BARRE, Vt. — Two-time King of the Road Scott Dragon put on a clinic en route to his first win of the year during Thunder Road’s Aubuchon Hardware Holiday Spectacular on Thursday.
Dragon took the lead for good on lap six of the special Firecracker 54 Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model feature and smoked the field from there for career win number 11 on the Barre high banks.
The veteran started on the pole after not even making it to qualifying the week before when he lost an engine in practice. However, it was outside polesitter Brendan Moodie putting his nose in front at the start. Moodie led the first five laps before Dragon got back around him for the top spot.
While Moodie was able to hang with Dragon for the following 10 circuits, “The Dragon Wagon” just got stronger as the caution-free race went on. While a battle raged behind him as Moodie eventually fell into the clutches of Matt White and Bobby Therrien, Dragon sailed into the holiday weekend like a jet plane. At one point, Dragon’s lead reached nearly half a lap before he tip-toed around some traffic near the end.
Behind Dragon, though, a barnburner erupted over the final 20 laps. White was able to get around Moodie on lap-38, and Therrien did the same past four laps later just as Jason Corliss and Marcel J. Gravel entered the picture. Seeing the duo coming, Therrien stayed on the outside and swung past White with five to go.
Corliss followed Therrien around White, using a lapped car as a pick, then caught Therrien coming to the white flag. But Dragon was long gone, coasting to a victory that tied him with Dave Whitcomb and Jim Cilley for 11th on the all-time list.
Corliss came from 15th on the starting grid to finish second with Therrien grabbing third. White took fourth while Gravel caught Moodie at the wire for fifth.
Kyle Streeter turned around a miserable start to the 2020 season by going wire-to-wire for his fifth career Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger victory.
Brandon Gray continued his torrid start to the 2020 campaign by taking the victory in the Allen Lumber Street Stock 29-lap (25+4) feature.
Chris Davis continued to be unstoppable in the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors with his third straight win.