–by T.J. Ingerson (@TJIngerson)
VMM Editor
BARRE — A scheduled 16-car last chance qualifier is set for Sunday to determine the last four qualifiers for the 55th annual Northfield Savings Bank Milk Bowl.
The top two finishers on the track will earn the transfer positions while two provisionals — one Thunder Road Late Model and one ACT/Serie ACT — will be awarded.
A pair of White Mountain Motorsports Park Late Model feature winners in recent years, Oren Remick and Stephen Donahue, will lead the field green at 12:15pm.
Remick, of Warner, N.H., was side-by-side with Christopher Pelkey in the first of two 50-lap qualifying races on Saturday for the final transfer position, but fell short.
The 2016 Flying Tiger champion Donahue finished ninth, just one position shy of the transfer, in the second 50-lap qualifying race after he sustained damage midway through.
Following Remick and Donahue to green will be two-time Milk Bowl champion and Vermont Governor Phil Scott. Scott finished tenth in the second 50-lap qualifying race after he set the 24th fastest time in time trial qualifying and was unable to make headway through the field.
Lance Allen, who has sat dormant for the entire 2017 season thus far, will start fourth with Speedway 51 Late Model competitor Bryan Mason fifth.
Former Thunder Road Late Model champion Jamie Fisher will start sixth with former Milk Bowl pole sitter and recently crowned NASCAR Pitny Series champion Alex Labbe seventh. Quebec rookie Mathieu Kingsbury and Scott Coburn will start eighth and ninth, respectively, while three-time Milk Bowl winner Kevin Lepage will roll off tenth.
A fellow three-time Milk Bowl champion, Patrick Laperle, is scheduled to start in the 12th position in Sunday’s last chance qualifier, but he indicated on Facebook Saturday evening that his team has withdrawn and is headed back to Quebec after failing to qualify thus far.
Unofficially, Labbe, Kingsbury, and Laperle are eligible for the ACT/Serie ACT provisional while Late Model feature winners Boomer Morris and Tyler Cahoon will be eligible for the Thunder Road provisional.
The green flag for the Last Chance Qualifier will fly at 12:15 on Sunday.
Last Chance Qualifier Lineup — 55th Northfield Savings Bank Milk Bowl
Thunder Road Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
1. Oren Remick, Warner, N.H.
2. Stephen Donahue, Graniteville
3. Phil Scott, Berlin
4. Lance Allen, Barre
5. Bryan Mason, Stark, N.H.
6. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
7. Alex Labbe, St-Albert, Que. **
8. # Mathieu Kingsbury, Blainville, Que. **
9. Scott Coburn, Barre
10. Kevin Lepage, Shelburne
11. Boomer Morris, Barre, Vt. *
12. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, Que. **
13. Dave Whitcomb, Essex Junction
14. Tyler Cahoon, St. Johnsbury *
15. Mike Foster, Williston
16. Matthew Smith, Essex Junction
* — Thunder Road provisional eligible
** — ACT/Serie ACT provisional eligible
PHOTO: Oren Remick will lead a scheduled 16-car field to green to determine the final four starters in Sunday’s 55th Annual Northfield Savings Bank Milk Bowl. (T.J. Ingerson/VMM photo)
