Cody Blake Makes it Two Memorial Day Classics at Thunder Road
Barre, VT — On a beautiful Sunday morning, Thunder Road officials announced the creation of the Squier Cup for the Late Model Triple Crown at the Nation’s Site of Excitement starting with the 61st Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. Twenty-five Maplefield/Irving Late Models filed into the pit area, quite the full one as a matter of fact with the 3rd annual addition of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series.
Defending King of the Road track champion Stephen Donahue brought the Memorial Day Classic field to green alongside three-peat track champion Jason Corliss. With Corliss on the hunt for two-in-a-row on the granite monument, the competition up front was fierce. While Donahue dominated the early going, Corliss used a mid-race caution to catapult into the lead and steadily grew the distance between himself and the field under a long green flag period.
Meanwhile, Donahue was facing heavy pressure from Cody Blake, Jimmy Herbert, and Scott Dragon, the remainder of the top five in their own pack ten car lengths back from Corliss. Unfortunately for Corliss, a late race caution with ten laps remaining set up a final showdown, this time with Cody Blake. Blake used the bottom to his advantage in a side-by-side battle to steal the lead with three to go and never looking back. Cody Blake would take down his second career Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic, celebrating with his father, ‘Burger’ Blake, and his five-week-old daughter, Piper, in a multi-generational victory lane! Corliss would come home second followed by Jimmy Hebert in third.
Former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy brought the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Granite City 100 to green. Following several single-car spin cautions, McKennedy continued his dominance with an ever-growing black car in his mirror. ‘Big Money’ Matt Hirschman mashed the peddle and overtook McKennedy on the outside groove to claim the lead on lap 31 and ran away with it until a lap 59 heartbreaker for Matt Swanson, laying down a thick smokescreen from under the hood.
Back under green, Ronnie Williams and Woody Pitkat roared back into the top five after jumping pit-side for fresh rubber. Williams continued his melee to the front while McKennedy pulled into the pits on lap 81 after suffering mechanical woes that took his #79 out of contention for the afternoon. The biggest drama would hit on lap 89 as Williams and Hirschman began to get physical for the lead, ending with Hirschman around on the backstretch and Williams sited a penalty on lap 94. The finale set up one last go for the win with Steven Kopcik duking it out with Matt Kimball but at the end, Kopcik would steal the win followed by Woody Pitkat and Kimball across the line.
The green-to-checker 40-lap main event for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers went off without a hitch. Leading from the pole, Williamstown’s Matt Ballard kept his foot in the firewall with a rear-view mirror full of Chris LaForest throughout the feature. Deeper in the pack, point leader Brandon Gray and defending track champion Kyle Streeter were mired in heavy side-by-side traffic. The just-under 10-minute feature event saw Matt Ballard take his first career Flying Tiger win on the holiday weekend followed by Chris LaForest, matching his career-best finish from opening day in second, and Kevin Streeter rounding out the podium.
The rk Miles Street Stocks were led to green by fan-favorite Juan ‘Paco’ Marshall but quickly ‘The Mail Man’ Patrick Tibbetts took over at the head of the pack in their 25-lap feature event. A clean and green race was cut off by a series of late-race cautions that restacked the field and made for a rough go on Tibbetts part with a flat right front tire sending him pit-side for repairs and leaving behind a dominant run in the lead. With a bump and occasional bang, ‘The Caveman’ Kasey Collins took over and never looked back to take the win, speechless in victory lane. Former champions Jamie Davis and Dean Switser, Jr. rounded out the podium.
Under the control of Anderson Boyd and Jaiden Del Toro, the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors came to life to close out the Sunday program. Veterans Nate ‘Tater’ Brien, the ‘Chicken Man’ Brodie Frazier, and Tyler Wheatley made short work of the cars ahead of them, crisscrossing through the field to claim the top-five spots within eight laps. While Tater drove away with it, Zach Garvey fought to hold his second-place run against the onslaught, and did so valiantly! Nate Brien would take the Memorial Day win followed by Zach Garvey with Brodie Frazier coming home third.
The brave drivers of Thunder Road return to action on Friday, June 7 with McGee Hyundai of Barre presenting the annual Friday Night kickoff to weekly racing at the Nation’s Site of Excitement. The McGee Hyundai of Barre Friday Special is headlined by a visit from the New England Supermodified Series (NESS) as the lightning-fast rockets take on the highbanks with blistering 10-second lap times! The Maplefield/Irving Late Models, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks, and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors will also be in attendance for the start of weekly championship racing at Thunder Road with a 7:00pm Post Time on Friday, June 7!
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
Sunday, May 26, 2024
61st Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic feat. the Monaco Modified Granite City 100
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Maplefield/Irving Late Models – 61st Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic – (125 Laps)
Race #1 for the Inaugural Squier Cup Triple Crown
1 99VT Cody Blake Barre, VT
2 66VT Jason Corliss Barre, VT
3 58VT Jimmy Hebert Williamstown, VT
4 31VT Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT
5 9VT Chip Grenier E. Barre, VT
6 0VT Scott Dragon Milton, VT
7 49VT DJ Shaw Center Conway, NH
8 64VT Christopher Pelkey S. Barre, VT
9 16VT Brandon Lanphear Morrisville, VT
10 40VT Nick Sweet Williamstown, VT
11 27VT Kyle Pembroke Montpelier, VT
12 18VT Kaiden Fisher Shelburne, VT
13 04VT Justin Prescott Fairfax, VT
14 01VT Stephen Martin Craftsbury Common, VT
15 36VT Joel Hodgdon Craftsbury Common, VT
16 55VT Keegan Lamson Berlin, VT
17 86VT Marcel J. Gravel Wolcott, VT
- 17VT Darrell Morin Westford, VT
- 14VT Phil Scott Montpelier, VT
- 48VT #Taylor Hoar South Hero, VT
- 71VT #Jesse Laquerre E. Montpelier, VT
- 7VT Cooper Bouchard Hinesburg, VT
- 68VT Brooks Clark Fayston, VT
- 4VT Scott Coburn Barre, VT
- 8VT Chris Roberts Washington, VT
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series – 3rd annual Granite City 100 – (100 Laps)
1 1 Stephen Kopcik Newtown, CT
2 88 Woody Pitkat Bellingham, MA
3 43 Matt Kimball Bennington, NH
4 55CT Teddy Hodgdon Danbury, CT
5 5CT Chris Pasteryak Moosup, CT
6 76 Brett Meservey Brewster, MA
7 60 Matt Hirschman Northampton
8 50 Ronnie Williams Lebanon, CT
9 99 Tyler Hines North Haven, CT
10 04 Joey Jarvis Windsor, VT
11 24 Todd Patnode Swanzey, NH
12 79 Jon McKennedy Chelmsford, MA
13 25 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
14 55 Joe Doucette Framingham, MA
15 08 Nick Halkowicz Shelton, CT
16 55x Jacob Perry Kannapolis, NC
17 13 Max Zachem Oakdale, CT
18 06 Les Hinckley Windsor Locks, CT
19 25NH Brian Robie Sunapee, NH
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers – (40 Laps)
- 33VT Matt Ballard Williamstown, VT
- 56VT Chris Laforest Barre, VT
- 67VT Kevin Streeter Waitsfield, VT
- 07VT Sam Caron Milton, VT
- 90VT Cameron Ouellette Barre, VT
- 23NY Cam Gadue Highgate, VT
- 45VT Adam Maynard Milton, VT
- 64VT Jason Pelkey Barre, VT
- 4VT Cooper French Northfield, VT
- 00VT Brandon Gray E. Thetford, VT
- 37VT Kyle Streeter Waterbury Ctr., VT
- 31VT Logan Powers Middlesex, VT
- 31NH Shawn Fleury Middlesex, VT
- 15NH Brendan Moodie Wolcott, VT
- 78VT Tyler Pepin Barre, VT
- 20VT Robert Gordon Milton, VT
- 3VT Michael MacAskill Williamstown, VT
- 26VT Luke Peters Groton, VT
- 8VT Mike Billado Grand Isle, VT
- 9VT #Logan Farrell Barre, VT
- 52VT Brad Bushey Fairfax, VT
- 5RI #Kyle Gravel Wolcott, VT
- 77VT Ryan Field Wolcott, VT
- 13VT Ty Delphia Waterbury, VT
- 22VT Travis Patnoe Wolcott, VT
rk Miles Street Stocks – (25 Laps)
- 98 Kasey Collins Berlin, VT
- 43 Jamie Davis Johnson, VT
- 16 Dean Switser, Jr. Waterford, VT
- 74 Tyler Whittemore Barre, VT
- 7 Kyle MacAskill Williamstown, VT
- 57 Trevor Jaques Milton, VT
- 9 Zach Audet Johnson, VT
- 08 Ryan Foster Waterbury, VT
- 79 Juan Marshall Pittsfield, VT
- 55 Parker Gagne Fairfax, VT
- 24 Todd Raymo Swanton, VT
- 8 Paul Rocheleau Georgia, VT
- 1 Cam Powers Middlesex, VT
- 51 Thomas Smith Williamstown, VT
- 99 #Fred Fleury Graniteville, VT
- 39 Derek Farnham Bethel, VT
- 73 Paige Whittemore Graniteville, VT
- 2 Haidyn Pearce Chelsea, VT
- 13 Travis Gay S. Burlington, VT
- 96 Thomas Peck Waterbury, VT
- 34 Patrick Tibbetts Plainfield, VT
- 3 Michael Gay S. Burlington, VT
- 04 Scott Weston Berlin, VT
- 6 Terry Pearce Jr Chelsea, VT
- 50 Eric MacLaughlin Milton, VT
DNS 54 Josh Lovely Williamstown, VT
Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors – (20 Laps)
- 16 Nate Brien Williamstown, VT
- 77 Zachary Garvey Milton, VT
- 17 Brodie Frazier E. Montpelier, VT
- 95 Taylor Sayers Barre, VT
- 31 Tyler Wheatley Brookfield, VT
- 19 Neal Foster Moretown, VT
- 50 Nick Copping Barre, VT
- 54 Dan Garrett, Jr. Berlin, VT
- 81 Mike Slingerland Fairfax, VT
- 27 Derrick Mann Graniteville, VT
- 43 Anderson Boyd Berlin, VT
- 8 Jaiden Del Toro Barre Town, VT
- 71 Jason Kirby Milton, VT
- 76 Easton Garvey Milton, VT
- 33 Brayden Murphy Barre, VT
- 96 Bill O’Connor S. Washington, VT
- 05 Brandon Premont Johnson, VT
- 72 Christopher Herring Montpelier, VT
- 23 Jennesta Garrett Middlesex, VT
- 7 Kendall Zeno Waterbury, VT
- 70 Mason Frazier E. Montpelier, VT
Sources: Cale King/Thunder Road Speedbowl PR
(IMG_6589.jpg): A victorious Cody Blake celebrates after his second career Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic win at Thunder Road on Sunday.
(IMG_6603.jpg): Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 125 victory lane for the Maplefields/Irving Late Models (L-R) Jimmy Hebert (3rd), winner Cody Blake with five-week-old daughter Piper and Jason Corliss (2nd).
(IMG_6830.jpg): Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Granite City 100 winner Stephen Kopcik and car owner in Sign Pro victory lane on Sunday at Thunder Road. (Alan Ward photos)