Timing Is Everything For Former Champ Michaud
SpeedReading
By DAVE
MOODY
Cris Michaud knows good timing
when he sees it. The Williamstown driver dodged two separate on-track incidents
Thursday night to claim the checkered flag in the “Times-Argus Midseason
Championships” at
Michaud’s Ford was caught-up in an early turn-two
incident and spun, but the veteran driver righted himself quickly and was back
underway before the caution flag flew, allowing him to retake his position on
the ensuing restart. Then, with just over a lap to go, leader Tim Martin
overpowered his Ford in turn four and spun while racing inches apart with
Michaud, bouncing off the former track champion and spinning to the infield.
Michaud kept control and crossed the line first to claim his second win of the
season at Thunder Road, and pad his lead in the championship standings.
Michaud now owns a 42-point
edge (655-613) over Chad Wheeler in the chase for the Thunder Road Late Model
title, with former “King of the Road” Phil Scott lurking 58 points back.
“We definitely dodged a
couple of bullets tonight,” said Michaud afterward. “I was lucky to be able
to get the car rolling quickly after the spin in turn two, and the deal with Tim
was just racing. I got a good bite coming off the top of turn four, and I felt
Tim hit me in the left-rear wheel. I looked in the mirror and he was gone, so I
figured he must have gotten on it too hard and spun out.”
While Michaud thrived under
the pressure of double-points night, fellow championship contender Cooper
MacRitchie had the kind of evening every driver dreads. The former Thunder Road
Flying Tiger champion got swept up in an early accident that sidelined his
Dodge, dropping him all the way to tenth in the championship standings, a
whopping 112 points behind Michaud. The two Williamstown drivers have clearly
been the class of the thunder Road Late Model field this season, combining to
win five of the last six races.
Michaud will go for two in a
row tonight at the Nation’s Site of Excitement.
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Dave Pembroke rebounded from a
disastrous Midseason Championship of his own Saturday night, driving past
Patrick Laperle for the lead on lap 81, then speeding away to win the ACT Dodge
Tour “Central Asphalt Paving 100” at New Hampshire’s Riverside Speedway.
The former Vermont Milk Bowl champion saw his Thunder Road title hopes take a
major hit two nights earlier, when a broken rear end dropped him out of
contention before the double-point main event had even taken the green flag. But
some quick work – and quick thinking – allowed him to make the field at
Riverside and claim his fourth career Tour win.
"We had to intercept a
UPS driver Saturday to get a new spool for the rear end,” said Pembroke. “We
got the car together late Saturday afternoon, and only got one practice in at
Riverside, but we had what it takes.”
Former ACT champion Brent
Dragon also overcame problems Saturday night, rebounding from an early flat tire
to pass Laperle for second place in the late going. Laperle held off veteran
Joey Laquerre for third, with Henry recording his best-ever ACT Dodge Tour
finish in fifth. Dragon took advantage of point-leader Jean-Paul Cyr’s
eleventh-place finish from trim Cyr’s once-healthy lead to just four points
heading into this Saturday night’s race at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway.
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Published reports this week say that Maine native
Ricky Craven may be parting company with the PPI Motorsports/Tide Chevrolet
team. While the reports could not be confirmed as this column went to press,
Craven admitted last week that the 2004 season has been a difficult one.
“It’s been the most
frustrating period of my professional life,” said Craven in an exclusive SpeedReading interview at Chicagoland Speedway. “We’ve got to
get some help. We’ve got to find a way to get me a teammate.”
Craven’s job was rumored to
be in jeopardy a few weeks ago, prompting the former ACT and NASCAR Busch North
competitor to say, “I am the driver of the Tide Chevrolet for the next three
years. We have contracts in place, and everyone on this team is committed to
getting us back to Victory Lane.”
If Craven has indeed been
released by PPI, leading candidates to replace him include Bobby Hamilton, Jr.,
-- who would reportedly come to PPI along with his Busch Series crewchief,
Harold Holly – and veteran Johnny Benson.
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Tommy Baldwin, crewchief for
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne, was fined $10,000 Tuesday for a
pit-road scuffle that broke out during Sunday’s “Tropicana 400” at
Chicagoland Speedway. Baldwin was fined $5,000 for leaving his pit area to
confront members of Tony Stewart’s crew, after contact between Stewart and
leader Kahne caused Kahneto crash on a mid-race restart. Baldwin was fined an
additional $5,000 for for the actions of his team members, who followed him down
pit road, triggering a lengthy wrestling match between the two teams. Baldwin
was also placed on probation until December 31st.
Team-owner Ray Evernham
responded to the penalties Tuesday, saying, "NASCAR has made its decision;
now it's time to move on. I understand why Tommy and the team reacted the way
they did in the heat of competition. NASCAR has rules, and I agree with rules.
This is behind us now. As a team, our focus is on the upcoming events and the
future."
In the aftermath of Sunday’s
melee, Evernham leveled sharp criticism at Stewart, saying the former Nextel Cup
champion “needed a good beating;“ even offering to do the job himself.
For the record, NASCAR officials say they consider
the on-track incident between Stewart and Kahne "a racing incident and
nothing more." No penalties are expected, despite the fact that Stewart is
currently on probation for grabbing fellow driver Brian Vickers two weeks ago.
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Short
(Track) Subjects…
…NASCAR Chairman Brian France said Sunday that he
hopes to have an announcement "in the next month or so" about a
proposed new superspeedway in the metropolitan New York City area.
"There's a lot of momentum in that
market," France said. "What I know is they're a lot closer than they
were just six months ago. And I think you'll see some positive announcements
come, it would be my hope, in the next month or so."
Sunday’s announcement represented an interesting departure from previous policy for NASCAR, which until last weekend has steadfastly refused to endorse, support, or even comment on potential new racetracks, until they were built and signed to host a NASCAR race. Apparently, the prospect of holding races in the nation’s number-one market has the boys in Daytona Beach a bit excited.
…Robert Gordon has been named the winner of the Beverage Mart Renegade
trophy dash at Airborne Raceway following Sunday’s disqualification of the
original top two finishers. Apparent winner Rod Cameron and Shawn Duquette were
found to have illegal shocks, boosting Gordon from third to first. Positions two
through five went to Chris Reeves, Kevin Boutin, Jr., Tylor Terry and Steve
Hunsdon.
…Tonight is “Kinney Drugs
Night” at Thunder Road, with a special Tricycle Triathalon for kids age six
and under. The ACT Late Models, Tiger Sportsmen, Street Stocks and Junkyard
Warriors will all be in action, with post-time set for 7 p.m.
Airborne Raceway returns to
action Saturday night, when the US Army presents the 50th Anniversary Midseason
Championships, with double points on the line for the Tiger-Sportsmen, Renegades
and Warriors, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The ACT Dodge Tour travels to Maine’s
Oxford Plains Speedway that same night for the “Maine-ly Action Sports 100,”
a prelude to Sunday’s BankNorth Oxford 250.