WATERBURY, VT – Entries for “The People’s Race” – the 23rd Annual M&M Beverage Enduro 200 auto race at Barre’s Thunder Road – are pouring into the main office in Waterbury. The Enduro, which will run on Sunday, July 29, is a 200-lap “survival” race with over 100 amateur drivers piloting virtually street-legal automobiles. Cars will line up three abreast in a standing start as the cheering fans count down to begin the race.
The race will only be stopped in emergency situations or to clear expired cars from the track. The first driver to finish 200 laps will earn a cool $2,000.
Mike Chapin of Chelsea will race in his first M&M Beverage Enduro 200 in over ten years. Chapin and more than 100 of his closest friends will experience spinouts, crashes, blown tires, slick track conditions, and obstacles of all kinds during the 200-lap race.
“I’m after the $2,000, isn’t everybody?” he said with a laugh. “I finished 25th in a Cadillac the last
time I raced, and all I really want to do is finish again. It’s a lot of fun, that’s what it’s about.” Chapin
will steer a front wheel drive Oldsmobile 88 Royale in this year’s Enduro.
Drivers from eight Vermont counties and two New Hampshire counties have filed official entries, with many more expected in the coming days and weeks. Included on the roster are Johnson resident David Lamell, Scott Carr of Charlestown, NH, and veteran Enduro racer “Dipstick” Don Tofani of Plainfield. Richmond’s Corey Ann Hartwell is the first female competitor entered.
M&M Beverage will also present special events for the Allen Lumber Street Stock and Power Shift Junkyard Warrior divisions that regularly compete at Thunder Road’s Thursday night events. David Allen of North Troy won the Street Stock special last season, while Waitsfield’s Kevin Streeter took the Junkyard Warrior feature.
The M&M Beverage Enduro 200, plus feature events for the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors, is set to shake, rattle, and maybe even roll on Sunday, July 29. General admission for “The People’s Race” is $9 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $18 for a family of four. Post time is scheduled for 6:00pm. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit