Waterbury’s Tanner Woodard pulls upset for Myers Triple Crown win at Thunder Road
July 10, 2021 | By Thunder Road Media 
Waterbury Center's Tanner Woodard celebrates his first Lenny's Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger win Friday night as dad Jason (background left) looks on. Alan Ward photo.
BARRE — Waterbury Center’s Tanner Woodard pulled the year’s biggest upset to date by earning his first career Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger victory in the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series feature on Friday, July 9.
The rookie withstood fierce pressure from veterans Stephen Martin, Sam Caron, and Joel Hodgdon to go wire-to-wire in the 75-lap main event at Barre’s Thunder Road seen live on FloRacing.
Woodard earned the pole after charging from ninth to fourth in his qualifying heat for a “plus-five.” From the get-go, he was under attack, with Milton’s Caron glued to his rear bumper as they pulled away from the field.
Craftsbury Common’s Hodgdon eventually got out of the pack and reeled in the duo. When Caron tried to go inside Woodard on lap 31, the longtime ice hockey player deked the veteran by using the lapped car of Jamon Perry as a pick. Hodgdon took advantage as well and moved past Caron for second.
Just before halfway, the event’s only two caution flags flew. Jeff Oeschger spun on the frontstretch to bring out the first yellow, then Justin Prescott and Phil Potvin tangled coming to the restart — with fifth-place runner Cameron Ouellette getting a piece as the field came back around. When the race got going again, Hodgdon struggled on the outside groove, sliding all the way to fifth as Caron, Stephen Martin, and Robert Gordon got by.
Caron and Martin began a two-barreled assault on Woodard, with Hodgdon eventually righting the ship and running down the leaders with 10 laps to go. But Woodard could not be rattled. He again used Perry as a pick on Caron, and when Caron went to the outside with seven laps remaining, he was unable to find the grip he needed. Martin moved into second and pressed Woodard the rest of the way, but the 17-year-old ran the perfect race and brought home a Triple Crown winner’s trophy to show for it.
Martin took second in the final rundown. Caron crossed the line third but was later disqualified for a tread width violation, giving Hodgdon the position. Gordon, Logan Powers, Mike Martin, Jaden Perry, Kelsea Woodard, Derrick Calkins, and Jason Pelkey rounded out the top-10.
LATE MODELS
Graniteville’s Christopher Pelkey raced to his second career Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model victory and first since 2017. Pelkey started seventh in the 50-lap feature and was already up to the second spot by lap nine. He then quickly reeled in polesitter Jim “Boomer” Morris of Barre before swinging outside and poking the bumper out front with 15 complete.
Morris hung with Pelkey for several circuits before the new leader finally got clear. With the race going green to checkered, though, Pelkey seemingly got stronger as it went on, running away from the heated action behind him to score the win.
Essex Junction’s Matthew Smith came on strong late in the race. Despite brushing the frontstretch wall with six laps to go, the sophomore was able to get around Morris three laps later for the runner up spot. Morris came home third while point leader Jason Corliss stole fourth inside Scott Dragon on the final lap. Brendan Moodie, Trampas Demers, Kyle Pembroke, Cooper Bouchard, and Brandon Lanphear finished sixth through 10th.
STREET STOCK 25 LAPS
Barre’s Tyler Whittemore became a first-time RK Miles Street Stock winner by roaring to victory in their 25-lap feature. Whittemore haunted polesitter Kasey Collins like a ghost as they motored away from the field over the first 13 laps. Just after getting the halfway signal, Whittemore slingshot inside Collins on the backstretch to take the top spot.
With five laps to go, Collins’ car shut down entering turn one to bring out the race’s only caution. Waterbury’s Thomas Peck lined up alongside Whittemore for the restart, but he drifted backwards, letting another rookie in Milton’s Trevor Jaques get a crack at the lead.
Jaques tried to go inside entering turn three with three laps to go, but Whittemore slammed the door, and Graniteville’s Justin Blakely rushed to second as Jaques got crossed up. Blakely peeked to Whittemore’s outside but was unable to make it stick as Whittemore’s first career top-10 finish was also a win.
Shelburne’s Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher charged around Jaques on the final lap to nab the third spot. Point leader Tommy “Thunder” Smith came from 18th to finish fifth. Kyler Davis, Michael “Biffer” Gay, Scott Weston, Luke Peters, and Josh Lovely also picked up top-10 finishes.
ROAD WARRIORS
Graniteville’s Frank Putney drove the “Mystery Machine” to its first victory and the fifth of his career in the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior feature. Putney was running fourth halfway through the 20-lap feature when “Flyin’” Fred Fleury flew a little too high and tagged the frontstretch wall to bring out the caution.
On the restart, Putney shot the gap around Sean “Chubby Rambo” McCarthy and Taylor Sayers to take second, then set his sights on polesitter Dan Garrett Jr. Putney finally got alongside Garrett’s passenger door with two circuits remaining, then pinned Garrett behind a lapped car entering turn three to snatch the win away.
Despite Garrett’s desperate three-wide attempt, McCarthy also got around him to take the second spot. Garrett settled for third. Sayers ended up fourth after Clay Badger was penalized for a last-lap incident. Paige Whittemore, Josh Vilbrin, Fleury, Jamie York, Albert Campbell, and Ryan Foster completed the top-10.
NASCAR star Ryan Preece invades Thunder Road next Thursday, July 15 at 6:30pm for the 42nd Essex Equipment Vermont Governor’s Cup. Preece joins the local Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models for 150 green-flag laps of thrills. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and RK Miles Street Stocks join them on the card.
Admission is $20 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12, and $40 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). Advance tickets are available at www.happsnow.com/event/Thunder-Road-Speedbowl. All Thunder Road events are also live streamed on FloRacing for those with a monthly or yearly subscription.
For more information, visit thunderroadvt.com. Follow on Facebook and Twitter at @ThunderRoadVT.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
MYERS CONTAINER SERVICE TRIPLE CROWN ROUND #2
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021
LENNY’S SHOE & APPAREL FLYING TIGERS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. ( 1 ) #Tanner Woodard ( 68NH ) , Waterbury Ctr., VT , 75 Laps
2. ( 8 ) Stephen Martin ( 9VT ) , Craftsbury, Common, VT , 75 Laps
3. ( 6 ) Joel Hodgdon ( 36VT ) , Craftsbury Common, VT , 75 Laps
4. ( 4 ) Robert Gordon ( 20VT ) , Milton, VT , 75 Laps
5. ( 2 ) Logan Powers ( 31VT ) , Middlesex, VT , 75 Laps
6. ( 12 ) Michael Martin ( 01VT ) , Craftsbury, Common, VT , 75 Laps
7. ( 9 ) Jaden Perry ( 92VT ) , Hardwick, VT , 75 Laps
8. ( 7 ) Kelsea Woodard ( 55VT ) , Waterbury Ctr., VT , 75 Laps
9. ( 11 ) Derrick Calkins ( 15VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 75 Laps
10. ( 18 ) Jason Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Barre, VT , 75 Laps
11. ( 16 ) Jason Woodard ( 68VT ) , Waterbury Ctr., VT , 75 Laps
12. ( 20 ) Rich Lowrey ( 8NH ) , South Hero, VT , 75 Laps
13. ( 19 ) Mike Billado ( 8VT ) , Grand Isle, VT , 75 Laps
14. ( 21 ) #Justin Prescott ( 44VT ) , Williston, VT , 75 Laps
15. ( 5 ) Joel Hodgdon ( 90VT ) , Craftsbury Common, VT , 75 Laps
16. ( 17 ) Bryan Wall Jr. ( 77NH ) , East Kingston, NH , 75 Laps
17. ( 15 ) Kevin Streeter ( 67VT ) , Waitsfield, VT , 75 Laps
18. ( 23 ) Colin Cornell ( 54VT ) , E. Burke, VT , 74 Laps
19. ( 10 ) Michael MacAskill ( 33VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 74 Laps
20. ( 24 ) Jamon Perry ( 62NH ) , Hardwick, VT , 73 Laps
21. ( 22 ) Phil Potvin ( 08VT ) , Underhill, VT , 64 Laps
22. ( 14 ) Brandon Gray ( 00VT ) , Thetford, VT , 63 Laps
23. ( 28 ) Chris Laforest ( 56VT ) , Barre, VT , 53 Laps
24. ( 13 ) Keegan Lamson ( 55NH ) , Berlin, VT , 37 Laps
25. ( 25 ) Jeff Oeschger ( 93FL ) , Dover, FL , 36 Laps
26. ( 27 ) #JT Blanchard ( 66VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 29 Laps
27. ( 26 ) Brian Delphia ( 25VT ) , Duxbury, VT , 17 Laps
DSQ ( 3 ) Sam Caron ( 07VT ) , Milton, VT
MAPLEWOOD/IRVING OIL LATE MODELS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) Graniteville, VT
2. Matthew Smith ( 04VT ) Fairfax, VT
3. Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) Barre, VT
4. Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) Barre, VT
5. Scott Dragon ( 0VT ) Milton, VT
6. Brendan Moodie ( 94VT ) Wolcott, VT
7. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) Shelburne, VT
8. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) Montpelier, VT
9. #Cooper Bouchard ( 7VT ) Hinesburg, VT
10. #Brandon Lanphear ( 16VT ) Morrisville, VT
11. Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) Westford, VT
12. Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) Danville, VT
13. Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) Wolcott, VT
14. Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) Graniteville, VT
15. Eric Chase ( 40VT ) Milton, VT
16. Phil Scott ( 14VT ) Berlin, VT
17. Chip Grenier ( 62VT ) Orange, VT
18. Chris Roberts ( 3ME ) Washington, VT
19. Anthony Hill ( 8VT ) Waterford, VT
20. Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) Barre, VT
21. Trevor Lyman ( 25VT ) Hinesburg, VT
RK MILES STREET STOCKS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. #Tyler Whittemore ( 74 ) Barre, VT
2. Justin Blakey ( 17 ) Graniteville, VT
3. Kaiden Fisher ( 18 ) Shelburne, VT
4. #Trevor Jaques ( 57 ) Milton, VT
5. Thomas Smith ( 22 ) Williamstown, VT
6. Kyler Davis ( 68 ) Berlin, VT
7. Michael Gay ( 3 ) So. Burlington, VT
8. Scott Weston ( 04 ) Berlin, VT
9. Luke Peters ( 26 ) Groton, VT
10. Josh Lovely ( 54 ) Williamstown, VT
11. Thomas Peck ( 96 ) Waterbury, VT
12. Jamie Davis ( 43 ) Wolcott, VT
13. Jeffrey Martin ( 8 ) Barre, VT
14. Dean Switser Jr. ( 16 ) Waterford, VT
15. Kyle MacAskill ( 7 ) Williamstown, VT
16. James Dopp ( 0 ) Northfield, VT
17. #Todd Raymo ( 24 ) Swanton, VT
18. #Haidyn Pearce ( 2 ) Chelsea, VT
19. William Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT
20. Christopher Davis ( 69 ) Berlin, VT
21. #Taylor Hoar ( 48 ) South Hero, VT
22. Kasey Collins ( 98 ) Barre, VT
23. Patrick Tibbetts ( 84 ) Barre, VT
DNS Eric MacLaughlin ( 6 ) Milton, VT
DNS #Jared Rouleau ( 60 ) Warren, VT
BURNETT SCRAP METALS ROAD WARRIORS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. Frank Putney ( 88 ) Graniteville, VT
2. Sean McCarthy ( 86 ) Williamstown, VT
3. Dan Garrett Jr. ( 54 ) Berlin, VT
4. Taylor Sayers ( 95 ) Barre, VT
5. Paige Whittemore ( 47 ) Graniteville, VT
6. Josh Vilbrin ( 07 ) Northfield, VT
7. Fred Fleury ( 99 ) Graniteville, VT
8. Jamie York ( 68 ) Barre, VT
9. Albert Campbell ( 18 ) Worcester, VT
10. Ryan Foster ( 8 ) Waterbury, VT
11. Nicholas Copping ( 50 ) Barre, VT
12. Mark Beaulieu ( 1 ) Essex Jct., VT
13. Clay Badger ( 9 ) E. Montpelier, VT
14. Jamie Buick ( 38 ) East Barre, VT
15. Matt Ballard ( 33 ) Williamstown, VT
16. Neal Foster ( 19 ) Waterbury, VT
17. Nate Brien ( 16 ) Williamstown, VT
18. Taber Andrews ( 2 ) Waterbury, VT
19. Bill O'Connor ( 96 ) South Washington
20. Bert Duffy ( 74 ) Milton, VT