin, Patrick Underwood, rookie David Whitcomb, Adams, and Blakely completed the unofficial top ten.
Patrick Laperle of Montreal won a dramatic Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl for the American-Canadian Tour Championship Late Models, himself clinching the series championship by just one point over Milton driver Scott Payea. Laperle beat Thunder Road Champion Eric Williams by two points in the three-segment, cumulatively scored race. Laperle posted finishes of first, 11th, and eighth in the three 50-lap segments for a total low score of 20 points. Williams placed ninth, sixth, and seventh for a total score of 22 points. Ryan Nolin of Georgia, Dennis Demers of Shelburne, and Chip Grenier of Graniteville completed the unofficial top five finishers. Travis Hull of Graniteville won the Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior division championship on Saturday over Wolcott’s Jamie Davis. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com. For more information on the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl, visit www.acttour.com.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl
Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT
Sunday, September 28, 2008
(# – denotes rookie)
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
NAPA Tiger Sportsman (30 laps)
1. Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott
2. Derrick O’Donnell, Bradford
3. # Dan Eastman, Thetford Center
4. Ricky Roberts, Websterville
5. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
6. # Cody Blake, Barre
7. Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury
8. Alex Perkins, Barre
9. Eric Badore, Georgia
10. # Chris Lacey, Burlington
Allen Lumber Street Stock (25 laps)
1. Donat Premont, Marshfield
2. Garry Bashaw, Lincoln
3. Markus Farnham, Randolph Center
4. Jason Corliss, Plainfield
5. # Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick
6. Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common
7. Patrick Underwood, Johnson
8. # David Whitcomb, Elmore
9. Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick
10. Lloyd Blakely, Graniteville
American-Canadian Tour 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl
Pos.-Driver-Hometown-(Segment Tally/Total Points)
1. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, QC (1+11+8=20)
2. Eric Williams, Hyde Park, VT (9+6+7=22)
3. Ryan Nolin, Georgia, VT (3+20+1=24)
4. Dennis Demers, Shelburne, VT (6+16+6=28)
5. Chip Grenier, Graniteville, VT (11+9+9=29)
6. Scott Payea, Milton, VT (7+10+13=30)
7. Robbie Crouch, Tampa, FL (8+13+10=31)
8. Quinny Welch, Lancaster, NH (13+3+17=33)
9. # Nick Sweet, Barre, VT (19+4+11=34)
10. Brian Hoar, Williston, VT (5+15+14=34)