Barre, VT – Northfield’s John Lambert claimed the upset victory in the Bond Auto Tiger Heritage 100-lap special on Sunday, July 29 at Barre’s Thunder Road. Lambert was chased by late-charger Mike Martin and front-runner Scott Coburn who finished second and third respectively.
Side by side racing dominated the first 20 laps of the event, before Coburn finally broke free of the pack to claim the lead. Coburn earned a large advantage over the 29 car field before hitting heavy lap traffic. Lambert capitalized, slicing through the lapped cars and stripping Coburn of the lead on lap 53. Lambert then broke away from Coburn, who had his hands full with ten laps to go with Bond Auto Tiger stars Mike Martin, Brendan Moodie Jr., and former champion Shawn Fleury. Martin dove for a gutsy three-wide maneuver in the closing laps to steal second, but Coburn successfully held off others to come home third. Fleury picked up fourth, and Moodie settled for fifth. Eric Badore, Kyle Pembroke, Jason Corliss, Mike Ziter, and point-leader Jason Allen rounded out the top ten.
Lambert was humbled by the career victory. “We got a talking to about being respectful out there, and everybody gave me plenty of room,” said Lambert. “I’m not ashamed to say I was praying for no cautions. There’s no better feeling than this,” he finished.
Waterbury, VT’s Brett Wheeler nabbed his second career victory in the Late Model division at Thunder Road, beating former K&N Series Champion Jamie Aube by a paint job at the line. Defending Champion David Pembroke chased the battling pair to the checkered flag to take third and close in on point leader Nick Sweet.
Wheeler and Aube lead the field with a side by side battle for nearly the entire length of the 50-lap event, leading a group of 6 other hungry cars that jockeyed for positions behind them. The two never touched, and Wheeler broke away by just 10 one-thousandths of a second in the last lap to take the win. Derek Ming battled with Pembroke on the inside but fell to fourth, and young Cody Blake picked up the fifth-place finish. Multi-time champions Cris Michaud and Phil Scott were sixth and seventh respectively, point-leader Nick Sweet recovered late taking eighth, and Joey Laquerre and Brooks Clark rounded out the top ten.
Wheeler remained focused in victory lane. “I’m just glad we were there at the end,” said the former Riverside Speedway champion. “It was a real tough battle with Aube, but it feels great to earn it like that,” he finished.
Waterbury’s Bob Eldred dominated the Allen Lumber Street Stock feature on his way to his first every victory. Eldred flew at the drop of the green, widening out a large margin before Waitsfield’s Troy Kingsbury and point-leader Nick Pilotte could give chase in the caution free-event. The pair finished second and third. Rookie Kevin Dodge stayed up front to claim fourth, and Morrisville’s Jamie Davis rounded out the top five.
Eldred was thankful for the big win. “I’m so thankful to my sponsors for giving me this opportunity,” said Eldred. When asked if he had big aspirations to move up at Thunder Road, he simply stated with a grin “I certainly do.”
The stars of “The Nation’s Site of Excitement “ will be back in action this Thursday, August 2 for WDEV/WLVB/Caulkins night, where point leaders from mid-season will participate in the Porta-Potty Grand Prix. Post time is 6:30pm.
We Dig Barre Night Unofficial Results
Thunder Road – Barre, VT
Sunday, July 29
Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen – Heritage 100
Pos. Driver (Start) Hometown
1. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT
2. Mike Martin (01) Craftsbury Comm., VT
3. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT
4. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT
5. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT
6. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT
7. Kyle Pembroke (27) Montpelier, VT
8. Jason Corliss (61) Barre, VT
9. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT
10. Jason Allen (29) Barre, VT
11. Josh Demers (10) Middlesex, VT
12. David Finck (90) Barre, VT
13. Bobby Therrien (4) Hinesburg, VT
14. #Jason Woodard (68) Waterbury Ctr., VT
15. Dylan Payea (07) Henniker, NH
16. Blair Bessett (21) Worcester, VT
17. Brad Bushey (51) Fairfax, VT
18. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT
19. Mark Barnier (0) Essex Jct., VT
20. #Chris Roberts (9) Washington, VT
21. Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT
22. Shannon Tomasovich (71) Colchester, VT
23. Joe Steffen (00) Grand Isle, VT
24. Tucker Williams (11) Hyde Park, VT
25. Randy Gonyaw (22) S. Barre, VT
26. Alex Ferno (33) E. Montpelier, VT
27. Christopher Pelkey (85) S. Barre, VT
28. #Josh Payea (5) Georgia, VT
29. Mike Pelkey (64) S. Barre, VT
Late Models
Pos. Driver (Car#) Hometown
1. Brett Wheeler (1VT) Waterbury, VT
2. Jamie Aube (41VT) No. Ferrisburg, VT
3. Dave Pembroke (44VT) Middlesex, VT
4. Derek Ming (31VT) Island Pond, VT
5. Cody Blake (99VT) Barre, VT
6. Cris Michaud (6VT) E. Montpelier, VT
7. Phil Scott (14VT) Berlin, VT
8. Nick Sweet (88VT) Barre, VT
9. Joey Laquerre (15VT) E. Montpelier, VT
10. Brooks Clark (68VT) Fayston, VT
11. Trampas Demers (85VT) S. Burlington, VT
12. Chip Grenier (9VT) Graniteville, VT
13. #Lance Allen (17VT) Barre, VT
14. Jamie Fisher (18VT) Shelburne, VT
15. Mike Bailey (00VT) South Barre, VT
16. Scott Payea (89VT) Milton, VT
17. Eric Chase (40VT) Milton, VT
18. Jerry Lesage (74VT) Winooski, VT
19. Ricky Roberts (3VT) Washington, VT
20. Joey Becker (16VT) Jeffersonville, VT
21. Dave Whitcomb (25VT) Essex Jct., VT
22. Jim Morris (13VT) Barre, VT
23. Marcel Gravel (5VT) Wolcott, VT
24. Jay Laquerre (50VT) Barre, VT
Allen Lumber Street Stocks
Pos. Driver (Car#) Hometown
1. Bob Eldred (31) Waterbury, VT
2. Troy Kingsbury (39) Waitsfield, VT
3. Nick Pilotte (11) Jefferson, NH
4. #Kevin Dodge (8) Barre, VT
5. Jamie Davis (43) Wolcott, VT
6. Donny Yates (05) N. Montpelier, VT
7. William Hennequin (47) Morrisville, VT
8. #Kevin Wheatley (33) Brookfield, VT
9. #Dean Switser Jr. (16) Lyndonville, VT
10. Bunker Hodgdon (83) Hardwick, VT
11. Garry Bashaw (92) Lincoln, VT
12. Greg Adams, Jr. (77) Hardwick, VT
13. Cameron Ouellette (90) Barre, VT
14. Ron Gabaree (9) Barre, VT
15. Tommy Smith (50) Williamstown, VT
16. Gary Mullen (29) Tunbridge, VT
17. Keith Fortier (35) Hinesburg, VT
18. Joe Fecteau (75) Hardwick, VT
19. #Daniel Brassard (32) E. Randolph, VT
20. Michael Gay (3) So. Burlington, VT
21. Keith Lord (2) Groton, VT