Smithers Takes Dwarf Car Special at White Mountain
Marshall, Woodard, and Smith Earn Saturday Night Wins
N. Woodstock, NH — Gilmanton, NH’s Tommy Smithers captured the biggest Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Car event of the season at North Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, August 7. Smithers took the lead early in the 50-lap main event and held off a series of challenges to score his third win this season and unofficially take over the points lead.
Smithers didn’t need long to get to the front, slashing from the seventh starting position to slingshot past polesitter Chad Dufour on lap nine. Defending champion Jason Wyman and opening night winner “Downtown” Bobby Brown weren’t far behind, keeping the heat on Smithers until Brown spun to bring out the first caution with 27 laps complete.
The action only got hotter as the laps wound down. Colby Bourgeois inherited the third spot and continued the three-way battle at the front. With 12 laps to go, rookie Jamie Ball and Dave Gyger got tangled up in the middle of the pack, leading to caution number two. When the green flag came back out, Brown got on the move, hurtling forward to the fourth spot.
With four laps to go, Ball found himself in trouble again entering turn two, setting up a four-lap shootout for the top prize. Brown got the jump on Bourgeois to grab third at the restart. The next time around, Brown tried to take second from Wyman. However, they made contact entering turn three, sending both spinning to the infield.
St. Johnsbury, VT’s Bourgeois suddenly found himself and second and gave Smithers all he could muster over the final two laps. Smithers edged him out, though, to add another winner’s trophy to his collection.
West Burke, VT’s Howie Switser benefitted from the late-race troubles to snag the third spot. Ball recovered from his excursions to take fourth. Dufour rounded out the top-five. Wyman ended up seventh, setting up a three-way battle for the championship.
Gilman, VT’s Jeff Marshall continued a recent hot streak by winning the Foley Oil & Propane Late Model feature. Marshall rolled off seventh for the 50-lap event and was up to second behind polesitter Mark Patten when the caution flew on lap 18 for Mike Jurkowski’s turn-four spin. During the yellow, the clutch malfunctioned on Patten’s car, bringing him to a heartbreaking halt and handing Marshall the lead.
Two more quick yellows followed — one for a carburetor issue on the Dennis Dumas machine and another for a Zacary Fraser spin. Once the race got going again, Marshall went into turbo mode, gliding away from a multi-car battle for second between Mike Bailey, Stacy Cahoon, Quinny Welch, and Jimmy Renfrew Jr.
Another pair of quick yellows on laps 41 and 43 meant a seven-lap dash for cash. Candia, NH’s Renfrew had sliced to second between the cautions and put his front bumper out front for a lap on the restart. But Marshall was back in front the next time around and couldn’t be touched from there. By winning his heat and finishing ahead of Renfrew in the semi-feature, Marshall made some needed gains in the championship standings to go with his feature victory.
Renfrew finished second followed by St, Johnsbury, VT’s Cahoon. Bailey, Welch, Jon Savage, Kasey Beattie, Matthew Morrill, Oren Remick, and Joey Laquerre rounded out the top-10.
Waterbury Center, VT’s Tanner Woodard picked up his second Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tiger win of the season in their 35-lap feature. The rookie was running third when the event’s only caution came out on lap 10 for a turn-two fracas involving Eric Johnson, Jody Sicard, and Travis Patnoe.
When the green flag came back out, Woodard shot past three-time defending champion Shane Sicard for second. The 17-year-old did the same to polesitter Mike Clark one lap later. Sicard got past Clark soon after but couldn’t hang with Woodard as the youngster charged to victory.
Barton, VT’s Sicard was still able to narrow the championship chase with his runner-up feature finish and a heat race win. Littleton, NH’s Ryan Ware held off point leader Jason Woodard for the final podium spot. Bryan Wall Jr. finished fifth in a practice run for the J.P. Sicard Triple Crown Series events coming the next two Saturdays. Clark, Jon Boutin, Michael Potter, Jody Sicard, and Matthew Potter completed the top-10.
West Burke, VT’s Michael Smith scored his first career Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Mini Stock victory in the 25-lap feature. Smith was running third in the 20-car field when the yellow flag came out on lap six. He nabbed second from James Knights on the restart, and after another caution on lap eight, Smith did the same to polesitter Keri Driscoll to take the lead.
As Smith maintained his advantage, Whitefield, NH’s Tim Corey patiently cut through the field and passed Driscoll for second with two laps to go. The drama wasn’t done, however, as Luke Shannon lost it coming to the white flag while battling fellow rookie Donnie Baumgardner for the fourth spot. Shannon collected Todd Derrington, who got the worst of it by smacking the turn-four tire barriers.
By rule, the drivers that had taken just the white flag before the caution flag flow had to race back to the checkered. Smith did so while avoiding trouble to bring home the win.
Corey was second while Driscoll earned a season-best third. Tyler Thompson, Baumgardner, James Knights, Les Washburn, Scott Senecal, Shannon, Adam Sicard, and John Knight also got top-10 finishes.
The J.P. Sicard Triple Crown Series returns to White Mountain Motorsports Park this Saturday, August 14 at 6:00pm. The Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers go 75 laps in the second leg of the three-race series. White Mountain also welcomes the Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association of Maine with their Early Late Model and Outlaw action. The Foley Oil & Propane Late Models, Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks complete the card. Admission is $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, free for kids ages 5 and under, and $25 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 us on Facebook at @WhiteMtnMotorsports.
WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK — N. Woodstock, NH
ARNOLD’S WAYSIDE DINER DWARF CAR SPECIAL
SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 2021
OFFICIAL RESULTS
ARNOLD’S WAYSIDE DINER DWARF CARS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- Tommy Smithers ( 60 ) Gilmanton, NH
- Colby Bourgeois ( 82 ) St. Johnsbury, VT
- Howie Switser ( 11 ) West Burke, VT
- #Jamie Ball ( 99 ) Barnet, VT
- Chad Dufour ( 52 ) Littleton, NH
- Jeff Ainsworth ( 41 ) Bethlehem, NH
- Jason Wyman ( 88 ) Easton, NH
- Dave Gyger ( 93 ) Campton, NH
- Bobby Brown ( 27 ) Lincoln, NH
- Jeremy LaBrecque ( 21 ) Canaan, VT
- Eric Hall ( 2 ) Columbia, NH
FOLEY OIL & PROPANE LATE MODELS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- Jeff Marshall ( 32nh ) Gilman, VT
- Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ( 00nh ) Candia, NH
- Stacy Cahoon ( 83vt ) St. Johnsbury, VT
- Mike Bailey ( 1me ) S. Barre, VT
- Quinten Welch ( 78nh ) Groveton, NH
- Jon Savage ( 41nh ) Whitefield, NH
- #Kasey Beattie ( 45nh ) St. Johnsbury, VT
- Matthew Morrill ( 9nh ) Moultonborough, NH
- Oren Remick ( 21nh ) Monroe, NH
- Joey Laquerre ( 15vt ) E. Montpelier, VT
- Jerry Lesage ( 74vt ) Winooski, VT
- #Zachary Fraser ( 02nh ) Dorchester, NH
- David LaBrecque ( 57nh ) Thornton, NH
- Mike Jurkowski ( 42nh ) Claremont, NH
- Mark Patten ( 07nh ) Belmont, NH
- #Dennis L. Dumas ( 15nh ) Raymond, NH
- John Donahue ( 26vt ) Graniteville, VT
DNS Bill Donahue ( 31nh ) Graniteville, VT
WELLS RIVER CHEVROLET FLYING TIGERS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- #Tanner Woodard ( 68nh ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
- Shane Sicard ( 4nh ) Barton, VT
- Ryan Ware ( 32vt ) East Burke, VT
- Jason Woodard ( 68vt ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
- Bryan Wall Jr. ( 77nh ) East Kingston, NH
- Michael Clark ( 2vt ) Littleton, NH
- Jon Boutin ( 21vt ) Fairfax, VT
- Michael Potter ( 23nh ) Plainfield, VT
- Jody Sicard ( 49nh ) Gilmanton, NH
- Matthew Potter ( 23vt ) Marshfield, VT
- Hunter King ( 62vt ) Woodbury, VT
- Eric Johnson ( 51nh ) Randolph Ctr., VT
- Travis Patnoe ( 22vt ) Wolcott, VT
- #Chandler Potter ( 22nh ) Plainfield, VT
WOODSVILLE GUARANTY SAVINGS BANK STRICTLY STOCK MINI’S
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- Michael M. Smith Jr. ( 22x ) West Burke, VT
- Tim Corey ( 10x ) Whitefield, NH
- Keri Driscoll ( 91 ) Gilmanton, NH
- Tyler Thompson ( 51 ) Littleton, NH
- #Donnie Baumgardner ( 4 ) N. Woodstock, NH
- #James Knights ( 02 ) Littleton, NH
- Les Washburn ( 17 ) Bethlehem, NH
- Scott Senecal ( 1 ) Lisbon, NH
- #Luke Shannon ( 13 ) Groveton, NH
- Adam Sicard ( 16 ) Barton, VT
- John Knight ( 12 ) Franklin, NH
- Gavin McGinnis ( 10 ) St. Johnsbury, VT
- #Chris Moulton ( 15 ) Pepperell, MA
- Jillian Baumgardner ( 14 ) N. Woodstock, NH
- Todd Derrington ( 57 ) Bethlehem, NH
- Don Judd ( 87 ) Franklin, NH
- Jacob Ailes ( 19 ) N. Woodstock, NH
- Jack Hayes ( 09 ) Littleton, NH
- Eric Boucher ( 77 ) Berwick, ME
DNS Jacob Ailes ( 72 ) St. Johnsbury, VT
Sources: ACT PR
<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_0592.JPG): Gilmanton, NH’s Tommy Smithers (near right) celebrates his Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Car Special victory with his son Thomas (near left). (John Raper photo)>>
<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_0659.JPG): Gilman, VT’s Jeff Marshall stayed hot by getting the victory in the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models. (John Raper photo)>>
<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_0522.JPG): Waterbury Center, VT’s Tanner Woodard won his second Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tiger feature of the year. (John Raper photo)>>
<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_0713.JPG): West Burke, VT’s Michael Smith (with trophy) celebrates victory in the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s with his family and crew. (John Raper photo)>>