Laflamme Makes First Late Model Win Count at Midseason Championships

By admin July 20, 2020 White Mountain Motorsports Park

N. Woodstock, NH — Whitefield, NH’s Christian Laflamme picked one of the best possible times for his first career Foley Oil & Propane Late Model win by capturing the Midseason Championships at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, July 18. The first-year Late Model racer held off fellow up-and-comer Matthew Morrill and eight-time track champion Quinny Welch to go wire-to-wire in the 60-lap main event.

Laflamme started on the outside pole of a 22-car grid and blew past polesitter Allie Menard at the drop of the green. It was relatively easy sailing for the youngster over the first half of the race as the field waged battle behind him. Morrill quickly moved up from his sixth starting spot to second in the running order, but he faced constant pressure from veterans Mike Bailey and Stacy Cahoon as they fought extra-hard with double points on the line.

The first caution on lap 36 for Menard’s spin tightened up the field with Laflamme choosing the inside for the restart. Laflamme was able to hold off Morrill while Joel Hodgdon and Alby Ovitt entered the picture for the first time. Another yellow flew on lap 43 for a three-car tangle involving rookie Shane Hawthorne, Dave LaBrecque, and Richie Brown to again put the field double-file.

With the laps winding down, the intensity rose even higher. Ovitt grabbed the third position from Cahoon on the restart with Hodgdon and Welch in hot pursuit. As the field approached the 10-to-go signal, Ovitt and Hodgdon made contact, triggering an accident that also swept up Jeff Marshall and Tyler Tomassi to shuffle the running order once again.

Once again, it was Laflamme and Morrill on the front row for the restart with Cahoon and Welch — and their 13 combined track championships — in row two. Welch slid past Cahoon with 10 laps to go and joined forces with Morrill to turn up the heat on Laflamme. But the leader had enough in the tank to fend both off for the victory.

Morrill finished a season-best second while Welch’s third-place result, plus strong efforts in the heat and semi-feature, unofficially maintained his point lead. Cahoon, Oren Remick, Bailey, Jesse Switser, Peyton Lanphear, Andy Hill, and Ovitt rounded out the top-10.

Littleton, NH’s Michael Clark returned to his winning ways in the Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers by capturing the double-point 40-lap feature. Clark, who also triumphed in the non-point season opener, started third in the main event — but it was fourth-place starter Shane Sicard of Barton, VT that was the man to beat early. It took just one lap for the defending champion to power around Clark, his brother Jody Sicard, and polesitter Hunter King for the top spot.

Clark, though, did not go quietly. The veteran maneuvered his way around Jody Sicard for the second position on lap three, then chased Shane for the next 10 laps. On the 14th circuit, Clark was able to get the break, doing what few have done over the past two-plus years and pass Shane Sicard for the lead. The race’s lone caution with eight laps to go gave Sicard another shot, but Clark held him at bay to grab the win.

Sicard took second with Graniteville, VT’s Stephen Donahue completing the podium in third. Jaden Perry, Kasey Beattie, Michael Potter, Ryan Ware, Matthew Potter, Tanner Woodard, and Amanda Wheeler completed the top-10.

Another Littleton racer, Tyler Thompson, also found his way back to Victory Lane in the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s. Thompson bounced back from a crash last time out to earn his fourth win of the year and third point-counting victory in their 30-lap dash. The second-year Strictly Mini racer roared from sixth on the starting grid to take the lead from Darren Newland following a lap-nine caution for an incident involving Gavin McGinnis and Marcus Jenness. Thompson then stormed away for the double-point win.

Veteran Brett Jackson of Bethlehem, NH charged from ninth at the start to second in the final rundown. Jack Hayes earned his third straight podium result by holding off Newland for third. Jamie Ball, Jenness, Tim Corey, Keri Driscoll, Todd Derrington, and Joe Giddings finished 5th through 10th.

Gilmanton, NH’s Tommy Smithers was in the right place and the right time to up his first win of the year in the 7-Eleven Dwarf Car Open. Smithers was running third with five laps to go in the 30-lap special when Colby Bourgeois and Jason Wyman, the two previous winners on the season, tangled racing for the lead. With both relegated to the rear, Smithers suddenly found himself on the point, and he held off “Downtown” Bobby Brown over the final five-lap shootout for the victory.

Bourgeois made a remarkable charge back through the field to grab the third spot at the finish. Jeff Ainsworth and Dave Gyger also earned top-five finishes.

Tommy Smithers VI made it a father-son night at White Mountain by taking his third win of the season in the 20-lap Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Truck feature. Smithers inherited the lead by evading an opening-lap wreck that saw polesitter Logan Farnsworth end up on his lid. He then kept Luke Shannon and Owen Rogers at bay the rest of the way for the victory.

White Mountain Motorsports Park welcomes the North East Mini Stock Tour this Saturday, July 25 at 6:00pm. The 50-lap four-cylinder showdown will be joined by a full card of championships for the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models, Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers, Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, and 7-Eleven Dwarf Cars. Admission is $15 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, and $30 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).

For more information, contact the White Mountain Motorsports Park offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.whitemountainmotorsports.com. You can also follow on Facebook at @WhiteMtnMotorsports.

For more about the Northeast Sports Network, visit www.nsnsports.net or follow them on Facebook and Twitter at @NSNSports.

WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK
MIDSEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS
JULY 18, 2020
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

FOLEY OIL & PROPANE LATE MODELS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Christian Laflamme ( 10me ) Whitefield, NH
2. Matthew Morrill ( 9nh ) Moultonborough, NH
3. Quinten Welch ( 78nh ) Groveton, NH
4. Stacy Cahoon ( 83vt ) St. Johnsbury, VT
5. Oren Remick ( 21nh ) Monroe, NH
6. Michael Bailey ( 1me ) South Barre, VT
7. Jesse Switser ( 25nh ) W. Burke, VT
8. Peyton Lanphear ( 22vt ) Waterbury, VT
9. #Anthony Hill ( 8vt ) Waterford, VT
10. Alby Ovitt ( 35nh ) Candia, NH
11. Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ( 00nh ) Candia, NH
12. Jeff Marshall ( 32nh ) Gilman, VT
13. Jon Savage ( 18nh ) Whitefield, NH
14. Joel Hodgdon ( 36vt ) Craftsbury, VT
15. #Tyler Tomassi ( 76ri ) W. Greenwich, RI
16. Joey Laquerre ( 15vt ) E. Montpelier, VT
17. Sam Gooden ( 01nh ) Whitefield, NH
18. Allie Menard ( 06nh ) Dorchester, NH
19. David LaBrecque ( 57nh ) Thornton, NH
20. #Shane Hawthorne ( 5nh ) Franklin, NH
21. Richie Brown ( 20nh ) Wentworth, NH
22. John Donahue ( 26vt ) Graniteville, VT

WELLS RIVER CHEVROLET FLYING TIGERS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Michael Clark ( 2vt ) Littleton, NH
2. Shane Sicard ( 4nh ) Barton, VT
3. Stephen Donahue ( 26vt ) Graniteville, VT
4. Jaden Perry ( 92vt ) Hardwick, VT
5. #Kasey Beattie ( 45nh ) St.Johnsbury, VT
6. Michael Potter ( 23nh ) Marshfield, VT
7. Ryan Ware ( 32nh ) Littleton, NH
8. Matthew Potter ( 23vt ) Marshfield, VT
9. Tanner Woodard ( 68nh ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
10. Amanda Wheeler ( 20nh ) Bradford, VT
11. Kaleb Rogers ( 37nh ) Glover, VT
12. Jody Sicard ( 49nh ) Barton, VT
13. David Ofsuryk ( 73vt ) Derby Line, VT
14. #Hunter King ( 62vt ) Woodbury, VT
15. Laci Potter ( 55x ) West Danville, VT
16. Nathaniel Parkin ( 88nh ) Bradford, VT

WOODSVILLE GUARANTY SAVINGS BANK STRICTLY STOCK MINI’S
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Tyler Thompson ( 51 ) Littleton, NH
2. Brett Jackson ( 31 ) Bethlehem, NH
3. Jack Hayes ( 09 ) Littleton, NH
4. Darren Newland ( 25 ) E. Burke, VT
5. Jamie Ball ( 99 ) Passumpsic, VT
6. Marcus Jenness* ( 14 ) Lincoln, NH
7. Tim Corey ( 10x ) Whitefield, NH
8. Keri Driscoll ( 91 ) Gilmanton, NH
9. Todd Derrington ( 57 ) Littleton, NH
10. Joe Giddings ( 41 ) Waterford, VT
11. Nicole Ouellette ( 88 ) Milan, NH
12. Jason Fallman ( 21 ) N. Woodstock, NH
13. Dave Driscoll ( 19 ) N. Woodstock, NH

*Sub driver for Jillian Baumgardner

7-ELEVEN DWARF CAR OPEN (Non-Point Event)
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Tommy Smithers ( 60 ) Gilmanton, NH
2. Bobby Brown ( 27 ) Lincoln, NH
3. Colby Bourgeois ( 82 ) St. Johnsbury, VT
4. Jeff Ainsworth ( 41 ) Bethlehem, NH
5. Dave Gyger ( 93 ) Campton, NH
6. Chad Dufour ( 52 ) Littleton, NH
7. Tim Sherman Jr. ( 6 ) Northfield, VT
8. Paul Marsan ( 45 ) Methuen, MA
9. Lucas Nast ( 67 ) Jefferson, NH
10. Jason Wyman ( 88 ) Easton, NH

DADS 4 BY TOOL & SUPPLY KIDS TRUCKS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Thomas Smithers, VI ( 24 ) Gilmanton, NH
2. Luke Shannon ( 13 ) Groveton, NH
3. Owen Rogers ( 4 ) Glover, VT
4. Matthew Knowlton ( 8 ) Northfield, NH
5. McKenna Merchant ( 99 )
6. Logan Farnsworth ( 22 ) St. Johnsbury, VT

Sources: ACT PR