(Press Release from Emily Packard Motorsports)
Emily Packard (Photo: Emily Packard Motorsports)
Coming off her sixth place finish at Lee USA Speedway this past weekend, Emily Packard and her 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels team are ready to tackle the quarter mile high banked oval of Thunder Road.
Packard’s best finish here in the American Canadian Tour spring race was a third place back in 2014, but she is hoping to keep her early season progress heading in the right direction.
“We are looking to continue our momentum as we head into Thunder Road,” said Packard. “We have had two good runs so far and we are hoping that continues this weekend.”
Earlier this week it was announced that Packard was chosen as a recipient of one of the American Racer Three Stars Awards from ACT for her run at Lee USA Speedway.
“I was very happy to receive the American Racer Three Star Award,” said Emily. “I have had some time to reflect on last week at Lee; it was the best finish I have ever had there, and I feel that we have come a long way already. The Three Star Award is not just for me but the entire team, and it shows that we are headed in the right direction.”
The 19-year old driver is no stranger to the Vermont track as she ran here weekly for a couple seasons before making the jump in 2015 to focus strictly on the American Canadian Tour.
“Thunder Road can be awesome or discouraging, as it’s a tricky track. I have gone there and had some really good runs, but Thunder Road is just one of those places,” Emily said. “Racing there full time we didn’t see the results that we were hoping for and it was really discouraging. However, racing the tour kind of changed my view, once the race was complete; I was already thinking about the next track we were headed to so I didn’t have the time to be disappointed. But as we head back this weekend, I am feeling pretty good about our chances.”
In last year’s race, Packard finished with a solid sixth place and is looking to improve on that that finish this year.
“Things are going very well so far with our partnership with the Polewarczyk’s,” said the East Montpelier native. “The car has been great, and they (the Polewarczyk’s) have been so supportive and encouraging, which has helped improve both the confidence I have in myself and the confidence I have in the car. They take my feedback and make the adjustments to make the car more comfortable and suitable to my driving style. I am anxious and excited to get to Thunder Road to see how the car is this weekend.”
This weekend kicks off on Saturday April 30th with the annual downtown Barre car show from 9 am to noon time. From there the cars will parade up Quarry Hill to Thunder Road and spend the afternoon practicing and getting their cars race ready. Sunday May 1st spectator gates open at 10 am, with late model heats scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm. Later that afternoon the green flag will fall on the 18th Annual Merchants Bank 150.
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