ACT & Thunder Road Honor Best of 2020 at Banquet of Champions
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Thunder Road Speedbowl honored the top performers of their 2020 seasons at the Banquet of Champions on Saturday, May 1. Drivers, crews, officials, and special guests gathered at Thunder Road prior to the track’s season-opener for a night of celebration before throwing the green flag of 2021.
Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert was recognized as the 2020 ACT Champion. In his ninth season with the ACT Late Model Tour, the Hebert Excavation team had 2 wins and 7 podium finishes in 9 point-counting events.
Despite challenges from both fellow competitors and from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Hebert and team were able to put everything together for their first ACT title. In his acceptance speech, Hebert credited the series for getting a season in despite the challenges and for taking care of its competitors, which helped sway his decision to defend the title in 2021.
Clark Gets First ACT Victory in Wild Community Bank N.A. 150
Perry, Martin, and Fleury Earn Wins in Support Division Action
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — Fayston, VT’s Brooks Clark roared from deep in the field to get his first American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory in a wild Community Bank N.A. 150 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, May 2. Clark took the lead for good from Shelburne, VT’s Trampas Demers with 21 laps to go and held him off for the victory after starting 21st on the grid.
The biggest victory of Clark’s career came in an event with more twists and turns than a campfire mystery tale. Several early contenders were sidelined by a spate of midrace carnage before Clark and Demers, two accomplished locals, put on a show down the stretch for both the Barre crowd and a worldwide audience on FloRacing.
Barre, VT — Thunder Road officials announced today that Scott Tapley has been appointed the track’s Race Director for the 2021 season. The respected motorsports official will oversee the action for all of Thunder Road’s local racing divisions. Tapley takes charge for a 19-event schedule that can be seen live in Barre, VT or worldwide on FloRacing.
Tapley is also the race director at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park along with New York’s Riverhead Raceway. The Maine native got his first taste of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) when late ACT founder Tom Curley ran Oxford Plains Speedway in 1994-1995. The addition of Thunder Road to his résumé completes a circle that goes back nearly 30 years for the auto racing lifer and Maine native.
“As a kid that sat in the pit stands for the very first time for a driver’s meeting in 1994 at Oxford and listened to Tom Curley speak, I instantly became a ‘Tom Curley guy’,” Tapley said. “From that moment, I have followed intently what was going on with Thunder Road and ACT, and I’ve always seen Thunder Road as one the top facilities in the country.”
Brandon Lanphear to Take Over Driver’s Seat at Richard Green Racing
Barre, VT – One of the most iconic cars of the past two decades at Barre’s Thunder Road has a new pilot. Richard Green Racing has announced that Morrisville’s Brandon Lanphear will drive the #16VT Chevolet with sponsorship from Richard Green Trucking, Green’s Ace Hardware, and Pro Driver Training during the upcoming Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model season.
Since early 2014, Milton’s Scott Dragon had been behind the wheel of the familiar blue machine. In that time, he won the 2016 and 2018 “King of the Road” titles along with 12 feature events. However, Dragon recently decided to step away from the #16VT and pursue interests outside of racing.
Now, the 26-year-old Lanphear is taking the reins. Brandon, the son of former track champion Dwayne Lanphear, is coming off a year where he won the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series title and finished fourth in Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger points.
“We had a team meeting a couple weeks ago and looked over the rosters,” team owner Richard Green said. “We felt that Brandon was probably the best choice among up-and-coming, soon-to-be Late Model drivers who were available. We had a meeting with him a week ago and told him what we were all about, and he’s excited about the chance.”
Waterbury, VT – American-Canadian Tour (ACT) officials have announced an update to the 2021 ACT Late Model Tour schedule. The May 2021 events at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway and Barre, VT’s Thunder Road have switched places to better accommodate the tracks.
The 23rd Community Bank N.A. 150 at Thunder Road is now slated for Sunday, May 2. The event is the opener for Thunder Road’s 62nd season of competition. An optional practice day is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 1.
Thunder Road Reveals Schedule for 2021 Racing Season
Barre, VT – The schedule for the 2021 season at Barre’s Thunder Road is now set. Track officials have unveiled a 19-event campaign from mid-May to early-October with all the events that competitors and fans have come to love.
The 62nd season atop Quarry Hill begins Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16. The annual Thunder Road Car Show is tentatively scheduled for 9:00am on May 15, although it is dependent on the Vermont state health and safety guidelines in place come this time. Open practice for all local divisions will be held that afternoon.
Racing season at the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” then gets underway Sunday, May 16 at 1:30pm with the 23rd Community Bank N.A. 150 for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and rk Miles Street Stocks open their championship seasons that day with the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors rounding out the card.
