BARRE, Vt. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., turned in a career day at Thunder Road International Speedbowl by finishing 18th in the ACT Late Model Tour Merchants Bank 150 on Sunday, April 28. The finish marked the 16-year-old driver’s best career ACT finish in two career starts, and it came just hours after she won the second of four first-round qualifying races to earn a career-high 21st starting position in the 31-car field. Packard tried desperately to gain track position on the tight, quarter-mile bullring at Thunder Road and after a mid-race pit stop for chassis adjustments was able to finish in the Top-20.
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: ACT Late Model Tour Merchants Bank 150
WHERE: Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile banked oval)
STARTED: 21sr
FINISHED: 18th
NEXT RACE: May 5, Spring Green 113, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, Vt. (.500-mile oval)
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EMILY, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE DAY AT THUNDER ROAD?
We had a great day. Starting (Saturday), we were great all day in practice, in the Top-15 I think in every session just about. We were pretty fast both days. We won our heat race to make the race, and I just tried to ride around a little bit and save our tires in the race.
At the end, we had a great car but we just had nowhere to go. Overall, though, I’m ecstatic.
HOW IMPORTANT WAS WINNING THE 15-LAP QUALIFYING RACE?
It was amazing. I definitely didn’t think that was going to be the outcome going into the weekend – I really just wanted to make the race – so it was good. The car was really good, and (winning) put us in good shape.
Once we made the race, really, nothing could get better from there.
WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO ON THE LAP 82 PIT STOP?
We raised the track bar a little bit to try and free it up a little bit in the center of the corner. We just needed the car to turn a little better, especially in all that traffic.