BARRE, VT – Three Vermont Late Model stock car drivers will slug it out for the 2008 “King of the Road” Track Championship at Barre’s Thunder Road on Thursday night, as NAPA Auto Parts and Make-A-Wish present the final regular weekly event of the season at 6:30pm. Eric Williams of Hyde Park holds a narrow 16-point lead over two three-time champions, Cris Michaud of Northfield and Montpelier’s Phil Scott, who are deadlocked in a second-place tie entering the final 50-lap race.
“I don’t lay awake at night thinking about the championship, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to
win it,” says Williams.
“We’re racing for the win on Thursday; I think that’s the only way any of us will win the title,” said
Michaud. “I’m in a good position,” says Scott. “There’s no pressure on me.”
Williams’ best result in a championship chase has been second, twice, including falling just one point shy of the title in 1999. Michaud was the “King of the Road” in 2001, 2004, and 2005, while Scott won championships in 1996, 1998, and 2002. Scott tied for the championship in 2003, but lost the title to Jamie Fisher in a tie-breaker.
“I’ve been the chaser and I’ve been chased,” said Scott. “I think Eric has a lot of pressure on him, and Cris has been close behind him all year. I’ve come from behind, and I never considered myself a title contender until this week. I really have nothing to lose, and I’m just going to try to win the race and then we’ll see how the points end up. It’ll be wild, and it should be a lot of fun.”
In addition to the NAPA/Make-A-Wish 50-lap Late Model feature to determine Thunder Road’s 2008 champion, the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division will have twin 30-lap features, as they make up the previously rained-out Calkins Portables/WDEV Radio event to kick off the night. The Sportsmen will return later in the evening for the regularly scheduled NAPA/Make-A-Wish card along with the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Online Junkyard Warriors. The championship battles for those three divisions will conclude at the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl on September 28.
General admission for the NAPA Auto Parts/Make-A-Wish event at Barre’s Thunder Road is only $9.50 for adults, $3 for children (6-12), and just $20 for a family of any two adults and two kids. Gates open at 5:00pm on Thursday, August 28, with racing action beginning at 6:30pm. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.