Alan Ward photo
Barre, VT – Hometown racer Jason Allen captured his first career Thunder Road Late Model win in the WDEV/Calkins Portable Toilets Trophy Dash on Thursday, July 30.
Allen got around the outside of polesitter Matt White to take the lead on lap 28 of the 50-lap event and drove away for the victory. It was the first top-10 finish of 2015 for the sophomore driver after a tough first half of the season.
“We had to make it work,” Allen said of the winning pass. “I knew we had a decent car from the semi-feature; I just overdrove it. So I put that in the back of my mind. The car kept getting better as the run went on, and when (Josh Demers) jumped to the outside behind us and was making it work, it was the point where we had to go or not.
“This means the world,” he added. “This feels like Daytona to me. It’s for the team and the guys who’ve put it all the work. We’re old school; we work on the car at night after our full-time jobs, and that’s what makes it so special.”
Allen was running third when the race’s only caution came out on lap 11 for point leader Derrick O’Donnell’s slide off of turn 1. He got underneath Josh Demers on the restart and began to pressure White for the top spot. Demers – who was going for the Triple Crown after winning his heat and the semi-feature – slid back as far as fifth in the outside line, but began to move back up near the halfway point, prompting Allen’s winning move.
Fellow Barre driver Jason Corliss made a late charge on the outside groove to finish second, while Demers nipped White at the line for third. Brett Gervais, Trampas Demers, Cody Blake, Kyle Pembroke, Nick Sweet, and Eric Badore rounded out the top-10. O’Donnell finished 14th but unofficially maintains a 19-point edge over Sweet.
Defending Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman Champion and current point leader Jason Woodard earned his first career win in the two-segment feature. Waterbury Ctr.’s Woodard finished fourth in the first 20-lap segment, then sliced through the field for another fourth-place result in segment 2. His eight-point total then won a tiebreaker with Dylan Payea.
Rookie Stephen Donahue rounded out the podium. Segment 1 winner Mike Billado and Cameron Ouellette completed the top-five. Christopher Pelkey, Mike Martin, Segment 2 winner Brendan Moodie, Derek Barker, and Joe Steffen finished sixth through 10th.
- Montpelier’s Donny Yates grabbed his second win of the season in the 25-lap Allen Lumber Street Stock feature. Yates took the lead on the restart following the race’s only caution on lap 1, then held off a fast-closing Will Hennequin for the victory.
Tyler Austin finished third, followed by Jamie Davis and Bunker Hodgdon. Chris LaForest, Marcel J. Gravel, Matthew Smith, Alan Maynard, and Jaden Perry also earned top-10 finishes.
Derrick O’Donnell and his Mascitti Bros. Racing team won the Port-A-Potty Grand Prix, with Jaden Perry winning the Golden Plunger for best-appearing entry.
One of the most popular Thunder Road events of the year is up next with the 31st M&M Beverage Enduro 200 on Sunday, August 2 along with the Perry & Son Allen Lumber Street Stock 50-Lap Special. Post time is 6:00pm with the front gates opening at 3:00pm. Admission is $15 for adults and free for kids 12 and under.
For more information contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
WDEV/CALKINS NIGHT
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
THUNDER ROAD LATE MODELS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- Jason Allen ( 29VT ) Barre, VT
- Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) Barre, VT
- Josh Demers ( 10VT ) Montpelier, VT
- Matt White ( 42VT ) Northfield, VT
- Brett Gervais ( 11NH ) Island Pond, VT
- Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) S. Burlington, VT
- Cody Blake ( 99VT ) Barre, VT
- Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) Montpelier, VT
- Nick Sweet ( 88VT ) Barre, VT
- Eric Badore ( 4VT ) Milton, VT
- Shawn Fleury ( 1VT ) Middlesex, VT
- Mike Bailey ( 00VT ) S. Barre, VT
- John Donahue ( 26VT ) Graniteville, VT
- Derrick O’Donnell ( 60VT ) N. Haverhill, NH
- Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) Milton, VT
- Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) Barre, VT
- Phil Scott ( 14VT ) Middlesex, VT
- #Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) Barre, VT
- David Whitcomb ( 25VT ) Essex Jct., VT
- Eric Chase ( 40VT ) Milton, VT
- Ricky Roberts ( 3VT ) E. Barre, VT
- Arthur Heino Jr. ( 07ME ) Newport, NH
- Mark Norris ( 22ME ) Benson, VT
- Mike Foster ( 18NY ) Barre, VT
- #Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) Westford, VT
BOND AUTO TIGER SPORTSMEN
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Score
- Jason Woodard ( 68 ) Waterbury Ctr., VT, 8 points
- Dylan Payea ( 7 ) Milton, VT, 8 points
- Stephen Donahue ( 26 ) Graniteville, VT, 9 points
- Mike Billado ( 8 ) Essex, VT, 9 points
- Cameron Ouellette ( 90 ) Barre, VT, 10 points
- Christopher Pelkey ( 64 ) S. Barre, VT, 10 points
- Mike Martin ( 01 ) Craftsbury, VT, 10 points
- Brendan Moodie ( 94 ) Wolcott, VT, 11 points
- #Derek Barker ( 15 ) Post Mills, VT, 16 points
- Joe Steffen ( 00 ) Grand Isle, VT, 19 points
- Doug Crowningshield ( 14 ) Barre, VT, 22 points
- Brian Delphia ( 27 ) Duxbury, VT, 24 points
- Tommy Smith ( 50 ) Williamstown, VT, 26 points
ALLEN LUMBER STREET STOCKS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
- Donny Yates ( 05 ) N. Montpelier, VT
- Will Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT
- Tyler Austin ( 5 ) E. Calais, VT
- Jamie Davis ( 43 ) Wolcott, VT
- Bunker Hodgdon ( 83 ) Hardwick, VT
- #Chris LaForest ( 56 ) Barre, VT
- Marcel J. Gravel ( 86 ) Wolcott, VT
- #Matthew Smith ( 04 ) Essex Jct., VT
- Alan Maynard ( 10 ) Fairfax, VT
- Jaden Perry ( 92 ) Hardwick, VT
- Gary Mullen ( 29 ) Tunbridge, VT
- Kyle Streeter ( 37 ) Waitsfield, VT
- Jamon Perry ( 62 ) Hardwick, VT
- Richard Gravel ( 68 ) Wolcott, VT
- Ken Stridsberg ( 6 ) Berlin, VT
- Patrick Tibbetts ( 48 ) Barre, VT
- Thomas Merchant ( 38 ) Eden Mills, VT
- Kelly Miller Jr. ( 0 ) Johnson, VT
- Kyle Gravel ( 98 ) Wolcott, VT
- #Reilly Lanphear ( 21 ) Duxbury, VT
- Jennifer Getty ( 25 ) Cambridge, VT
DNS Kevin Streeter ( 67 ) Waitsfield, VT