photo by Norm Marx
Barre, VT—The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Models make their inaugural visit to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, May 24 as part of the 53rd Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. The 150-lap event, held in tandem with the 100-lap Classic for Thunder Road’s American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models, is shaping up to be one of the biggest events of the early 2015 season.
PASS’s trip to the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” was born from an off-season alliance between ACT and PASS. It will be the first time Super Late Models have visited the track since the 1995 Vermont Milk Bowl won by Petrolia, Ontario’s Dave Whitlock with the former ACT Pro Stock Tour. 2012 PASS North Champion Travis Benjamin is one of the many drivers excited about the event.
“When I was a kid, I watched my father (Ron) race there, (Robbie) Crouch, and those guys,” Benjamin recalled. “It was pretty cool to watch them win there. It’d be incredible to win the first PASS race there.”
Many of the PASS regulars come into the event with little or no prior experience at the ¼-mile oval. Morrill, ME’s Benjamin raced at the track in 2001 and 2002 with the NASCAR Busch North Series, but says that the Super Late Models will be a new challenge.
“That won’t help me, but at least I can say I’ve been there,” Benjamin said. “Our series is so tight. There’s so many good people that work on the cars in our series; there’s so many good drivers.”
Turner, ME’s Mike Rowe is one of the few active drivers who have raced Super Late Models at Thunder Road. The 1994 ACT Pro Stock Tour Champion won a 175-lap event in his title season and finished sixth in the 1995 Milk Bowl.
Rowe has shown no signs of slowing down 20 years later. The 64-year-old has won two of the first three events in the 2015 PASS season and currently leads the point standings.
“I’ve always liked (Thunder Road), and I’m looking forward to the event,” Rowe said. “I hope my experience there will help me. We’ve got a lot of good drivers on the Tour, but I like Thunder Road, and that’s a plus. I’m just excited to be going back.”
Rowe’s son Ben brings experience from his time on the ACT Late Model Tour, having finished fourth in the 2008 Labor Day Classic. The three-time PASS National Champion struggled up North in 2014, but finished second to dad Mike at Star Speedway on Saturday, May 9.
Defending PASS North Champion D.J. Shaw will be on hand, as will six-time PASS North Champion Johnny Clark and young standout Joey Doiron. ACT and Thunder Road “invaders” such as defending ACT Tour Champion Joey Polewarczyk Jr., eight-time ACT Champion Brian Hoar, and two-time Tour Champion Wayne Helliwell Jr., and 2013 Labor Day Classic winner Travis Stearns will also attempt to qualify for the historic event.
The first ever PASS Thunder Road 150 will be held on Sunday, May 24 as part of the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. Thunder Road’s ACT Late Models will run 100 laps, and the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks will also be on hand. Post time is 1:30pm.
Practice for all Thunder Road weekly divisions will be held on Friday, May 22. The pits will open at 3:00pm with practice going from 4:00-7:00pm. The PASS Super Late Models will have an open practice on Saturday, May 23; the pit gates will open at 10:00am with practice from 12:00-4:00pm.
For more information contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or www.proallstarsseries.com.