BARRE, VT – Summer in Vermont officially begins on Thursday evening, as Ferguson Waterworks presents the first of 12 Thursday night stock car racing events at Barre’s Thunder Road. Four divisions of race cars will compete at the high-banked ¼-mile oval on Quarry Hill to kick off the 48th year of traditional Thursday night summer races.
Dave Pembroke of Montpelier leads the way in the ACT Late Model division following the first two
championship events for his class. Pembroke won the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 100 last month and is the Late Model division’s point leader. He also represented Thunder Road by leading many laps and finishing second at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada one week ago. Joey Becker of Jeffersonville won the Thunder Road Late Model championship lid lifter at the Casella Waste Management Mother’s Day Extravaganza, and trails Pembroke by just seven points, 157-150.
Hometown driver Nick Sweet heads the standings in the intermediate NAPA Tiger Sportsman division after three championship events, posting a win in the Merchants Bank feature on May 6. Sweet also has finishes of third and ninth this season, bringing his point total to 212. Pete Ainsworth, Jr. of Middlesex ranks second at 189 points.
Allen Lumber Street Stock veteran Lloyd Blakely of Barre is riding a streak of three consecutive top-four finishes to start his season. Blakely sandwiched a fourth-place Mother’s Day finish with a pair of third-place runs, and leads Mekkelsen RV feature winner Mike Martin of Craftsbury Common, 208 points to 203.
Like Blakely, Hardwick’s Bunker Hodgdon leads the Power Shift Junkyard Warrior point standings on the strength of three-straight finishes of fourth or better. Hodgdon won the Casella Waste Management event and leads David Whitcomb of Elmore, 217-192.
Green flag qualifying action on Ferguson Waterworks Night begins at 7:00pm. All four racing divisions will be in action, along with classic race cars from the New England Antique Racers (NEAR) organization.
Thunder Road continues its tradition as the best entertainment value in Vermont with general admission prices at only $9 for adults, $3 for children, and just $18 for a family of four. For more information, visit
www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or call (802) 244-6963.
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