By Lou Modestino
Jamie “The Hurricane” Fisher of Shelburne, driving the S. D. Ireland No. 18, led the final 18 laps of the Safelite Auto Glass Late Model 50 to become the 6th different winner in the last six races Thursday at Thunder Road. It was the first Late Model victory at the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” since 2009 for the former track champion as well as the 14th of his career.
Fisher overtook rookie Jason Corliss for the lead after gaining three spots in the previous eight laps. Joey Laquerre got underneath Corliss for 2nd when Corliss bobbled in turn four with seven circuits left, but couldn’t close in on Fisher. Corliss wound up 3rd, three car-lengths ahead of Derrick O’Donnell whose 4th-place effort unofficially moved him into lead in the championship point standings. Brooks Clark completed the top-five.
“The car felt better up on the outside,” Fisher said. “Once I got a little daylight on Joey, I thought I was in good shape. It’s been a while.” Fisher’s drive for the lead was set up by the second and final caution after Phil Scott’s spin on lap 23. Fisher was alongside Corliss on the front row with Laquerre and Eric Chase in row two. Nick Sweet, who began the night atop the standings, placed 11th. Positions 6-10 went to Jean-Paul Cyr, Dave Pembroke, Mike Bailey, Boomer Morris and Cody Blake.
Scott breezed to a win in his Late Model heat. The other two Late Model heats came down to the wire. Joey M Laquerre used the outside lane to beat his grandfather Joey Sr. to the line in the first heat. Corliss nipped Dave Whitcomb by a wheel width in his qualifier.
Rookie Cam Ouellette of Barre dominated the Bond Auto Parts Tiger Sportsman feature to complete a triple crown night. Ouellette, Eric Badore and Randy Gonyaw took the Tiger Sportsman heats. Ouellette was much the best in the semi-feature. Tucker Williams held off Badore as the semi runner-up. Josh Demers and Mike Billado were next.
Ouellette started on the outside pole. He was tracked by veteran Joe Steffen of Essex Jct. in the Tiger main. Steffen got tested by Tucker Williams and Randy Gonyaw over a dozen laps of tight racing, but held on for his third top-5 finish. Jason Woodard outlasted John Lambert and Jason Allen to claim 5th.
Rookie Tommy Elwood of Morrisville was a convincing winner in the Allen Lumber Street Stock feature. Point leader Dean Switser Jr. finished 2nd, well ahead of a give-and-take battle for third, which went to Greg Adams ahead of Willy Hennequin and Bunker Hodgdon.
Paul Dudley of Waitsfield won the “Rough Rider” feature. Dudley claimed wins in both segments of the event. Alan Derrington and Chris LaForest completed the podium
Thunder Road returns to action next Thursday, July 25 for Times Argus Mid-Season Championship (double points) Night. The night will feature the Late Model, Tiger Sportsmen and Street Stocks divisions in action plus during intermission the stars of Thunder Road will be hosting their annual autograph session.
Safelite Auto Glass Unofficial Results
Thunder Road – Barre, VT
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Late Models
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Jamie Fisher (18vt) Shelburne, VT
2. Joey Laquerre (15vt) E. Montpelier, VT
3. #Jason Corliss (66vt) Barre, VT
4. #Derrick O’Donnell (60vt) N. Haverhill, NH
5. Brooks Clark (68vt) Fayston, VT
6. Jean-Paul Cyr (32vt) Milton, VT
7. Dave Pembroke (44vt) Middlesex, VT
8. Mike Bailey (00vt) South Barre, VT
9. Jim Morris (13vt) Barre, VT
10. Cody Blake (99vt) Barre, VT
11. Nick Sweet (88vt) Barre, VT
12. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT
13. Phil Scott (14vt) Middlesex, VT
14. Trampas Demers (85vt) S. Burlington, VT
15. Scott Payea (89vt) Milton, VT
16. Emily Packard (9me) E. Montpelier, VT
17. Kyle Pembroke (27vt) Montpelier, VT
18. Rick Roberts (3vt) E. Barre, VT
19. Joey Becker (16vt) Jeffersonville, VT
20. David Whitcomb (25vt) Essex Jct., VT
21. #Terry Reil (11vt) E. Barre, VT
22. #Joey M. Laquerre (51vt) E. Montpelier, VT
23. Brett Gervais (11nh) Island Pond, VT
24. #Robert Eldred (38vt) Waterbury, VT
25. Mark Norris (22me) Farmington, ME
Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. #Cameron Ouellette (90) Barre, VT
2. Joe Steffen (00) Grand Isle, VT
3. Tucker Williams (11) Hyde Park, VT
4. Randy Gonyaw (22) S. Barre, VT
5. Jason Woodard (68) Waterbury Ctr., VT
6. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT
7. Jason Allen (29) Barre, VT
8. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT
9. Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT
10. Jeffrey Bousquet (60) Worcester, VT
11. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT
12. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT
13. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT
14. Christopher Pelkey (64) South Barre, VT
15. Darrell Morin (71) Essex Jct., VT
16. Clem Despault (3) Waterbury, VT
17. Adam Pierson (85) Bradford,VT
18. Mike Martin (01) Craftsbury Common, VT
19. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT
20. David Finck (37) Barre, VT
21. Josh Demers (10) Montpelier, VT
22. Doug Crowningshield (14) Barre, VT
23. Eric Johnson (20) Randolph Center, VT
24. Chris Roberts (9) Washington, VT
DNS #Chris Judd (51) Springfield, VT
Allen Lumber Street Stocks
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. #Tommy Elwood (88) Morrisville, VT
2. Dean Switser, Jr. (16) Lyndonville, VT
3. Greg Adams (38) Hardwick, VT
4. Will Hennequin (47) Morrisville, VT
5. Bunker Hodgdon (83) Wolcott, VT
6. Jamie Davis (43) Wolcott, VT
7. Jaden Perry (02) Hardwick, VT
8. Jennifer Getty (25) Cambridge, VT
9. Tommy Smith (50) Williamstown, VT
10. Kevin Dodge (8) Barre, VT
11. Donnie Yates (05) N. Montpelier, VT
12. Kyle Streeter (37) Waitsfield, VT
13. Gary Mullen (29) Tunbridge, VT
14. #Tyler Austin (5) E. Calais, VT
15. Jamon Perry (62) Hardwick, VT
16. #George Butler (9) Randolph, VT
17. #Patrick Tibbetts (48) Barre, VT
18. Scott Maynard (59) Burlington, VT
19. Marcel Gravel (86) Morrisville, VT
20. Paul Grant (46) East Calais, VT
21. Alan Maynard (10) Fairfax, VT
DNS Keith Fortier (35) Hinesburg, VT
Rough Riders
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Paul Dudley (42) Waitsfield, VT
2. Alan Derrington (75) Bethlehem, NH
3. Chris LaForest (56) Barre, VT
4. Randy Johnson (101) East Barre, VT
5. Justin Johnson (79) East Barre, VT
6. Calvin Caswell (23) Jericho, VT
Joey Polewarczyk Jr. of Hudson, NH, still looking uphill at the $25,000 ACT International 500 winner’s prize as the end of the 300-lap race neared, passed Patrick Laperle with 15 laps remaining to win the inaugural event before one of the largest crowds in Airborne Speedway history Sunday, July 21.
Polewarczyk Jr. outpointed 8-time ACT champion Brian Hoar by winning the first two 100-lap segments of the 300-lap event with Hoar close behind in 2nd place both times.
When Hoar took command halfway through the final segment and went on to win it, Polewarczyk Jr. needed to finish 2nd to win the overall event. With 30 laps remaining, Polewarczyk trailed second-place Patrick Laperle by six car-lengths. The final event points totals were Polewarczyk 4 points (1-1-2) to Hoar’s 5 points (2-2-1).
“It’s a very humbling feeling to win such a prestigious event,” Joey Pole said. “There’s only going to be one inaugural ACT 500 ever. It’s a helluva payday! I really had to hustle the car to get by Laperle. I could see he was getting free off the turns and I knew I really had to go.”
Polewarczyk led Hoar to the wire by four car-lengths to win the opening segment with Scott Payea of Milton, Vt. 3rd, Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Mass. 4th and Ray Parent of Tiverton, RI, 5th.
The second segment came to an abrupt halt at the drop of the green when Bucko Branham and Jimmy Linardy made contact on the front row with a 10-car chain reaction crash resulting. The incident quickly bumped Hoar, Polewarczyk Jr., Scott Payea and Eddie MacDonald, who ultimately finished 3rd overall, back into contention after having started near the rear of the 40-car field.
As round two wound down, Hoar and Polewarczyk swapped the lead repeatedly as starting on the outside of the front row on restarts became pivotal. Joey Pole got the last chance at being on the outside of Hoar on the final restart on lap 93.
“Brian was tough all day,” Polewarczyk said. “He had us covered in the last round, but earlier, whoever had the outside line had the best shot and it worked out for me.”
MacDonald made a last lap pass in the final segment to take third. Payea had a 3-round score of 13 points (3-3-7) to claim 4th overall. Jean-Francois Dery of Quebec City, QC was 5th. Positions 6-10 went to Parent, Alex Labbe, Laperle, Wayne Helliwell Jr. and rookie Bobby Therrien.
Todd Stone of Middlebury won the $3,000-to-win Ernie’s Tools Modified Twin 50’s event besting Patrick Dupree of Saranac Lake and George Foley of Vermontville. Stone finished 3rd in the first 50-lap race and won the second for an overall winning score of four points. Dupree chased Stone to the line in round two to earn runner-up honors. Foley got by Andy Heywood after a 20-lap battle to wind up 3rd overall.
The American Canadian Tour returns to point counting action next weekend. The Série ACT returns to Autodrome Montmagny next Saturday, July 27. The US-based ACT will head to Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT next Sunday, July 28.
ACT International 500 Unofficial Results
American Canadian Tour
Airborne Speedway – Plattsburgh, NY
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Pos. (Start) Car # Driver, Hometown, Seg. 1 – Seg. 2 – Seg. 3 – Total
1. (3) 97nh Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, NH, 1- 1- 2- 4
2. (3) 37vt Brian Hoar, Williston, VT, 2- 2- 1- 5
3. (3) 17ma Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA, 4- 5- 4- 13
4. (3) 89vt Scott Payea, Milton, VT, 3- 3- 7- 13
5. (3) 21qc Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, QC, 9- 4- 9- 22
6. (3) 17ri Ray Parent, Tiverton, RI, 5- 12- 6- 23
7. (3) 48qc Alex Labbe, St-Albert, QC, 8- 8- 8- 24
8. (3) 91qc Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, QC, 6- 17- 3- 26
9. (3) 27nh Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Dover, NH, 11- 6- 10- 27
10. (3) 5vt #Bobby Therrien, Hinesburg, VT, 13- 15- 5- 33
11. (3) 32vt Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, VT, 14- 14- 11- 39
12. (3) 40qc David Michaud, St-Anne des Plaines,QC, 16- 13- 17- 46
13. (3) 55vt Brent Dragon, Milton, VT, 29- 7- 12- 48
14. (3) 50me Jeff White, Winthrop, ME, 26- 9- 13- 48
15. (3) 28me Rowland Robinson Jr., Steuben, ME, 20- 11- 19- 50
16. (3) 4ny #Brandon Atkins, Ausable Forks, NY, 28- 10- 15- 53
17. (3) 41qc Jonathan Bouvrette, Blainville, QC, 7- 26- 25- 58
18. (3) 11qc Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie,QC, 23- 20- 16- 59
19. (3) 19qc Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, QC, 12- 23- 25- 60
20. (3) 71on Dan McHattie, Cavan, ON, 30- 18- 14- 62
21. (3) 78qc Stephane Descoste, Oka, QC, 25- 19- 18- 62
22. (3) 58vt Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, VT, 17- 25- 25- 67
23. (3) 15on Derek Lynch, Warkworth, ON, 27- 16- 25- 68
24. (3) 16me #Travis Stearns, Auburn, ME, 10- 36- 25- 71
25. (3) 9vt Chip Grenier, Graniteville, VT, 19- 32- 22- 73
26. (3) 15vt Joey Laquerre, E. Montpelier, VT, 22- 27- 24- 73
27. (3) 68vt Brooks Clark, Fayston, VT, 15- 35- 25- 75
28. (3) 10vt Josh Demers, Montpelier, VT, 34- 21- 21- 76
29. (3) 17vt Lance Allen, Barre, VT, 24- 29- 23- 76
30. (3) 81on Bryan Mercer, Port Hope, ON, 35- 22- 20- 77
31. (3) 88vt Nick Sweet, Barre, VT, 18- 34- 25- 77
32. (3) 9me #Emily Packard, E. Montpelier, VT, 21- 33- 25- 79
33. (3) 5qc Patrick Cliche , St-Jean-Chr., QC, 31- 24- 25- 80
34. (3) 20ny Bucko Branham, Plattsburgh, NY, 33- 30- 25- 88
35. (3) 77ma Jimmy Linardy, Somerville, MA, 32- 31- 25- 88
36. (3) 18vt Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, VT, 36- 28- 25- 89
37. (3) 7qc Daniel Bergeron, Mirabel, QC, 37- 37- 25- 99
38. (3) 02nh Randy Potter, Groveton, NH, 38- 37- 25- 100
39. (3) 7nc Ben Lynch, Huntersville, NC, 39- 37- 25- 101
40. (3) 40vt Eric Chase, Milton, VT, 40- 37- 25- 102
Lap Leaders: Segment #1 – Ray Parent, 1-2; Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., 3-4; Ray Parent, 5-6; Polewarczyk, 7-10; Parent, 11-13; Polewarczyk, 14-32; Brian Hoar, 33-38; Polewarczyk, 39-58; Hoar, 59-82; Polewarczyk, 83-100; Segment #2 – Dan McHattie, 1-5; Brent Dragon, 6-46; Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., 47-68; Brian Hoar, 69-74; Polewarczyk, 75-76; Hoar, 77-92; Polewarczyk, 93-100; Segment #3 – Patrick Laperle, 1-57; Brian Hoar, 58-100.
Time of Race: 2:28:39 – Segment #1: 53:16; Segment #2: 59:48; Segment #3: 35:35.
Cautions: 14 (Segment #1 – 6: Laps 2, 10, 32, 38; 58; 82 ) (Segment #2 – 6: Laps 0(red 8:27), 46, 68, 74, 76, 92 ) (Segment #3 – 2: Laps 0, 40)
Jim Chambers, a Northeastern Midget Association rookie, is loving it. After six races, including back-to-back top fives, only one question remains for the Atkinson, NH resident : “What took us so long to join NEMA?”
Fifth at Seekonk Speedway on July 17, Chambers and the family MOPAR-powered Beast chassis head for Waterford Speedbowl’s Shane Hammond Memorial Saturday night. The NEMA Lites are on the schedule as well.
“It’s kind of surprising,” says Chambers, 25, a racer for almost 20 years. While “it’s been good and it’s been fun,” it’s also been a struggle figuring out set ups and battling mechanical woes. Prior to this year’s opener at Waterford, his only Midget experience was a fifth and second at last year’s season-ending Lites events at Lee.
Chambers, who has driven 350 Supermodifieds and Pro Stocks (a two-year PASS regular), was confident he would adapt. He was supposed to share driving duties with brother Alan. The latter, however, has trouble getting up from North Carolina, meaning Jim is doing all the driving for his car-owner dad Michael.
Alan had six Lites starts last year, winning at Beech Ridge. Lites Rookie Kevin Hutchens is currently driving the car.
Right now, Chambers, an auto auctioneer like his dad, reports both the car, which was purchased from the Martino family, and the team “are working good. We got the handles; hopefully the mechanical issues are cured.”
Pointing to help from Russ Stoehr – “he got us pointed in the direction we wanted to go” – Chambers was second to Bobby Santos (in the Cantor 7ny) at Lee. “Considering who won the race and who we beat, we kind of consider that a win,” he says.
It was a sixth at Monadnock, however, that got Chambers among the leaders as far as handicapping goes. “We got up to the top five, had some electrical problems and then came back from 15 to sixth,” Chambers says.
It is not lost on Chambers that 18 drivers have scored their first-ever NEMA win at Waterford. He broke in practice earlier this year at the ‘Bowl but he returns with well-founded optimism. “It was my first time in a full midget and my first time at Waterford and by the third time out I was comfortable. I was only half a second off the leaders.”
John Zych and Todd Bertrand, both among the current point leaders, are among the many who scored their first NEMA win at the Speedbowl.