LOCAL TEAM WINS BIG IN BARRE
By Gregory J. Lamoureux
BARRE: It’s a moment that has been 18 years in the making for Richard Green, owner of the number 16 car that originates in Enosburg Falls.
On Sunday, during the last race of the year, driver Scott Dragon of Milton won the highest honor of the year at the track, King of the Road.
Going into the day, Dragon and his crew were leading second place finisher Nick Sweet of Barre by just 8 points.
In the system where the difference between the first place finisher and the second place finisher is seven points, that’s not a huge buffer.
“It was {nerve-wracking},” said team owner Richard Green after the race. “I’ve seen other teams here, but now we’ve done it.”
Green’s excitement was earned through a day’s worth of sweating.
Under the bright sun, on an 82-degree day, Green, who coaches Dragon around the track via a radio system watched as his car started at 17th place and worked it’s way through the pack.
“We knew he had a job to do, and we did it,” Green said.
The way the racing association tallys the points is award seven extra points to the winner of the race, and then 2 points for each place finish, so the winner would get 7 points more than second place, and then second would get two points more than third, all the way down through.
That left Green’s number 16 car having to defend against Sweet’s number 88 car to maintain their championship lead throughout the race.
After qualifying rounds, the points hadn’t changed; both teams knew what they had to do.
“I knew we’d have to work for it,” Dragon said about Sweet’s car.
The two would start just two positions apart, Dragon in 17th place, Sweet in 15th.
It didn’t take long to realize that it was going to come down to the final moments. By lap 30, they’d both moved up two slots, but were having trouble getting through the slower traffic.
There were two ways that Dragon could stay ahead of Sweet in the points standing.
If Sweet did not finish the race in first place, Dragon had to be within four places to remain in the lead for track points.
If Sweet finished first, Dragon would have had to finish in second.
By Lap 65 the two were battling it out for 8th and 9th place, and by lap 75 of the 200 lap race, they’d both moved up a couple of spots again.
A caution that came out on Lap 83 almost sidelined those goals for Green’s team. A spin out, of a driver in the top three cars, caused clarity on the track. Dragon, who had made it within a couple of cars of the spinout narrowly missed becoming involved and at best, being moved to last place in the field of competitors, at worst having to leave the race without a finish.
But through it all, Dragon weaved his way the debris and lost just three positions in the process.
The wreck would prove instrumental in the success for Sweet for the race through. It propelled him into second place, and Dragon into 5th.
Upon restart, Sweet was able to finally get around the leader.
Dragon would have to show the fans what he had if he was going to win the crown.
Over the next 20 laps, Dragon would move from as low as 5th place, to third place, just behind Tyler Cahoon of Danville.
Canon would be the final roadblock for Dragon and he had about 75 laps to go to make it happen.
Up the long way, nope.
Get a run on him, nope.
Whip the corner, no!
The second place finish looked as far from possible as it could for most fans, but the team wasn’t fazed.
The approximately 15-second laps were quickly ticking by.
It was lap 193, and he had no time left to make his move.
“I told him ‘Now’s the time – GO.’,” said Green.
Now was the time.
With a bit of luck and a whole lot of practice, Dragon whipped his car off turn three to edge inside of Cahoon.
He had to keep his spot, on the inside and fight to get his nose just ahead of Cahoon’s.
By Lap 195 he had. He was officially in second place.
Five laps to go… just five laps to go.
Green, Dragon, and the entire team knew that they would be taking home the track championship, even if they weren’t finishing the race with the checkered flag.
With every screech of tire and every drift around the corner, Green watched and turned as if his movements would somehow help his team win it all.
“I could hear the excitement in his voice,” Dragon said about Green.
The 2016 Championship was coming down to the last few seconds, and an exciting one for the crowd and crews alike.
With the completion of lap 200, it was all in the record books. Dragon would be crowned “King of the Road.”
An honor which few in Vermont get to boast.
“We’ve completed a lot of seasons in last place, or next to last,” Green told the crowd over the loudspeaker, “It’s been hard work, but we finally made it.”
Green said that the secret to their success was long hard work and a team that puts in long hours to get it done.
“We’re in the shop (in Enosburg) until late at night, making small tweaks to the car. Small adjustments.” Green said.
Those small adjustments would be what it takes to field a winning car. A car and driver that, at least this year, knew how to get it done. Consistently.
Dragon’s name will be etched into the granite where fans line up at the gates of the track.
His name, which will quite literally be written in stone, will great fans for years to come next to greatest racers in Vermont history.
He’ll be next to last year’s winner Derrick O’Donnell, a three-time winner of the crown.
