On July 15 NASCAR Cup Series driver and former Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece needed only some practice laps behind a wheel of a Late Model to be sold on the magic that is Thunder Road International Speedbowl.
“They need to have a Modified race here,” Preece said after practicing in preparation for the 42nd Essex Equipment Vermont Governor’s Cup on July 15.
Preece will get his wish in 2022 for a Tour Type Modified visit to the Green Mountain state.
Management from the Tri-Track Open Modified Series and Thunder Road confirmed Monday that the series will visit the historic quarter-mile in Barre, Vt. for a $10,000 to win event on Sunday May 29, 2022.
“It’s an honor to be invited to such an iconic race track,” Tri-Track Open Modified Series managing partner Ed Bennett told RaceDayCT Monday.
The Tri-Track Open Modified Series event will be a part of the 59th Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic racing card at Thunder Road, which is headlined by the track’s Late Model division.
“We know fans have wanted to see Tour Type Modifieds back at Thunder Road for a while, and we’re excited to finally make it happen,” Thunder Road managing partner Cris Michaud added. “Tri-Track has a top-notch group of drivers and officials at every event, and they always put on a good show. It’s easy to see why they’ve become so popular among the region’s race fans in such a short time. With the Memorial Day Classic plus our local divisions also on the program, it’s going to be a spectacular holiday racing weekend.”
It will mark the first Tri-Track Open Modified Series at Thunder Road and the first visit to Thunder Road by a Tour Type Modified series since May 2010 when the Modified Racing Series competed at the track.
“Wayne Darling, myself, and the entire Tri-Track Open Modified Series staff and teams are excited to be heading to this iconic race track for 2022,” Bennett said. “We are looking forward to visiting Vermont and showcasing Modified racing to their dedicated fan base.”
NOW I finally have a good reason to go to Thunder Road!!
The last time Tri Track got a little out of it’s comfort zone geographically was in 2019 with a trip to Oxford Plains. For that one they got 32 cars and 5 didn’t even make the feature so distance should not be a problem at all.
Thanks to FloRacing we had a chance to view the racing at Thunder Road this year on a regular basis and what an eye opener. The track is pristine and most of the divisions race under a blanket frequently with good passing on the outside. How that translates to the modifieds is unknown but if Preece says it could be good then it likely will.
2+2+2 was good in 2021 but the track diversity in 2019 with 6 races at 5 tracks is something this fan is hoping for this being the ideal start. Still hoping Stafford can be a race and yes I know the track size is not in Tri Tracks wheel house.
It has to be better then the last time Mods were at Thunder road. The MRS was almost thrown out after that wreckfest in qualifying where Pennick went over in 1 and 2 and barrel rolled to the pits. It was the first time I ever heard fans actually boo at Thunder Road as they love their fenders. Hopefully they put on a good show.
This is a different track than it was then. There is a wall all around the track now vs just an open bank from turn 1 to the exit of turn 3. The back straight is probably 3-4 feet narrower than before. This is a whole different track. Like riverhead but less runoff room
All the more reason to make it out to this bucketlist track. Follow it weekly along with Stafford. Only thing that sucks is the prospect of making the trip but, getting rained out. Cup weekends you can take extra days. Grassroots tracks not so much. Would love to get to Bowman Gray someday to. Love .25 mile tracks and anything else under a half mile.
I have seen MRS at Thunder Road. The track is beautiful. The crowds were quite good. I was impressed with the place. I went before they put the wall all around the track and increased seating on the backstretch and in turn 3 and 4. From seeing it on flow, it looks like they have done a lot of work on the place since i have been there. They took out the infamous ” widow maker” wall in turn 1.That alone is a great improvement. I would think this race will be well received, car count and crowd wise. Nice holiday weekend trip for some of us Southern New Englanders no doubt. .I remember one of the MRS races was not great. I think the car count was a little lower than normal for what MRS was pulling at the time. Not sure why but one of the races was especially difficult with a lot of spins and wrecks.. If i remember correctly, they may have cut laps it was so bad. I think they flipped a modified or two during the events. It was pretty bad. It may have just been one of those nights. I am sure Tri Track will put on a good show.
This was on my bucket list a few years back and am certainly glad I went.Great atmosphere and the racing was excellent.Not sure about the mods though.