Stock car drivers Craig Bushey and Jason Corliss celebrated their first track championships at Barre’s Thunder Road on Sunday, as part of the 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event.  Bushey, of Cambridge, earned the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division title by just 13 points over Joey Laquerre, while Plainfield racer Corliss clinched the Allen Lumber Street Stock championship by an even-narrower 1 point over Lloyd Blakely.

Bushey’s 14th-place finish in the 30-lap Chittenden Bank finale was enough to secure the Sportsman crown, despite Laquerre’s strong fifth-place run.  Unofficially, the margin of victory was 978-965 points.

Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott took his second victory of the season, with Bradford’s Derrick O’Donnell second and Thetford Center rookie Dan Eastman third.  Ricky Roberts of Websterville finished fourth ahead of Laquerre.  Rookie Cody Blake finished sixth, unofficially, with Joel Hodgdon, Alex Perkins, Eric Badore, and rookie Chris Lacey completing the top ten finishers in order.

Corliss pulled out a surprise championship run in the Street Stock class.  Blakely entered the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event with a nine-point lead over Corliss and Greg Adams, Jr., who were tied in second.  After qualifying heats, Blakely stretched his advantage to 11 over both drivers, but a 10th-place result in the 25-lap main event left him one point shy of Corliss, who finished fourth in the race and beat Blakely 1035 points to 1034.  Adams took ninth place in the race and in the standings with 1025.

Donat Premont of Marshfield earned the Street Stock victory to cap off a late-season comeback.  Premont, the 1999 Street Stock champion, had taken several seasons off before re-joining the class in August.  Garry Bashaw of Lincoln finished second ahead of Randolph Center’s Markus Farnham in a career-best third place.  Corliss beat rookie Bunker Hodgdon to the line for fourth place. 

Mike Martin, Patrick Underwood, rookie David Whitcomb, Adams, and Blakely completed the unofficial top ten.

Patrick Laperle of Montreal won a dramatic Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl for the American-Canadian Tour Championship Late Models, himself clinching the series championship by just one point over Milton driver Scott Payea.  Laperle beat Thunder Road Champion Eric Williams by two points in the three-segment, cumulatively scored race.  Laperle posted finishes of first, 11th, and eighth in the three 50-lap segments for a total low score of 20 points.  Williams placed ninth, sixth, and seventh for a total score of 22 points.  Ryan Nolin of Georgia, Dennis Demers of Shelburne, and Chip Grenier of Graniteville completed the unofficial top five finishers.

Travis Hull of Graniteville won the Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior division championship on Saturday over Wolcott’s Jamie Davis.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.  For more information on the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl, visit www.acttour.com.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT Sunday, September 28, 2008

(# - denotes rookie)

Pos.-Driver-Hometown

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (30 laps)

1.    Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott

2.    Derrick O’Donnell, Bradford

3.    # Dan Eastman, Thetford Center

4.    Ricky Roberts, Websterville

5.    Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier

6.    # Cody Blake, Barre

7.    Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury

8.    Alex Perkins, Barre

9.    Eric Badore, Georgia

10.   # Chris Lacey, Burlington

Allen Lumber Street Stock (25 laps)

1.    Donat Premont, Marshfield

2.    Garry Bashaw, Lincoln

3.    Markus Farnham, Randolph Center

4.    Jason Corliss, Plainfield

5.    # Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick

6.    Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common

7.    Patrick Underwood, Johnson

8.    # David Whitcomb, Elmore

9.    Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick

10.   Lloyd Blakely, Graniteville

American-Canadian Tour 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl

Pos.-Driver-Hometown-(Segment Tally/Total Points)

1.    Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, QC (1+11+8=20)

2.    Eric Williams, Hyde Park, VT (9+6+7=22)

3.    Ryan Nolin, Georgia, VT (3+20+1=24)

4.    Dennis Demers, Shelburne, VT (6+16+6=28)

5.    Chip Grenier, Graniteville, VT (11+9+9=29)

6.    Scott Payea, Milton, VT (7+10+13=30)

7.    Robbie Crouch, Tampa, FL (8+13+10=31)

8.    Quinny Welch, Lancaster, NH (13+3+17=33)

9.    # Nick Sweet, Barre, VT (19+4+11=34)

10.   Brian Hoar, Williston, VT (5+15+14=34)

Stock car driver Travis Hull of Graniteville won the 2008 Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior division track championship at Barre’s Thunder Road on Saturday afternoon.  Hull finished third in the division’s 15-lap Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl finale on Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day, enough to secure the season crown over Wolcott’s Jamie Davis by 28 points, 1416-1388.

Mike “Biffer” Gay of South Burlington grabbed his second feature win of the year after a last-lap pass of leader Jeff Martin, Jr.  Martin, of Moretown beat Hull to the finish line for second place.  Mark LaFleche of Graniteville finished fourth over Davis.  Josh Vilbrin, Del Jarvis, Fred Schroeder, Kevin Dodge, and Donny Yates completed the unofficial top ten finish in order.

Nineteen year-old American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model driver Joey “Pole” Polewraczyk, Jr. of Hudson, NH earned the $1,000 Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole Award for Sunday’s 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl with best single-lap time of 13.165 seconds around the Thunder Road 1/4-mile.  Polewarczyk will start Segment 1 of the Milk Bowl on the front row alongside Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton.  Craig Bushey of Cambridge, Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH, and Brian Hoar of Williston complete the top five starters for the Milk Bowl.

Pete Fecteau, Gene Welch, Jr., and Justin Gay all walked away uninjured from rollover crashes on Saturday.  Fecteau, of Morrisville, rolled his Late Model over after spinning off Turn 2 on his time trial qualifying lap.  Welch crashed hard in NAPA Tiger Sportsman qualifying, while Gay set an unofficial Thunder Road record by flipping two different cars in the Allen Lumber Street Stock and Power Shift Warrior classes less than ten minutes apart.

The Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl is a three-segment, cumulatively scored race that awards points in each 50-lap segment – 1 for first, 2 for second, etc.  The finish of each segment is inverted to begin the next, and the driver with the lowest three- round total score is the overall winner.  Top prize is $10,000 and a kiss of the beauty queen – a Vermont dairy cow!  The Milk Bowl is 12th and final round of the American-Canadian Tour Championship; Payea leads Laperle by just 19 points for the title. 

Thunder Road’s Sportsman and Street Stock championships will also be decided on Sunday.  Bushey leads the Sportsman standings, while Lloyd Blakely leads the Street Stocks.

General admission is $25 for adults and $5 for children 6-12.  Gates open at 10:00am, with the last-chance “B” Feature qualifying race set to begin at 1:00pm, followed by pre-race ceremonies for the 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com or www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.

Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl starting lineup (first 22 of 28 starting positions)

Row  Pos      #   Driver/Hometown               Sponsor/Car      

  1       1 97NH  Joey Polewarczyk, Jr./Hudson, NH    Pole’s Automotive/NHPrecision.com Chevrolet

           2      32    Jean-Paul Cyr/Milton, VT            Ehler’s RV/RPM Racing Engines Chevrolet

  2       3 05    Craig Bushey/Cambridge, VT          Vermont Life Safety Dodge

           4      55NH  Brad Leighton/Center Harbor, NH     Irving Oil/Subway Ford

  3       5 45    Brian Hoar/Williston, VT                  Burnett Scrap Metals/Goss Dodge Dodge

           6      78    Ryan Nolin/Georgia, VT              Mountain Air Systems/Champ 101.3 Chevrolet

  4       7 91    Patrick Laperle/St-Denis, QC        Systemes Interieurs Descoste Chevrolet

           8      89    Scott Payea/Milton, VT              Ouellette Plumbing & Heating/Leahy Press Ford

  5       9 55VT  Brent Dragon/Milton, VT             Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT Chevrolet

         10 85VT  Trampas Demers/S. Burlington, VT    Jiffy Mart Chevrolet

  6     11    6   Cris Michaud/Northfield, VT         Merchants Bank/Burrell Roofing Ford

         12 26    John Donahue/Graniteville, VT       National Guard Ford

  7     13  48VT  Robbie Crouch/Tampa, FL       Shearer Chevrolet/Pete’s RV Chevrolet

         14 86    Dennis Demers/Shelburne, VT         Shelburne Limestone Corp. Chevrolet

  8     15  22VT  Gary Caron/Colchester, VT           VT Wholesale Lumber Chevrolet

         16 15VT  Joey Laquerre/E. Montpelier, VT           Domino’s Pizza/Laquerre’s Marine Pontiac

  9     17    9VT Chip Grenier/Graniteville, VT       Douglas for Governor/Streeter Concrete Ford

         18 02NH  Randy Potter/Groveton, NH           P&R Excavating/Caron’s Stove Shop Chevrolet

10     19   25    Dave Whitcomb/Essex Jct., VT        Ferguson Waterworks/SunRay Security Chevrolet

         20   7VT Eric Williams/Hyde Park, VT         Unicel/Ward’s Systems Chevrolet

11     21     1VT Tony Andrews/Middlebury, VT         E.A. Grandfield/Hallstrom Excavating Chevrolet

         22 76    Quinny Welch/Lancaster, NH          Mulleavey Electric Dodge

American-Canadian Tour Late Model stock car racing champion Brian Hoar will return to the driver’s seat at Thunder Road’s 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl on Sat./Sun., Sept. 27/28.  Hoar, 36, has been idle since the end of the 2007 season, a year in which the Williston, VT racer finished sixth in his first full season back on the ACT Late Model Tour following his fifth series championship in 2000.  He previously raced in the series now known as NASCAR Camping World East.

“I’m headed to a track in New Hampshire to test the car and knock the rust off the driver,” said Hoar.  “We’ll be in great shape on Milk Bowl weekend.  It’s been a long time since I’ve kissed a cow, and I’d love to do it again,” he said, referencing to the event’s long-standing tradition of the winning driver smooching a Vermont dairy cow in victory lane.  Hoar won the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl in 1998 and 1999, one of only two drivers in history to win in successive years.  Burnett Scrap Metals and Goss Dodge will underwrite Hoar’s return.

The Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl is the ultimate sprint race: a three-segment, cumulatively scored event paying a total of more than $60,000, including $10,000 to the winner.  Points are awarded in each segment – 1 point to the winner, 2 points for second, etc. – with the finish of each 50-lap segment inverted to start the next, leaving, for example, the winner of Segment 1 to start last (28th) in Segment 2.  The driver with the lowest three-segment total is named the overall winner.  Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Time Trials and “Triple 50” qualifying races determine the starting order of Segment 1 on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Hoar won the Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole Award in Milk Bowl qualifying each year from 1997 to 2000, years in which he also won the ACT Late Model Tour championship.  His total low score of four points to win the 1998 edition of the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl was the second-lowest in history.  Hoar is also a former track champion at Thunder Road, Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY, and the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH.

Hoar will challenge ACT Late Model Tour championship leaders Scott Payea of Milton, VT and Patrick Laperle of Montréal for the victory.  Payea leads Laperle by just 19 points entering the Milk Bowl finale.  Laperle is the defending Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl winner.  Other stars expected for the race include Thunder Road track champion Eric Williams, Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 winner Brad Leighton, and former Milk Bowl winners Jean-Paul Cyr, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, and Dave Pembroke.

Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day begins at 1:30pm on Saturday, Sept. 27.  The last-chance “B” Feature qualifier will kick off Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl Sunday on Sept. 28 at 1:30pm.  Two-day general admission is just $25 for adults and $5 for children 6-12. Gates open at 10:00am on both days.  For more information, call (802)244-6963 or visit http://www.acttour.com/ or http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/