BARRE – Following qualifying events for the five divisions present for the Labor Day Classic, the Flying Tigers started off feature racing action with Ty Delphia and Adam Maynard leading the charge. The side-by-side duo battled hard at the head of the pack with Maynard getting the ultimate edge to lead the field as Luke Peters and Cooper French battled hard in third. Brendan Moodie and Logan Powers in their tails sent renewed urgency to French and Peters as the battle continued to get physical. The veterans would go on to school the young-guns with Adam Maynard collecting the holiday weekend win followed by Moodie and Powers at the line.
In the Labor Day Classic Victory Lane were (from left) Erick Sands (3rd), winner Scott Dragon and D.J. Shaw (2nd).
The Pro-4 Modified return to Thunder Road got off to a poor start for Bradley Osgood with a junked right front off the Widowmaker front stretch wall while Northfield’s Ben Ashford paced the field. Kurt Lester quickly got the better of Ashford with a rear-view mirror of point leader Rob Richardi Jr. Richardi would take the restart lead after an underpowered Craig Philips stopped on the front straightaway but Lester remained tight to his rear bumper lap after lap. Richardi Jr. took down the win with Brandon Lavoie and Ashford joining the podium after a mid-race spin and save cost Kurt Lester a chance at the top-three.
Twenty-eight Street Stocks were on hand Sunday with Scott Weston and Mike Gay at the head of the field. Weston kept pace on the inside groove with Gay, working the outside groove before a lap-seven melee saw Paige Whittemore get the most of it, backing up hard into the turn one tire barrier and ending her day early. With the restart, Juan Marshall joined the fray but also struggled on the outside groove and yielded to Weston. Championship hopefuls Trevor Jaques and Ryan Foster tangled on the backstretch on lap-17 but Foster remained rolling and Jaques sat safely on the infield to keep the race green. Weston kept it rolling on the bottom to claim career win number four followed by Gay in second and Marshall in third.
Scott Dragon (0VT) fights for the lead outside D.J. Shaw (04VT) in the Labor Day Classic at Thunder Road on Sunday.
Leading Late Model driver Kaiden Fisher brought the American-Canadian Tour Labor Day Classic to green as the pole sitter but quickly found himself mired, spinning in turn four before the completed lap and on the tail end of the field. While Derry, N.H.’s Erick Sands found himself in the top spot on the restart, Thunder Road’s Marcel Gravel and Scott Dragon quickly took the point to lead the field. Dragon motored around Gravel to lead lap 20 with Gravel content to follow the two-time King of the Road in the opening circuits.
The two local hot-shoes kept things interesting up front until D.J. Shaw made his presence known after the lap 47 caution for the stalled Peyton Lanphear in turn three. The local Late Model warriors made their presence known against the ACT Touring stars before rains called out the final caution on lap 118. A bleak radar pushed officials to end the Labor Day Classic with an official finish giving Scott Dragon his first career Labor Day Classic victory to join father Bobby on the Granite Monument.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
(local competitors)
American-Canadian Tour
Labor Day Classic (200 Laps)
4. 86VT, Marcel J. Gravel, Wolcott
Flying Tigers – (40 Laps)
2. 15NH, Brendan Moodie, Wolcott
16. 01VT, Michael Martin, Craftsbury Common
18. 22VT, Travis Patnoe, Wolcott
Street Stocks – (25 Laps)
4. 18, #Walker Fitch, Marshfield
22. 32, #Kylee Potter, Marshfield
24. 34, Patrick Tibbetts, Plainfield
