BARRE, Vt. – Stephen Donahue scored the closest win of the Maplewood/Irving Oil season at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl on Thursday evening.
Donahue went back and forth with Jim Morris for the final 13 laps before earning the victory by a mere .025 seconds as part of Community College of Vermont Night. It was the third career Late Model win at Thunder Road for Donahue, who also has multiple victories at New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park.
Donahue started eighth in the 50-lap feature and spent the first half of the event staying out of trouble. He eventually got racy and was locked in a three-car battle for second with Roberts and Brandon Lanphear when Phil Scott spun in turn one to bring out the third caution with 36 laps complete.
Morris led the field to the restart with Donahue perched on his rear decklid. The youngster nabbed the second spot from polesitter Roberts just before Andy Hill spun exiting turn four to bring out another yellow.
After the third caution in as many laps when Matthew Smith sent up a shower of sparks in turn one, Donahue went to work on the outside groove. He was door-to-door with Morris when Derek O’Donnell looped it entering turn three for caution number six with nine laps to go.
This time, Donahue put the nose out front for two laps, only for Morris to take the lead back right before Connor Martel lost it on the backstretch. The seventh and final caution set up a five lap dash for cash. Donahue led laps 46 and 47 by inches before Morris did the same on laps 48 and 49. As the field came to take the checkered flag, Donahue found one last surge and got his bumper out front when it counted.
The drama continued after the race when Morris was disqualified for a tread width violation. That handed the runner-up spot to Brendan Moodie for the second straight week with rookie Brandon Lanphear the new third-place finisher. Roberts took home a career-best fourth-place finish. Tyler Cahoon, Trampas Demers, Jason Corliss, Phil Scott, Chip Grenier, and Darrell Morin rounded out the top-10.
Mike Martin stood in Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger Victory Lane for the 12th time in his career after winning their 40-lap feature going away. Following an opening-lap yellow for a multi-car turn one tangle, Martin carved his way forward from the 12th starting position. He earned the final few spots on the high side, eventually taking the lead from outside polesitter Rich Lowery on lap 17.
Lowery hung with Martin for a while, but the veteran eventually turned on the afterburners in lapped traffic. With the race going clean and green following the initial yellow, Martin had all the time in the world to extend his lead until the checkered flag flew.
Lowrey came in second with rookie Tanner Woodard having a career-best Thunder Road effort in third. Martin’s son Stephen came out on top of a six-car battle for the fourth spot. Logan Powers nipped Brandon Gray at the finish line for fifth followed by Sam Caron, Robert Gordon, Jason Pelkey, and Jaden Perry.
Jeffrey Martin finally got the 800-pound gorilla off his back with a dominating victory in the 25-lap RK Miles Street Stock feature. The former champion, who had suffered three straight races worth of engine trouble after an Opening Day win, grabbed the lead from Michael Gay right at the drop of the green. He then drove away like a man trying to set a track record, effortlessly slicing under and around lapped traffic.
Martin’s only scare came when Gary Mullen, Gay, Justin Blakely, and Will Hennequin crashed on the frontstretch while taking the white flag. After racing back to the checkered flag per Thunder Road procedures, Martin had to slam on the brakes to avoid contact with the wrecked cars. He managed to do so and secured his second win of the year.
Behind Martin, the action was intense, with side-by-side racing all through the field. Middlesex’s Tom Campbell was the first to break out of the pack, matching his career-best with a second-place finish. Dean Switser Jr. sliced to third in the closing laps followed by point leader Tommy Smith. Kyler Davis, James Dopp, Kaiden Fisher, Luke Peters, Kyle MacAskill, and Jamie Davis completed the top-10.
Luke Peters became a first-time winner in the seventh annual Marvin Johnson Memorial. The sophomore competitor slung to the outside of Thomas Peck to take the lead on lap eight of the 19-lap feature. After a caution with seven circuits to go for Eric MacLaughlin’s spun automobile, Peters ran off into the twilight for the victory. Rookies Trevor Jaques and Taylor Hoar completed the top-three.
Nate Brien went back-to-back in the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors. Brien came from deep in the field to run down Mark Beaulieu with seven circuits remaining in the 20-lap feature. The next time around, Brien pulled a crossover move coming off turn two and shot underneath Beaulieu for the lead. Beaulieu was able to get back to Brien’s rear bumper but could not stop Tater from getting his fourth career victory.
The second-place finish was still Beaulieu’s first time on the podium. Milton’s Bert Duffy came in third. Josh Vilbrin, Frank Putney, Jamie York, Paige Whittemore, Neal Foster, Jamie Buick, and Kris Russell also earned top-10 finishes.