BARRE – The New England Auto Racers (NEAR) brought their cars of the past to the Thunder Road on Thursday. Opting to run all the old-time machines together for one fifteen-lap feature, former Flying Tiger pilot Mike Rollins took the Sportsman checkers with his No. 29 Dave Dion machine while Palmer, Massachusetts-native Dennis Desantels took the top Modified honors.
The Street Stocks kicked off feature racing for the evening with Patrick Tibbetts and Donat Premont leading the show. A series of on-track mishaps for the crunch bunch slowed things down enough for Kyle MacAskill and Nate Brien to assume the front row by lap 11. Miraculously the remainder of the 30-lap event went green to the very end, even as top-five point chaser Hayden Bushey did two bouts of agricultural racing through the infield turns. Kyle MacAskill took down his first win of the season on the night followed across the line by Nate Brien and Patrick Tibbetts.
photo by Alan Ward
Next-generation drivers Brandon Lanphear and Stephen Donahue brought the Late Models to the green flag for their 65-lap feature. The two battled doorhandle-to-doorhandle throughout the opening laps before Justin Prescott made some moves on lap 22 to bring out a pile-up caution in turn three, ending the night for several cars. Back under green, Chris Pelkey brought his No. 64VT machine to the front and put on a spirited battle with Marcel Gravel to the very end. Pelkey took the checkers by 0.205-seconds over Gravel with Stephen Martin taking third.
photo by Alan Ward
Eric Chase and Travis Patnoe started the Flying Tigers with a spirited run at the front as Mike MacAskill sat hungry for more in third. A turn three dust-up on lap eight proved to be the lone wreck of the night with Chase and MacAskill fighting side-by-side throughout the entire event. Sophomore racer Karsen Murphy made his way to the floor and made it a three-way dance out front, eventually shooting under the pair of them and running away with career win number one on the Barre highbanks. Robert Gordon used Chase’s backslide to his advantage to capture second while Jason Pelkey followed the leader to third.
Attrition in the Street Stock main whittled twelve eligible drivers down to just four starters for the Marvin Johnson Memorial Non-Winners Race. Paige Whittemore and Jefferson Garvey made it an entertaining run with the two side-by-side throughout the event. Owen Dupuis made it a spirited three-way battle but ultimately Jefferson Garvey took down win number one.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
(local competitors)
Late Models – (65 Laps)
2. 86VT, Marcel J. Gravel, Wolcott
3. 01VT, Stephen Martin, Craftsbury Common
Flying Tigers – (50 Laps)
5. 94VT, Brendan Moodie, Wolcott
17. 22VT, Travis Patnoe, Wolcott
18. 5VT, Kyle Gravel, Wolcott
Street Stocks – (30 Laps)
3. 34VT, Patrick Tibbetts, Plainfield
26. 18VT, Walker Fitch, Marshfield
