Brooks Clark Cashes in on Times Argus Double Points Night
BARRE, VT — Brooks Clark of Fayston won the Times Argus 75-lap Late Model main event on Mid-Season Championship double-points night at Thunder Road despite losing a half-track lead with eight laps to go because of the race’s lone caution.
Clark took the lead for keeps on lap 33. On the restart, he had 16 year-old Joey Laquerre, who drove a courageous race, on his outside with Brett Gervais and rookie point leader Derrick O’Donnell of North Haverhill, NH in row two, ahead of Kyle Pembroke and Nick Sweet.
Clark got a quick jump on Laquerre and immediately took the A. W. Clark Jr. & Son No. 68 to the rim of the race track. The win was Clark’s second of the season. He thanked his team for rebuilding his car after a hard crash Sunday in the ACT International 500 at Airborne Speedway. “It’s been a long week for my crew,” he said.
O’Donnell overtook Laquerre on the final lap to finish second and maintain his spot atop the Late Model standings. Nick Sweet, who started 19th, finished 4th at Laquerre’s rear spoiler. Kyle Pembroke of Montpelier was 5th.
Brett Gervais and Laquerre raced door-to-door for 30 laps, stacking up the field in a double wide conga line that went 12 cars deep while Clark made his getaway. Gervais wound up 6th, ahead of Cody Blake, Dave Pembroke, Jean-Paul Cyr and Dave Whitcomb.
Gervais, Whitcomb and Joey M Laquerre won the Late Model heats. Rookie point leader Derrick O’Donnell finished third in his heat, inches behind Emily Packard. Nick Sweet, 2nd in points at the start of the night, spent most of his qualifier boxed in, but managed a 4th-place finish.
Two-time champion Shawn Fleury of Middlesex survived a tumultuous Tiger Sportsman feature to record his first win of the season and parlay the double points at stake to unofficially become the division’s point leader.
Scheduled for 50 laps, the race came unglued on the first lap. Front row occupants Chris Roberts and Chris Pelkey spun out negotiating the first turn, which scattered the field and sent cars over the top of the track.
Four laps later, Mike Martin turned sideways across the field and crashed into Adam Pierson. The carnage continued through three more collisions during the next six laps.
When the smoke cleared, the front row of the lap-12 restart consisted of Josh Demers and Shawn Fleury with Eric Badore and Jason Woodard in row two. After a 6th caution on lap 14, it was announced that the race would be shortened to 35 laps.
On lap 16, Josh Demers, battling Fleury for the lead went flying off the top of the third turn and slammed into the styrofoam barriers. Demers limped into the pits and made it back out for the next green flag.
Fleury held the lead from lap 12. Eric Badore bested Jason Woodard after a lengthy wheel-to-wheel duel to place second and unofficially move into 2nd in the standings. Brendan Moodie passed Jason Allen of Barre in the final turn to finish 4th. Allen, the point leader to begin the night settled for 5th.
Greg Adams of Hardwick, a three-time feature winner and the No. 2 man in the Allen Lumber Street Stock standings, breezed to a win in his heat race. Bunker Hodgdon and Tommy Smith were 1-2 in the other Street Stock qualifier.
All three competitors were back in victory lane to receive their trophies for podium finishes in the 35-lap Street Stock feature. Adams, driving the VT Engine Service/Shatney Auto Body No. 38, passed rookie George Butler for the lead on lap 19 and sped off to his 4th victory of the season. Hodgdon, who also hails from Hardwick, finished second with Smith’s R&L Archery No. 50 Tommy Smith perched on his bumper in 3rd.
Thunder Road International Speedbowl will be back in action next Thursday, August 1 with VP Racing Fuels Night. The evening will feature a Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen 100 lap feature plus regular events for the Late Models, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and the Rough Riders. It will kick off a busy month of August for the star of Thunder Road as they will have seven events in just 22 days.
Times Argus Mid-Season Championships
Thunder Road – Barre, VT
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Late Models Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Brooks Clark (68vt) Fayston, VT
2. #Derrick O’Donnell (60vt) N. Haverhill, NH
3. #Joey M. Laquerre (51vt) E. Montpelier, VT
4. Nick Sweet (88vt) Barre, VT
5. Kyle Pembroke (27vt) Montpelier, VT
6. Brett Gervais (11nh) Island Pond, VT
7. Cody Blake (99vt) Barre, VT
8. Dave Pembroke (44vt) Middlesex, VT
9. Jean-Paul Cyr (32vt) Milton, VT
10. David Whitcomb (25vt) Essex Jct., VT
11. Jamie Fisher (18vt) Shelburne, VT
12. Scott Payea (89vt) Milton, VT
13. Emily Packard (9me) E. Montpelier, VT
14. Trampas Demers (85vt) S. Burlington, VT
15. Mike Bailey (00vt) South Barre, VT
16. Rick Roberts (3vt) E. Barre, VT
17. Joey Laquerre (15vt) E. Montpelier, VT
18. #Jason Corliss (66vt) Barre, VT
19. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT
20. Phil Scott (14vt) Middlesex, VT
21. Joey Becker (16vt) Jeffersonville, VT
22. Brett Wheeler (1vt) Waterbury, VT
23. Marcel Gravel (5nh) Wolcott, VT
24. #Robert Eldred (38vt) Waterbury, VT
25. #Terry Reil (11vt) E. Barre, VT
Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT
2. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT
3. Jason Woodard (68) Waterbury Ctr., VT
4. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT
5. Jason Allen (29) Barre, VT
6. #Cameron Ouellette (90) Barre, VT
7. Mike Martin (01) Craftsbury Common, VT
8. Joe Steffen (00) Grand Isle, VT
9. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT
10. Adam Pierson (85) Bradford,VT
11. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT
12. Chris Roberts (9) Washington, VT
13. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT
14. Randy Gonyaw (22) S. Barre, VT
15. Jeffrey Bousquet (60) Worcester, VT
16. Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT
17. Darrell Morin (71) Essex Jct., VT
18. Tucker Williams (11) Hyde Park, VT
19. Josh Demers (10) Montpelier, VT
20. Christopher Pelkey (64) South Barre, VT
DNS Clem Despault (3) Waterbury, VT
DNS Eric Johnson (20) Randolph Center, VT
Allen Lumber Street Stocks Unofficial Results
Pos. Driver (Car #) Hometown
1. Greg Adams (38) Hardwick, VT
2. Bunker Hodgdon (83) Wolcott, VT
3. Tommy Smith (50) Williamstown, VT
4. Dean Switser, Jr. (16) Lyndonville, VT
5. Donnie Yates (05) N. Montpelier, VT
6. Jamon Perry (62) Hardwick, VT
7. Will Hennequin (47) Morrisville, VT
8. Jamie Davis (43) Wolcott, VT
9. Troy Kingsbury (39) Waitsfield, VT
10. #George Butler (9) Randolph, VT
11. Jaden Perry (02) Hardwick, VT
12. Alan Maynard (10) Fairfax, VT
13. #Tyler Austin (5) E. Calais, VT
14. Gary Mullen (29) Tunbridge, VT
15. Jennifer Getty (25) Cambridge, VT
16. #Patrick Tibbetts (48) Barre, VT
17. Scott Maynard (59) Burlington, VT
18. George Sanders (68) Northfield, VT
19. Paul Grant (46) East Calais, VT
20. Jeremy Colson (44) S. Royalton, VT
21. Kyle Streeter (37) Waitsfield, VT
DNS #Tommy Elwood (88) Morrisville, VT
DNS Kevin Dodge (8) Barre, VT
DNS Joe Fecteau (75) Hardwick, VT
Sources: Thunder Road SpeedBowl PR