Donahue grabs Tiger overall win; Bashaw steals Street Stock win

–by T.J. Ingerson (@TJIngerson)
VMM Editor

BARRE – Eric Badore was both lucky and good on Thursday night at Thunder Road.

The Milton driver benefitted from a late race caution flag that put him next to race leader Tyler Cahoon and made the pass on the restart to claim the win.

The win for Badore was his second of the year and the third of his Late Model career.

“It’s huge, especially not that it is with my family,” Badore said. “This definitely means a lot to us. We’re working out of our own shop – me and my dad (Arny Hill), and Cliff Owens, who’s been with me through my whole career, Brittany Tessier.

“It’s huge that we can do it on our own and win and run competitive with these guys.”

Badore started in the fifth spot and had moved his way into the top three by lap 15. Badore than rode in the top three until the lap 47 caution flag.

However, after the caution waved, misfortune would strike race leader Marcel J. Gravel as he would make hard contact with the turn four wall and ended his night. That would allow Tyler Cahoon to inherit the lead, but Badore would restart in the preferred outside lane.

“That was huge. Huge, huge huge,” Badore said. “I was glad there was only two laps left. That gave me a lap to ride beside Cahoon and then the last lap to pass him.

“If I were to have gotten by him on the first lap and drop down in front of him, it would have given (Scott Dragon) an opportunity to make a pass on me. So, it was huge.”

Dragon finished second after he won the 150-lap Vermont Governor’s Cup 150 earlier in the night. The Milton, Vt. driver came from a 13th place starting spot for his fifth runner-up finish of the season. Dragon also, unofficially, took the point lead from Nick Sweet headed into next week’s mid-season championships. Cahoon, of St. Johnsbury, backed up his fourth place finish from earlier in the night to score a third place finish.

Vermont Lieutentant Governor Phil Scott of Middlesex finished fourth after he entered the 50-lap Fairpoint Communications feature event with a chance at the bonus monies Triple Crown. Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished fifth.

Sweet raced his way from a 14th place starting spot to finish sixth with Kyle Pembroke seventh. Hometown driver Jason Corliss finished eighth with Brooks Clark coming from 15th to finish ninth. Matt White completed the top-ten finishers.

Stephen Donahue claimed the overall win in the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman two-segment feature event.

The Graniteville driver earned the win after holding the tiebreaker highest segment two finish after a three-way tie for the win. Defending Tiger champion Brendan Moodie of Wolcott finished second with Mike Martin of Craftsbury third.

Mark Barnier and Cameron Ouellette finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while sixth through tenth overall went to Mike Billado, Eric Johnson, Kevin Dodge, Joe Steffen, and Jason Woodard.

Garry Bashaw of Lincoln made a last lap pass on 15-year-old Peyton Lanphear to claim the win in the 25-lap Allen Lumber Street Stock feature.

The win for Bashaw was his second of the season and the third of the veteran driver’s career.

Lanphear, of Duxbury, held on for second with East Calais’ Tyler Austin third. Thomas Merchant of Eden Mills and Gary Mullen of Tunbridge completed the top-five finishers. Jaden Perry, Mike Gay, Matthew Smith, Greg Collette, and Reilly Lanphear finished sixth through tenth, respectively.

Thunder Road holds its double-point counting Times Argus Mid-Season championships on Thursday, July 28.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Fairpoint Communications Night
Thunder Road Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, July 21, 2016

Pos.-Driver-Hometown
(# — denotes rookie)

ACT Late Models (50 laps)
1. Eric Badore, Milton
2. Scott Dragon, Milton
3. Tyler Cahoon, St. Johnsbury
4. Phil Scott, Middlesex
5. Trampas Demers, South Burlington
6. Nick Sweet, Barre
7. Kyle Pembroke, Montpelier
8. Jason Corliss, Barre
9. Brooks Clark, Fayston
10. Matt White, Northfield

Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman (2 x 25 laps)
1. Stephen Donahue, Graniteville
2. Brendan Moodie, Wolcott
3. Mike Martin, Craftsbury
4. Mark Barnier, Essex Junction
5. Cameron Ouellette, Barre
6. Mike Billado, Essex
7. Eric Johnson, Randolph Center
8. # Kevin Dodge, Barre
9. Joe Steffen, Grand Isle
10. Jason Woodard, Waterbury Center

Allen Lumber Street Stocks (25 laps)
1. Garry Bashaw, Lincoln
2. # Peyton Lanphear, Duxbury
3. Tyler Austin, East Calais
4. Thomas Merchant, Eden Mills
5. Gary Mullen, Tunbridge
6. Jaden Perry Hardwick
7. Mike Gay, South Burlington
8. Matthew Smith, Essex Junction
9. Greg Collette, Milton
10. Reilly Lanphear, Duxbury

PHOTO: Eric Badore celebrates his second Thunder Road Late Model win of the season on Thursday night. (T.J. Ingerson/VMM photo)