BARRE – The first dry Enduro 200 in two years graced the fans and drivers at Thunder Road on Sunday afternoon. Twenty-nine Street Stocks piled in for the annual Street Stock Special 50 lapper, round No. 2 in the Triple Crown while 103 Enduro cars from across New England traveled up for the 41st annual People’s Race.
Trouble struck in practice for championship hopeful Jamie Davis with engine problems before he hopped aboard the newly re-numbered Tyler Whittemore ride for the day. T.J. Haggett, Kylee Potter and Jason Kirby took home heat race wins prior to the 50-lap main event. Under the green flag, rookie Haggett stayed confidently in the lead as Potter and Mike Gay fought door-to-door for second. In the meantime, Thursday’s winner Dean Switser Jr. made short work of the field and led the race following the turn one pileup that included Fred Fleury, Hayden Bushey, Walker Fitch and others.
Switser made the rest look like child’s play even as Kyle MacAskill stayed glued to his rear bumper. Even while piling on the pressure from behind, Switser never faltered to take the 50-lap Special with MacAskill and the Biffer rounding out the top three. In post-race technical inspection, both the top three finishers and the top three point leaders were subject to a deep dive. Nate Brien was disqualified after a rough 50 lapper for unapproved suspension with his shocks not the same side-to-side.
The Enduro 200 was everything all of Vermont’s race fans look forward to each and every August with over 100 cars filing into the Thunder Road pits for the ultimate test of man and machine. E. Thetford’s Brandon Gray was the class of the field from the drop of the green flag, even as Dominic Bassett, Nick Dublois and Mike MacAskill stayed close on laps in the first hundred laps. Fellow former victor Richie Turner crept into the top five picture by the halfway point with both Turner and Gray running the same lap by the 120th circuit.
The battle intensified as the fight continued until Turner was forced pitside after completing 184 laps and never returned. Brandon Gray marched on for his second Enduro 200 triumph with closest competitor, Orange’s Alex Lemieux, eight laps down.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (local competitors)
Street Stocks – Triple Crown No. 1 (25 Laps)
9. 32, Kylee Potter, Marshfield
10. 34, Patrick Tibbetts, Plainfield
24 18x, Walker Fitch, Marshfield
41s annual Enduro 200
10. 58, Thomas Boland Jr., N. Wolcott, 182
