Don Miller Named Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year
Devil’s Bowl champion edges Thunder Road’s Sweet in online vote
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT – Stock car racing champion Don Miller has been named the Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2010 Driver of the Year by readers of www.vtmotormag.com.
Nearly 24,000 votes were cast across ten categories in a two-week online poll at the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website. Wells, Vt., driver Miller earned 22% of the vote in the overall VMM 2010 Driver of the Year category. The Sportsman Modified track champion at West Haven’s Devil’s Bowl Speedway edged Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl track champion Nick Sweet of Barre by just two percentage points for the award.
Adam Pierson of Fairlee finished third with 12% of the vote after his Sportsman Modified championship at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, and American-Canadian Tour champion Brian Hoar of Williston was fourth overall with 10% of the vote. Josh Sunn of White River Junction, Dan Eastman of Thetford Center, Brandon’s Don Scarborough, Kenny Tremont, Jr., of West Sand Lake, N.Y., and Mendon’s Chris Wilk were also on the ballot.
“We couldn’t be happier with the number of fans that made their voices heard in the voting,” said Vermont Motorsports Magazine Editor Justin St. Louis. “We took a chance by expanding to ten categories and nominating a total of 62 drivers this year, but voter participation was up almost 400% over last year and the nominees took the awards very seriously. The staff at VMM congratulates Don Miller and the rest of the winners on their well-deserved honors, and we are very thankful to our readers for their support.”
In addition to his VMM 2010 Driver of the Year award, Miller also earned similar honors in the Devil’s Bowl Speedway and Open Wheel categories; Modified champion Tremont was second in the Devil’s Bowl voting with Duke Stock champion Erika Lilly of Castleton third. Pierson and Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway Modified champion Eastman were second and third, respectively, in the Open Wheel category.
Sweet took top honors in two categories, winning Driver of the Year on the Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl and Late Model ballots. Tiger Sportsman competitor Derrick O’Donnell of Bradford finished second in the Thunder Road voting with Sweet’s Late Model rival Dave Pembroke of Montpelier third. Seven-time Devil’s Bowl Renegade winner Jon Miller of Malta, N.Y., was the Late Model category runner-up with Hoar third.
In the closest category, Pierson was voted the Bear Ridge Speedway Driver of the Year over Hornet division champion Tom Placey of Bradford by just 12 votes. Hornet Queen champion Melissa King of Corinth was third.
Hoar beat fellow ACT competitor Brent Dragon of Milton to take the Touring Series Driver of the Year award, with Northeast Mini Stock Tour champion Chris McKinstry of Thetford third.
Placey was voted the Four Cylinder Driver of the Year over Thunder Road Street Stock champion Mike MacAskill of Williamstown and 32-time feature winner Sunn, who won championships at both Bear Ridge and Canaan.
Fourteen year-old Brandon Gray of East Thetford was voted the Youth Division Driver of the Year after an 11-win season while competing at several New Hampshire tracks. Lucas Wheeler of Bradford and Brent Ming of Island Pond finished second and third, respectively.
With the first four wins of his career in 2010, O’Donnell beat Thunder Road Tiger Sportsman Rookie of the Year Jason Corliss of Danville to take the Breakout Driver of the Year category. Champlain Valley Racing Association Sportsman Modified champion Hunter Bates of Middlebury was third.
Don Miller becomes the second driver to win the overall Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year award; Tom Placey won the honors for the inaugural 2009 season.
Vermont Motorsports Magazine covers stock car racing in and around Vermont with on-site event reporting, breaking news, feature stories, weekly columns, photography, and more. For more information, visit the website at www.vtmotormag.com, follow VMM on Twitter at @VtMotorMag, or find VMM on Facebook and YouTube.
Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Award Winners:
Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2010 Driver of the Year: Don Miller, Wells, Vt.
VMM Bear Ridge Speedway Driver of the Year: Adam Pierson, Fairlee, Vt.
VMM Devil’s Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year: Don Miller, Wells, Vt.
VMM Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl Driver of the Year: Nick Sweet, Barre, Vt.
VMM Touring Series Driver of the Year: Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt.
VMM Late Model Driver of the Year: Nick Sweet, Barre, Vt.
VMM Open Wheel Driver of the Year: Don Miller, Wells, Vt.
VMM Four Cylinder Driver of the Year: Tom Placey, Bradford, Vt.
VMM Youth Division Driver of the Year: Brandon Gray, East Thetford, Vt.
VMM Breakout Driver of the Year: Derrick O’Donnell, Bradford, Vt.