Thunder Road Teams Up With Troy Kingsbury to Fight Illiteracy in Vermont

RaceToRead.jpg – The hood of Troy Kingsbury’s #39 Street Stock is already adorned with dozens of signatures from Race To Read participants. (Photo by Alan Ward)

Barre, VT — With the rise of technology and a new generation, illiteracy in the U.S. becomes a critical problem. It is harder and harder to find ways to get kids interested in reading with all the other options in today’s society, but it remains just as important. Thunder Road has teamed up with Allen Lumber Street Stock driver Troy Kingsbury, of Waitsfield, VT to try and help with the issue here in Vermont. The program is called Race to Read.

“Race to Read is a program I saw a 15-year old racer in North Carolina do for a local elementary school. It seemed like a great way to get the kids involved in racing, and I thought, Why couldn’t we do that in Vermont?” said Kingsbury.

Troy Kingsbury has been taking his Street Stock race car to the small elementary schools of Vermont, eight of them so far, and is inspiring kids to read of their own accord. They are told about the importance of literacy not only in racing, but in all aspects of culture, and are encouraged to read by a simple offer: If they read 15 books they will get to sign the hood of the #39 Street Stock.

But the deal gets sweeter.

With Thunder Road behind the program, it now hits the big stage at “The Nation’s Site of Excitement.” Children who have shown progress on their 15 book goal can come to Thunder Road and be entered into a raffle for family passes, among other sponsored prizes. The winner will also get to place a Race to Read sticker on any driver’s car for the night. If that driver finishes on the podium, the winner will get to participate in the Victory Lane celebrations.

Tom Curley, co-owner and long-time Promoter of Thunder Road is thrilled with the opportunity.

“We applaud and support Troy for his efforts with this important and very worthy cause. Thunder Road is an affordable, exciting, place for families to get together. If we can also assist Troy with the “Race to Read” program, that becomes a bonus for our teams, fans, and overall operation,” said Curley.

The Race to Read program kicks off at the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic on Sunday, May 27, 2012. Gates open at 10am, Post time is set for 1:30pm. Admission is: Adult $15, Children 6 to 12 are $5 and a Family Pass (2 adults, 2 kids) is $30.

For a video on the program, head to http://youtu.be/SsFrt3b8mj0 For more information about Race to Read head to www.racetoread.org

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