Story By: WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK – NORTH WOODSTOCK, NH – After a weekend off Thunder in the Mountains returns this Saturday, August 31 with the 6th annual Leaf Peepers 100 for the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models.
Round #3 of the Wall’s Ford Platinum Series, the Leaf Peepers 100 is sure to bring a large contingent of regional stars to the White Mountain highbanks as we inch ever closer to a colorful autumn in the mountains of New Hampshire.
While Waterbury Center, Vermont’s Tanner Woodard has a tight grip on the King of the Mountain track championship standings over nine-time champ Quinny Welch, he sits eight-points back in Wall’s Ford Platinum Series competition to Center Conway, New Hampshire’s Gabe Brown. Brown has claimed the first two Wall’s Platinum events this season, and with just two more remaining it’s game on for Woodard, Welch, Kaiden Fisher and John Donahue among others. Following the Leaf Peepers 100, the Wall’s Ford Platinum Series championship will come down to a final 100-lap affair on Saturday, September 14, a test and tune the week before the American-Canadian Tour Fall Foliage 200 presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust on September 21.
Brandon Gray holds a 60-point lead over last year’s top rookie Luke Peters with Peters chief among the Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tiger competitors looking to derail Gray’s ten-race win streak. Peters, Shane Sicard, part-timers Logan Powers and Kyle Streeter and rookie Kyle Willis have all come close but have yet to dethrone the king and Saturday night might just see sparks fly!
A dead-even tie at the top of the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Mini Stock point standings between Patrick Switser and Todd Derrington brings urgency among the four-cylinder masters on Saturday night. If the championship were decided off the current points, Switser would gain the overall crown with his two wins being the tiebreaker, meaning Derrington will have to be cautiously aggressive over the next few weeks to remain a championship contender at White Mountain.
The Ammonoosuc Asphalt Mini Late Models return to White Mountain on Saturday with former champion Nick Anderson, hauling up from Oxford, Massachusetts, leading Berlin’s Nick Miller by a mere seven points for the overall championship. Saturday’s 40-lap main is the final event for the part-time Mini Late Models until championship night on September 28 and the gloves might just come off with first-time winner Garrett LaBounty and Matt LeBlanc within striking distance of the championship as well!
The Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kid’s Division will also return after a couple weeks of rest, recuperation and maintenance on their faithful mounts. The youth division has seen six first-time winners this season with increased entries throughout the season . Young Hayden Bushey has solidified himself as the top dog after earning his third victory last time out and looks to make it four on Saturday.
Thunder in the Mountains returns this Saturday, August 31 for the Leaf Peepers 100, Race #3 in the Wall’s Ford Platinum Late Model Series! The Foley Oil & Propane Late Models headline the Saturday action with the Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tigers, Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Minis and Ammonoosuc Asphalt Mini Late Models continuing track championship action plus the Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kid’s Division with a 6:00pm Post Time! Adult general admission will be available for $20, kids 12-6 for $5 and children 5 and under free! The Family Four Pack (two adults, two kids) is also available for $40.