Joey Polewarczyk Wins 48th Annual Milk Bowl At Thunder Road
BARRE, Vt. — Joey Polewarczyk Jr. of Hudson, N.H., won the 48th annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., on Sunday, October 3. Polewarczyk won the first of three segments en route to a low score of 12 points in the monza-style scored event. It was Polewarczyk’s fifth win of the season in Late Model competitition, including the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month and two ACT Late Model Tour events this season. Polewarczyk, who holds the track record at Thunder Road, qualified second on Saturday, won the first 50-lap segment Sunday and then finished seventh and fourth, respectively, in the final two 75-lap segments en route to the win. Polewarczyk now has two career wins at the track, including the 2009 VT Governor’s Cup 150.
WHO: Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Hudson, N.H.
TEAM: No. 97 Pole’s Automotive/NH Precision Ford
WHAT: 48th annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl
WHERE: Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)
STARTED: 2nd
FINISHED: 1st
SEGMENT FINISHES: 1st, 7th, 4th (12 points)
NEXT: Sunday, October 10, ACT 150, Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, Conn. (.333-mile oval)
JOEY, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WIN THE MILK BOWL?
It’s amazing. It really hasn’t sunk in. To look at the names that have been on the list of people that have won this race in the past — and to know how old I am now — it’s pretty amazing to have my name on that list now, too. Luck was on our side today. You couldn’t say that a lot about us early in the year, but today it definitely was.
This feels awesome. It’s just been an amazing two weeks for us.
AFTER QUALIFYING ON THE FRONT ROW AND THEN WINNING THE FIRST SEGMENT, YOU HAD TO FEEL LIKE YOUR CAR WAS CAPABLE OF WINNING THE RACE.
It definitely helped winning that first segment and getting a ‘one.’ I knew as soon as we turned some laps on the track that we would be good — as long as I was smart, the car was capable of winning. We made some good moves out there, and the luck luck really plays into it, too.
One time in second segment, I was on inside lane and (second-place finisher Brian Hoar) was on outside. The inside lane just went and the outside didn’t — and I was able to make some room between him and I.
WAS THERE ONE KEY FOR YOU IN THE RACE?
You know, in the first segment, Brian got out to an early lead and made I made a good move to get by him — and that was probably a key. But really, the move that probably won us the race was just being patient.
There were a lot of chances where I could have stuck it where I shouldn’t and risked getting into a wreck. But I stayed patient, because I had a car I could make some passes. Just by being patient and smooth, I could get a good stretch over second place, especially in that last segment.