BARRE, Vt. — To complete a picturesque and amazingly rain-free weekend in Central Vermont, the sights and sounds of Barre’s Thunder Road International Speedbowl went off without a hitch on Sunday for the 45th Labor Day Classic presented by New England Federal Credit Union.
The American-Canadian Tour once again put on a thrilling international showdown while the weekly warriors of the Thunder Road highbanks wowed the large crowd on hand.
After two rounds of qualifying, the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model Thunder Road regulars showed the way. Brandon Lanphear and Darrell Morin brought the field to green with both sharing the lime-light as an ACT lap leader at their home track. With former King of the Road track champions Chris Pelkey and Bobby Therrien quickly joining the scene, Lanphear and Morin continued to battle hard for the top spot.
Therrien would overtake on lap 38 as the Thunder Road heroes continued to show-up the touring stars.
Although Pelkey and Therrien swapped the lead on several restart periods, it was Therrien’s race through and through. Even as the American-Canadian Tour championship battle between Gabe Brown and D.J. Shaw got hot and heavy behind them, Therrien, Pelkey, Marcel Gravel, Kaiden Fisher and Kyle Pembroke proved seat-time and experience are the ultimate aid at Thunder Road.
After an absolutely wild ride for longtime Thunder Road ladder-climber Jaden Perry on top of the turn one tire wall, Gravel and Therrien fought hard on the restart.
Ultimately, it was just a one man game. After subbing in for Governor Phil Scott during this summer’s State of Emergency following the unprecedented July flooding, Bobby Therrien took all his experience to a second Labor Day Classic 200 win in New England Federal Credit Union victory lane. Marcel Gravel and Kaiden Fisher rounded out the podium.
Cooper French won the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers event, while the 25-lap rk Miles Street Stocks was won by Thomas Peck.
The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors feature was won by Frank Putney. Cody LeBlanc won the Mighty Mini Stock Tour feature.