Waterbury, VT – In a continuing celebration of the 50th anniversary of Thunder Road International Speedbowl, the greatest stock car driver of all time will be coming to Thunder Road Thursday, July 30, 2009. Seven-time NASCAR Champion and seven-time Daytona 500 winner, Richard Petty will sign autographs for fans, conduct a question and answer session with fans, and will be the Grand Marshall for the annual WDEV-Calkins Porta-Pottie Grand Prix!
A lot has changed since Petty last made his appearance at Thunder Road in 1990. Petty is now a car owner on the NASCAR Sprint Cup; Thunder Road has gone through major renovations; and many of the drivers at Thunder Road were not even born the first time Petty made his appearance.
“The Petty name is synonymous with the foundation of stock car racing. It is a great pleasure to have this pioneer of racing stop by to help Thunder Road celebrate its 50th anniversary. Our fans have a wonderful appreciation of the history of the sport and Richard certainly was a major contributor to that history”, said Ken Squier, President of Thunder Road.
Petty will conduct a press conference at 5:00pm, followed up by an autograph session from 5:45 until 6:30. Fans will be asked to submit questions for Petty to answer during an intermission interview with Squier. Perhaps the highlight of the evening will be dropping the green flag on the annual “Porta-Pottie Grand Prix”. This unique event is presented courtesy of the evening’s co-sponsor…Calkins Portable Toilets … whose slogan is “# 1 in the # 2 business”! Richard Petty has seen about everything there is to see in racing, but it is assumed that this will be his first experience in an official capacity as Grand Marshall of this unique intermission event. The divisional leading teams following the Times Argus Mid-Season Championships are required to bring the most colorful and unique ‘racing port-a-lets’ or something that passes inspection, in the one of a kind race for the ‘golden plunger’ award.
Gates will open at 5pm and racing starts at 6:30. Admission is only $9.50 for adults and a family pass is available for two adults and two kids (6-12) for only $20. All four divisions of racing will be presented where over 120 teams will compete at the ‘Nation’s Site of Excitement’.