Lucky #7 for Monsters

BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – Scott Dragon laid claim to the inaugural Squier Cup Late Model Triple Crown Thursday night at Thunder Road, taking the 45th Vermont Governor’s Cup and using a late caution to separate himself from series points leader Jimmy Hebert over the final 50 laps.
With NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer at the high banks in a makeup from late June’s washed out event, Dragon went about chipping away at Hebert’s right-point lead. Dragon started on the pole in the 150-lap feature, his first priority to claim his second straight Governor’s Cup and the fourth of his career.
Dragon would end up leading from start to finish, but Hebert was right on his tail for about 90 laps, knowing a second place finish would be enough to secure the Squier Cup. However, the lone caution flag of the race came out on lap 93, and with the leaders coming back to the pack, Hebert lost his grip on second.
Nick Sweet flew into second place and rode Dragon’s bumper for the next 60 laps, but the #40 car was unable to find a seam to leap past #0. Jason Corliss also passed Hebert, creating just enough of a gap for Dragon to edge Hebert by three points and claim the inaugural Squier Cup.
Brandon Gray would take the Tigers feature, while Patrick Tibbetts overcame a crazy day to win the Street Stock race.
Tibbetts was stranded at his home in Plainfield after Wednesday and Thursday’s flooding washed out the only road in and out, but he found a way to the track anyway.
“I got a phone call about 11:30 from my neighbor and he goes, ‘Hey, the road is out,’” Tibbetts said. “And I’m like, ‘What?’ So I drive a mile down to our bridge and there’s just like this, 120 foot long, 80 foot deep crevasse, and the bridge and everything is gone. I put a joke on Facebook, I said, ‘Hey, does anybody have a crane with a big boom that can lift me off the bridge and bring me to the track?’ And a good friend of mine, Kip Stockwell, who was also our sponsor, responded to my message and he goes, ‘I’m game.’”