Childs, Putney claim Street Stock, Warrior Wins
–by T.J. Ingerson (@TJIngerson)
VMM Editor
BARRE — Cody LeBlanc took advantage of a mid-race restart to claim the North East Mini Stock Tour win on Friday night at Thunder Road.
The Waterville, Maine driver sat a distant second place after he had run from a 12th place starting position when a caution flag flew on lap 33. That allowed LeBlanc to erase the half-track lead that Kodi Sabins had to restart next to him.
Sabins would pull away on the restart, but LeBlanc would fight to Sabin’s inside on lap 37 to take the lead on lap 38. A restart one lap later would would see LeBlacn pull away, but Sabins would stalk him for the rest of the 50-lap distance.
“This is special right here,” LeBlanc said. “I never thought I would be in victory lane at Thunder Road.
“It’s pretty cool.”
LeBlanc, who sits second in the North East Mini Stock Tour point standings, has saw his point lead slip away over the past few races with bad luck.
“We’ve had a bad last three races,” LeBlanc said. “We’ve sent a lot of time (on the car) in the past two weeks.”
Sabins, of Windsor, Vt., settled for second after he led the first 37 laps of the race.
“We can’t complain,” Sabins said of his second place finish. “I think this fifth second (place finish) of the year.
“But I’m ready for a win.”
North East Mini Stock Tour point leader Emerson Cayer bounced back from a mid-race penalty to finish third. Matt Boucher and Matthew Kimball completed the top-five finishers.
Julia Raymond, Desmond Skillings, Jacob Rheaume, Pat Houle, and Justin Faford finished sixth through tenth, unofficially.
Billy Childs ran past Thunder Road Flying Tiger champion Joel Hodgdon on the outside to claim the win in the 50-lap Street Stock Showdown Series feature.
Childs, of Leeds, Maine, started fourth and moved to Hodgdon’s outside on lap six. The two would run side-by-side until Childs took the lead for keeps on lap nine.
“I’ve dreamed about racing here,” Childs said. “I’ve been here twice to watch and I’ve always wanted to try it out.
“Now I can say I came and conquered it.”
Hodgdon, of Craftsbury, Vt., settled for second after he led the first eight laps of the event from the pole position.
“When I saw (Childs) pull up (on the outside), I figured he couldn’t do it,” Hodgdon said. “And then he passed me and I was like ‘oh, alright, I’ll wait for him to burn his (tires) up.’
“And then he never did.”
Jason Woodard finished third on the track, but was penalized by series promoter and race director Bob Guptil for late race contact with Kyle Treadwell that sent Treadwell off the top of turn three. That handed Maine driver Kyle Hewins the final podium finish as the Thunder Road faithful voiced their displeasure over the penalty.
Joe Tetreault finished fourth with Woodard fifth. Travis Cass, Lucas Wheeler, Travis Lovejoy, Joe Arena, and Corey Hutchings completed the top-ten finishers.
Waterford, Maine driver Jamie Heath took the lead on lap eight and ran away with to the apparent win in the 30-lap Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior feature.
However, Heath was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for a camber violation. Runner-up Colby Bourgeois was also disqualified for a suspension issue.
Thath handed the win to Graniteville’s Frank Putney. Fred Fleury and Kylar Davis completed the podium finishers.
James Dopp and Haidyn Pearce finished fourth and fifth, with Luke Belitsos, Ethan Howes, Andrew Casavant, Eric Chase, and Sean McCarthy sixth through tenth, unofficially.
The 56th Northfield Savings Bank Milk Bowl Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day will go green at 1:00pm with Late Model time trial qualifying.
PHOTO: Cody LeBlanc celebrates his North East Mini Stock Tour feature win on Friday night at Thunder Road. (T.J. Ingerson/VMM photo)
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Northfield Savings Bank Milk Bowl Friday
Thunder Road Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Friday, September 28, 2018
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
North East Mini Stock Tour (50 laps)
1. (12) Cody LeBlanc, Waterville, Maine
2. (1) Kodi Sabins, Windsor, Vt.
3. (11) Emerson Cayer, Contoocook, N.H.
4. (3) Matt Boucher, Andover, N.H.
5. (9) Matthew Kimball, Bennington, N.H.
6. (10) Julia Raymond, Winchester, N.H.
7. (4) Demond Skillings, Antrim, N.H.
8. (6) Jacob Rheaume, Rochester, N.H.
9. (15) Pat Houle, Vernon, Vt.
10. (14) Justin Faford, Westminster, Mass.
11. (17) Dana Shepard, Putney, Vt.
12. (13) Jeremy Carter, East Andover, N.H.
13. (7) Michael Viens, Seekonk, Mass.
14. (8) Louis Maher, North Brookfield, Mass.
15. (18) Devin Guy, Dublin, N.H.
16. (5) Ben Belanger, Whitefield, N.H.
17. (2) Joe Katula, Lisbon Falls, Maine
18. (16) Chris Jackman, Charlestown, N.H.
19. (19) Cory Plummer, Keene, N.H.
Did Not Start: Jeffrey Martin, Barre, Vt., Matt Sonnhalter, East Thetford, Vt.
Street Stock Showdown Series (50 laps)
1. (4) Billy Childs, Leeds, Maine
2. (1) Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury, Vt.
3. (3) Kyle Hewins, Leeds, Maine
4. (6) Joe Tetreault, Enfield, N.H.
5. (7) Jason Woodard, Waterbury Center, Vt.
6. (11) Travis Cass, Claremont, N.H.
7. (8) Lucas Wheeler, Bradford, Vt.
8. (13) Travis Lovejoy, Waterboro, Maine
9. (12) Joe Arena, Bristol, Conn.
10. (9) Corey Hutchings, Salem, Conn.
11. (10) Dan Dembeck, Hampden, Mass.
12. (2) Kyle Treadwell, Buckfield, Maine
13. (5) Burt Spooner, East Montpelier, Vt.
Did Not Start: Mike Hayes, Livermore Falls, Maine
Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors (30 laps)
1. Frank Putney, Graniteville
2. Fred Fleury, Graniteville
3. Kylar Davis, Berlin
4. James Dopp, Northfield
5. Haidyn Pearce, Berlin
6. Luke Belitsos, East Montpelier
7. Ethan Howes, Fayston
8. Andrew Casavant, East Hardwick
9. Eric Chase, Berlin
10. Sean McCarthy, Williamstown
DQ – Jamie Heath, Waterford, Maine
DQ – Colby Bourgeois, St. Johnsbury
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