BARRE, Vt. — Brandon Gray pulled a historic double by sweeping the Bolduc Metal Recycling Enduro 200 and Street Stock Special at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl Sunday.
Gray started the night by snatching the Allen Lumber Street Stock victory in the final corner before putting on a masterful performance to triumph in the 36th annual Enduro 200 and take the $3,00 top prize.
The veteran didn’t need long to find his way to the front of a 114-car Enduro starting field. Gray was already on the point when the first scoring check-in came at the 50-lap mark. Father-son duo Paul and Cody Hodge were his closest competitors for much of the event, but Gray steadily pulled away, putting his Street Stock experience to use on the high banks.
He did so while navigating through a race that was rough-and-tumble even by Enduro standards. At least 10 red flags stopped the event with three rollovers — including one where the driver flopped back on all four wheels and just kept on going. Gray did sustain some minor nose damage at one point but showed remarkable patience steering through the worst of the carnage while continuing to extend his advantage.
As the laps wound down, Gray’s challengers began to fall by the wayside. He already had a two-lap lead on lap 167 when Cody Hodge was forced to make a pit stop, handing the runner-up spot to his father Paul. Then, with just two laps to go, Paul Hodge spun into a stopped car entering turn three and required a red flag for assistance, leading to the rarely-seen green-white-checkered in an Enduro.
Gray was up for all of it and eased to the win by four laps over three-time Enduro victor Bill Davis. In doing so, Gray equaled the accomplishment of his late father Troy, who won the Enduro in 2008.
Even after crashing out, Paul Hodge still finished third with 195 laps competed. Road Warrior winner Trevor Jaques took fourth with Michael Norcross in fifth. Darren Newland, Cody Hodge, Dylon Murphy, Chet Devarney Jr., and George Hoyt completed the top-10. Of the 114 starters, just 16 were running at the end of a race that took nearly two hours to complete.
The full results will be posted on the Thunder Road website by end-of-day Aug. 24.
Gray began the night by pairing some luck to go with his skill in the 50-lap Allen Lumber Street Stock Special that was equally filled with carnage. The point leader charged from 15th on the starting grid to trade the lead back and forth for nearly 20 laps on the outside of veteran Josh Lovely as rookie Kaiden Fisher followed hot on their tails.
Gray secured the top spot with seven laps to go when Lovely got sideways out of turn four, which also allowed Fisher to dart to the second spot. Fisher was then looking outside Gray with three laps remaining when Lovely spun by himself exiting turn four just as Jared Blakely also came to a stop on the backstretch. The double-trouble drew the seventh caution flag of the event.
On the restart, the 12-year-old Fisher got the jump on the outside of Gray and seemed on his way to the victory. Entering turn four the final time, though, Fisher suddenly broke loose by himself much as Lovely had twice before.
Gray was able to skate around and take the win while Fisher clipped Logan Peters as both crossed the finish line. The contact sent Fisher back across the track where he got nailed by Kyler Davis and Justin Blakely after the checkered flag. Blakely ended up on his roof, bookending the race after Tim Hunt had flipped on the opening lap.
Despite a badly-damaged race car, Fisher was still credited with a second-place finish. Peters took third followed by James Dopp and Scott Weston. Davis, Blakely, Michael Gay, Kyle MacAskill, and Tommy Campbell rounded out the top-10.
Results are unofficial pending further technical inspection.