Tigers Getting Double Dose of Triple Crown Racing at White Mountain

John Raper photo

Wicked Good Vintage Racers Coming to White Mountain for August 14 Event 

N. Woodstock, NH —White Mountain Motorsports Park has another big Saturday night of short track racing coming this Saturday, August 14. The J.P. Sicard Triple Crown Series and the Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association highlight the card as the White Mountain season hits the three-quarter pole.

For the next two weeks, the Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers have a lot on the line. The previous Triple Crown event scheduled for Saturday, July 3 was postponed by rain and rescheduled to Saturday, August 21. That means the Tigers will run 75-lap features each of the next two weeks, which is more than double the length of a regular weekly event.

“I like that you can really see what each team has (in these races),” Littleton, NH’s Ryan Ware said. “You get to see how good their car is. Some people are good from laps 1 to 20, and some people are good from laps 35 to 75. So it really shows what your long-run game is.”

The upcoming events award both J.P. Sicard Triple Crown points and weekly championship points. For racers like Waterbury Center, VT’s Jason Woodard, Barton, VT’s Shane Sicard, and Ware, that means it’s go-time. Those three have established themselves as the clear frontrunners for the weekly championship. Two-time rookie winner Tanner Woodard and veteran Matt Potter are in the top-five in both weekly and Triple Crown points, making the rest of August equally important for them.

Sicard and Woodard finished one-two in the first Triple Crown feature back on Opening Night while Ware could also get back into that title hunt with two good runs. The 21-year-old Ware has been having a breakout year with his first victory two weeks ago and an impressive eight podium finishes driving for GP Motorsports.

“Our dynamic has been really good,” Ware said. “We communicate well with each other. We’ve been trying a lot of different stuff this year, and we’ve gone backwards a few times, but we’ve also made swings at the racetrack that have brought us back ahead of where we used to be. So we just keep trying new stuff week in and week out, and eventually we’re going to hit it where we like it.”

The J.P. Sicard Triple Crown also draws invaders from around the region. East Kingston’s Bryan Wall Jr., a four-time winner at Vermont’s Thunder Road, was at White Mountain last Saturday getting ready for the Triple Crown double shot. Rookie Brandon Gray finished third at the Triple Crown opener and is eager to get his first Tiger win. Colin Cornell, Jaden Perry, Russell Clark, and “Uncle” Mike Potter are other drivers entered for the Triple Crown. Flying Tiger car counts have seen an uptick over the last few weeks, giving reason to believe in two big shows ahead.

Oriana Lovell photo

The Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association is the other big star of the August 14 show. The Maine-based organization travels to tracks throughout eastern New England. On Saturday, they will bring both the Early Late Model and Outlaw divisions to White Mountain for a pair of features.

These cars aren’t just for show, though. The members of Wicked Good drive their vintage race cars as hard as the weekly White Mountain classes drive their modern vehicles. By doing so, Wicked Good gives fans a true taste of what racing was like a half-century ago. It has made the association sought-after throughout the region.

The Saturday, August 14 card also includes the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models, Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks. In the Late Models, Candia, NH’s Jimmy Renfrew Jr. has started to pull away from the pack. The 18-year-old leads eight-time champion Quinny Welch by 52 points and last week’s winner Jeff Marshall by 64 points. Oren Remick and Mike “Beetle” Bailey round out the top-five.

The Strictly Stock Mini race tightened up last week after some late troubles for point leader Luke Shannon. The 15-year-old, who has won five features in his rookie season, now leads 17-year-old Tyler Thompson by 21 points. Rookie Donnie Baumgardner — who is the elder stateman at age 39 — sits third in the standings. Last week’s winner Michael Smith and Baumgardner’s daughter Jillian complete the top-five.

The Kids Trucks open the night with a 15-lap feature. Pre-teens and early teens such as Thomas Smithers VI, McKenna Merchant, Owen Rogers, and Logan “The Cone Eater” Farnsworth have become stars in the track’s youth division. They joined by a rotating cast of fellow kids who are having a blast as they learn about the world of racing.

The J.P. Sicard Triple Crown Series returns to White Mountain Motorsports Park this Saturday, August 14 at 6:00pm. The Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers go 75 laps in round two of the three-race series. White Mountain also welcomes the Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association Early Late Models and Outlaws. The Foley Oil & Propane Late Models, Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks complete the card. Admission is $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, free for kids ages 5 and under, and $25 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).

For more information, contact the White Mountain Motorsports Park offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.whitemountainmotorsports.com. You can also follow us on Facebook at @WhiteMtnMotorsports.