Stephen Martin Wins All the Marbles at Triple Crown Finale

Alan Ward photo

Corliss, Martin, and Whittemore Victorious on Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac Night

Barre, VT — Craftsbury Common’s Stephen Martin topped one of the closest championship battles in recent Thunder Road history by winning the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series finale at Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac Night on Thursday, August 5. Martin wrestled the lead away from his dad Michael in the closing stages of the 75-lap Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger feature to win both the race and the Triple Crown title in one fell swoop.

The 19-year-old entered the night as one of eight drivers within 12 points of the Triple Crown lead. With eight points between himself and co-leaders Robert Gordon, Kelsea Woodard, and Jaden Perry, Martin knew he had his work cut out. After starting the feature sixth and biding his time for the early stages, Martin went to work and took the third spot from Cameron Ouellette with 19 laps complete.

By that time, front row starters Michael Martin and Tanner Woodard had opened a huge lead over the field. The younger Martin finally got to close up when Adam Maynard spun in turn four with 45 laps complete. Ouellette, Jason Pelkey, and Mike Billado all slid into the accident with Ouellette cutting a tire.

On the restart, Stephen Martin and Derrick Calkins got past Tanner Woodard while Kelsea was shuffled back from the fourth spot. Son stalked father for several laps before getting underneath him on the back straightaway with 24 laps remaining. The Martins then swapped the lead back and forth several times, each knowing a victory in the race would all but assure them the title.

It was Stephen who had the bumper out front when Colin Cornell and Pelkey looped it to bring out the final caution with 15 laps to go. Stephen quickly jumped in front on the restart as it became apparent the handling had gone south on his dad’s car. Michael Martin, who entered the night leading the season-long point standings, was thus forced to play defense on Calkins for second.

This let Stephen speed away to the biggest win of his Flying Tiger career. By capturing the Triple Crown victory, Martin also won the series championship by three points over Kelsea Woodard, who slipped beneath Perry in the final corner for a fourth-place finish on the night.

Michael Martin successfully held off Calkins to retain his overall Tiger point lead. Robert Gordon, Sam Caron, Tanner Woodard, Joel Hodgdon, and Rich Lowrey came home sixth through 10th.

Alan Ward photo

Barre’s Jason Corliss rebounded from a Midseason Championship disaster by grabbing the win in the 50-lap Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model feature. His last-place finish on double-points night due to a wreck meant the two-time champion started sixth in the 23-car field. Corliss waited out an early dogfight between Chip Grenier and Cooper Bouchard for the second spot, then drove like he was shot out of a cannon, running down polesitter Chris Roberts to take the lead on lap 20.

The new leader wasn’t out of the woods yet, though. With 14 laps to go, Brandon Lanphear and Matthew Smith got together as part of a multi-way battle for third. Lanphear spun in third three to bring out the caution and both drivers went to the rear for the restart. One lap later, Brendan Moodie got crossed up on the backstretch, and Trampas Demers went up in a shower of sparks after making contact with Moodie.

The two yellow let Montpelier’s Kyle Pembroke, who had roared from 13th to second, erase the huge deficit to Corliss. Pembroke hung on the outside of Corliss for several laps after the race got going again. Once Corliss cleared him for the lead, Pembroke remained stapled to the leader’s rear bumper. But Corliss was unswayed and rambled to his fourth Thunder Road win of the year.

Point leader Christopher Pelkey of Graniteville, who was barely hanging onto the top-10 before the pair of cautions, made a late run to finish third. Brendan Moodie edged out Stephen Donahue for fourth after a brief tussle. Tyler Cahoon, Derrick O’Donnell, Marcel J. Gravel, Conner Martel, and Darrell Morin rounded out the top-10.

Alan Ward photo

Hometown racer Jeffrey Martin sped to his third RK Miles Street Stock win of the year after a wild homestretch. The former champion rolled off 10th in the 25-lap feature and restarted fifth following a lap-10 caution for Trevor Jaques’ spin. When the green came out, Martin deftly sliced to third, then patiently waited for a battle between Berlin’s Scott Weston and Williamstown’s Kyle MacAskill to sort itself out.

MacAskill eventually got the break on the outside for the lead with eight laps to go, and Martin quickly followed him around Weston for second. Martin then tried to dive inside MacAskill coming to the five-to-go signal, but broke loose off turn four and needed a great save just to hang on.

One lap later, Weston and rookie Taylor Hoar made contact racing for third, with Hoar bending all out of shape entering turn one. The field scrambled and Kasey Collins got the worst of it, bringing out the caution with four laps remaining. Martin made the most of his second chance, getting the jump over MacAskill on the restart and earning his 12th career victory.

MacAskill matched his season-best result in second. Williamstown’s Josh Lovely darted to third after Hoar spun out of the spot with less than three laps to go. Berlin’s Kyler Davis took fourth while Shelburne’s Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher closed on the point lead with his fifth-place effort. Weston took sixth in a backup car after his primary machine had mechanical woes during practice. Dean Switser Jr., Justin Blakely, Jaques, and Luke Peters also earned top-10 finishes.

Alan Ward photo

Graniteville’s Paige Whittemore picked up her first career victory in the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors. Whittemore ran down early leader Matt Ballard to take the lead with three laps remaining in the 20-lap feature. One circuit later, Jamie York, Jason Kirby, and Burt Duffy all tangled in turn two to bring out the race’s only caution.

That set up a green-white-checkered finish with Northfield’s Josh Vilbrin and Graniteville’s Frank Putney in row two behind Whittemore and Ballard. Vilbrin got under Ballard for second on the restart but could not mount a charge against Whittemore. It was the first win for a female in the Road Warriors since the division returned during the 2017 season. The victory also came on one day’s notice after the Warriors were a late addition to the racing program.

Vilbrin was second with Williamstown’s Ballard a career-best third. Nate “Tater” Brien, Putney, “Flyin’” Fred Fleury, Dan Garrett Jr., Mark Beaulieu, Nicholas Copping, and Kirby completed the top-10.

The 37th Bolduc Metal Recycling Enduro 200 rolls at Thunder Road this Sunday, August 8 at 6:00pm. More than 100 cars are expected for “The People’s Race” with $3,000 to the winner. The RK Miles Street Stocks open the evening with their annual 50-lap special.

Admission is $18 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12, free for kids ages 5 and under, and $36 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). Advance tickets are available at www.happsnow.com/event/Thunder-Road-Speedbowl. All Thunder Road events are also live-streamed on FloRacing for those with a paid subscription.  

For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @ThunderRoadVT. For more information about FloRacing, visit www.FloRacing.com.

THUNDER ROAD SPEEDBOWL — Barre, VT

CODY CHEVROLET-CADILLAC NIGHT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

MYERS CONTAINER SERVICE TRIPLE CROWN SERIES

LENNY’S SHOE & APPAREL FLYING TIGERS

Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps

1. ( 6 ) Stephen Martin ( 9VT ) , Craftsbury, Common, VT , 75 Laps

2. ( 1 ) Michael Martin ( 01VT ) , Craftsbury, Common, VT , 75 Laps

3. ( 17 ) Derrick Calkins ( 15VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 75 Laps

4. ( 8 ) Kelsea Woodard ( 55VT ) , Waterbury Ctr., VT , 75 Laps

5. ( 10 ) Jaden Perry ( 92VT ) , Hardwick, VT , 75 Laps

6. ( 5 ) Robert Gordon ( 20VT ) , Milton, VT , 75 Laps

7. ( 7 ) Sam Caron ( 07VT ) , Milton, VT , 75 Laps

8. ( 2 ) #Tanner Woodard ( 68NH ) , Waterbury Ctr., VT , 75 Laps

9. ( 9 ) Joel Hodgdon ( 36VT ) , Craftsbury Common, VT , 75 Laps

10. ( 24 ) Rich Lowrey ( 8NH ) , South Hero, VT , 75 Laps

11. ( 19 ) #Justin Prescott ( 44VT ) , Williston, VT , 75 Laps

12. ( 18 ) Bryan Wall Jr. ( 77NH ) , East Kingston, NH , 75 Laps

13. ( 4 ) Cameron Oullette ( 90VT ) , Barre, VT , 75 Laps

14. ( 20 ) Logan Powers ( 31VT ) , Middlesex, VT , 75 Laps

15. ( 13 ) Kevin Boutin Jr. ( 25NH ) , Fairfax, VT , 75 Laps

16. ( 11 ) Jason Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Barre, VT , 75 Laps

17. ( 16 ) Colin Cornell ( 54VT ) , E. Burke, VT , 75 Laps

18. ( 28 ) #JT Blanchard ( 66VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 74 Laps

19. ( 26 ) Mike Billado ( 8VT ) , Grand Isle, VT , 74 Laps

20. ( 15 ) Ryan Boutin ( 28VT ) , Fairfax, VT , 74 Laps

21. ( 14 ) Kevin Streeter ( 67VT ) , Waitsfield, VT , 74 Laps

22. ( 22 ) Phil Potvin ( 08VT ) , Underhill, VT , 74 Laps

23. ( 27 ) Jamon Perry ( 62NH ) , Hardwick, VT , 73 Laps

24. ( 23 ) Keegan Lamson ( 55NH ) , Berlin, VT , 59 Laps

25. ( 3 ) Michael MacAskill ( 33VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 59 Laps

26. ( 29 ) Brandon Gray ( 00VT ) , Thetford, VT , 57 Laps

27. ( 21 ) Chris Chanbers ( 20CT ) , Chelsea, VT , 53 Laps

28. ( 12 ) Eric Messier ( 88NY ) , Hinesburg, VT , 48 Laps

29. ( 25 ) Brian Delphia ( 25VT ) , Duxbury, VT , 47 Laps

30. ( 30 ) Adam Maynard ( 45VT ) , Milton, VT , 44 Laps

MAPLEWOOD/IRVING OIL LATE MODELS

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) Barre, VT

2. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) Montpelier, VT

3. Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) Graniteville, VT

4. Brendan Moodie ( 94VT ) Wolcott, VT

5. Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) Graniteville, VT

6. Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) Danville, VT

7. Derek O'Donnell ( 60NH ) N. Haverhill, NH

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

9. Connor Martel ( 21MT ) Williston, VT

10. Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) Westford, VT

11. Chris Roberts ( 3ME ) Washington, VT

12. Matt White ( 42VT ) Northfield, VT

13. Matthew Smith ( 04VT ) Fairfax, VT

14. #Brandon Lanphear ( 16VT ) Morrisville, VT

15. Phil Scott ( 14VT ) Berlin, VT

16. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) Shelburne, VT

17. Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) Barre, VT

18. Anthony Hill ( 8VT ) Waterford, VT

19. Scott Dragon ( 0VT ) Milton, VT

20. Chip Grenier ( 62VT ) Orange, VT

21. Jamie Swallow Jr. ( 4NH ) Stark, NH

22. #Cooper Bouchard ( 7VT ) Hinesburg, VT

DNS Trevor Lyman ( 25VT ) Hinesburg, VT

RK MILES STREET STOCKS

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Jeffrey Martin ( 8 ) Barre, VT

2. Kyle MacAskill ( 7 ) Williamstown, VT

3. Josh Lovely ( 54 ) Williamstown, VT

4. Kyler Davis ( 68 ) Berlin, VT

5. Kaiden Fisher ( 18 ) Shelburne, VT

6. Scott Weston ( 04 ) Berlin, VT

7. Dean Switser Jr. ( 16 ) Waterford, VT

8. Justin Blakey ( 17 ) Graniteville, VT

9. #Trevor Jaques ( 57 ) Milton, VT

10. Luke Peters ( 26 ) Groton, VT

11. Patrick Tibbetts ( 84 ) Barre, VT

12. James Dopp ( 0 ) Northfield, VT

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

14. #Todd Raymo ( 24 ) Swanton, VT

15. #Tyler Whittemore ( 74 ) Barre, VT

16. Thomas Smith ( 22 ) Williamstown, VT

17. Jesse Laquerre ( 71 ) East Montpelier, VT

18. Thomas Peck ( 96 ) Waterbury, VT

19. #Haidyn Pearce ( 2 ) Chelsea, VT

20. #Taylor Hoar ( 48 ) South Hero, VT

21. Tom Campbell ( 85 ) Middlesex, VT

22. Kasey Collins ( 98 ) Barre, VT

23. Jamie Davis ( 43 ) Wolcott, VT

24. Eric MacLaughlin ( 6 ) Milton, VT

DNS Derek Farnham ( 5 ) S. Royalton, VT

DNS William Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT

BURNETT SCRAP METALS ROAD WARRIORS

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Paige Whittemore ( 47 ) Graniteville, VT

2. Josh Vilbrin ( 07 ) Northfield, VT

3. Matt Ballard ( 33 ) Williamstown, VT

4. Nate Brien ( 16 ) Williamstown, VT

5. Frank Putney ( 88 ) Graniteville, VT

6. Fred Fleury ( 99 ) Graniteville, VT

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

8. Mark Beaulieu ( 1 ) Essex Jct., VT

9. Nicholas Copping ( 50 ) Barre, VT

10. Jason P. Kirby ( 71 ) Milton, VT

11. Jamie Buick ( 38 ) East Barre, VT

12. Bert Duffy ( 74 ) Milton, VT

13. Jamie York ( 68 ) Barre, VT

14. Sean McCarthy ( 86 ) Williamstown, VT

DNS Robert Catchapaw ( 03 ) Waterbury, VT

DNS Neal Foster ( 19 ) Waterbury, VT

DNS Bill O'Connor ( 96 ) South Washington, VT