Rookie Williams Wins Thunder Road Driver of the Year

Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Awards presented by Subway

Rookie stock car driver Tucker Williams was voted the winner of the Vermont Motorsports Magazine Thunder Road International Speedbowl Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway, as decided by readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine, an online news website. The 18 year-old Hyde Park competitor finished third in 2009 championship standings in the four-cylinder Street Stock division at Thunder Road in Barre, winning four feature races, including his first-ever start at the track in May, and handily won the Rookie of the Year title. Junkyard Warrior champion Donny Yates of North Montpelier, a six-time winner in 2009, finished second in the balloting.

Williams and Yates dominated the VMM/Subway Thunder Road Driver of the Year Award vote, earning a combined 71% of the tally registered at Vermont Motorsports Magazine during a one-week open poll. Dave Pembroke of Middlesex, winner of both prestigious Memorial Day Classic and Labor Day Classic events in 2009, was third in the poll. Other high-ranking drivers on the 15-person ballot included Late Model Track Champion Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton, Tiger Sportsman division champion Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, and Warrior driver Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield.

Williams is the third VMM/Subway Driver of the Year honoree, joining Bradford's Tom Placey (Bear Ridge Speedway) and Tim LaDuc of Orwell (Devil's Bowl Speedway). Over 1,000 votes have been tallied in the month-long polling at Vermont Motorsports Magazine.

Voting for the Vermont Motorsports Magazine "On The Road" Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway is now open through 11:59pm on Sunday, November 29. The "On The Road" award will honor the top Vermont driver racing primarily on a touring series or at a track out of state. Nominees on the 30-driver ballot include American-Canadian Tour champion Brian Hoar of Williston, Granite State Mini Sprint series champion Lacey Hanson of Orwell, multi-division star Chris Riendeau of Ascutney, White Mountain Motorsports Park (N.H.) champion Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury, Airborne (N.Y.) Speedway driver Aaron Bartemy of Sheldon, and undefeated Riverside (N.H.) Speedway champion Derek Ming of Island Pond.

A final, overall "2009 Driver of the Year" poll will be held at the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website on the first week of December; nominees will include the top vote-getters from the Bear Ridge Speedway, Devil's Bowl Speedway, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, and "On The Road" polls. To vote, visit http://vtmotormag.blogspot.com/. The VMM Driver of the Year Awards are presented by Subway of Barre, Montpelier, Waterbury, and Northfield. For more information on Subway, visit http://www.subway.com/.

(PHOTO: VMM/Subway Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl Driver of the Year Tucker Williams. Photo by Leif Tillotson.)