(Press release from Thunder Road International Speedbowl)
The stars of Thunder Road International Speedbowl and American-Canadian Tour (ACT) will meet all together once more in 2023 at the annual Banquet of Champions this Saturday, November 4. All of the top teams, including 2023 American-Canadian Tour champion D.J. Shaw, Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model King of the Road Stephen Donahue, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger champion Kyle Streeter and rk Miles Street Stock champion James Dopp, will meet at the Barre Elks Club for the end-of-season celebration of their 2023 achievements plus a full contingent of annual special awards and random-draw prizes!
Along with the overall top-10 finishers in ACT Touring and weekly Thunder Road Late Model, Flying Tiger and Street Stock competition, the top-5 in Myers Container Service Flying Tiger Triple Crown Series competition will be celebrated along with a highlighted group of Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior teams who once again made the entry-level division one of Thunder Road’s most entertaining week in and week out.
Nearly $100,000 in point fund monies and contingency prizes will be given out to the racers that called Thunder Road and ACT home in 2023. Multiple manufacturers that participate in the Thunder Road and American-Canadian Tour programs have added such prizes as full body kits, suspension components and cash prizes. Raffle prizes include body kits courtesy of both AR Bodies and Five Star Bodies for Thunder Road Late Models and Flying Tigers and the ACT Touring teams. One set of QA1 Shocks will be raffled to both a Thunder Road and ACT Late Model team while both a 54-gallon drum of Sunoco 110 Race Fuel and a set of powder coated Bassett Wheels will be raffled to an ACT 100%er.
Alongside the raffle prizes, Tilton Racing, N.E.S. Enterprises, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, KRC Power Steering, DRP Performance Products and Edelbrock Corporation are among those who also contribute products and prizes for overall champions and top point finishers. Adding in point fund money for the three Thunder Road divisions and the ACT Tour pushes Saturday’s haul to nearly $100,000 for those that supported the iconic track and the legendary series.
Annual Special Awards will also be given out to secret winners including the annual Most Improved Driver, Rookie of the Year and Sportsmanship awards for both Thunder Road and the ACT Tour. Along with the coveted ACT Crew Chief of the Year, a litany of memorial awards begin with the Pete Hartt Media Award, Ed Carroll Sportsmanship Award and Doc Nielsen Outstanding Rookie Award. The Ken Squier Award will be given for contributions to Thunder Road while the Tom Curley Award will be gifted for contributions to the ACT sanctioning body. Lastly, the beloved Don MacTavish Award will be handed to someone who has supported Northeast stock car racing over a lifetime of contributions.
The annual Banquet of Champions is set for Saturday, November 4 at the Barre Elks Club in Barre, Vermont as the top teams from Thunder Road and the American-Canadian Tour celebrate their 2023 stock car racing season in style. Special Award winners will be released during Saturday’s banquet, along with nearly $100,000 in season-long point fund and contingency prizes.
For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.
Running a race track or a series is a lot like campaigning a race car. In racing every detail counts right down to the tiniest optimal clearances, part and fabrication integrity all contributing to the final lap times. It’s the same with a track like Thunder Road. The track obviously beautiful and well run but there’s more. The way they support their race teams, the long list of support from businesses that help with event sponsorships plus the relationship with FloRacing adding an additional money stream to support the track and teams.
Apologies for kicking the dead horse but the contrast with the Speedbowl is glaring. Fans restless about various details from the time it takes to clean up wrecks, the length of the shows, treatment of competitors, sketchy food and drink offerings but it all comes back to one missing element. The track purposely or by circumstance is not able to master all the things it takes to be successful like Thunder Road. The owner with an alternative agenda almost impossible to understand, happy to limp along on the backs of the most loyal fans and competitors.
A huge missed opportunity.
As I wrote in a comment a few weeks ago Thunder Road and Stafford are in ‘rarefied air’ as far as asphalt short tracks go, Car count and fan support are phenomenal. They also keep things moving along with what seems to me as a flo-racing observer ; fewer cautions per event than most tracks. Go figure that neither track races their weekly show on Saturday night and it’s a head scratcher to the casual observer. Respect is earned not given and Thunder Road and Stafford have that three way thing going between racers, track employees and fans. I hope it remains for a long time. Seems like at Waterford there is a great chasm between one or more of the three key ingredients. Based on what I read in that other thread comments , not many people are optimistic about things turning around.