Corliss Overcomes Blown Radiator, Lap Down to Claim Record 5th King of the Road Title at Thunder Road

Moodie and Bushey Claim Crowns on Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Championship Night

Alan Ward & Merrick Cote photos

Barre, VT – Eric Messier and Chris LaForest brought the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers out to kick off feature racing on Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Championship Night. Messier took off with the early lead as LaForest settled into second with Ty Delphia in tow. Messier’s hopes went ka-poof with a flat right-front tire on lap 14, handing Delphia and LaForest the fight for first. Delphia was squarely in the lead at the halfway point, ending the side-by-side battle with LaForest as Logan Powers joined the top-three picture. Powers lit-up the outside groove, nabbing the lead by a bumper-cover on lap 30 and set sail from there to the checkered flag. Logan Powers took down win number three on the season followed by Delphia and Laforest across the line while Brendan Moodie claimed his second Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger track championship with such a point lead that he simply had to start the race to clinch the crown!

Merrick Cote photo

The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors went for twin 15-lap Segments on Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Championship Night presented by the Vermont Air National Guard. After winning Segment #1 Branden Premont was stuck shotgun on the field to start Segment #2 and faced a heavy fight to the front in the second round. All throughout he had a rearview mirror full of Taylor Sayers, just as in the first segment, stalking his every move. By virtue of his third-place finish in the second segment, Premont took the win less than a week after a vicious wreck ended his evening plans by securing just 4-points to Sayers’ 6 with Cayden Green rounding out the podium with 7-points earned.

The rk Miles Street Stocks came into Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Night with the tightest point battle of the evening with Tyler Wheatley and Hayden Bushey separated by a mere 4-points after qualifying heat races. Rookie Zachary Garvey led the field to green and quickly launched to the head of the pack as both point leaders were mired in heavy traffic back mid-pack. A big midway caution for Jen Getty’s hit with the backstretch wall re-racked the field and rookie Owen Dupuis took over at the front. In the closing laps, the outside lane opened up and allowed Bushey to put the power down and claim third-place behind Rookie of the Year Riley Morris and race winner Owen Dupuis. The podium finish guaranteed Bushey the championship and officially cast him as the youngest champion in Thunder Road history, surpassing previous record-holder Kaiden Fisher.

Rookie Matt Sonnhalter led the Maplefields/Irving Late Models to the green flag but fell victim to the onslaught of Brandon Lanphear, Stephen Donahue and Bobby Therrien in the opening laps. A lap 17 melee stalled the day for several cars, notably Therrien, Donahue, Stephen Martin and point leader Jason Corliss. Corliss’ Kinney Drugs Ford Mustang was forced pit-side for a new radiator with the 66VT team working frantically during caution laps to swap the leaker with a fresh water-cooler.

The field returned to green and put Corliss a lap down before debris off the Justin Prescott-machine called out the caution once again. By the end of the caution period, Corliss and Prescott returned to the field. At the front, Darrell Morin set the pace while Lanphear, Taylor Hoar, Scott Dragon, Boomer Morris and championship hopeful Brandon Gray ran side-by-side under a blanket in positions two through six. Dragon’s spin on 27 into the infield grass saved the day for Jason Corliss, earning him the Lucky Dog back to lead lap position. In the end, Brandon Gray did everything he could to steal back the championship but it was not to be.

Brandon Gray took the 67-lap Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel feature event over Darrell Morin and Taylor Hoar but it was Jason Corliss back in 7th who made history as the 2026 Maplefields/Irving Late Model King of the Road. Jason Corliss and team became the first-ever five-time premier division champion at Thunder Road and eyes to back that up next weekend with a record-tying fourth Vermont Milk Bowl victory!

Thunder Road is back in action for The Toughest Short Track Race in North America, the 64th Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank on Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4. Saturday, October 3 is Booth Bros/Hood Milk Qualifying Day with Time Trials and Triple 50s Heat Races for the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour - Maplefields/Irving Late Models plus qualifying and Segment 1 for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and rk Miles Street Stocks! Booth Bros./Hood Milk Qualifying Day also features the New England Supermodified Series (NESS), NELCAR Legends and the Crown Vic Mini Milk Bowl with a 1:00pm Post Time!

Sunday, October 4 brings the 64t Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank with all the pomp and circumstance of the iconic three-segment Milk Bowl! The Flying Tigers and Street Stocks will crown their Mini Milk Bowl champions alongside the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors and the Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Division before the Vermont Milk Bowl winner kisses the cow in victory lane! Sunday’s action begins at 12:15pm with the Last Chance B-Feature prior to opening ceremonies with Segment 1 getting the green flag at 1:30pm.

For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT

Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Championship Night presented by Vermont Air National Guard

Maplefields/Irving Late Models - (67 Laps)

2026 Maplefields/Irving Late Model King of the Road: Jason Corliss (66VT)

1.         00VT    Brandon Gray              E. Thetford, VT

2.         17VT    Darrell Morin              Westford, VT

3.         48VT    Taylor Hoar                 South Hero, VT

4.         26VT    Stephen Donahue       Graniteville, VT

5.         16VT    Brandon Lanphear      Morrisville, VT

6.         13VT    Boomer Morris           Barre, VT

7.         66VT    Jason Corliss               Barre, VT

8.         5VT      Bobby Therrien           Hinesburg, VT

9.         64VT    Christopher Pelkey      S. Barre, VT

10.       86VT    Marcel J. Gravel          Wolcott, VT

11.       33VT    #Matt Sonnhalter        Randolph, VT

12.       25VT    Mike Rubalcaba          Barre, VT

13.       0VT      Scott Dragon               Milton, VT

14.       04VT    Justin Prescott             Fairfax, VT

15.       01VT    Stephen Martin           Craftsbury Common, VT

16.       37VT    Kyle Streeter               Waterbury Ctr., VT     

Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers – (55 Laps)

2026 Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger Champion: Brendan Moodie (94VT)

1.         31VT    Logan Powers              Middlesex, VT

2.         13VT    Ty Delphia                   Waterbury, VT

3.         56VT    Chris Laforest              Barre, VT

4.         4VT      Cooper French             Northfield, VT

5.         15VT    Derrick Calkins             Hinesburg, VT

6.         94VT    Brendan Moodie         Wolcott, VT

7.         42VT    Karsen Murphy           Northfield, VT

8.         20VT    Robert Gordon            Milton, VT

9.         26VT    Luke Peters                 Groton, VT

10.       64VT    Jason Pelkey                Barre, VT

11.       33VT    Matt Ballard               Williamstown, VT

12.       19VT    Eric Messier                Hinesburg, VT

13.       3VT      Michael MacAskill      Williamstown, VT

14.       8VT      Mike Billado                Grand Isle, VT

15.       8NH     #Jaiden Del Toro         Graniteville, VT

16.       07VT    Sam Caron                   Milton, VT

17.       22VT    Travis Patnoe              Wolcott, VT

18.       5NH     Erin Beaudry               Claremont, NH

19.       39VT    Derek Farnham           Bethel, VT      

rk Miles Street Stocks – (35 Laps)

2026 rk Miles Street Stock Champion: Hayden Bushey (15VT)

1.         48VT    #Owen Dupuis             Washington, VT

2.         13ME   Riley Morris                Barre, VT

3.         15VT    Hayden Bushey           Fairfax, VT

4.         8VT      Paul Rocheleau           Georgia, VT

5.         43VT    Jamie Davis                 Johnson, VT

6.         31VT    Tyler Wheatley            Brookfield, VT

7.         7VT      Kyle MacAskill             Williamstown, VT

8.         77VT    #Zachary Garvey         Milton, VT

9.         27VT    #Derrick Mann            Graniteville, VT

10.       04VT    Scott Weston               Berlin, VT

11.       17VT    Connor Rueda             Barre, VT

12.       00VT    Howard Stockwell       Randolph, VT

13.       13VT    Hayden Morris            Barre, VT

14.       18VT    Walker Fitch                Marshfield, VT

15.       32HD   Erik Steel                     Colchester, VT

16.       74VT    Tyler Whittemore       Barre, VT

17.       33VT    Curtis Franks               Topsham, VT

18.       08VT    Zach Audet                  Morrisville, VT

19.       99VT    Fred Fleury                  Graniteville, VT

20.       93VT    Jackson Hunt               Derby Line, VT

21.       06VT    Donat Premont           Johnson, VT

22.       7GA     Easton Garvey             Milton, VT

23.       71VT    Jason Kirby                  Milton, VT

24.       24VT    Todd Raymo                Swanton, VT

25.       25VT    Jennifer Getty             E. Fairfield, VT

26.       98VT    Jeff Martin                  Barre, VT

27.       70VT    Bert Duffy                    Milton, VT

28.       25K      Kevin Mahoney           Westford, VT  

Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors – (Two 15-Lap Segments)

1.         05        Brandon Premont       Johnson, VT (1+3= 4)

2.         95        Taylor Sayers               Barre, VT (2+4= 6)

3.         18        Cayden Green             Marshfield, VT (5+2= 7)

4.         43        Anderson Boyd            Berlin, VT (8+1= 9)

5.         96        Bill O'Connor               S. Washington, VT (4+5= 9)

6.         97        Eddie Thompson         Colchester, VT (3+8= 11)

7.         2          Eugene Quintin           Milton, VT (6+9= 15)

8.         51        Caleb Cramer              Georgia, VT (9+6= 15)

9.         5          Sierra Wilds                 W. Topsham, VT (6+9= 15)    

10.       33        Brayden Murphy         Barre, VT (10+12= 22)

11.       53        Kevin Utton                 Graniteville, VT (11+12= 23)