BARRE – Veteran Terry Pearce brought the first of twin 25-lap features for the Street Stocks to start the Superstars of Thunder Road Double Feature night. Thomas Peck sent his machine into the spin-cycle off turn two to bring out the opening event’s lone caution on lap-nine.
Terry Pearce took his first win of the season in the first feature he’s finished in 2024, followed by Ryan Foster and a hard-charging Dean Switser Jr. on the podium.
Feature-two got off to a hot-to-trot start as sophomore, second-generation racer Travis Gay brought the field to green and quickly extended his lead. Ironically, lap 13 spelled disaster for the No. 13 with Gay jumping pit-side with the lights out underneath the hood, giving the lead to Marshfield rookie Kylee Potter.
The first major wreck of the night would occur on lap 24 with Walker Fitch, Zach Audet and Josh Lovely piling into the turn four wall, taking point leader Trevor Jaques with them.
In a green-white-checkered finish, Kylee Potter pulled off the first career win by a bumper over Todd Raymo and Haidyn Pearce at the line.
While Travis Patnoe brought the field to green it was Chris Laforest who quickly charged out ahead of feature No. 1 for the Flying Tigers. With a mirror full of Brendan Moodie and Brandon Gray by the halfway point. Laforest kept his foot to the firewall but Gray kept pace, passing for the lead with five laps remaining.
Brandon Gray would go back-to-back and take the first Flying Tiger feature of the night followed by Laforest and Moodie at the line.
Travis Patnoe, by virtue of his handicap, again led the field in feature two but it was Matt Ballard who made away in the early goings. Ballard kept his Chevrolet pointed in the right direction with Chris Laforest and Luke Peters looking to hunt down the leader.
Laforest worked the outside of Ballard lap after lap, lane swapping at the halfway point looking for every bit of speed he could muster. After fighting doorhandle-to-doorhandle, Laforest finally led lap 29 over Ballard before Ballard beat him back to lead lap 32 with eight cars row-by-row under a blanket at the front of the field.
Laforest would lead again under Ballard on lap 37. The two stayed side-by-side to the very end. Chris Laforest would nab his first career Flying Tiger win by just 0.03 seconds over Matt Ballard with Logan Powers getting third after video review of a bumper-cover-vinyl lead over Luke Peters.
Rookie-of-the-year duo Taylor Hoar and Jesse Laquerre led the Late Models to point for the division’s first 50-lap feature of the evening. Hoar quickly jumped out front as Laquerre and Phil Scott battled hard for second in side-by-side competition that stalled the rest of the field.
The floodgates opened, allowing Darrell Morin and Cooper Bouchard a chance to chase down Hoar as a lap 19 caution repacked the field.
The restart gave way to a strong-armed battle between Kaiden Fisher and Morin with Fisher strolling away with the feature one win 20 laps later.
Chris Roberts and Cody Blake took off with the start of feature two and maintained pace through the first 37 laps. With Roberts having a strangle-hold on the lead and Blake following, defending American-Canadian Tour champion jumped into the No. 00 driven by C.J. MacLaughlin in feature one and Cole Custer one week ago. Shaw had made his way up through from shotgun on the field to tenth by the lap 37 caution for a stalled Stephen Donahue stopped atop turn four. A dust-up on the restart claimed Phil Scott as he careened into the turn one wall with Stephen Martin.
The final 11 laps went green to checkers with Chris Roberts edging Cody Blake at the line for his first win of the season followed by Justin Prescott in third.
Nick Copping took the lead from the pole position in feature one for the Road Warriors after the division’s off-week for rest and repairs. While the field serpentined around the Barre highbanks behind him, a gaggle of seven veteran racers fought for second behind him. In the end, Nick Copping took down his first career Road Warrior victory followed by fellow veterans Jason Kirby and Nate Brien.
Jaiden Del Toro brought the Road Warriors down for their second event and the final feature of the Superstars of Thunder Road Double Feature Night program. Del Toro showed the way until lap eight with Neal Foster rounding the young-gun just in time for the first caution for a lost wheel. Foster would regain the lead under the return to green with a rear-view mirror full of Nate “Tater” Brien and Tyler Wheatley. Tater jumped into the lead on lap 15 and never looked back, Brien taking down the win over Foster and Wheatley.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (local competitors)
Late Models – Feature No. 1 (50 Laps)
16. 86VT, Marcel J. Gravel, Wolcott
21. 01VT, Stephen Martin, Craftsbury Common
Feature No. 2 (50 Laps)
4. 86VT, Marcel J. Gravel, Wolcott
19. 01VT, Stephen Martin, Craftsbury Common
Flying Tigers – Feature No. 1 (40 Laps)
3. 15NH, Brendan Moodie, Wolcott
18. 22VT, Travis Patnoe, Wolcott
Feature No. 2 (40 Laps)
11. 15NH, Brendan Moodie, Wolcott
17. 22VT, Travis Patnoe, Wolcott
Street Stocks – Feature No. 1 (25 Laps)
15. 18, Walker Fitch, Marshfield
18. 34, Patrick Tibbetts, Plainfield
Feature No. 2 (25 Laps)
1. 32, Kylee Potter, Marshfield
6. 34, Patrick Tibbetts, Plainfield
22. 18, Walker Fitch, Marshfield
Road Warriors – Feature #1 (20 Laps)
18. 18, Cayden Green, Marshfield
