{"id":24876,"date":"2019-04-02T14:23:42","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T18:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=24876"},"modified":"2019-04-02T12:25:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T16:25:02","slug":"thunder-road-drawing-closer-to-60th-season-of-racing%ef%bb%bf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2019\/04\/thunder-road-drawing-closer-to-60th-season-of-racing%ef%bb%bf\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Road Drawing Closer to 60th Season of Racing\ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Barre, VT<\/em> \u2013 The month of April has arrived, and with it the promise of another year of racing atop Quarry Hill. Barre\u2019s Thunder Road is less than four weeks away from its 60th<\/sup> season of competition, making it an important anniversary for race teams and fans at the \u201cNation\u2019s Site of Excitement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The historic track will open its season with the 21st<\/sup> Community Bank N.A. 150 on Sunday, April 28 at 1:30pm. The event, which will once again feature the American-Canadian Tour (Late Models), is the first of many big shows to help celebrate Thunder Road\u2019s 60th<\/sup> season in style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny race track getting to year 60 is no small feat,\u201d Thunder Road managing partner Cris Michaud said. \u201cFor three generations now, Thunder Road has been where friends and family gather in central Vermont to race \u2014 but more importantly, to have a good time and create lasting memories. We have a lot of great things happening this year to thank teams and fans for their support, forge more of those memories, and set Thunder Road up for another 60 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 season will feature many of the track\u2019s favorite long-standing events. The Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank, Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic, VP Fuels Vermont Governor\u2019s Cup, and Vermont Country Campers Mid-Season Championships all return in 2019. The Lenny\u2019s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers have the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series to look forward to while the Allen Lumber Street Stocks once again have a special event as part of the Bolduc Metal Recycling Enduro 200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several new additions have also been made to the schedule. The biggest is a date for the new Bullring Bash Quarter Mile Challenge. Both the Bullring Bash Modifieds and Midstate Site Development Legends join the ACT Late Model Tour for the Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic, turning the weekend into a two-day event. The Milk Bowl reverts back to a two-day show, but retains a visit from the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, who race on Saturday this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thunder Road has also brought back a previous tradition by adding an event between the Labor Day Classic and the Milk Bowl. \u201cChampionship Night\u201d on Saturday, September 14 will double as the track\u2019s official 60th<\/sup>-anniversary party with added-distance events and a post-race pit party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to putting on big events, Thunder Road is also bringing in big names in 2019. Two of the most respected drivers in national stock car racing will come to Barre for the first time this year. Current Xfinity Series star and three-time Chili Bowl Nationals winner Christopher Bell of Oklahoma is making the trip to Thunder Road on Thursday, July 18 for the Vermont Governor\u2019s Cup. Then, at the end of September, Super Late Model legend Andrew \u201cBubba\u201d Pollard of Georgia is entering the 57th<\/sup> Vermont Milk Bowl. Both are already generating buzz as they prepare to tackle the high banks for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The excitement for the 60th<\/sup> season is showing up in driver support. Registration numbers for all Thunder Road divisions are expected to maintain or surpass their 2018 levels. Nearly all Maplewood\/Irving Oil Late Model regulars are returning, including reigning \u201cKing of the Road\u201d Scott Dragon of Milton, two-time defending Milk Bowl winner Jason Corliss of Barre, perennial title contender Trampas Demers of South Burlington, and three-time 2018 winner Cody Blake of Barre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defending Flying Tiger Champion Joel Hodgdon of Craftsbury Common and veteran Trevor Lyman of Hinesburg have moved up to the Late Models with the latter planning a full-time schedule. Reports are that Graniteville\u2019s John Donahue is returning to weekly Late Model competition after a two-year hiatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Flying Tigers continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Veterans such as Grand Isle\u2019s Joe Steffen and Craftsbury Common\u2019s Mike Martin are joined by rising stars like Waitsfield\u2019s Kyle Streeter and E. Calais\u2019s Tyler Austin. Every driver from 2018\u2019s impressive rookie class, including Rookie of the Year Brandon Lanphear of Morrisville and Doc Nielsen Award winner Kelsea Woodard of Waterbury Ctr., has purchased their 2019 license. Defending Allen Lumber Street Stock Champion Stephen Martin of Craftsbury Common leads the drivers moving up to the Tigers. Several racers who competed elsewhere in 2018 have stated they will make Thunder Road home this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Street Stocks, there will once again be a mix of popular veterans and talented newcomers. Top contenders such as Barre\u2019s Jeffrey Martin, Derby\u2019s Tim Hunt, and Williamstown\u2019s Tommy \u201cThunder\u201d Smith will be back, as will sophomores like Barre\u2019s Tyler Pepin and Pittsfield\u2019s Juan \u201cPaco\u201d Marshall. The void from drivers moving up will be filled by young guns such as Hunter King, Cooper French, Tanner Woodard, and Keegan Lamson who are joining the Thunder Road ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the season wouldn\u2019t be complete without the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors. Fan favorites such as Eric \u201cPork\u201d Chase, \u201cFlyin\u2019\u201d Fred Fleury, Brodie Frazier, and Todd Raymo are set for another year of racing. New names are also signing up for the division that puts fun first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 60th<\/sup> season of Thunder Road racing begins on Sunday, April 28 at 1:30pm with the Community Bank N.A. 150. The ACT Late Model Tour event pits top touring stars against the Maplewood\/Irving Oil Late Model standouts. The Lenny\u2019s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and Allen Lumber Street Stocks begin their title chases while the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors complete the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admission for the Community Bank N.A. 150 is $25 for adults and free for kids ages 12 and under. The weekend begins with the Downtown Barre Car Show on Saturday, April 27 from 9:00am-12:00pm. Open practice is scheduled from 1:00-5:00pm and is open to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barre, VT \u2013 The month of April has arrived, and with it the promise of another year of racing atop Quarry Hill. Barre\u2019s Thunder Road is less than four weeks away from its 60th season of competition, making it an important anniversary for race teams and fans at the \u201cNation\u2019s Site of Excitement\u201d. The historic track will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thunder-road","category-vermont"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24877,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24876\/revisions\/24877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}