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.