Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl: Emily Packard
Casella Waste Management 50 Race Report
BARRE, Vt. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., finished 19th in the Casella Waste Management 50 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Thursday, June 20. Packard fought the balance on the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet throughout the day, and then found track position difficult to come by in the second half of the feature event. Packard moved to 17th in the track’s Late Model standings in her first full season of Late Model competition at the Thunder Road.
WHO: Emily Packard, East Montpelier, Vt.
CREW CHIEF: Neal Woodward, Georgia, Vt.
TEAM: Emily Packard Motorsports No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet
SPONSORS: Northstar Fireworks, Fecteau Homes, Berlin Optical Expressions, Yipes! of Barre, VT Shifter Karts, GossCars.com, Be The Match, Rutland Regional Medical Center, R.G. Paving
WHAT: Casella Waste Management 50
WHERE: Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)
FINISHED: 19th
NEXT RACE: June 27, Fairpoint Communications 50, Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile banked oval)
POINTS POSITION: 17th
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EMILY, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR DAY?
It was just one of those days. The car wasn’t good all day. It went from one extreme to the other, so it made it pretty frustrating.
WHAT WAS THE CAR DOING?
I was tight in the first two practices, so we loosened right up for the heat race. We went too far with it then, but in the consi and feature it loosened up more – which didn’t make any sense – because we made a ton of changes in the other direction. It was really weird.
DID YOU WALK AWAY FEELING LIKE YOU GUYS HAD TAKEN A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
I think I learned more about racing in two-lane traffic. Of course, it wasn’t really two lanes – it was more like ‘Emily on the outside trying to learn how to drive the track.’ I was just trying to get whatever I could.
It wasn’t a great night, but it wasn’t a bad night. There were some good things that happened, but racing in traffic and not being able move forward got frustrating.