Blake Rides Late Break to Late Model Win on Aubuchon Night
Barre, VT – Barre local Cody Blake got the jump on a restart with six laps to go and drove to his second career Thunder Road Late Model victory in the Aubuchon Hardware Trophy Dash on Thursday, July 2.
Blake was running third on lap 44 of the 50-lap event when John Donahue, while challenging pole sitter Boomer Morris for the lead, lost control and slammed the turn 4 wall. Donahue then flipped on his roof to bring out a lengthy red flag.
After a subsequent caution on the first restart attempt for Mike Bailey’s spin, Blake got the break over fellow Barre racer Morris on the second attempt and cruised to his first victory since 2013.
“When Donahue passed me on the outside (for second), I had no other choice but to go to the outside and try it, and I found out that it was way better than the inside,” Blake said. “He was the smart one, and he showed me the way around the track, and it ending up working out for us.
“This win is pretty important to us,” he added. “Everyone was on top of us about only having one win, and the crew deserved this way before now, so I’m glad I could get one for them.”
Morris crossed the line second but was subsequently disqualified for an illegal rear end. Co-point leaders Nick Sweet and Derrick O’Donnell inherited second and third after Sweet nipped O’Donnell at the line. Despite Sweet’s charge from the 19th starting position, O’Donnell unofficially takes over the point lead thanks to a stronger finish in his heat race.
Matt White moved up to fourth after Dave Pembroke was also disqualified for refusing post-race technical inspection. Shawn Fleury, Eric Chase, Jason Corliss, Brett Gervais, Josh Demers, and Kyle Pembroke rounded out the top-10.
Doug Crowningshield scored his first career victory in the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman feature. The Barre driver went three-wide inside of rookie Derek Barker and Dylan Payea to take the lead on lap 15 of the 35-lap event. He then held off late charges by Jeffrey Bousquet and Jason Woodard for the win in a caution-free race.
Bousquet and Woodard finished second and third. Cameron Ouellette, Payea, point leader Mike Martin, Barker, Brendan Moodie, David Finck, and Chris Pelkey completed the top-10.
Tunbridge’s Gary Mullen earned his sixth career win in the Allen Lumber Street Stock feature. The former champion took the lead from Bunker Hodgdon on lap 10 of the 25-lap event and was never threatened en route to his first victory since July 2012.
Hodgdon finished second in the caution-free event, followed by Will Hennequin in third. Rookie Chris LaForest, Jaden Perry, Marcel J. Gravel, Tyler Austin, Jamon Perry, Alan Maynard, and Garry Bashaw finished fourth through 10th.
Thunder Road’s Independence Day weekend doubleheader concludes on Sunday, July 2 with CVMC ExpressCare Night. All weekly divisions will be in action along with the Marvin Johnson Memorial for the Allen Lumber Street Stocks. Post time is 6:30 pm. Admission is $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, and $25 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).
For information contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
AUBUCHON HARDWARE NIGHT
UNOFFICIAL FINISH
THUNDER ROAD LATE MODELS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Cody Blake ( 99VT ) Barre, VT
2. Nick Sweet ( 88VT ) Barre, VT
3. Derrick O’Donnell ( 60VT ) N. Haverhill, NH
4. Matt White ( 42VT ) Northfield, VT
5. Shawn Fleury ( 1VT ) Middlesex, VT
6. Eric Chase ( 40VT ) Milton, VT
7. Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) Barre, VT
8. Brett Gervais ( 11NH ) Island Pond, VT
9. Josh Demers ( 10VT ) Montpelier, VT
10. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) Montpelier, VT
11. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) S. Burlington, VT
12. Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) Milton, VT
13. Emily Packard ( 9ME ) E. Montpelier, VT
14. Ricky Roberts ( 3VT ) E. Barre, VT
15. David Whitcomb ( 25VT ) Essex Jct., VT
16. Eric Badore ( 4VT ) Milton, VT
17. #Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) Barre, VT
18. Phil Scott ( 14VT ) Middlesex, VT
19. #Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) Westford, VT
20. Mike Bailey ( 00VT ) S. Barre, VT
21. John Donahue ( 26VT ) Graniteville, VT
22. Jason Allen ( 29VT ) Barre, VT
23. Joey Laquerre ( 15VT ) E. Montpelier, VT
DSQ Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) Barre, VT
DSQ Dave Pembroke ( 44VT ) Middlesex, VT
BOND AUTO TIGER SPORTSMEN
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Doug Crowningshield ( 14 ) Barre, VT
2. Jeffrey Bousquet ( 44 ) Worcester, VT
3. Jason Woodard ( 68 ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
4. Cameron Ouellette ( 90 ) Barre, VT
5. Dylan Payea ( 7 ) Milton, VT
6. Mike Martin ( 01 ) Craftsbury, VT
7. #Derek Barker ( 15 ) Post Mills, VT
8. Brendan Moodie ( 94 ) Wolcott, VT
9. David Finck ( 37 ) Barre, VT
10. Christopher Pelkey ( 64 ) S. Barre, VT
11. Stephen Donahue ( 26 ) Graniteville, VT
12. Joe Steffen ( 00 ) Grand Isle, VT
13. Mike Billado ( 8 ) Essex, VT
14. Tommy Smith ( 50 ) Williamstown, VT
15. Bert Gallison ( 30 ) Graniteville, VT
16. Caleb Nelson ( 07 ) Moretown, VT
17. Stephen Hodgdon ( 0 ) Danville, VT
18. Brian Delphia ( 27 ) Duxbury, VT
ALLEN LUMBER STREET STOCKS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Gary Mullen ( 29 ) Tunbridge, VT
2. Bunker Hodgdon ( 83 ) Hardwick, VT
3. Will Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT
4. #Chris LaForest ( 56 ) Barre, VT
5. Jaden Perry ( 92 ) Hardwick, VT
6. Marcel J. Gravel ( 86 ) Wolcott, VT
7. Tyler Austin ( 5 ) E. Calais, VT
8. Jamon Perry ( 62 ) Hardwick, VT
9. Alan Maynard ( 10 ) Fairfax, VT
10. Garry Bashaw ( 4 ) Lincoln, VT
11. Thomas Merchant ( 38 ) Eden Mills, VT
12. Kyle Streeter ( 37 ) Waitsfield, VT
13. Richard Gravel ( 68 ) Wolcott, VT
14. Jamie Davis ( 43 ) Wolcott, VT
15. #Matthew Smith ( 04 ) Essex Jct., VT
16. Patrick Tibbetts ( 48 ) Barre, VT
17. Kevin Streeter ( 67 ) Waitsfield, VT
18. #Matthew Smith ( 04 ) Essex Jct., VT
19. Donny Yates ( 05 ) N. Montpelier, VT
20. Ken Stridsberg ( 6 ) Berlin, VT
21. Travis Streeter ( 61 ) Waterbury, VT
22. #Reilly Lanphear ( 21 ) Duxbury, VT
23. Scott Weston ( 40 ) Berlin, VT
24. Justin Town ( 53 ) East Barre, VT
25. Steve Bennett Jr. ( 76 ) Northfield, VT
DNS Kyle Gravel ( 98 ) Wolcott, VT
Sources: Michael Stridsberg/Thunder Road PR