Sweet Sets Track Record to Earn Vermont Milk Bowl Pole
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Alan Ward photo
Corliss & O’Donnell Win Qualifying Races to Set Up Sunday Showdown
Barre, VT — Barre’s Nick Sweet began his quest for a record-tying fourth Northfield Savings Bank Vermont Milk Bowl win by setting a track record at Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Milk Bowl Qualifying Day on Saturday, October 16. Sweet blistered around the Thunder Road high banks in 12.107 seconds to earn the pole for the 59th running of the historic event.
As the lucky 13th Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model to go out for time trials, Sweet eclipsed the previous mark of 12.236 seconds set by Marcel J. Gravel in 2017. Sweet was one of three drivers to beat that time along with former Memorial Day Classic winner Tyler Cahoon of Danville (12.225 seconds) and fellow three-time Milk Bowl winner Jason Corliss of Barre (12.231 seconds).
With their efforts, Sweet and Cahoon locked themselves into front row starting spots for the first 50-lap segment of the Northfield Savings Bank Vermont Milk Bowl on Sunday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Sweet also pocketed a $1,000 bonus from Booth Brothers Dairy and H.P. Hood.
Corliss, who is running a tribute car to the Lloyd Hutchins/Henry Montandon flathead coupe of the 1960s, showed he will be a factor in Sunday’s Milk Bowl by winning the first 50-lap qualifier. Disaster struck on just the third lap of the race as Milton’s Scott Dragon blew a tire entering turn one. That sent Dragon into Barre’s Cody Blake, who was along for the ride as he pounded the outside wall. Berlin’s Keegan Lamson also got torn up in the crash.
Blake had already loaded his car and left prior to the end of the day with his return uncertain due to the severity of the damage. As of press time, both the Dragon and Lamson teams were attempting to make repairs for Segment 1.
Once the lengthy delay was over, Sweet darted out to a big lead. He gave up that lead on lap 27 when he pitted after fulfilling his requirements as polesitter. Corliss inherited the top spot and had a rear view mirror full of Montpelier’s Kyle Pembroke over the final 12 circuits, but was able to hold him off for the victory. That places Corliss in the third starting spot for Segment 1 on Sunday.
Pembroke finished second to claim the fifth starting spot in the first segment. Christopher Pelkey was third followed by Brendan Moodie, Marcel J. Gravel, Darrell Morin, Stephen Martin, and Matthew Smith. The remaining drivers, along with those who finished outside the top eight in the second qualifier, will start Segment 1 at the rear based on their time trial speeds.
Alan Ward photo
North Haverhill, NH’s Derrick O’Donnell put himself in a strong position to claim an elusive first Milk Bowl crown by winning the second 50-lap heat race. The three-time "King of the Road" started fourth and quickly followed teammate Bobby Therrien around the outside of Cahoon.
After sizing up Therrien for a few laps, O’Donnell darted past. A midrace caution when Stephen Donahue spun on the back stretch and collected Eric Chase was the only thing that could slow O’Donnell down. From there, he cruised to the victory and the fourth starting spot in the Milk Bowl.
Hinesburg’s Therrien took second, which will put him on O’Donnell’s rear bumper to start Sunday. Trampas Demers, Brooks Clark, Joey Polewarczyk, Brandon Lanphear, Cooper Bouchard, and Chip Grenier also took the front door into Sunday’s main event.
Milton’s Sam Caron went pole-to-pole in the first 40-lap segment of the $1,000-to-win Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger Mini Milk Bowl. Caron, posted the fast time of 13.867 seconds in time trials, putting him on the point alongside Middlesex’s Logan Powers. The first half of the race was no contest with Caron, who won last year’s Mini Milk Bowl, leaving the field behind.
A pair of midrace cautions bunched things back up, and a four-car fiasco out of turn four with 30 laps complete set up a 10-lap shootout. Powers hung with Caron for several circuits on the restart but could not maintain it as Caron put him away for the victory.
Powers beat Barre’s Cameron Ouellette by a hair for second. Reigning RK Miles Street Stock Champion Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher of Shelburne finished fourth in his first Flying Tiger start at Thunder Road. Tanner Woodard, Joel Hodgdon, Tiger Champion Mike Martin, Jason Pelkey, Derrick Calkins, and Jason Woodard completed the top-10. Segment 2 will be run on Sunday with the finish of Segment 1 inverted for the start.
Williamstown’s Tommy “Thunder” Smith echoed Caron’s feat by going wire-to-wire in Segment 1 of the $500-to-win RK Miles Street Stock Mini Milk Bowl. Smith set the fast time in qualifying and was never seriously challenged during the 25-lap segment. Behind him, West Burke’s Dean Switser Jr. had his hands full with Jeffrey Marin, which let Smith thunder off in a caution-free race. He will now start dead last in Segment 2 on Sunday.
Despite Martin throwing everything by the kitchen sink at him, Switser was able to bring his car home second. Josh Lovely, Kyler Davis, James Dopp, Luke Peters, Justin Blakely, Tyler Whittemore, and Taylor Hoar rounded out the top-10.
Jefferson, NH’s Nick Pilotte came within a whisker of a perfect score in the Mini Milk Bowl for the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s. Pilotte needed just five laps to come from the back to the front of the first 20-lap segment, winning it going away over Cody Hodge, Adam Sicard, and Tyler Thompson.
After a pair of cautions on the opening lap of Segment 2, the song was much the same, with Pilotte getting to Thompson’s tail for the lead on lap 7. The next 13 circuits were the race of the day with Pilotte trying in vain to get around Thompson on the outside. Pilotte got a great run on the final lap, but Thompson edged him by 0.004 second for the segment victory. Despite losing the battle, Pilotte won the war with three total points to take the overall.
Thompson got the second-place trophy with five total points. Orleans’ Cody Hodge used segment finishes of second and fourth to get the final podium spot. Todd Derrington and Donnie Baumgardner were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Waterford’s McKenna Merchant triumphed in the first-ever appearance at Thunder Road for the Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks. Merchant, who was a four-time winner at White Mountain Motorsports Park this year, sailed to the victory in the first 15-lap segment over Damion Sicard. In the second segment, Lincoln, NH’s Kyle Goodbout ran away from the pack while Merchant recovered from an opening-lap incident to make her way to third behind St. Johnsbury’s Logan Farnsworth.
Although Farnsworth was leaving the door open on the bottom, Merchant took the conservative route, maintaining her position and getting the overall victory with four points. Farnsworth’s second place in Segment 1 earned him the same spot in the overall. Goodbout ended up third in the final rundown.
The 59th Northfield Savings Bank Vermont Milk Bowl goes green Sunday, October 17 at 1:00pm. The post time for the first 50-lap segment has been moved up half an hour in case of any weather issues. Sunday’s card also features the final segment of the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger and RK Miles Street Stock Mini Milk Bowls plus a two-segment Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior Mini Milk Bowl. The pits open at 8:00am and the front gates open at 10:30am.
Sunday-only admission is $30 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-12, and free for kids ages 5 and under. All Sunday and three-day tickets purchased for the original October 3 event date will be honored. Fans can also watch the Vermont Milk Bowl live on FloRacing with a paid subscription.
For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @ThunderRoadVT. For more information about FloRacing, visit www.FloRacing.com.
THUNDER ROAD SPEEDBOWL — Barre, VT
BOOTH BROS./H.P. HOOD QUALIFYING DAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2021
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
MAPLEWOOD/IRVING OIL LATE MODELS
NORTHFIELD SAVINGS BANK VERMONT MILK BOWL
SEGMENT #1 STARTING LINE-UP
Pos. Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Nick Sweet ( 88VT ) , Barre, VT
2. Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) , Danville, VT
3. Jason Corliss ( 76VT ) , Barre, VT
4. Derek O'Donnell ( 60NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH
5. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) , Montpelier, VT
6. Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT
7. Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT
8. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) , Shelburne, VT
9. Brendan Moodie ( 94VT ) , Wolcott, VT
10. Brooks Clark ( 68VT ) , Waitsfield, VT
11. Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT
12. Joey Polewarcyk Jr. ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH
13. Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) , Westford, VT
14. #Brandon Lanphear ( 16VT ) , Lake Elmore, VT
15. Stephen Martin ( 9VT ) , Craftsbury Common, VT
16. #Cooper Bouchard ( 7VT ) , Hinesburg, VT
17. Matthew Smith ( 04VT ) , Fairfax, VT
18. Chip Grenier ( 62VT ) , Orange, VT
19. Cody Blake ( 99VT ) , Barre, VT
20. Eric Chase ( 40VT ) , Milton, VT
21. Scott Dragon ( 0VT ) , Milton, VT
22. Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT
23. Chris Roberts ( 3ME ) , Washington, VT
24. Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) , Barre, VT
25. Alby Ovitt ( 35NH ) , Raymond, NH
26. Keegan Lamson ( 55ME ) , Berlin, VT
27. Trevor Lyman ( 25VT ) , Hinesburg, VT
28. Mike Foster ( 39VT ) , Williston, VT
LENNY’S SHOE & APPAREL FLYING TIGERS
MINI MILK BOWL SEGMENT #1
Pos. Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Sam Caron ( 07VT ) Milton, VT
2. Logan Powers ( 43VT ) Middlesex, VT
3. Cameron Ouellette ( 90VT ) Barre, VT
4. Kaiden Fisher ( 18VT ) Shelburne, VT
5. #Tanner Woodard ( 68NH ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
6. Joel Hodgdon ( 36VT ) Craftsbury Common, VT
7. Michael Martin ( 01VT ) Craftsbury, Common, VT
8. Jason Pelkey ( 64VT ) Barre, VT
9. Derrick Calkins ( 15VT ) Hinesburg, VT
10. Jason Woodard ( 68VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
11. Kevin Streeter ( 67VT ) Waitsfield, VT
12. Jaden Perry ( 92VT ) Hardwick, VT
13. Robert Gordon ( 20VT ) Milton, VT
14. Kelsea Woodard ( 55VT ) Waterbury Ctr., VT
15. Matthew Potter ( 23VT ) Marshfield, VT
16. Kevin Boutin Jr. ( 25NH ) Fairfax, VT
17. #Chandler Potter ( 22NH ) Plainfield, VT
18. Colin Cornell ( 54VT ) E. Burke, VT
19. #Justin Prescott ( 44VT ) Williston, VT
20. Ryan Boutin ( 28VT ) Fairfax, VT
21. Bryan Wall Jr. ( 77NH ) East Kingston, NH
22. Phil Potvin ( 08VT ) Underhill, VT
23. Mike Billado ( 8VT ) Grand Isle, VT
24. Michael Clark ( 2VT ) Littleton, NH
25. Eric Johnson ( 20NC ) Randolph Ctr., VT
26. Brian Delphia ( 25VT ) Duxbury, VT
27. Shawn Powell ( 44MA ) Jericho, VT
28. Hunter King ( 62VT ) Woodbury, VT
29. Tyler Austin ( 5VT ) East Calais, VT
30. Chris Laforest ( 56VT ) Barre, VT
RK MILES STREET STOCKS
MINI MILK BOWL SEGMENT #1
Pos. Driver, Car #, Hometown
1. Thomas Smith ( 22 ) Williamstown, VT
2. Dean Switser Jr. ( 16 ) Waterford, VT
3. Jeffrey Martin ( 8 ) Barre, VT
4. Josh Lovely ( 54 ) Williamstown, VT
5. Kyler Davis ( 68 ) Berlin, VT
6. James Dopp ( 0 ) Northfield, VT
7. Luke Peters ( 26 ) Groton, VT
8. Justin Blakey ( 17 ) Graniteville, VT
9. #Tyler Whittemore ( 74 ) Barre, VT
10. #Taylor Hoar ( 48 ) South Hero, VT
11. Jesse Laquerre ( 71 ) East Montpelier, VT
12. #Haidyn Pearce ( 2 ) Chelsea, VT
13. Michael Gay ( 3 ) So. Burlington, VT
14. Tom Campbell ( 85 ) Middlesex, VT
15. Gary Mullen ( 29 ) Tunbridge, VT
16. William Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT
17. Kyle Gravel ( 11 ) Morrisville, VT
18. Paige Whittemore ( 73 ) Graniteville, VT
19. Thomas Peck ( 96 ) Waterbury, VT
20. Cam Powers ( 30 ) Middlesex, VT
21. Parker Gagne ( 78 ) Georgia, VT
DNS Juan Marshall ( 79 ) Pittsfield, VT
WOODSVILLE GUARANTY SAVINGS BANK STRICTLY STOCK MINI’S
Pos. Driver, Car #, Hometown, Seg. 1, Seg. 2, Total
1. Nick Pillotte ( 52 ) Jefferson, NH , 1 , 2 , 3
2. Tyler Thompson ( 51 ) Littleton, NH , 4 , 1 , 5
3. Cody Hodge ( 72X ) Orleans, VT , 2 , 4 , 6
4. Todd Derrington ( 57 ) Bethlehem, NH , 6 , 3 , 9
5. #Donnie Baumgardner ( 4 ) N. Woodstock, NH , 5 , 5 , 10
6. Adam Sicard ( 16 ) Barton, VT , 3 , 8 , 11
7. Don Judd ( 87 ) Franklin, NH , 7 , 6 , 13
8. Jillian Baumgardner ( 14 ) N. Woodstock, NH , 8 , 7 , 15
9. Brett Jackson ( 31 ) Bethlehem, NH , 9 , 10 , 19
DADS 4 BY TOOL & SUPPLY KIDS TRUCKS
Pos. Driver, Car #, Hometown, Seg. 1, Seg. 2, Total
1. McKenna Merchant ( 99 ) Waterford, VT , 1 , 3 , 4
2. Logan Farnsworth ( 22 ) St. Johnsbury, VT , 3 , 2 , 5
3. Kyle Goodbout ( 90 ) Lincoln, NH , 5 , 1 , 6
4. Damion Sicard ( 23 ) Barton, VT , 2 , 5 , 7
5. Austin Sicard ( 01 ) Gilmanton, NH , 4 , 4 , 8
6. Owen Rogers ( 4 ) Glover, VT , 6 , 7 , 13
