|
|
Memorial Day ClassicResult pageCliquer ici pour la version française de ce site. |
Chris Fisher put a history of Thunder Road struggles to rest Sunday when he held off Bill Marsha's Allied Engine Monte Carlo and the late charging Brian Hoar to win the ACT Late Model Sportsman Series (LMS) Coca-Cola 100. The runner-up effort was a career best for Marsha, who stayed glued to Fisher over the final eighty laps.
Hoar, the Series point leader, moved in on the leaders after a lengthy battle with Thunder Road Champion Phil Scott and knocked on the door, but to no avail. The Coca-Cola 100 victory was the first of the season for the twenty-seven year old Airborne Raceway Champion. The Shelburne, Vt. driver went a triple crown winner in the Days Inn/Monte Carlo No. 71, after taking his qualifying heat and the semi-feature. Fisher started third on the grid and took the lead to stay on lap five.
Marsha and crew were jubilant in victory lane. "Chris worked me a little higher up the track than I thought I wanted to go," said Marsha with a smile, "but when I got up there, the car went better yet. Brian Hoar has been flying past me all year, but the car stayed strong and this feels great."
The race's only caution flew on lap 37 and within five circuits after the restart, Scott had risen to fifth with Hoar at his rear deck and Marsha and Fisher were racing side by side just ahead of Dave Whitcomb in third. Scott ultimately wound up fourth, three car lengths ahead of Whitcomb. Joey Laquerre, Eric Williams, Jim Cilley, Jamie Fisher and Billy Herring completed the top ten.
"We rolled the dice and tightened the car up a lot and it paid off although after the caution, I wasn't running as good," Fisher said. I wanted to try and wear the #33 car (Marsha) out, but every time I looked in the rear view, he was right there."
Marsha and crew were jubilant in victory lane. "Chris worked me a little higher up the track than I thought I wanted to go," said Marsha with a smile, "but when I got up there, the car went better yet. Brian Hoar has been flying past me all year, but the car stayed strong and this feels great. Allied Engine." "We didn't have anything left at the end," said Hoar. "We had a good car halfway through and I could race the corners hard, but we burned a lot of tires trying to get by Scott.
The Coca-Cola 100 was event number six in the twelve race ACT Series, which heads for a weekend doubleheader Saturday, Sunday July 24, 25 at Autodrome St- Felicien in St-Felicien , Quebec. Hoar, the defending ACT Champion, unofficially holds a 46 point advantage over second place Phil Scott in the Series title chase.
The NAPA Flying Tiger Coca-Cola Trophy Dash went to Chris Haggett in the Twin City/John Deere Cutlass No. 3. It was career win number for Haggett who benefitted from the demise of frontrunner Ron DeRosia who broke an axle. Haggett's margin of victory over runner-up John Donahue was less than a car length. Previous week winner Jay Laquerre was a close third, followed by Ray Stearns and David Finck. Donat Premont and Dan Bigelow reeled in early Street Stock feature leader Jerry Nelson and turned in a bang-bang finish won by Premont won by three feet. Nelson was third, next in line were John Adams and Jay Menard.
Thunder Road is back in action Thursday, July 10 when three-time Daytona 500 winner, Bobby Allison, will attend Cody Chevrolet Fan Appreciation Night to commemorate 40 years of stock car racing at the "Nation's Site of Excitement".
Contact: Tom Herzig (802) 244-6963
Initial creation: April 5th 1996 - revised April 13 1997
It's URL: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mproy
Don't look for a copyright notice. Just take what you want!