Kuhn Earns Pole for 58th Vermont Milk Bowl

Barre, VT — East Bridgewater, MA’s Ryan Kuhn scored an early blow for the invaders by winning the pole for the 58th Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank at Barre’s Thunder Road on Saturday, October 3. The 19-year-old tore around the high banks with a time of 12.423 seconds during time trials and will lead the field to the Segment 1 green flag on Sunday.

Kuhn, the defending American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Rookie of the Year, edged fellow young hotshoe and Tour regular Stephen Donahue by just 0.005 seconds. The duo put themselves in early position as contenders for the overall win with their Saturday efforts.

Hinesburg’s Bobby Therrien and Barre’s Jason Corliss, the winners of the last three combined Milk Bowls, showed in the 50-lap qualifying races they’ll be factors once again. Therrien grabbed the lead of the first “Twin 50” on lap two and won going away to lock himself into the third starting position on Sunday.

The race behind Therrien turned into a thriller following the third and final caution flag with 15 laps to go. Twelve cars duked it out for the last seven transfer spots with nobody giving the break. New Sharon, ME’s Dillon Moltz, this year’s Midsummer 250 winner, emerged from the fracas to finish second and will start fifth on Sunday.

Wolcott’s Marcel J. Gravel took third in a Darrell Waltrip Western Auto throwback paint scheme. Brendan Moodie, Matthew Smith, Christopher Pelkey, and Brooks Clark came in fourth through seventh. Despite a right rear tire going down in the final laps, Milton’s Scott Dragon held off Joel Hodgdon for the final transfer spot.

Corliss, meanwhile, roared through the field to capture the second Twin 50. The two-time reigning “King of the Road” started fifth and ran down Shelburne’s Trampas Demers from a long way back to take the lead on lap 35. Corliss sailed away from there to transfer into the Milk Bowl with the fourth starting position.

Demers took second in a caution-free race to earn the sixth starting spot in Segment 1. Northfield’s Matt White withstood some serious pressure from Tyler Cahoon to finish third. Kyle Pembroke and three-time track champion Derrick O’Donnell were fifth and sixth. Cody Blake and Ben Rowe both got underneath Alby Ovitt in the final laps to snag the final two qualifying spots.

Jim “Boomer” Morris, Eric Chase, Hodgdon, and Ovitt were able to fall back on their time trials speeds for starting positions 19-22. The remaining four spots will be filled in Sunday’s Last Chance B-Feature.

The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and Allen Lumber Street Stocks both had time trials and Segment 1 of their “Mini Milk Bowls”. Colchester’s Sam Caron sped to victory in the first 40-lap segment for the Flying Tigers. Caron started on the outside pole and got the jump right away over pole winner Jason Woodard.

After surrendering the lead briefly to Hinesburg’s Derrick Calkins for several circuits following a lap-10 caution for Colin Cornell’s spin, Caron took the top spot back on lap 16. Despite constant pressure from Calkins and Barre’s Cameron Ouellette, Caron held on, fending off Calkins in a four-lap sprint to the checkers following a pair of late cautions.

Charlotte’s Rich Lowrey nipped Ouellette at the line for third in a last-lap scrum. Woodard, Jason Pelkey, Michael Martin, Cooper Bouchard, Bryan P. Wall, and Matt Potter completed the top-10.

Newly crowned Street Stock Rookie of the Year Kaiden Fisher of Shelburne triumphed in the first 25-lap Street Stock segment. Fisher time-trialed second behind 2019 champion Jeffrey Martin but caught a lucky break early when Josh Poirier spun on the opening lap. Although Poirer was able to get back going without a caution, the lead duo caught up to him in a hurry, and Fisher used the slower car as a pick to get the lead.

Martin kept the heat on Fisher the rest of the event was able to get to his outside in the final circuits with lapped cars double-file in front of the leaders. Fisher survived the charge, though, and beat Martin to the finish line by half a car length.

Waterbury Center’s Tanner Woodard finished a distant third. Justin Blakely, Josh Lovely, Kyler Davis, James Dopp, Kyle MacAskill, Tommy Campbell, and Tyler Whittemore rounded out the top-10. Both the Flying Tigers and Street Stocks will run their second and final segments during Sunday’s program.

East Montpelier’s Clay Badger came within a couple car lengths of a perfect score in the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior Mini Milk Bowl. Badger charged from 11th on the starting grid to take the lead on lap 11 of the first 25-lap segment. The quick rise to the front kept him well in front of some mid-segment carnage that put a serious hurting on the 25-car starting field.

In the second 25-lap segment, Badger started shotgun on the grid. The youngster steadily worked his way through the field, moving into the second spot on lap 18 with a three-wide move under Sean McCarthy and Justin Prescott. Badger then ran down leader Josh Vilbrin and was on the doorstep when the checkered flag flew. The runner-up finish in Segment 2 gave him the overall win with a combined score of three points.

Prescott’s finishes of third and fifth netted him second overall after taking the initial green flag in dead last. Berlin’s Dan Garrett Jr. took third on a three-way tiebreaker with Frank Putney and Paige Whittemore. Todd Raymo, Vilbrin, Josh Kennett, Fred Fleury, and Mark Beaulieu came sixth through 10th in the overall.

Thunder Road wraps up its 2020 racing season Sunday, October 4 with the 58th Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank. The Last Chance B-Feature for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models rolls onto the track at 12:15pm. Opening ceremonies will follow with the first of three 50-lap segments going green at 1:30pm.

The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and Allen Lumber Street Stocks have the second segment of their Mini Milk Bowls. The 7-Eleven Dwarf Cars of New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park are also making their annual trip to Thunder Road for a two-segment Mini Milk Bowl.

General admission for Sunday’s event is sold out. However, fans can still watch the event via pay-per-view on the Northeast Sports Network. Visit www.NSNsports.net/sponsors/racing to learn more or sign up.

THUNDER ROAD SPEEDBOWL

BOOTH BROS./H.P. HOOD MILK BOWL QUALIFYING DAY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2020

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

MAPLEWOOD/IRVING OIL LATE MODELS

MILK BOWL SEGMENT #1 STARTING LINE-UP

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown,

1. Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E. Bridgewater, MA

2. Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT

3. Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT

4. Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) , Barre, VT

5. Dillon Moltz ( 5ME ) , New Sharon, ME

6. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) , Shelburne, VT

7. Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT

8. Matt White ( 42VT ) , Northfield, VT

9. Brendan Moodie ( 94VT ) , Wolcott, VT

10. Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) , St. Johnsbury, VT

11. #Matthew Smith ( 04VT ) , Essex Jct., VT

12. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) , Montpelier, VT

13. Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT

14. Derrick O'Donnell ( 60NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH

15. Brooks Clark ( 68VT ) , Waitsfield, VT

16. Cody Blake ( 99VT ) , Barre, VT

17. Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) , Milton, VT

18. Ben Rowe ( 4ME ) , Turner, ME

19. Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) , Barre, VT

20. Eric Chase ( 40VT ) , Milton, VT

21. Joel Hodgdon ( 36VT ) , Craftsbury, VT

22. Alby Ovitt ( 35NH ) , Candia, NH

23. B-Feature – 1st place finisher

24. B-Feature – 2nd place finisher

25. B-Feature – 3rd place finisher

26. B-Feature – 4th place finisher

LENNY’S SHOE & APPAREL FLYING TIGERS

SEGMENT #1 OF 2

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Sam Caron ( 07VT ) Colchester, VT

2. Derrick Calkins ( 15VT ) Hinesburg, VT

3. Rich Lowrey ( 8NH ) Charlotte, VT

4. Cameron Ouellette ( 90VT ) Barre, VT

5. Jason Woodard ( 68VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT

6. Jason Pelkey ( 64VT ) Barre, VT

7. Michael Martin ( 01VT ) Craftsbury Common, VT

8. Cooper Bouchard ( 7VT ) Hinesburg, VT

9. #Bryan Wall Jr. ( 77NH ) East Kingston, NH

10. Matthew Potter ( 23VT ) Marshfield, VT

11. #Phil Potvin ( 08VT ) Underhill, VT

12. Colin Cornell ( 54VT ) E. Burke, VT

13. Eric Messier ( 88NY ) Hinesburg, VT

14. Mike Billado ( 8VT ) Grand Isle, VT

15. Robert Gordon ( 20VT ) Milton, VT

16. Adam Maynard ( 45VT ) Milton, VT

17. #Keegan Lamson ( 55NH ) Berlin, VT

18. #Kasey Beattie ( 45NH ) St.Johnsbury, VT

19. Eric Johnson ( 20ME ) Randolph Ctr., VT

20. Stephen Martin ( 9VT ) Craftsbury Common, VT

21. Kelsea Woodard ( 55VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT

22. Kris Grout ( 51NH ) Waterbury, VT

23. Brandon Gray ( 00VT ) E. Thetford, VT

24. Micheal MacAskill ( 33VT ) Williamstown, VT

25. Jared Blake ( 9NY ) Franklin, VT

26. Tyler Austin ( 5VT ) East Calais, VT

27. Jaden Perry ( 62NH ) Hardwick, VT

ALLEN LUMBER STREET STOCKS

SEGMENT #1 OF 2

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. #Kaiden Fisher ( 18 ) Shelburne, VT

2. Jeffrey Martin ( 8 ) Barre, VT

3. Tanner Woodard ( 68 ) Waterbury Ctr., VT

4. Justin Blakey ( 17 ) Graniteville, VT

5. Josh Lovely ( 54 ) Williamstown, VT

6. #Kyler Davis ( 69 ) Berlin, VT

7. James Dopp ( 0 ) Northfield, VT

8. Kyle MacAskill ( 7 ) Williamstown, VT

9. Tommy Campbell ( 85 ) Middlesex, VT

10. Tyler Whittemore ( 74 ) Barre, VT

11. Scott Weston ( 04 ) Berlin, VT

12. Jared Rouleau ( 60 ) Warren, VT

13. Thomas Smith ( 66 ) Williamstown, VT

14. Michael Gay ( 3 ) So. Burlington, VT

15. Zach Audet ( 9 ) Morrisville, VT

16. Thomas Peck ( 96 ) Waterbury, VT

17. Eric MacLaughlin ( 6 ) Milton, VT

18. Haidyn Pearce ( 40 ) Berlin, VT

19. Joshua Poirier ( 15 ) Fairfield, VT

BURNETT SCRAP METALS ROAD WARRIORS

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Seg. 1, Seg. 2, Total

1. Clay Badger ( 9 ) E. Montpelier, VT , 1 , 2 , 3

2. Justin Prescott ( 44 ) Williston, VT , 3 , 5 , 8

3. Dan Garrett Jr. ( 54 ) Berlin, VT , 7 , 3 , 10

4. Frank Putney ( 78 ) Graniteville, VT , 6 , 4 , 10

5. Paige Whittemore ( 47 ) Graniteville, VT , 2 , 8 , 10

6. Todd Raymo ( 26 ) Swanton, VT , 4 , 11 , 15

7. Josh Vilbrin ( 07 ) Northfield, VT , 17 , 1 , 18

8. Josh Kennett ( 45 ) East Barre, VT , 11 , 7 , 18

9. Fred Fleury ( 99 ) Graniteville, VT , 8 , 10 , 18

10. Mark Beaulieu ( 19 ) Essex Jct., VT , 5 , 13 , 18

11. Sean McCarthy ( 86 ) Williamstown, VT , 15 , 6 , 21

12. Jamie Ball ( 98 ) Passumpsic, VT , 13 , 9 , 22

13. Jason Kirby ( 71 ) Milton, VT , 9 , 16 , 25

14. Neal Foster ( 79 ) Montpelier, VT , 12 , 14 , 26

15. George Hoyt ( 09 ) Randolph, VT , 10 , 18 , 28

16. Jamie Buick ( 38 ) Orange, VT , 16 , 15 , 31

17. Andrea St. Amour ( 20 ) Brookfield, VT , 14 , 17 , 31

18. Mike St. Lawrence ( 14 ) Williamstown, VT , 22 , 14 , 36

19. Matt Ballard ( 33 ) Williamstown, VT , 24 , 19 , 43

20. Gavin McGinnis ( 18 ) St. Johnsbury, VT , 18 , 26 , 44

21. Rodney Campbell ( 10 ) Worcester, VT , 19 , 26 , 45

22. Nick Copping ( 50 ) Barre, VT , 20 , 26 , 46

23. Caleb Tourville ( 24 ) Grand Isle, VT , 21 , 26 , 47

24. Brian Putney ( 87 ) E. Cornith, VT , 23 , 26 , 49

25. Nate Brien ( 16 ) Williamstown, VT , 25 , 26 , 51