BARRE, Vt. — American-Canadian Tour stock-car driver Patrick Laperle earned a convincing victory in the 44th-annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl Sunday. 
The recently crowned Champion of the Series ACT Castrol, in his native Canada, took the victory with a dominant nine-point spread over runner-up Ben Rowe in the three-segment, cumulatively scored race.
“Man, the car was unbelievable all day long.  It was fast anywhere I tried to drive it,” said the popular Frenchman. “I love Thunder Road, and I love the Milk Bowl.” 
The victory was Laperle’s second in the race in three years.
As is tradition, Laperle was greeted in victory lane by a real Vermont beauty, Dickens, a prize-winning Ayrshire dairy cow from Harvest Hills Farm, and planted a kiss on her snout.
“I don’t mind doing that if it means I win the Milk Bowl,” Laperle joked.
Laperle turned in finishes of second, seventh, and fourth in the Chittenden Milk Bowl’s three 50-lap segments for a total score of 13 points (each finishing position in a segment is worth a point value — first place awards one point, second place awards two points, etc.). Rowe’s finishes of third, 13th, and sixth gave him a total score of 22 points for the overall runner-up spot. Former ACT Late Model Tour Champion Dave Whitcomb finished third overall (5+18+3=26 points).
Brian Hoar matched his best ACT finish of the season in fourth  (10+15+2=27 points), winning a three-way tie involving Mike Rowe (13+4+10) and Brent Dragon (11+3+13). 
The finish:
Patrick Laperle, Ben Rowe, Dave Whitcomb, Brian Hoar, Mike Rowe, Brent Dragon, Cris Michaud, Roger Brown, Jean-Paul Cyr, Scott Payea, Joey Laquerre, Dave Pembroke, Dennis Demers, Brad Leighton, Phil Scott, Pete Potvin, Joey Becker, Randy Potter, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.,  Glen Luce, Quinny Welch, Dwayne Lanphear, Eddie MacDonald, Kip Stockwell, Donald Theetge, Matt White, Robbie Crouch, Eric Williams, Jamie Fisher.