Looking Back: 5 Memorable Thunder Events of 2021

Buzz Fisher/Creative Outbursts photo

Before turning the page to 2022, Thunder Road is taking one last look back at the most memorable events of the 2021 season. We know every event is memorable to someone, but in the humble opinion of our staff, these are five events that stood out from the rest. Enjoy the trip down memory lane, and then let us know: what were your favorite events of 2021?

(NOTE: Events are listed in chronological order.)

July 22, 2021: The Times Argus Midseason Championships

We’re not saying the first half of the Thunder Road season was anything to sneeze at — after all, the Community Bank N.A. 150 made the list of top-five ACT races (at www.acttour.com). But midseason is when the 62nd season really started to sizzle up the highlight reel. This was wild even by Midseason Championship standards with double points and double prize money bringing out the intensity like few times before. Jason Corliss entered the night with a commanding lead in the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model standings — but less than 15 laps into the event, he was caught up in a multi-car crash with fellow contenders Stephen Donahue, Trampas Demers, and Kyle Pembroke. Corliss was eventually relegated to a last-place finish. With the field further shuffled a lap later after another multi-car tango, the door was open for Christopher Pelkey, who thundered to his second win of the season and took over the points lead, setting up a David vs. Goliath battle that captivated fans the second half of the year.

Midseason also had one of the best stories of the year thanks to Marcel J. Gravel’s Cinderella runner-up effort. Gravel pounded the turn-two wall during practice so hard, his primary car would ultimately never see the track again. But Scott Coburn came to the rescue, lending Gravel a ride for the night. With a car he’d never sat in before final practice, Gravel won his heat race and finished second in the main event, saving his season while providing a true feel-good moment. Add in professional RallyCross racer Conner Martell finishing third after a lengthy battle with Bobby Therrien, and it was truly one of the races of the year.

The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers also had a great story written. Cameron Ouellette spent the first 30 laps of their 50-lap feature putting the heat on an upset-minded Keegan Lamson, and after two different passes were negated by cautions, Ouellette finally got the jump on a restart. The Barre racer then sped to a popular victory — his first since returning to the track following a kidney transplant two years before. Behind him, son-father duo Stephen and Michael Martin finished second and third, setting up the family battle for the championship that’s still talked about today. You also had Dean Switser battling it out with Derek Farnham to snag the RK Miles Street Stock win, and Bert Duffy holding off Frank Putney and Nate “Tater” Brien for the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior victory while his car was spewing smoke. All in all, it’s an event that has to be on the short list of Thunder Road’s best for 2021.

August 5, 2021: Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac Night

The main attraction this evening was the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series finale for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers — and suffice to say it lived up to the hype. Youngsters Jaden Perry and Kelsea Woodard along with veteran Robert Gordon entered the night in a three-way tie for the Triple Crown points lead. But it was the Martin clan of Stephen and Michael stealing the show. Dad Mike and Kelsea’s brother Tanner ran away early while Stephen worked his way into the third spot. But Stephen, who entered the night fourth in Triple Crown points eight behind the lead trio, needed a caution to have a shot at the title.

He got that shot when Adam Maynard spun in front of the leaders with 30 laps to go, which took Cameron Ouellette and Jason Pelkey out of the running in the process. After some shuffling on the restart, Stephen moved up to the second spot, then poked his nose under dad with 24 to go. The duo then spent nine laps swapping the lead in their quest for the win, the Triple Crown title, and the season-long championship. Stephen was in the lead when Colin Cornell looped it with 15 laps to go, and he checked out on the restart to win all the marbles. Mike Martin held off Derrick Calkins for second, while behind them, Kelsea Woodard made a last-lap pass on Perry that secured the runner-up spot in the standings — the highest a woman has ever finished in the Triple Crown Series.

The thrills didn’t end with the Tiger checkered flag. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models put on a great show, with Jason Corliss waiting out an early battle between Chip Grenier and Cooper Bouchard, then taking the lead from Chris Roberts on lap 20. That set up Corliss well to rebound from his Midseason wreck — but two quick cautions on laps 36 and 37 meant Corliss had to sweat out a charge from Kyle Pembroke. The #27 gave Corliss all he had over the last 13 laps, but Corliss had just enough to get his fourth point-counting win of the season and tie the Late Model record (one he would break a few weeks later). Behind them, Chris Pelkey slashed from 10th to 3rd during the final sprint to maintain his point lead.

The RK Miles Street Stock feature saw Scott Weston and Kyle MacAskill slug it out for the first 17 laps while Jeffrey Martin waited to pounce. MacAskill got the lead with 8 laps to go, then Martin nearly spun himself out a few laps later trying to dive underneath him. A wreck a lap later gave Martin another chance, and he took advantage to grab his third win of the year and continue rebound from early-season engine problems. And after the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors were added to the schedule at the last minute, Paige Whittemore made it worth the while, holding off Josh Vilbrin and Matt Ballard on a green-white-checkered to become the first female Road Warrior winner since the division returned in 2017.

August 15, 2021 – NorthCountry Federal Credit Union Night

In an unfortunate theme to the season, racers had to wait three extra days for NorthCountry Federal Credit Union Night due to rain. Mother Nature made up for it by gifting Thunder Road three first-time winners in one night. The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors topped the bill with their annual 50-lap Challenge, and Jamie York outlasted the biggest names in the division to become a first-time winner. York got the lead three laps in but had to spend the next 47 circuits hanging on as the rest of the field threw the kitchen sink at him. Fred Fleury, Sean McCarthy, and Josh Vilbrin all took their shots at York as the field sliced and diced. But it was York’s night as he became the second driver to get his first career win in the Challenge.

That wasn’t even the biggest upset of the night, as Cooper Bouchard pulled a shocker in the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model feature. Coming into the evening, the rookie’s best finish had been ninth. But he and Phil Scott, the division’s all-time winningest driver, ran away from the field early. They then put on a 20-lap duel, with Scott getting the lead on the outside at the halfway mark before Bouchard took it back nine laps later. Chip Grenier and Scott Dragon joined the battle in the meantime, and Bouchard also had to sweat out a pair of cautions with five laps to go. But it was the rookie’s night as he took the win with Grenier swiping second from Scott on the final lap.

Brandon Gray completed the trifecta of first-time winners in the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger ranks. The rookie built up a big lead early as five drivers waged ward for the second spot. Jason Pelkey finally broke through the cluster but could not run down Gray down the stretch. Behind them, Mike Martin quietly came from 16th to 4th without a caution flag, making a big statement in the championship chase. A thriller in the RK Miles Street Stocks capped off the night with Kyle MacAskill avenging his runner-up finish the previous time out by inheriting the lead after a pair of hard midrace crashes, then holding off Josh Lovely on a green-white-checkered finish.

September 10, 2021 — WDEV Radio/Calkins Portable Toilets Night

Fans had to wait an extra month and a half for this event, but the on-track drama more than made up for it. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models saw Brandon Lanphear, Chris Roberts, and Brendan Moodie put on perhaps the battle of the year in their 50-lap feature. Lanphear and Roberts were both looking for their first career victory while Moodie was trying for his first win in more than three years. The hunger from all three clearly showed. Moodie and Roberts went door-to-door the first 28 laps, and after Roberts cleared Moodie, Lanphear filled the hole, and they swapped the lead several more times before Lanphear got command.

Behind them, Chris Pelkey was trying to gain ground on Jason Corliss after the latter had retaken the points lead the last time out. Pelkey got his machine rolling late and seemed to be in position to challenge for the win. But as he tried to go outside Matthew Smith for third with nine laps to go, they made contact exiting turn four, and Pelkey slammed the frontstretch wall to end his night — and all but end his championship bid. That caution, along with another yellow four laps later, gave Roberts two more shots at Lanphear. But it was Lanphear crossing the line first to become the third first-time Late Model winner in the last four races. Moodie took advantage of the late yellows to edge Roberts for second.

Pelkey’s cousin Jason avenged Chris’s misfortune in the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers. Pelkey had a great battle with Kelsea Woodard early, then ran away in the second half as Cameron Ouellette, Bryan Wall, and the Woodard siblings went at it behind them. Ouellette got the best of the dogfight for second while Kelsea held off her brother for third. In the RK Miles Street Stocks, Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher showed why he was about to be crowned the champion, coming from 17th to 1st in just 16 laps. It was breathtaking to watch the 13-year-old almost effortlessly slice through the field, leaving drivers three times his age in his wake. The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors concluded the night with Mark “Black Magic” Beaulieu beating out Josh Vilbrin and Nate Brien to take his second win of the season — making him the season’s oldest Thunder Road winner at 59 years, 43 days.

October 16/17, 2021: The 59th Northfield Savings Bank Vermont Milk Bowl

The Milk Bowl never disappoints, and despite a two-week rain delay, the 2021 edition was one to remember. After deciding the Monday before the event to enter his family-owned Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model, Barre’s Nick Sweet began his latest quest for a fourth Milk Bowl victory with authority, setting a track record of 12.107 seconds in time trials. He went on to win the first segment — but it wasn’t easy, as fellow three-time winner Jason Corliss had multiple shots in traffic.

The pressure remained on Sweet the whole event, with Derrick O’Donnell and Joey Polewarczyk also in the mix after strong segment two performances. Halfway through the final segment, all four had a legitimate shot at the overall crown. Polewarczyk was running closest to the front but began fading after some contact affected the handling on his car. And after a restart with 23 laps to go, Sweet made the winning move, going three-wide underneath Eric Chase and Corliss entering turn three. Sweet went on to equal the legendary Robbie Crouch with a record-tying fourth Milk Bowl victory — and he had a puddle of oil under his car while celebrating as the engine had given up the ghost coming to the checkered flag.

The rest of Vermont Milk Bowl weekend was top-notch as well. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger Mini Milk Bowl saw the top Segment 1 finishers get stuck out back for most of Segment 2. But Cameron Ouellette was able to make a late charge on the outside, and after three minutes of adding points after the race, it was determined he had won over Joel Hodgdon. In the RK Miles Street Stocks, Josh Lovely carved his way through the Segment 2 field, then shot from third to first in the final corner to win the segment and the overall. Add a thrilling three-way duel for the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior victory, a Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini Segment 2 that was decided by inches, and the debut of the Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Division at Thunder Road, and it was certainly a memorable conclusion to the 2021 campaign.