Dragon Claims Fourth 2023 Win, Third King of the Road Title Grows Nearer

Barre, VT — Setting the stage for Sunday’s 45th Labor Day Classic 200, the rain-delayed Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night program went off with a bang on Friday. Tight, competitive racing throughout the divisions wowed the crowd, as did the annual Run-What-U-Brung spectator drags which brought the rabid fanbase to their feet on more than one occasion.

Leading off the evening to give them as much time as possible to prepare for Sunday’s American-Canadian Tour invasion, Keegan Lamson and Stephen Martin lead the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model field to green. Lamson got the early bite on the inside groove as Martin shuffled back giving Darrell Morin free-range of the outside lane. The lone caution flag flew early as rookie Cody Schoolcraft got the shove from Chip Grenier in turn three to spin around in turn four. Lamson and Morin remained side-by-side following the restart until Morin poked out to lead lap 8.

Behind the leaders, top point chasers Stephen Donahue, Scott Dragon and Kaiden Fisher remained nose-to-tail blazing through traffic and bouncing off one another in their pursuit of a top-five run. Rookie Justin Prescott powered up the outside of Morin to lead lap 21 as Donahue jumped to the bottom before battling hard with Dragon among the top three. Dragon overtook the lead on lap 26 before powering away from Donahue and Prescott as fellow championship chasers Marcel Gravel, Nick Sweet, Cody Blake and Fisher remained mired in traffic out back. Scott Dragon took down his fourth win of the season with Stephen Donahue and Justin Prescott completing the podium.

Alan Ward photo

The rk Miles Street Stocks got rowdy early as a loose Juan ‘Paco’ Marshall overcorrected up into Cam Powers who along with Dean Switser spun around in turn two. With damage sustained in hitting the backstretch wall, Powers remained pit-side for the rest of the event. The ‘Crunch Bunch’ continued to stir under the restart as top rookie Ryan Foster flew sideways in turn four, collecting multiple machines in the melee and calling out the yellow once again. One final caution saw Derek Farnham pushed off the outside pole by Todd Raymo at the start/finish line on lap two.

Under the return to green flag racing, Patrick Tibbetts powered off the bottom over Taylor Hoar to lead the field as Tyler Whittemore, Jamie Davis and Trevor Jaques followed on the outside. At the halfway point Whittemore made a beeline to the outside of Tibbetts and led lap 15 with Jaques and Jeffrey Martin in hot pursuit behind him. As the three ran in a pack at the end, the final run around lap-car Travis Gay saw Jaques try for one last jump to the inside of Whittemore but it was too late. Tyler Whittemore took down his first win of the 2023 season followed by Jaques in second and Jeffrey Martin sub-driving for Kyle Gravel in third.

Alan Ward photo

The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers kept the show rolling with Matt Ballard and Kevin Streeter leading the pack with Streeter taking off like a rocket from the field in the outside lane. Adam Maynard broke out of the side-by-side pack to take second and set his sights on Streeter’s straightaway lead on lap 9 with Jason Pelkey and Cooper French following on the outside. Working slowly but surely, Maynard methodically worked his way to the rear bumper of Streeter, jumping to his outside with four laps remaining and a rear-view mirror full of Jason Pelkey.  Sideways across the line in a blanket of smoke, Kevin Streeter kept the lead to take the win over Adam Maynard and Jason Pelkey.

Alan Ward photo

The thrilling showdown of the night saw eighteen road-raging fans take to the Thunder Road highbanks in their daily drivers for the annual Run-What-U-Brung challenge. After whittling away the crowd in one-on-one drags across the asphalt, it came down to two. Richie Turner, the former Enduro 200 winner, piloting a red Ford Focus took on Jennifer Buker in a black Subaru Impreza for the final showdown. Turner seemed to miss the shift at the start and although he made up for it on the backstretch, Buker put the hammer down to claim the 2023 Run-What-U-Brung championship!

Alan Ward photo

Kevin Wheatly and Robert Catchapaw tried to one-up the Run-What-U-Brung superstars by bringing the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors to life under the green flag before a hard-hit for newcomer Derek Tetrault brought out the caution on lap 1. Wheatley and Brodie Frazier restarted the field as Mike Slingerland, Neal Foster and Tyler Wheatley joined the fray. Contact between Jason Kirby and Nate Brien brought the yellow flag back out on lap seven and ended Brien’s day with a smashed radiator. Neal Foster would take the jump on the restart to win followed by a late-charge by Tyler Wheatley for second and father Kevin Wheatley rounding out the evening’s final podium.

Alan Ward photo

Thunder Road returns to action on Sunday, September 3rd for the 45th Labor Day Classic 200 presented by New England Federal Credit Union for the American-Canadian Tour. The American-Canadian Tour title is coming down to the wire and the championship hopefuls must contend with the Thunder Road highbanks twice more in 2023 starting with the challenging Labor Day Classic 200. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks, Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors and visiting Mighty Mini Stock Tour will also be in attendance. Sunday’s Post Time is set for 1:00pm with adult general admission available for $25, kids 12-6 for $10 and children 5 and under free!

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, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.

 

Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT

Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night

Friday, September 1, 2023

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

 

Run-What-U-Brung Champion –

Jennifer Buker            Lincoln, VT

 

Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models - (50 Laps)

1.         0VT      Scott Dragon               Milton, VT

2.         31VT    Stephen Donahue       Graniteville, VT

3.         04VT    #Justin Prescott           Milton, VT

4.         17VT    Darrell Morin              Westford, VT

5.         01VT    Stephen Martin           Craftsbury Common, VT

6.         55VT    #Keegan Lamson         Berlin, VT

7.         86VT    Marcel J. Gravel          Wolcott, VT

8.         18VT    #Kaiden Fisher             Shelburne, VT

9.         64VT    Chris Pelkey                 Graniteville, VT

10.       16VT    Brandon Lanphear      Morrisville, VT

11.       99VT    Cody Blake                  Barre, VT

12.       9VT      Chip Grenier               Orange, VT

13.       88VT    Nick Sweet                  Barre, VT

14.       8VT      Chris Roberts               Washington, VT

15.       14VT    Phil Scott                     Berlin, VT

16.       27VT    Kyle Pembroke            Montpelier, VT

17.       4VT      Scott Coburn               Barre, VT

18.       7VT      Brendan Moodie*       Wolcott, VT

19.       38VT    Tyler Cahoon               Danville, VT

20.       48VT    Jean-Paul Cyr              Milton, VT

21.       31KS    #Cody Schoolcraft       Claremont, NH

*Sub Driver for Cooper Bouchard

Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers - (40 Laps)

1.         67VT    Kevin Streeter             Waitsfield, VT

2.         45VT    Adam Maynard           Milton, VT

3.         64VT    Jason Pelkey                Barre, VT

4.         4ME     Cooper French             Northfield, VT

5.         00VT    Brandon Gray              E. Thetford, VT

6.         54VT    Colin Cornell               E. Burke, VT

7.         07VT    Sam Caron                   Milton, VT

8.         13VT    Ty Delphia                   Duxbury, VT

9.         37VT    Kyle Streeter               Waterbury Ctr., VT

10.       33VT    Matt Ballard               Williamstown, VT

11.       68VT    Jason Woodard           Waterbury Ctr., VT

12.       90VT    Cameron Ouellette     Barre, VT

13.       20VT    Robert Gordon            Milton, VT

14.       23NY    Cam Gadue                 Highgate, VT

15.       31VT    Logan Powers              Middlesex, VT

16.       78VT    #Tyler Pepin                Barre, VT

17.       56VT    Chris Laforest              Barre, VT

18.       05VT    Craig Bushey               Fletcher, VT

19.       26VT    #Luke Peters               Groton, VT

20.       22VT    Travis Patnoe              Wolcott, VT

DNS     8NH     Rich Lowrey                 South Hero, VT

rk Miles Street Stocks - (25 Laps)

1.         74        Tyler Whittemore       Barre, VT

2.         57        Trevor Jaques              Milton, VT

3.         5          Jeffery Martin*           Barre, VT

4.         34        Patrick Tibbetts           Plainfield, VT

5.         0          James Dopp                 Northfield, VT

6.         71        Jesse Laquerre             Berlin, VT

7.         7          Kyle MacAskill             Williamstown, VT

8.         16        Dean Switser, Jr.         Waterford, VT

9.         9          #Logan Farrell             Barre, VT

10.       43        Jamie Davis                 Johnson, VT

11.       48        Taylor Hoar                 South Hero, VT

12.       2          Haidyn Pearce             Chelsea, VT

13.       22        Thomas Smith             Williamstown, VT

14.       55        Parker Gagne              Fairfax, VT

15.       33        Curtis Franks               Topsham, VT

16.       08        #Ryan Foster               Waterbury, VT

17.       96        Thomas Peck               Waterbury, VT

18.       24        Todd Raymo                Swanton, VT

19.       13        #Travis Gay                 S. Burlington, VT

20.       88        #Paul Rocheleau         Georgia, VT

21.       50        Eric MacLaughlin        Milton, VT

22.       39        Derek Farnham           Bethel, VT

23.       04        Scott Weston               Berlin, VT

24.       30        Cameron Powers         E. Montpelier, VT

25.       79        Juan 'Paco' Marshall   Pittsfield, VT

DNS     68        Kyler Davis                  Berlin, VT

*Sub Driver for Kyle Gravel

Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors - (20 Laps)

1.         19        Neal Foster                  Moretown, VT

2.         31        Tyler Wheatley            Brookfield, VT

3.         13        Kevin Wheatley           Brookfield, VT

4.         26        Corey Martin               Northfield, VT

5.         88        Frank Putney               Graniteville, VT

6.         99        Fred Fleury                  Graniteville, VT

7.         17        Brodie Frazier             E. Montpelier, VT

8.         74        Keegan Tabor              Williamstown, VT

9.         75        Bert Duffy                    Milton, VT

10.       42        Karsen Murphy           Northfield, VT

11.       81        Mike Slingerland         Fairfax, VT

12.       96        Bill O'Connor               S. Washington, VT

13.       71        Jason Kirby                  Milton, VT

14.       77        Zach Garvey                Milton, VT

15.       33        Brayden Murphy         Barre, VT

16.       83        Gavin Hodgdon           Hyde Park, VT

17.       03        Robert Catchapaw      Waterbury, VT

18.       97        Eddie Thompson         Colchester, VT

19.       16        Nate Brien                   Williamstown, VT

20.       50        Nick Copping               Barre, VT

21.       30        Derek Tetrault             St. Albans, VT

DNS     43        Anderson Boyd            Berlin, VT