Courtesy Thunder Road

Barre –– Plainfield, NH’s Rich Dubeau hit racing’s equivalent of a grand slam with a dominating victory in the 41st Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic 200 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Saturday, September 14. Dubeau got the jump over hometown racer Nick Sweet on a lap-48 restart and never gave the lead up en route to his second victory of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) season.

The win was also Dubeau’s first ever at Thunder Road, making him the 100th different Late Model winner in track history. When coupled with troubles for both Jimmy Hebert and Scott Payea, Dubeau’s closest challengers in the title chase, the result helped Dubeau put a virtual hammerlock on the 2019 ACT championship.

Dubeau started 11th on the grid and slowly picked his way through the pack as Fayston, VT’s Brooks Clark set the early pace. Clark, this year’s Vermont Governor’s Cup winner, took the lead from polesitter Josh Masterson on lap seven and pulled away in the early going.

While the first caution on lap 15 was for a minor spin, the second caution on lap 29 changed everything in the ACT title picture. Colchester, VT’s Payea made heavy contact with Danville, VT’s Tyler Cahoon while racing in the middle of the pack, and Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert had nowhere to go in the aftermath. Both contenders sustained heavy damage, and while they eventually returned to the track, they were no longer factors in the final outcome.

Following another caution six laps later, when Wolcott, VT’s Brendan Moodie spun and Barre, VT’s Cody Blake climbed the turn-three wall in the aftermath, Sweet and Dubeau entered the picture. Sweet got around Clark for the lead on lap 43 while Dubeau followed him two laps later on the fourth restart. When the fifth caution flew on lap 48 for debris, Dubeau lined up outside of Sweet – and to the surprise of nearly everyone, it was Dubeau getting the break over the four-time Labor Day Classic winner.

Dubeau eventually pulled away from Sweet and Clark as the next 103 laps went clean and green. The sixth and final caution flew on lap 151 when Christopher Pelkey and Reilly Lanphear crashed in front of Dubeau – who was miraculously able to avoid the carnage. Sweet and Jason Corliss gave up their top-five positions to pit for fresh right-side tires under the yellow, but Dubeau, Clark, and reigning “King of the Road” Scott Dragon elected to stay out.

Milton, VT’s Dragon eventually got underneath Clark for second with 36 laps remaining. But by then, Dubeau was already long gone. The fifth-year ACT competitor was the fastest car on the track down the stretch and expertly worked his way through traffic for a statement win.

Dragon finished second with Clark in third. Montpelier, VT’s Kyle Pembroke finished fourth while Barre, VT’s Corliss could only work his way back up to fifth. Chip Grenier, Cahoon, Matt White, Sweet, and Masterson rounded out the top-10.

Craftsbury, VT’s Mike Martin helped salvage what had been a miserable season by taking his ninth career Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger victory. Martin started fifth in the 50-lap feature and came out on top of a furious multi-car battle for second on the track that spanned most of the event. Meanwhile, Grand Isle, VT’s Joe Steffen appeared to have taken the victory by more than a quarter-track over Martin.

However, Steffen was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for a rear-end infraction. The violation handed the win to Martin with Hinesburg, VT’s Cooper Bouchard and Middlesex, VT’s Logan Powers inheriting the second and third spots. Jason Woodard, Sam Caron, Danny Doyle, Robert Gordon, Tyler Austin, Jason Pelkey, and Matthew Potter completed the top-10. Woodard also put a near-lock on a championship after the car of his closest challenger Stephen Martin shut down mid-race and would not re-fire.

Middlesex, VT’s Haidyn Pearce made his first career Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior win count by taking the victory in the inaugural $500-to-win Road Warrior Challenge. The third-generation racer went pole-to-pole in the 50-lap feature but had to hold off the division’s best in order to claim the top spot. Sean McCarthy, Dan Garrett, James Dopp, Frank Putney, and others all took their shot at the win, but none were able to get past Pearce.

Graniteville, VT’s Putney ended up second with Northfield, VT’s Dopp third. Josh Vilbrin, Chris Davis, Luke Marcheski, Brian Putney, Fred Fleury, Garrett, and Tyler Whittemore also earned top-10 finishes.

Thunder Road wraps up the regular season Sunday, September 22 at 1:30pm with Barre Granite Association Championship Day. The card features “Twin 60s” for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models and Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers plus “Twin 30s” for the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrriors. All division champions will be crowned that day, including the 2019 “King of the Road”. Admission is just $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, and $25 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).

The ACT Late Model Tour concludes its point-counting season at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway on Saturday, October 12 at 2:20pm. The World Series 75 is part of the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing with 20 divisions and touring series on the card over a three-day span. A three-day general admission pass is $55 for adults, $50 for seniors/veterans/active military, and free for kids ages 12 and under.

For more information, contact the ACT/Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.acttour.com or www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour or @ThunderRoadVT.

41ST COCA-COLA LABOR DAY CLASSIC
THUNDER ROAD SPEEDBOWL
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. ( 11 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Plainfield, NH , 200 Laps
2. ( 21 ) Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) , Milton, VT , 200 Laps
3. ( 3 ) Brooks Clark ( 68VT ) , Waitsfield, VT , 200 Laps
4. ( 20 ) Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) , Montpelier, VT , 200 Laps
5. ( 10 ) Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) , Barre, VT , 200 Laps
6. ( 13 ) Chip Grenier ( 9VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 200 Laps
7. ( 7 ) Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) , Danville, VT , 200 Laps
8. ( 23 ) Matt White ( 42VT ) , Northfield, VT , 200 Laps
9. ( 15 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 200 Laps
10. ( 1 ) Josh Masterson ( 11VT ) , Bristol, VT , 199 Laps
11. ( 22 ) Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 199 Laps
12. ( 2 ) Brendan Moodie ( 94VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 199 Laps
13. ( 9 ) #Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E. Bridgewater, MA , 199 Laps
14. ( 4 ) Bobby Therrien ( 04VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 198 Laps
15. ( 14 ) Mathieu Kingsbury ( 9QC ) , Blainville, QC , 198 Laps
16. ( 24 ) Peyton Lanphear ( 22VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 197 Laps
17. ( 28 ) Reilly Lanphear ( 21VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 196 Laps
18. ( 17 ) #Trent Goodrow ( 31MA ) , Carver, MA , 195 Laps
19. ( 12 ) Scott Payea ( 37VT ) , Colchester, VT , 193 Laps
20. ( 19 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 185 Laps
21. ( 6 ) #Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 181 Laps
22. ( 18 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 150 Laps
23. ( 16 ) Joel Hodgdon ( 36VT ) , Craftsbury Common, VT , 114 Laps
24. ( 25 ) Ricky Roberts ( 3VT ) , Washington, VT , 68 Laps
25. ( 27 ) Claude Leclerc ( 11QC ) , Lanoraie, QC , 47 Laps
26. ( 8 ) Dylan Payea ( 7NH ) , Milton, VT , 45 Laps
27. ( 5 ) Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) , Westford, VT , 41 Laps
28. ( 26 ) Cody Blake ( 99VT ) , Barre, VT , 36 Laps
Lap Leaders: Josh Masterson, pole; Brendan Moodie, 1; Masterson, 2-6; Brooks Clark, 7-42; Nick Sweet, 43-48; Rich Dubeau, 49-200. (5 lead changes among 5 drivers)
Time of Race: 1:30:48 Margin of Victory: 1.933 seconds
Cautions: 6 (laps 15, 29, 35 [red], 45, 48, 151)
Heat Winners: Tyler Cahoon, Dylan Payea, Ryan Kuhn
Consi Winners: Kyle Pembroke, Jason Corliss

LENNY’S SHOE & APPAREL FLYING TIGERS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Michael Martin ( 01VT ) Craftsbury Common, VT
2. Cooper Bouchard ( 7VT ) Hinesburg, VT
3. #Logan Powers ( 31VT ) Middlesex, VT
4. Jason Woodard ( 68VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
5. Sam Caron ( 07VT ) Milton, VT
6. Danny Doyle ( 51VT ) Chelsea, VT
7. Robert Gordon ( 20VT ) Milton, VT
8. Tyler Austin ( 5VT ) East Calias, VT
9. Jason Pelkey ( 64VT ) Barre, VT
10. Matthew Potter ( 23VT ) Marshfield, VT
11. Kevin Streeter ( 67VT ) Waitsfield, VT
12. Brandon Lanphear ( 11VT ) Morrisville, VT
13. Kelsea Woodard ( 55VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
14. Kyle Streeter ( 37VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
15. Micheal MacAskill ( 33VT ) Williamstown, VT
16. Adam Maynard ( 57VT ) Milton, VT
17. Brett Wood ( 29VT ) Georgia, VT
18. Shawn Fleury ( 31ME ) Middlesex, VT
19. Eric Messier ( 3VT ) Hinesburg, VT
20. Mike Billado ( 8VT ) Grand Isle, VT
21. Burton Spooner III ( 4VT ) E. Montpelier, VT
22. Colin Cornell ( 54VT ) E. Burke, VT
23. Michael Potter ( 23NH ) Plainfield, VT
24. Bunker Hodgdon ( 83VT ) Wolcott, VT
25. Chris Chambers ( 14VT ) Brookfield, VT
26. Tommy Smith ( 22VT ) Williamstown, VT
27. Sid Sweet Jr. ( 93VT ) Williamstown, VT
28. #Stephen Martin ( 9VT ) Craftsbury Common, VT
29. Brian Delphia ( 25VT ) Duxbury, VT
DSQ Joe Steffen ( 00VT ) Grand Isle, VT

BURNETT SCRAP METALS ROAD WARRIOS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Haidyn Pearce ( 4 ) Middlesex, VT
2. Frank Putney ( 78 ) Graniteville, VT
3. James Dopp ( 0 ) Northfield, VT
4. Josh Vilbrin ( 07 ) Northfield, VT
5. Chris Davis ( 69 ) Berlin, VT
6. Luke Marcheski ( 40 ) Boston, MA
7. Brian Putney ( 87 ) E. Corinth, VT
8. Fred Fleury ( 99 ) Graniteville, VT
9. Dan Garrett Jr. ( 54 ) Berlin, VT
10. Tyler Whittemore ( 74 ) Graniteville, VT
11. Mike Mitchell ( 1 ) Essex Jct., VT
12. Sean McCarthy ( 86 ) Williamstown, VT
13. Paige Whittemore ( 47 ) Graniteville, VT
14. Steve Reno ( 04 ) Barre, VT
15. Cory Gilliander ( 43 ) South Barre, VT
16. Brittany Lamprow ( 00 ) 0
17. Tom Blaney ( 23 ) Craftsbury, VT
18. Trevor Jaques ( 57 ) Milton, VT
19. Jason Kirby ( 71 ) Milton, VT
20. Eric Chase ( 13 ) Berlin, VT
21. Tony Gravel ( 29 ) Irsaburg, VT
22. Anthony Campbell ( 14 ) Berlin, VT
23. Jackie Bora ( 67 ) Colchester, VT
24. Terry Pearce Jr. ( 6 ) Middlesex, VT
25. Kyler Davis ( 68 ) Berlin, VT
26. Todd Raymo ( 26 ) Swanton, VT