Stock car drivers Craig Bushey and Jason Corliss celebrated their first track championships at Barre’s Thunder Road on Sunday, as part of the 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event.  Bushey, of Cambridge, earned the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division title by just 13 points over Joey Laquerre, while Plainfield racer Corliss clinched the Allen Lumber Street Stock championship by an even-narrower 1 point over Lloyd Blakely.

Bushey’s 14th-place finish in the 30-lap Chittenden Bank finale was enough to secure the Sportsman crown, despite Laquerre’s strong fifth-place run.  Unofficially, the margin of victory was 978-965 points.

Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott took his second victory of the season, with Bradford’s Derrick O’Donnell second and Thetford Center rookie Dan Eastman third.  Ricky Roberts of Websterville finished fourth ahead of Laquerre.  Rookie Cody Blake finished sixth, unofficially, with Joel Hodgdon, Alex Perkins, Eric Badore, and rookie Chris Lacey completing the top ten finishers in order.

Corliss pulled out a surprise championship run in the Street Stock class.  Blakely entered the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl event with a nine-point lead over Corliss and Greg Adams, Jr., who were tied in second.  After qualifying heats, Blakely stretched his advantage to 11 over both drivers, but a 10th-place result in the 25-lap main event left him one point shy of Corliss, who finished fourth in the race and beat Blakely 1035 points to 1034.  Adams took ninth place in the race and in the standings with 1025.

Donat Premont of Marshfield earned the Street Stock victory to cap off a late-season comeback.  Premont, the 1999 Street Stock champion, had taken several seasons off before re-joining the class in August.  Garry Bashaw of Lincoln finished second ahead of Randolph Center’s Markus Farnham in a career-best third place.  Corliss beat rookie Bunker Hodgdon to the line for fourth place. 

Mike Martin, Patrick Underwood, rookie David Whitcomb, Adams, and Blakely completed the unofficial top ten.

Patrick Laperle of Montreal won a dramatic Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl for the American-Canadian Tour Championship Late Models, himself clinching the series championship by just one point over Milton driver Scott Payea.  Laperle beat Thunder Road Champion Eric Williams by two points in the three-segment, cumulatively scored race.  Laperle posted finishes of first, 11th, and eighth in the three 50-lap segments for a total low score of 20 points.  Williams placed ninth, sixth, and seventh for a total score of 22 points.  Ryan Nolin of Georgia, Dennis Demers of Shelburne, and Chip Grenier of Graniteville completed the unofficial top five finishers.

Travis Hull of Graniteville won the Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior division championship on Saturday over Wolcott’s Jamie Davis.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.  For more information on the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl, visit www.acttour.com.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, VT Sunday, September 28, 2008

(# - denotes rookie)

Pos.-Driver-Hometown

NAPA Tiger Sportsman (30 laps)

1.    Brendan Moodie, North Wolcott

2.    Derrick O’Donnell, Bradford

3.    # Dan Eastman, Thetford Center

4.    Ricky Roberts, Websterville

5.    Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier

6.    # Cody Blake, Barre

7.    Joel Hodgdon, Craftsbury

8.    Alex Perkins, Barre

9.    Eric Badore, Georgia

10.   # Chris Lacey, Burlington

Allen Lumber Street Stock (25 laps)

1.    Donat Premont, Marshfield

2.    Garry Bashaw, Lincoln

3.    Markus Farnham, Randolph Center

4.    Jason Corliss, Plainfield

5.    # Bunker Hodgdon, Hardwick

6.    Mike Martin, Craftsbury Common

7.    Patrick Underwood, Johnson

8.    # David Whitcomb, Elmore

9.    Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick

10.   Lloyd Blakely, Graniteville

American-Canadian Tour 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl

Pos.-Driver-Hometown-(Segment Tally/Total Points)

1.    Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, QC (1+11+8=20)

2.    Eric Williams, Hyde Park, VT (9+6+7=22)

3.    Ryan Nolin, Georgia, VT (3+20+1=24)

4.    Dennis Demers, Shelburne, VT (6+16+6=28)

5.    Chip Grenier, Graniteville, VT (11+9+9=29)

6.    Scott Payea, Milton, VT (7+10+13=30)

7.    Robbie Crouch, Tampa, FL (8+13+10=31)

8.    Quinny Welch, Lancaster, NH (13+3+17=33)

9.    # Nick Sweet, Barre, VT (19+4+11=34)

10.   Brian Hoar, Williston, VT (5+15+14=34)

Stock car driver Travis Hull of Graniteville won the 2008 Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior division track championship at Barre’s Thunder Road on Saturday afternoon.  Hull finished third in the division’s 15-lap Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl finale on Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day, enough to secure the season crown over Wolcott’s Jamie Davis by 28 points, 1416-1388.

Mike “Biffer” Gay of South Burlington grabbed his second feature win of the year after a last-lap pass of leader Jeff Martin, Jr.  Martin, of Moretown beat Hull to the finish line for second place.  Mark LaFleche of Graniteville finished fourth over Davis.  Josh Vilbrin, Del Jarvis, Fred Schroeder, Kevin Dodge, and Donny Yates completed the unofficial top ten finish in order.

Nineteen year-old American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model driver Joey “Pole” Polewraczyk, Jr. of Hudson, NH earned the $1,000 Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole Award for Sunday’s 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl with best single-lap time of 13.165 seconds around the Thunder Road 1/4-mile.  Polewarczyk will start Segment 1 of the Milk Bowl on the front row alongside Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton.  Craig Bushey of Cambridge, Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH, and Brian Hoar of Williston complete the top five starters for the Milk Bowl.

Pete Fecteau, Gene Welch, Jr., and Justin Gay all walked away uninjured from rollover crashes on Saturday.  Fecteau, of Morrisville, rolled his Late Model over after spinning off Turn 2 on his time trial qualifying lap.  Welch crashed hard in NAPA Tiger Sportsman qualifying, while Gay set an unofficial Thunder Road record by flipping two different cars in the Allen Lumber Street Stock and Power Shift Warrior classes less than ten minutes apart.

The Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl is a three-segment, cumulatively scored race that awards points in each 50-lap segment – 1 for first, 2 for second, etc.  The finish of each segment is inverted to begin the next, and the driver with the lowest three- round total score is the overall winner.  Top prize is $10,000 and a kiss of the beauty queen – a Vermont dairy cow!  The Milk Bowl is 12th and final round of the American-Canadian Tour Championship; Payea leads Laperle by just 19 points for the title. 

Thunder Road’s Sportsman and Street Stock championships will also be decided on Sunday.  Bushey leads the Sportsman standings, while Lloyd Blakely leads the Street Stocks.

General admission is $25 for adults and $5 for children 6-12.  Gates open at 10:00am, with the last-chance “B” Feature qualifying race set to begin at 1:00pm, followed by pre-race ceremonies for the 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com or www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.

Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl starting lineup (first 22 of 28 starting positions)

Row  Pos      #   Driver/Hometown               Sponsor/Car      

  1       1 97NH  Joey Polewarczyk, Jr./Hudson, NH    Pole’s Automotive/NHPrecision.com Chevrolet

           2      32    Jean-Paul Cyr/Milton, VT            Ehler’s RV/RPM Racing Engines Chevrolet

  2       3 05    Craig Bushey/Cambridge, VT          Vermont Life Safety Dodge

           4      55NH  Brad Leighton/Center Harbor, NH     Irving Oil/Subway Ford

  3       5 45    Brian Hoar/Williston, VT                  Burnett Scrap Metals/Goss Dodge Dodge

           6      78    Ryan Nolin/Georgia, VT              Mountain Air Systems/Champ 101.3 Chevrolet

  4       7 91    Patrick Laperle/St-Denis, QC        Systemes Interieurs Descoste Chevrolet

           8      89    Scott Payea/Milton, VT              Ouellette Plumbing & Heating/Leahy Press Ford

  5       9 55VT  Brent Dragon/Milton, VT             Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT Chevrolet

         10 85VT  Trampas Demers/S. Burlington, VT    Jiffy Mart Chevrolet

  6     11    6   Cris Michaud/Northfield, VT         Merchants Bank/Burrell Roofing Ford

         12 26    John Donahue/Graniteville, VT       National Guard Ford

  7     13  48VT  Robbie Crouch/Tampa, FL       Shearer Chevrolet/Pete’s RV Chevrolet

         14 86    Dennis Demers/Shelburne, VT         Shelburne Limestone Corp. Chevrolet

  8     15  22VT  Gary Caron/Colchester, VT           VT Wholesale Lumber Chevrolet

         16 15VT  Joey Laquerre/E. Montpelier, VT           Domino’s Pizza/Laquerre’s Marine Pontiac

  9     17    9VT Chip Grenier/Graniteville, VT       Douglas for Governor/Streeter Concrete Ford

         18 02NH  Randy Potter/Groveton, NH           P&R Excavating/Caron’s Stove Shop Chevrolet

10     19   25    Dave Whitcomb/Essex Jct., VT        Ferguson Waterworks/SunRay Security Chevrolet

         20   7VT Eric Williams/Hyde Park, VT         Unicel/Ward’s Systems Chevrolet

11     21     1VT Tony Andrews/Middlebury, VT         E.A. Grandfield/Hallstrom Excavating Chevrolet

         22 76    Quinny Welch/Lancaster, NH          Mulleavey Electric Dodge

American-Canadian Tour Late Model stock car racing champion Brian Hoar will return to the driver’s seat at Thunder Road’s 45th Annual Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl on Sat./Sun., Sept. 27/28.  Hoar, 36, has been idle since the end of the 2007 season, a year in which the Williston, VT racer finished sixth in his first full season back on the ACT Late Model Tour following his fifth series championship in 2000.  He previously raced in the series now known as NASCAR Camping World East.

“I’m headed to a track in New Hampshire to test the car and knock the rust off the driver,” said Hoar.  “We’ll be in great shape on Milk Bowl weekend.  It’s been a long time since I’ve kissed a cow, and I’d love to do it again,” he said, referencing to the event’s long-standing tradition of the winning driver smooching a Vermont dairy cow in victory lane.  Hoar won the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl in 1998 and 1999, one of only two drivers in history to win in successive years.  Burnett Scrap Metals and Goss Dodge will underwrite Hoar’s return.

The Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl is the ultimate sprint race: a three-segment, cumulatively scored event paying a total of more than $60,000, including $10,000 to the winner.  Points are awarded in each segment – 1 point to the winner, 2 points for second, etc. – with the finish of each 50-lap segment inverted to start the next, leaving, for example, the winner of Segment 1 to start last (28th) in Segment 2.  The driver with the lowest three-segment total is named the overall winner.  Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Time Trials and “Triple 50” qualifying races determine the starting order of Segment 1 on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Hoar won the Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole Award in Milk Bowl qualifying each year from 1997 to 2000, years in which he also won the ACT Late Model Tour championship.  His total low score of four points to win the 1998 edition of the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl was the second-lowest in history.  Hoar is also a former track champion at Thunder Road, Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY, and the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH.

Hoar will challenge ACT Late Model Tour championship leaders Scott Payea of Milton, VT and Patrick Laperle of Montréal for the victory.  Payea leads Laperle by just 19 points entering the Milk Bowl finale.  Laperle is the defending Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl winner.  Other stars expected for the race include Thunder Road track champion Eric Williams, Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 winner Brad Leighton, and former Milk Bowl winners Jean-Paul Cyr, Phil Scott, Cris Michaud, and Dave Pembroke.

Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day begins at 1:30pm on Saturday, Sept. 27.  The last-chance “B” Feature qualifier will kick off Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl Sunday on Sept. 28 at 1:30pm.  Two-day general admission is just $25 for adults and $5 for children 6-12. Gates open at 10:00am on both days.  For more information, call (802)244-6963 or visit http://www.acttour.com/ or http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/

A huge cast of Late Model stock car racing stars will flock to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, August 31 for the 30th running of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200.  The $5,000-to-win event is the tenth of 12 races for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT), and will feature the region’s top short track talent, as many as 50 or more championship-caliber drivers.

ACT Late Model Tour point leader Scott Payea of Milton, VT and second-place Patrick Laperle of Montréal will continue a heated battle for the ACT championship.  Each is a multi-time winner at Thunder Road, and the pair fought for a recent victory at New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park before late contact sent both drivers to the rear of the field.  Payea, who won the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in May, and Laperle, the 2007 Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl winner, enter the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 separated by 51 points (671-620).

Seven-time and defending ACT champion Jean-Paul Cyr, also from Milton, VT, sits just seven points behind Laperle in third place.  Brent Dragon, Payea and Cyr’s Milton, VT neighbor, is in a tight fourth-place battle with defending Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 winner John Donahue of Graniteville, VT, and New Hampshire drivers Randy Potter of Groveton and young Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk of Hudson.  The four drivers are only 11 points apart.  Turner, ME’s Glen Luce, Barre, VT rookie Nick Sweet, and Scott Dragon of Milton, VT complete the top ten in order.

Joining the ACT Late Model Tour top ten at Thunder Road will be star drivers Donald Theetge of Québec City, recent Thunder Road feature winner Jamie “Hurricane” Fisher of Shelburne, VT, London, ON rookie Jonathan Urlin, and Wilton, ME’s “Neon” Leon Heckbert.  Former Labor Day Classic winner and ACT champion Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH will also compete.  In only two starts this season, Leighton has finishes of third at Waterford (CT) Speedbowl and fifth at White Mountain.

Thunder Road’s local divisions will qualify on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30pm, in conjunction with an optional practice session for ACT Late Models.  Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 qualifying begins at 1:30pm on Sunday, Aug. 31.  Discount advance sale tickets are available at all 36 Bond Auto Parts stores in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.  Save $5 on the front gate Adult price by purchasing tickets at any Bond Auto Parts; visit http://www.bondauto.com/ for locations.  Tickets at the Thunder Road gate will be $25 for adults and $5 for children (6-12), and are good for both days’ events.  Gates open at 12:00 noon on Saturday and 10:00am on Sunday.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/ or http://www.acttour.com/

Champion Late Model stock car drivers Cris Michaud and Robbie Crouch have filed the first two entries for the 30th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl on Sun., August 31.  Both drivers are feature winners at the historic 1/4-mile oval in 2008.  Michaud, of Northfield, VT, is in the thick of the “King of the Road” track championship battle with three victories to his credit.  Crouch, originally of Tampa, FL, earned his first Thunder Road win in nearly 20 years last month.

The Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 is the tenth of 12 rounds for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Championship, and comes just three days after the final Thunder Road Late Model weekly championship series event on Thursday, August 28.  The 200-lap Classic pays a guaranteed $5,000 to the winner, plus bonuses.

Michaud, only 35 points behind leader Eric Williams and just six points back from Phil Scott, is picturing a Labor Day weekend to remember.  “The Bond race is a big deal,” he said.  “I’ve never won it, but I want to this year.  It would be pretty special if I could win my fourth championship at Thunder Road on Thursday and then the Labor Day Classic on Sunday.  I don’t know how anyone could top that.

Crouch added the most recent chapter to his storied career on July 25, scoring a 50-lap main event in front of an enthusiastic packed house.  The win marked the first for the “Tampa Tornado” since his Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl victory in September 1990.  He previously won the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 in 1977.

John Donahue of Graniteville, VT won the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 last year, posting his first-ever ACT Late Model Tour victory in the process.  Other past winners of the race expected to compete include former ACT Champions Jean-Paul Cyr, Pete Fecteau, and Brad Leighton and legendary racer Bobby Dragon.  Entries are expected from throughout New England and eastern Canada.

The 30th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 is on Sunday, August 31 at 1:30pm at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, VT.  Discount advance sale tickets are available at all 36 Bond Auto Parts locations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.  Adult tickets can be purchased at Bond Auto Parts for just $20, a savings of $5 from the front gate price.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/ or http://www.acttour.com/.

Stock car racing fans and drivers at Barre’s Thunder Road have had enough of the bad weather, and they’re looking to break free of Mother Nature’s wrath on Thursday, Aug. 14 at the Vermont ACE Hardware Dealers Trophy Dash.  Thunder Road has fallen victim to rain in each of its last four regular-event attempts, dating back to July 24.
 
So in defiance of the weather gods, the racing will go on as scheduled on Thursday evening, with a full card of Late Models, NAPA Tiger Sportsmen, Power Shift Online Junkyard Warriors, and double 25-lap feature events for the Allen Lumber Street Stocks.
“A little rain’s not going to ruin our fun,” said Thunder Road Administrator Tina Gallison. “It’s been a lousy couple of weeks, but we’re fighting back.  We want to race!”

In addition to the racing program, the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO) will debut its multiple award-winning “GreenSpeed” hybrid race car for an on-track demonstration.  Brian Leach, Vice President of AERO and Technical Team Leader, will drive the open-wheel GreenSpeed car around the Thunder Road high banks in its first on-track performance.

The car is a true hybrid, utilizing lithium battery and internal combustion engine power simultaneously in a “parallel hybrid drive” system, and creates its own electric power refueling source through regenerative braking – a process that transfers energy from brake friction into usable electric power.  GreenSpeed was given four awards at the International Formula Hybrid Competition, held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH in May, including runner-up honors in the top category, Technical Design, and first place for the Best Hybrid System Engineering Award from Chrysler Motors.  AERO competed against many teams, including entries from Canada, Russia, and Taiwan.
 
Green flag racing action at the Vermont ACE Hardware Dealers Trophy Dash begins at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 14.  Gates open at 5:00pm.  General admission is only $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $20 for a family of any two adults and two kids.  Thunder Road is located on Quarry Hill in Barre, VT.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.

UVM AERO at Thunder Road!

Race enthusiasts will get to cheer on UVM students on Thursday, August14 before the race (betwe en 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.) at Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont as the UVM AERO hybrid car speeds around the track.  What's unusual about this car is it runs on both gas and lithium batteries!

“GreenSpeed” is the 1st UVM hybrid racing car created by a team of energetic UVM students from the University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences new student organization called Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO).  AERO received Second Place in Technical Design (behind Embry-Riddle) during  its participation in the International Formula Hybrid Competition with other teams from as far away as Russia, Canada and Taiwan at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH May 5-7, 2008.  The car also received Best Hybrid-in-Progress Award, Chrysler's Best Hybrid System Engineering Award, and the Thayer School Dean's Award: Most Innovative Design Award.

Weighing approximately 600 pounds, the car has a 40 horsepower electric motor and a 40 horsepower gas engine for optimum speed!  The UVM team designed “GreenSpeed” as a parallel hybrid with front regenerative braking. “These two things have not been done before”, says Doug Fraser, professional engineer from Dartmouth.

“This new hybrid car burns gas more efficiently through regenerative braking with a smarter engine that gets more gas joules onto the road,” says Andrew Laing, chair of IEEE and AERO team leader.  The car, sporting Hosier racing wheels and Weld racing hubs, is really two cars in one! 

Directions to Thunder Road:
I-89 to exit 6, down limited access
road to bottom, turn left at light (Rte 14). Go about 1 mile to Quarry Hill Road, turn right. Up hill to Fisher Rd. (just before 2nd RR tracks), turn left. Track at end on right.
For more information visit:  http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/

The major UVM students who have worked on AERO include:  Andrew Laing, senior in
engineering management and electrical engineering, attended Lyndon Institute, in Lyndon Center, Vermont.

Brian Leach, sophomore in mechanical engineering,AERO Leader for mechanics on the car, attended Burr & Burton Academy, Manchester, VT.

Ed Johns, senior in electrical engineering, worked on control systems and is head of
electrical team, and is from Groton, Vermont.

Christopher Farmer, senior in electrical engineering, created the battery system, and   attended Colchester High School in Colchester Vermont.

Student team video can be
viewed on UTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9iQZ4D51dI
For more information visit:  www.Formula-hybrid.org
For more nformation visit: http://www.cems.uvm.edu/~aero

Team officers contacts:

Andrew Laing, Team Leader of Executive Team:  861-2443  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Brian Leach, Vice President & Technical Team Leader 802-999-4657 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Christopher Farmer, Team Leader, Battery System

Ed Johns, Team Leader, Electrical

Thatcher Friant, Treasurer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Advisors:  Jeff Frolik ,Assistant
Professor, UVM CEMS School of Engineering

Phone: 802.656.0732  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Paul Hines, Assistant Professor, UVM
CEMS School of Engineering

Phone: 802-656-9660 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Technical Assistant:

Floyd Vilmont, UVM CEMS Prototype
Lab, 122E Votey Phone: (802)656-4673 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sponsorships and donations for the UVM Hybrid Car

The UVM AERO’s cost is currently approximately $30,000 which has been made possible by generous donations from a variety of sponsors.

Financial Support: APR (Anderson Power Products), Mr. Ronald Brand, CTS Corporation, Hazelett Strip-Casting, IEEE Green Mountain Section, ITherm Technologies, MicroStrain,
PowerStream Technology, Tyco Electronics, Vermont Space Grant Consortium, UVM
College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, the UVM Transportation Center, and  Dr. John Cohn and Ms. Diane Mariano. Individual donors: Carrie and Nathan Stahler, Charles Lohe, James C. Iatridis, Jeff Frolik, Karyn Roberts and Saiyid Abu Rizvi.

In-Kind Support: Clarkson University, Capitol Steel,  Hazelett Stri-Casting,  Midtown Machine & Tool Supply Company, NSA Industries, Lyndon, VT, Omron, Tri-Angel MetalFab,  and the UVM Instrumentation and Model Facility (IMF).

Technical Support: eVermont, iTherm Technologies, and SBElectronics.

Dawn Densmore,
Director, Outreach & Public Relations

UVM, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences

Phone: 802-656-874

Thunderstorms and saturated grounds have forced the postponement of the NAPA Auto Parts/Make-A- Wish stock car racing event at Barre’s Thunder Road on Thursday, August 7.  The event has been rescheduled for Thursday, August 28 at 6:30pm.  Inclement weather has now postponed Thunder Road events three consecutive weeks.

The NAPA Auto Parts/Make-A-Wish program will run in its entirety on Thu., Aug. 28 with double features for the Allen Lumber Street Stocks, regular events for the Late Model, NAPA Tiger Sportsman, and Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior divisions, and the previously rained-out Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio “Port-A-Potty Grand Prix.”

The Aug. 28 now becomes the final championship event for the Thunder Road Late Model division.

Thunder Road is back in action on Sunday, Aug. 10 with the Casella Waste Management Tiger Sportsman 100, regular events for the Late Model and Street Stock divisions, and double features for the Warriors.  General admission is only $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $20 for a family of any two adults and two kids.  Gates open at 3:30pm, racing action starts at 5:00pm.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/

The annual “Port-A-Potty Grand Prix” is coming to Barre’s Thunder Road on Thursday night (July 31) as part of the Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio event beginning at 6:30pm.  The Port-A-Potty race is, frankly, just that – a race for four specially modified outhouses to be pushed down the Thunder Road frontstretch by teams of stock car drivers and pit crew members.  The first team and potty across the finish line – in this case, a roll of tissue paper stretched the width of the track – wins the Golden Seat trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights.

“I’ve got a brand new one built and ready to go, just painted,” said Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior point leader Jamie Davis of Wolcott, one of the four entered drivers.  Davis will be joined by Eric Williams, Craig Bushey, and Lloyd Blakely.  Each held their respective division’s point lead following the Times Argus Mid- Season Championship event two weeks ago, and were selected as the potty drivers.  Davis says there’s already been some ribbing between he and Williams.

“Eric comes into my workplace for auto parts a lot, and he’s already started the trash talk,” said Davis.  “He said he’ll start out running me clean, but he’s not afraid to bang into me if he needs to in order to win.  I’d hate to get into a wreck with a Port-A-Potty, but this is a big race.  We may have to do it to win.”

Along with the Calkins Port-A-Potty Grand Prix is the first-ever WDEV Radio Twin City Showdown between generally mild-mannered Montpelier Mayor Mary Hooper and “The Enforcer” Thom Lauzon, Barre City Mayor.  The two politicians will have a two-lap match race – one lap on bicycles, the preferred method of travel for Hooper, the other in stock cars, Lauzon’s top choice.  There’s no shortage of verbal sparring in that event, either.

“Mayor Hooper said she’d put me in the wall if she had to,” said Lauzon.  “I told her she’ll have to catch me to do it.”

Not to be outdone, there will also be a regular four-division card of stock car action on Calkins/WDEV Night, with the Late Model, NAPA Tiger Sportsman, Allen Lumber Street Stock, and Power Shift Warrior cars in action.  Eric Williams continues to hold the Late Model lead by 30 points over Montpelier’s Phil Scott.  Craig Bushey slipped to second place in the Sportsman class after failing to qualify for the Fisher/Federated Auto Parts main event last week.  East Montpelier’s Joey Laquerre now leads Bushey by 22 markers.

Like Bushey, Lloyd Blakely lost the Street Stock point lead to Plainfield youngster Jason Corliss after Sunday’s M&M Beverage 50-lap event.  Corliss leads the Street Stocks by just one point, while Davis clings to a three-point edge over Graniteville’s Travis Hull in the Warrior division.

General admission for the Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio event at Thunder Road on Thursday, July 31 is just $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and only $20 for a family of any two adults and any two kids.  Gates open at 5:00pm, racing begins at 6:30pm.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.

The Fisher/Federated Auto Parts stock car racing program set for Thursday, July 24 at Barre’s Thunder Road has been washed away by rain.  The four-division card has been rescheduled for Friday, July 25 at 6:30pm.  Gates will open at 5:00pm, regular admission rates will be in effect at $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $20 for a family of any two adults and any two kids.

Eric Williams of Hyde Park leads the headline Late Model division by just six points over Northfield’s Cris Michaud (533-527).  Craig Bushey of Cambridge leads the Tiger Sportsman standings, while Graniteville’s Lloyd Blakely and Wolcott’s Jamie Davis lead the Allen Lumber Street Stock and Power Shift Online Junkyard Warrior divisions, respectively.