Barre, VT – DJ Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire nailed down his first Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Model victory of the season down in dominant fashion, leading all but two laps in Sunday’s Mekkelsen Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont.
Shaw, the defending PASS North Super Late Model champion, won his heat race while turning in a lap of 11.571-seconds, unofficially the fastest lap recorded in competition at the newly-paved, 57-year-old, ¼-mile oval track. Shaw’s Precision JLM 60 was also quickest in the main event, a couple of tenths off his heat race at the track temperatures rose.
Barre’s own Nick Sweet, a two-time Late Model ‘King of The Road’ at ‘The Nation’s Site of Excitement,’ provided Shaw’s best challenge, even leading a couple of laps racing side-by-side with Shaw from the outside groove. Sweet’s race ended early with a trip into the Styrofoam-protected barrier off turns three and four.
Tracy Gordon of Strong, Maine, who raced for several seasons on the former ACT Pro Stock touring series over 20 years ago, returned to one of his favorite tracks in impressive fashion, earning runner-up honors.
Patrick Laperle of St. Denis, Quebec, a three-time winner of the annual Milk Bowl – Thunder Road’s signature event – charged back from an early spin to claim a third-place finish that certainly met with approval from the crowd.
Travis Benjamin of Morrill, Maine battled eventual winner Shaw for the lead in the early laps and crossed the finish line in fourth position. Reigning PASS Super Late Model National Champion Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine rebounded from a seeming plethora of pit stops to earn a fifth-place finish.
Like Rowe, sixth-place finisher Todd Stone of Middlebury, Vermont spent a lot of time on pit road. Devin O’Connell of Madison, Connecticut ended up in seventh position, followed by six-time PASS North SLM Champ Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine. Angelo Belsito of Auburn, Massachusetts and Turner, Maine’s Glen Luce rounded out the top ten.
The next Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Model event is set for Saturday, June 3 at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick, Canada. For more information visit proallstarsseries.com or call (207) 539-8865.
Results from the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model race at Thunder Road International Speedbowl; Barre, Vermont; Sunday, May 28, 2017 showing finishing position, car number, driver’s name, driver’s hometown: 1 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 2 41, Tracy Gordon, Strong, ME; 3 91 Patrick Laperle, St. Denis, QC; 4 7 Travis Benjamin, Morrill, ME; 5 4 Ben Rowe, Turner, ME; 6 1x Todd Stone, Middlebury, VT; 7 43 Devin O’Connell, Madison, CT; 8 54 Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, ME; 9 8 Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 10 7 Glen Luce, Turner, ME; 11 23 Dave Farrington, Jr., Jay, ME; 12 5x Bobby Therrien, Hinesburg, VT; 13 35 Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, MA; 14 1 Jeremy Davis, Tamworth, NH; 15 40 Nick Sweet, Barre, VT; 16 12 Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH; 17 63 John Salemi, Nashua, NH; 18 16 Travis Stearns, Auburn, ME.