-by Justin St. Louis
The buzz during the last couple of days has surrounded the Champlain Valley Racing Association and promoter Bruce Richards considering a change from dirt to asphalt racing at both Devil's Bowl Speedway in West Haven and Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., as soon as 2010.
The reason for the switch at Albany-Saratoga is multifaceted, including sprawling urban development in surrounding areas that are now being affected by dust from the track, and the opening of a microchip manufacturing plant in Malta. The dust clouds kicked up during events at the track have reportedly received complaints from residents and town officials in Malta, and would negatively affect the air quality surrounding the microchip plant, owned by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., which is said to need a 'clean' environment. The switch from dirt to asphalt at sister track Devil's Bowl would then be a matter of necessity, as the two speedways rely on many of the same racers and cars, and would need to continue with a common rule book for competitors at both tracks.
On a personal level, Todd Stone of Middlebury doesn't like the idea of a changeover.
"I went from racing dirt to asphalt, and then back to dirt, and I don't think I want to race asphalt again on a regular basis," he said. Stone, the defending 358 Modified track champion at Devil's Bowl, had a very successful stint racing asphalt Late Models at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and with the American-Canadian Tour earlier in the decade, but says he prefers the dirt surfaces.
"Asphalt's not as much work, and I didn't enjoy it as much as dirt," he said. "On asphalt, you can have a phenomenal car, but if you get stuck in traffic, you just wait until you can pass a car, and sometimes you just can't. With dirt, you can try things like different lines -- you can go way up high, or you can go way down low to pass cars -- and it's more exciting."
But thinking beyond just his own preferences, Stone wonders what a change from dirt to asphalt would do to the budgets of his competitors.
"The big class at Malta and The Bowl is the Modifieds. For the rest of the divisions, it wouldn't be that big of a problem [to convert their cars to asphalt setups] -- the Budget Sportsmen, the four-cylinders, and all those guys -- but it would be a major change for the Modifieds," said Stone. He thinks that drivers like Brett Hearn and Kenny Tremont, who have much larger budgets than most teams -- and therefore, much more money invested in equipment for dirt racing at the two CVRA tracks -- would be reluctant to make the change, and would instead find another track to race at with similar rules. "I don't think a lot of the Modified guys would do it, I think they'd go to Fonda or Accord or somewhere else. You know, are they just going to throw away their dirt stuff? I don't think so."
Stone, who already has a Modified car built specifically for a part-time asphalt racing schedule at Airborne Speedway, says he also doubts that many teams from Airborne would support the CVRA tracks.
"[Airborne promoter] Mike Perrotte is getting great car counts, but he's pulling a lot of cars way out of Canada, and they're already hauling a long way to race. I don't think they would come all the way down here to race at Malta or Devil's Bowl."
Stone said he will likely have to make a major decision about the future of his race team, and soon. In theory, Stone said he could stay racing in Vermont at Bradford's Bear Ridge Speedway, "but we'd have to change all of our motors to the (smaller) Budget motor," which would be a major financial setback. "I really don't know what we would do. Maybe it's time to get out. I'm 41 and I've got three kids. I've been racing for 20 years, maybe if they switch I'll just stop racing."
Rest assured, we'll keep our eyes on this story.
***
Nice article about Barre's Thunder Road on NASCAR.com today. Dave Rodman pretty much nailed it, in our opinion.
***
Um, we don't mean to alarm you, but it's almost time for that glorious weekend road trip to Oxford, Maine. Early guesses: Joey Polewarczyk, Tim Brackett, Brian Hoar, and John Donahue, plus, oh, 20 others that have a chance. What's the Vegas line on Steven Wallace, 40:1?
***
Saturday is the opening round for the ACT Tri-State Series for the Tiger Sportsman class at Airborne Speedway. What's the Vegas line on Geoff Bodine, 85:1?
***
VMM erroneously reported last week that driver Jessica Zemken of Sprakers, N.Y. was in a driver development deal with NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. Our source, who had never steered us wrong before, was misinformed, and therefore, so were we. Shame on us for not doing better homework.
Twenty-three year-old Zemken is a standout driver in open-wheel dirt-track competition and has made a pair of Modified starts on the asphalt at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this season behind the wheel of a car usually driven by track promoter Mike Perrotte, who is a competitor at Albany-Saratoga Speedway and Devil's Bowl Speedway. On June 27, Zemken finished 12th in the car and had Stewart in the pits to lend a helping hand. Our source reported that Stewart was there to oversee Zemken, who was understood to have entered into a driver development contract with Stewart.
As VMM was attending the ACT Late Model Tour event at White Mountain Motorsports Park in New Hampshire, we were unable to confirm everything first-hand, and that's where the wires became crossed.
For the record, Zemken is not under a development contract with Tony Stewart, Tony Stewart Racing, or Stewart-Hass Racing. Stewart and Zemken have become friends through racing, and Stewart, in the northeast for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend at Loudon, N.H., flew to Plattsburgh and Airborne Speedway as no more than a crew member for Zemken's efforts. Again, our source reported bad information, and VMM dropped the ball by not confirming what we were told.
Our repeated efforts to contact Zemken since last week have gone fruitless, but Doug Elkins of dougsdirtdiary.com caught up with her at Utica-Rome Speedway on Sunday and she cleared up the story.
Our sincere apologies to Jessica Zemken, Tony Stewart, Mike Perrotte, Airborne Speedway, their fans and sponsors, and the readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine. It is our goal to provide accurate, unbiased, and timely news concerning auto racing in and around Vermont. If VMM doesn't have integrity, it has nothing, so here we are, called on the carpet, admitting our mistake. Consider it an embarrassing lesson learned.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Aaron Bartemy of Sheldon finished eighth in the Modified feature on Saturday night with Don Scarborough of Brandon ninth. Larry Underwood of Milton was fourth in the Sportsman feature, with Richie Turner of Fairfax seventh. Mike Terry of Grand Isle won the Renegade feature, with Swanton's Dave Rabtoy fourth, Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax ninth and Kevin Boutin of Swanton tenth.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): Todd Stone of Middlebury finished second in the 358 Modified feature on Friday night, and Frank Hoard, III of Manchester was fourth in the Budget Sportsman race. Fred Little of Salisbury was fourth in the Pro Street Stock race with Londonderry's Lori Langevin eighth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Saturday's races were cancelled due to bad track conditions caused by earlier rains.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Gene Pierson of East Corinth finished fifth in the Sportsman Modified event on Friday night, while East Thetford's Jason Gray was eighth and Dave Lacasse of Thetford Center was ninth. Dan Eastman of Thetford Center won the Street Stock race, with Ascutney's Cricket Williams fifth, Tyler Stygles of Bradford eighth, and Will Hull of East Montpelier tenth. Josh Sunn of White River Junction was second in the Mini Stock race with Wilder's Andy Johnson third. Alford Manning of Thetford Center was tenth in the Bandit race.
Canaan Fair Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Saturday night's race card was rained out.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven): In a weekend doubleheader, Cullen Howe of South Londonderry won the Budget Sportsman "Gold" feature on Saturday as part of the Ridge Runner Series, with Thetford Center's Wayne Stearns fourth and Frank Hoard, III of Manchester fifth. Rob Ketcham of Sudbury was the Limited winner on Saturday over Hydeville's Bill Duprey and Mike Clark of Brandon. Kayla Bryant of Rutland won the Mini Stock race. Tim LaDuc of Orwell was the 358 Modified runner-up on Sunday with Frank Hoard, Sr. of Manchester fourth, Jimmy Ryan of Whiting sixth, Brian Whittemore of Florence seventh, Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon eighth, and Middlebury's Todd Stone beating his father, Gardiner Stone, for ninth place. Frank Hoard, III won the Budget Sportsman feature on Sunday, with Middlebury's Hunter Bates eighth. Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven was third in Sunday's Pro Street Stock feature, while Duprey was again the Limited runner-up.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): On Saturday, Dana Shepard of Putney finished 14th in the Super Stock race with Vernon's Heath Renaud 17th, while Whitingham rookie Ricky Bernard took a career-best fifth in the Mini Stock feature and Joe Rogers of Ludlow was 14th. It was a 1-2-3 Houle family sweep in the four-cylinder Enduro, as Vernon's Adam Houle over Dick Houle of West Brattleboro and Josh Houle of Vernon.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Bob Ailes, Sr. of St. Johnsbury finished tenth in Saturday's Late Model feature, and Concord's Denny Degreenia was the Super Stock runner-up with West Burke's Dilyn Switser fourth. Brendan Hunt of Derby Line was the Street Stock winner over Montpelier's Kyle Pembroke, Jesse Switser of West Burke, and Andrew Fecteau of Hardwick. Andy Simpson of Lyndon Center won the Cyclone race.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Reno Gervais of Island Pond earned his first career Late Model win on Sunday over Cambridge's Craig Bushey, Jamie Fisher of Shelburne, Matt White of Northfield, and Rich Lowrey of Williston. Washington's Ricky Roberts shrugged off a month of bad luck to win the Tiger Sportsman feature, with Waterbury's Brian Delphia second, Jeff Bousquet of Montpelier third, Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott fourth, and Middlesex's Pete Ainsworth, Jr. fifth. Tim Campbell of West Topsham won the Street Stock feature over North Troy's David Allen, Ron Gabaree of Barre, Danville's Bruce Melendy, and David Greenslit of Waitsfield. Lloyd Blakely of Barre won the Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior 'reserve' feature. Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield took his fourth Warrior win of the year after being his division's top driver -- seventh place -- in the 'reserve' race. Thursday's regular races were rained out.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Dwight Jarvis of Ascutney finished fourth in the Firecracker 100 at Monadnock Speedway on Saturday night, with brother Peter Jarvis, also of Ascutney, in 20th place. Kirk Alexander of West Swanzey, N.H. was the winner.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Chris Riendeau of Ascutney finished tenth in the Late Model feature on Friday as ACT regular Mark Hayward won in his first Twin State start of the season. Joey Jarvis of Ascutney was third in the Modified feature with Robert Hagar of Windsor fifth and Zach Jewett of Perkinsville sixth. Chris Wilk of Mendon won the Super Street race with Russ Davis of Cavendish fifth. Tara Tarbell of Springfield was eighth in the Strictly Stock feature with West Hartford's Jeremy Blood ninth. Jeremiah Losee of North Springfield won the Wildcat race over Cody Small of Hartland and Cavendish driver Rob Leitch.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury finished tenth in the Late Model feature on Saturday night. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville finished fifth in the Strictly Stock race with Milton's Gordie Stone sixth, and Concord's Rubin Call was second in the Strictly Stock Mini feature.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre is in action on Thursday night with Kids Rides from 4:00-5:00pm. On Friday, the True Value Modified Racing Series is at Lee USA Speedway, while regular events will be held at Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State. Saturday has the SCONE 360 Sprint Cars and Mid-Season Championships for the weekly divisions at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, the Full Fendered Frenzy for the PASS North Super Late Models and NASCAR Camping World Series East at Thompson Int'l Speedway in Connecticut, the opening round of the ACT Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series at Airborne Speedway, and regular events at Canaan Fair, Riverside, and White Mountain. The Ridge Runner Series for Budget Sportsman cars will run on Sunday at Devil's Bowl Speedway, and the ACT Late Model Tour makes the long haul to beautiful Kawartha Speedway in Ontario for the Summer Sizzler 200.
Showing posts with label Tony Stewart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tony Stewart. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
LAST LAP: A few notes that have nowhere else to go
In a whirlwind couple of weeks, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.'s name keeps coming up. It seems the youngster is starting to be in high demand, and so is his equipment.Bob Dillner of SPEED Channel, Speed51.com, and BDI Racing is in the process of reaching an agreement with Polewarczyk to have his driver, Michael Pope of Dublin, Ga., drive a Joey Pole Racing entry -- the same one NASCAR champion Tony Stewart drove at Thunder Road in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 -- in next month's TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine, and possibly, the ACT Late Model Tour event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway the following week.
In exchange, Dillner will have Polewarczyk, of Hudson, N.H., drive his PASS South Super Late Model at South Boston Speedway in Virginia for the Mason-Dixon Meltdown on October 17.
Also, we're hearing that we should expect Polewarczyk to make an appearance at the annual Oktoberfest at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in Wisconsin one week prior to the Mason-Dixon Meltdown, although the details of that arrangement -- a deal seperate from Dillner's -- are largely unknown at this point, even to Polewarczyk.
It was previously announced that Polewarczyk may also drive in a pair PASS North events at Lee USA Speedway and Seekonk Speedway for Eric DeSouza.
***
Speaking of the TD Banknorth 250, Travis Barrett of Green-White-Checker is reporting that NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Steven Wallace will race a Kendall Roberts-owned National Guard entry in the event as a teammate to White Mountain 150 winner John Donahue.
***
Cam Clairmont had Christmas come early this year. The Super Street driver at White Mountain Motorsports Park won his division's feature on Saturday night, but only after some lucky breaks. Early leader Jourdan Davis was black-flagged for a water leak, then Tyler Alati flat-out dumped leader Derek O'Hearn on lap 13, with both drivers going to the rear of the field for the subsequent restart. Clairmont, the new leader, then outlasted an outside-lane bid from Tim Churchill to take the win. Tom Keith won the Strictly Stock feature, with Opie Thayer taking Strictly Stock Mini checkers. Lucas Wheeler won the Kids Truck feature.
***
Three members of RPM Motorsports are lucky to be alive after a collision with a moose on Saturday night near Littleton, N.H. Ander Cary, Corey Forest, and Chris Burnett, crew members for the Rick Paya-owned team that fields ACT Late Model Tour entries for Brian Hoar, Mike Olsen, and Jason Bonnett, struck a young bull moose on Interstate 93 on the way back from White Mountain Motorsports Park. The roof of the Dodge Charger they were riding in was peeled back to the back seat of the car, but fortunately no injuries were sustained by any of the three men, other than bumps, bruises, and small cuts from shattered glass.
***
Tony Stewart has been a busy guy this weekend. After his race at Thunder Road on Thursday and all the stuff he does regularly on the NASCAR trail, this weekend at Loudon, N.H., Stewart flew to Plattsburgh, N.Y. and made a surprise visit to Airborne Speedway on Saturday night to help his development driver, Jessica Zemken, with her Modified for the double-points 30-lap feature. In her debut at Airborne, Zemken finished a respectable 12th.
Patrick Dupree earned his first win of the season after leader Leon Gonyo was forced to pit during a caution period with three laps remaining. Martin Roy finished second with Mike Bruno of Castelton third. Robin Wood -- who has a $100 bounty on his head for anyone that can beat him -- won his fourth-straight Sportsman feature. Other winners were Randy LaDue (Renegade), "Slow" Rick Doner (Mini-Modified), and Jayson Blondo (Bomber).
Saturday, June 27, 2009
PHOTOS: CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150
A 51-photo gallery of Thursday's CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre. All photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM. Click here to view photos.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Polewarczyk Finally Gets One At The Road
BARRE -- Maybe it was a bit late, but that made Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.'s first win in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Thunder Road on Thursday night all that much sweeter. The Hudson, N.H. driver, who turned 20 years old less than a month ago, crashed off the backstretch and out of an almost certain victory at the Barre track on Memorial Day weekend. He'd lost a couple of shots at winning the season-ending Milk Bowl. He'd been wrecked there countless times.But now that's all behind him.
You couldn't ask for a better setting: Spectacular weather with a twilight start to a big event, a visiting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion in Tony Stewart, a packed house -- maybe an all-time record crowd -- jamming the hillside seats at the track. And Polewarczyk, despite what he might have said earlier, was still seething over his latest loss at Thunder Road.
The youngster wasted no time in getting to the front; after starting in eighth place on the 30-car grid, he was fifth by the end of lap 5. By lap 18, he was third. On lap 57, he was in the lead, a position he would never relinquish. But although he was never passed for the top spot, Polewarczyk was never really comfortably out front until lap 148.
A 45-lap duel with sophomore hometown favorite Nick Sweet, beginning at lap 101, kept the crowd holding its breath -- Sweet hugging the low lane trying to nose ahead, Polewarczyk rim-riding the high side, leading the race by a matter of only a foot at times -- and could likely be thought of as one of the finest battles for a victory in recent Thunder Road memory. A late caution period, followed by a surprise visit to the front by defending Governor's Cup winner Cris Michaud only hightened the tension.
After all, Polewarczyk was running the same high line on Memorial Day when he crashed. Sweet had never won in Late Model competition and was hungry to break through, and both he and Michaud were itching to earn a possible qualifying berth for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, one of the prizes awarded to the winner of the Governor's Cup 150. And with the caution and impending restart bunching the field with just five laps to go, who knew what was going to happen?
Green flag: Sweet gets the jump in the outside lane, a place he hasn't seen -- other than in lapped traffic -- since the 1/3-mark of the race. Sweet tries his best to hold his advantage, but Polewarczyk is too strong and leads the lap. Suddenly -- and everyone saw it coming, it seems -- the pair swap lanes, trying to get back to familiar territory. It works, but only for a moment, as Sweet opens the door and Michaud ducks underneath him, taking away second place. As the two-to-go signal comes from the flagstand, Polewarczyk eases into a two car-length lead.
White flag, almost there. What could go wrong now?
Turn 1: Tore the whole nose off on Labor Day here last year.
Turn 2: Popped a radiator here in 2005.
Backstretch: Remember Memorial Day?
Turn 3: Got into it with Karl Allard here at the Milk Bowl last year and got black-flagged.
Turn 4: Ouch, that first trip in 2004. A chunk of the wall ended up inside the car that night.
Frontstretch: And none of that matters anymore. Checkered flag. It's over.
The victory lane interview with Ken Squier was barely audible over the thousands of cheering fans that had not only come to see Tony Stewart, but to see if this kid Polewarczyk had what it took to win at one of the toughest race tracks around. He was drained, physically, emotionally, mentally. In 85-degree heat, he had raced his tail off for the win, and all the memories had undoubtedly haunted him to no end.
In the inspection area a few minutes later, he'd had a bit more time to let it sink in. So Joey, you've won at Thunder Road, how does it feel? Sweat-soaked, beat red, and wearing a winner's medal around his neck with the CARQUEST logo on it, a big grin comes across his face: "Pretty friggin' good."
And that's all he needed to say.
***
In support action, Pete Ainsworth and Jimmy Hebert celebrated split Tiger Sportsman feature victories in two very different ways. Middlesex racer Ainsworth was more or less uncontested as he notched the 10th win of his career in the division, boosting him into elite status among the all-time winners of Thunder Road's oldest class of race car. For him, it was just another day at the office. However, 18 year-old Hebert, of Williamstown, battled another youngster, Bradford's Derrick O'Donnell, and earned his first-ever win. He paused during his victory lap for a impromptu smoke show and donut on the backstretch."I bent my steering shaft down punching [the steering wheel] I was so excited," laughed Hebert. "I couldn't hardly turn doing the burnout."
Ainsworth was trailed across the finish line by Shawn Fleury and Doug Crowningshield, and a razor-close finish between David Finck and Joey Laquerre; Finck got the position. Following Hebert and O'Donnell were Mike Ziter, Eric Badore, and Jeff French.
Tommy "Thunder" Smith of Williamstown drove his Thunder Road 50th Anniversary-themed car to his first win of the year in the first of two Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior features after starting 19th. Bruce Melendy finished second after contact with David Greenslit approachign the final lap sent Greenslit spinning into the infield; Greg Adams, Jr. was third over Joe Blais and Troy Gray. David Whitcomb of Elmore earned his first Street Stock main event win in the nightcap, over Tim Campbell, Mike MacAskill, Ron Gabaree, and Gary Mullen.
Donny Yates of North Montpelier and Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield were the top Junkyard Warrior drivers in the respective features; each driver took his third win of the season.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Pos.-Driver-Hometown (# - denotes rookie)
Late Model
1. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H.
2. Cris Michaud, Northfield
3. Nick Sweet, Barre
4. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne
5. John Donahue, Graniteville
6. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex
7. Trampas Demers, South Burlington
8. Phil Scott, Montpelier
9. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
10. Eric Williams, Hyde Park
11. Rich Lowrey, Williston
12. Brent Dragon, Milton
13. Tony Andrews, Northfield
14. Jason Bonnett, St. Albans
15. Eric Chase, Milton
16. Tony Stewart, Rushville, Ind.
17. Craig Bushey, Cambridge
18. Dennis Demers, Shelburne
19. Mike Bailey, South Barre
20. Joey Becker, Jeffersonville
21. Dave Paya, Milton
22. Reno Gervais, Island Pond
23. Steve Fisher, Shelburne
24. Brooks Clark, Fayston
25. Doug Murphy, Tunbridge
26. Cal Poulin, Braintree
27. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton
28. Matt White, Northfield
29. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué.
30. Robbie Crouch, Tampa, Fla.
Tiger Sportsman Feature #1
1. Pete Ainsworth, Middlesex
2. Shawn Fleury, Middlesex
3. Doug Crowningshield, Barre
4. David Finck, Barre
5. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier
Tiger Sportsman Feature #2
1. Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown
2. Derrick O'Donnell, Bradford
3. Mike Ziter, Williamstown
4. Eric Badore, Georgia
5. Jeff French, Northfield
Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior Feature #1
1. Tommy Smith, Williamstown (SS winner)
2. Bruce Melendy, Danville (SS)
3. Greg Adams, Jr., Hardwick (SS)
4. Joe Blais, East Barre (SS)
5. Troy Gray, Fairlee (SS)
12. Donny Yates, North Montpelier (JW winner)
Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior Feature #2
1. David Whitcomb, Elmore (SS winner)
2. Tim Campbell, West Topsham (SS)
3. Mike MacAskill, Williamstown (SS)
4. Ron Gabaree, Barre (SS)
5. Gary Mullen, Tunbridge (SS)
14. Kevin Streeter, Watisfield (JW winner)
(PHOTOS: 1. An exhausted Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. (right) is joined in victory lane by Vt. Governor Jim Douglas after Polewarczyk's win at Thunder Road on Thursday night; 2. Tiger Sportsman winner Pete Ainsworth. Photos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Juice: Not Another Joey Pole Column
-by Justin St. Louis
With all eyes on Tony Stewart on Thursday, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. and his team have a job to do. Yup, Stewart is driving a Polewarczyk team car, and that car needs to perform. But Polewarczyk is there to win. For himself.
He says he's not thinking about Memorial Day, when he spun out of the lead 18 laps from the finish, or the Milk Bowl victories that he's seen slip away.
"I want to get that monkey off my back at Thunder Road and win. The past is the past and I don't let it bother me, but I do want to win pretty badly," he said.
But Polewarczyk potentially finds himself in the precarious situation of racing against his own car for the victory. Would it upset him to lose to Tony Stewart?
"Um, a little bit... maybe... not really... kinda, yeah," Polewarczyk mused. "I mean, it's my old car that I decided I didn't want to race at Thunder Road any more, so that would make me a little upset if he won with it there. It's a good car with a lot of history for me, we got our first win with it [at Seekonk Speedway in 2007], and it still holds the Thunder Road track record. I haven't raced it since Chaudière last year, and it'd be cool if Tony won in it, but in a way I hope he doesn't.
"I'd rather win anyway and have him finish second."
***
Here's another excerpt from "Fifty Years of Excitement," the new Thunder Road 50th Anniversary book penned by yours truly and Dave Moody. This chapter recounts the night Dave Dion came to Thunder Road for the first time... and won the feature. What followed in the next 35 years was one of the greatest driving careers New England ever saw:
In 1972, a young Vietnam vet from Hudson, N.H. was tearing up the track at Norwood Arena near Boston, and began looking around for something new. After hearing that the regional Goodyear supplier was selling tires at a little track in Vermont, his brothers sent him up to buy a set and bring them home for their race car. But the shopping trip turned into a life-changing experience for this man Dave Dion and his family, not to mention thousands of racing fans across the northeast over the next four decades.
"I had never been to Thunder Road, I think I had only been to Vermont once, just driving through, and I sat up on Bud Hill all by myself," Dion remembers. "That track was unbelievable! There were guys bouncing off the wall, bouncing off each other, and the racing was great. I'm glad there wasn't a camera on me, I must have looked like a fool hooting and hollering at all those guys. When I got home, I told my brothers 'You gotta see this place,' and we went back a few weeks later.
"What a difference it was from the spectator-to-driver sandpoint! My brothers asked me how the car handled, and I said 'I don't know if it handles or not, you can't believe that track! The wall comes straight at you, there's no room!' I didn't like it at all, and I tried to convince my brothers to load the car up and leave because I was scared. I didn't think people should race at a track like that."
Dion stuck around, though, and the story written that night proved to be one of the most important chapters in New England auto racing history. Better to let Dion tell it himself:
"The handicappers had heard a little about us at Norwood and figured I might be a ringer, so they put us in the back of the third (high handicap) heat. Long story short, we didn't qualify. We went to the consi and were fortunate enough to make it into the feature; they started us last, and that was fine with me. There was a crash in Turn 3, and I had no idea what to do. I ended up over the bank, came back and kept going. They lined us up again and put me in front of guys like Bobby Dragon, Jean-Paul Cabana, and all the top dogs because they had wrecked, but since I kept moving they said I wasn't part of the wreck, I guess.
"So we went from 22nd to around 12th, and now I was really scared. I wanted to get the heck out of there, so I ran in fear, and somehow I got to the lead. Eventually the big guys came through the pack, and there was Cabana on my bumper, and I'd read and heard a lot about how tough Cabana was. All I know is the race wore down, there were some restarts, and I was probably all over the track, I'm sure I was, but I held him off and won the race.
"The fans were shocked. Nobody comes into Thunder Road like that and wins. Cabana was mad, he was totally insulted. We were in victory lane and he was waving his arms, speaking in French, and pointing at me.
"Some of the people there convinced us to race at Plattsburgh the next night, and we went over and everyone blew us away. We went home to Norwood and raced, and came back to Thunder Road again the next week, you know, we had to go. Well, I got outside Ronnie Barcomb thinking I knew a little more about the track now, and my right-front tire touched the wall. The next thing you know, it was one of those classic Thunder Road photos from the infield where all you could see is Barcomb's car driving by, and my roof number. The car finally rolled over and back onto its wheels by the end of the front stretch, and we decided to stay home for a while after that.
"It took a long time for me to like that track and feel comfortable. But that first night, that crowd just energized me. Thunder Road's crowd can make you do things you don't think you're capable of, you just don't want to give up when you're racing for them. I've never considered any track too tough to tame since those first nights at Thunder Road. We've run everywhere: Hickory, North Carolina; Langley Field and South Boston, Virgina; Beltsville, Maryland; all over Canada, and they were all easy to race at compared to Thunder Road."
Although the fans may have been "shocked" at his win on July 13, 1972, Dion would quickly build a die-hard following at the track unparalleled by any other driver, one that would help make him one of the most popular racers of all-time in the northeast. And over the next five seasons, Dion would win 22 more times at Thunder Road alone, many of them after instantly-legendary battles with Bobby Dragon -- during that same 1972-77 stretch, Dragon won 20 times and each driver was twice crowned "King of the Road".
After much success at Thunder Road and practically everywhere else -- they were also champions at Catamount Stadium and had an Oxford 250 title under their belts, for example -- Dion and his brothers tried their hand at a limited NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule from 1978-83, with a top finish of ninth place at Richmond, Va.
"Fifty Years of Excitement" will be available beginning Thursday, July 2 at Thunder Road's Pepsi Holiday Fireworks event. Click here for more information.
***
If my Yahoo! Fantasy NASCAR team was any worse, I'd be arrested for public indecency. I'm sure of that.
My team for the race at Infineon: Kyle Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, and Robby Gordon. Safe bets, right? Busch won that race last year, Montoya the year before, Newman's on a hot streak, and Robby Gordon can just flat drive anything he wants to, especially road courses.
Busch led, then wrecked. Newman ran up front all day, then wrecked. Gordon looked like a hero, then finished 36th. Montoya, thank God, got a top-ten. Out of the 14 people in my league, I'm ranked 159th. And national standings? Forget it.
On to Loudon. I hear Ted Christopher is racing...
***
Gonna be nice to have a little northern rep at Loudon this weekend, as Shelburne's Kevin Lepage, Sean Caisse of Pelham, N.H., and Joey Logano of Middletown, Conn. are entered in Saturday's Nationwide Series event, plus, like we just said, Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn. will be joining Logano and Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Qué. in the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.
And from the "It's A Stretch, But We'll Take It" Department, A.J. Allmendinger will run with a Dave Dion-like orange paint scheme and sponsorship from Berlin City Auto Group in the Sprint Cup Series event on his #44 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge. Or Toyota.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: The Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut was re-rained out on Saturday. The race has been re-re-scheduled for Saturday, August 8, according to the Waterford Speedbowl website.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Jason Durgan of Morrisonville, N.Y. took a well-deserved first career win in the Modifieds on Saturday night, beating defending track champion Patrick Dupree. Mike Bruno of Castleton finished fifth, with Sheldon's Aaron Bartemy sixth. Robin Wood of Plattsburgh, N.Y. scored his third-straight Sportsman win over Milton's Larry Underwood and Richie Turner of Fairfax. Dave Rabtoy of Swanton finished fourth in the Renegades, with Milton's Rob Gordon seventh and Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax tenth.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): A week after Kenny Tremont, Jr. took his 60th win at Devil's Bowl Speedway, he earned his 50th win at Albany-Saratoga on Friday night in the 358 Modified class. Fair Haven's Dave Camara finished fifth, with Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon seventh. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester was the Budget Sportsman runner-up, and South Londonderry's Cullen Howe was eighth. Lori Langevin of Londonderry finished second in the Pro Street Stock feature after Cale Kneer stole the lead on the final lap. Jeff Washburn of Benson was sixth and Chuck Towslee of Manchester Center was ninth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Wayne Stearns of Thetford Center took his second Sportsman Modified win on Saturday night, while Gene Pierson, Jr. of East Corinth finished third in his first start of the year. Bryan King of Corinth was fourth. Josh Harrington of Topsham returned to Sportsman Coupe victory lane with his fourth win of the year, over brothers Billy and Richie Simmons of Bradford. King repeated his Modified finish with a fourth in the Coupe race; Melvin Pierson of Topsham was fifth. Thetford Center's Dan Eastman won his fifth Limited Late Model feature of the season over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge and Will Hull of East Montpelier. Ryan Dutton of Bradford and Nathan Potter of Sharon each took their first Fast Four checkers of the season in twin features, while West Topsham's Kyle Ashford and Bobby Lee Bell of St. Johnsbury split Hornet features. Brenda Atherton of Fairlee won the Hornet Queen race.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Friday night's race card was rained out. A new clay surface has been laid down on the track and is being worked in for the June 26 program.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Fair Haven): Bear Ridge Speedway promoter C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. posted his first Budget Sportsman win of the year in the 50-lap Ridge Runner Series event, with Willy Knight of Dorset and Jared McMahon of Hydeville completing the underdog sweep of the podium positions. Wayne Stearns of Thetford Center was fifth. Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven finished second to Cale Kneer in the Pro Street Stocks, with Jeff Washburn of Benson, Fred Little of Salisbury, and Lori Langevin of Londonderry in tow. Bill Duprey of Hydeville picked up his second Limited win of the year over Brandon's Mike Clark. Kayla Bryant of Rutland won the Mini Stock feature with Fair Haven's Chris Murray taking top Duke Stock honors. The 358 Modifieds were not in action.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Saturday's race event was rained out.
Pro All Stars Series: Sunday's event at Unity (Me.) Raceway was rained out.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Bob Ailes, Sr. of St. Johnsbury finished fourth in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Lyndonville's Paul Schartner, III sixth, Steve Hodgdon of Danville seventh, and Brett Gervais of Island Pond ninth. Dilyn Swister of West Burke won the Super Stock feature over St. Johnsbury's Michael Smith. Andrew Fecteau of Hardwick was second in the Street Stocks with West Burke's Jesse Switser fourth. Ernie LaPlant of Lyndonville was second in the Dwarf Car race with Anthony Young of Beecher Falls third.
Série ACT-Castrol: Brent Dragon of Milton made a surprise visit to Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Québec on Saturday night and walked away with his first career Série ACT-Castrol victory. Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished sixth.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Dennis Demers of Shelburne dominated the Late Model feature on Friday night, with Robbie Crouch second. Phil Scott of Montpelier finished third over Jeffersonville's Joey Becker and Trampas Demers of South Burlington. Mike Ziter of Williamstown earned his first Tiger Sportsman win of the season over Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg, Barre's Tony Rossi, Derrick O'Donnell of Bradford, and David Finck of Barre. Street Stocker Michael Moore of East Haven won the Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior 'A' feature over Topsham's Tim Campbell. Joe Blais of East Barre finished third over Lincoln's Garry Bashaw and Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick. Donny Yates of North Montpelier was the Junkyard Warrior winner. Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick on the Street Stock/Warrior 'reserve' feature for the second week in a row.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Thursday's race at Thompson Int'l Speedway in Connecticut was postponed by rain to Thursday, July 23.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): The weekly racing program at Twin State was rained out on Friday and again on Sunday.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury finished third in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Morrisville's Dwayne Lanphear fifth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville won the Strictly Stock feature, and Concord's Rubin Call was the Strictly Stock Mini runner-up.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre welcomes NASCAR's Tony Stewart on Thursday for the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150, an ACT Invitational qualifying event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On Friday, the PASS North Super Late Models are at Maine's Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Camping World Series East is at NHMS, and regular events will be held at Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State. The ACT Late Model Tour is at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, NASCAR's Nationwide Series and Whelen Modified Tour are at NHMS, and regular events are on tap for Airborne, Bear Ridge, Canaan Fair, Mondanock, and Riverside (N.H.). Devil's Bowl and Utica-Rome speedways return to action on Sunday, while the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Lenox Industrial Tools 301 is at NHMS.
With all eyes on Tony Stewart on Thursday, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. and his team have a job to do. Yup, Stewart is driving a Polewarczyk team car, and that car needs to perform. But Polewarczyk is there to win. For himself.
He says he's not thinking about Memorial Day, when he spun out of the lead 18 laps from the finish, or the Milk Bowl victories that he's seen slip away.
"I want to get that monkey off my back at Thunder Road and win. The past is the past and I don't let it bother me, but I do want to win pretty badly," he said.
But Polewarczyk potentially finds himself in the precarious situation of racing against his own car for the victory. Would it upset him to lose to Tony Stewart?
"Um, a little bit... maybe... not really... kinda, yeah," Polewarczyk mused. "I mean, it's my old car that I decided I didn't want to race at Thunder Road any more, so that would make me a little upset if he won with it there. It's a good car with a lot of history for me, we got our first win with it [at Seekonk Speedway in 2007], and it still holds the Thunder Road track record. I haven't raced it since Chaudière last year, and it'd be cool if Tony won in it, but in a way I hope he doesn't.
"I'd rather win anyway and have him finish second."
***
Here's another excerpt from "Fifty Years of Excitement," the new Thunder Road 50th Anniversary book penned by yours truly and Dave Moody. This chapter recounts the night Dave Dion came to Thunder Road for the first time... and won the feature. What followed in the next 35 years was one of the greatest driving careers New England ever saw:
In 1972, a young Vietnam vet from Hudson, N.H. was tearing up the track at Norwood Arena near Boston, and began looking around for something new. After hearing that the regional Goodyear supplier was selling tires at a little track in Vermont, his brothers sent him up to buy a set and bring them home for their race car. But the shopping trip turned into a life-changing experience for this man Dave Dion and his family, not to mention thousands of racing fans across the northeast over the next four decades.
"I had never been to Thunder Road, I think I had only been to Vermont once, just driving through, and I sat up on Bud Hill all by myself," Dion remembers. "That track was unbelievable! There were guys bouncing off the wall, bouncing off each other, and the racing was great. I'm glad there wasn't a camera on me, I must have looked like a fool hooting and hollering at all those guys. When I got home, I told my brothers 'You gotta see this place,' and we went back a few weeks later.
"What a difference it was from the spectator-to-driver sandpoint! My brothers asked me how the car handled, and I said 'I don't know if it handles or not, you can't believe that track! The wall comes straight at you, there's no room!' I didn't like it at all, and I tried to convince my brothers to load the car up and leave because I was scared. I didn't think people should race at a track like that."
Dion stuck around, though, and the story written that night proved to be one of the most important chapters in New England auto racing history. Better to let Dion tell it himself:
"The handicappers had heard a little about us at Norwood and figured I might be a ringer, so they put us in the back of the third (high handicap) heat. Long story short, we didn't qualify. We went to the consi and were fortunate enough to make it into the feature; they started us last, and that was fine with me. There was a crash in Turn 3, and I had no idea what to do. I ended up over the bank, came back and kept going. They lined us up again and put me in front of guys like Bobby Dragon, Jean-Paul Cabana, and all the top dogs because they had wrecked, but since I kept moving they said I wasn't part of the wreck, I guess.
"So we went from 22nd to around 12th, and now I was really scared. I wanted to get the heck out of there, so I ran in fear, and somehow I got to the lead. Eventually the big guys came through the pack, and there was Cabana on my bumper, and I'd read and heard a lot about how tough Cabana was. All I know is the race wore down, there were some restarts, and I was probably all over the track, I'm sure I was, but I held him off and won the race.
"The fans were shocked. Nobody comes into Thunder Road like that and wins. Cabana was mad, he was totally insulted. We were in victory lane and he was waving his arms, speaking in French, and pointing at me.
"Some of the people there convinced us to race at Plattsburgh the next night, and we went over and everyone blew us away. We went home to Norwood and raced, and came back to Thunder Road again the next week, you know, we had to go. Well, I got outside Ronnie Barcomb thinking I knew a little more about the track now, and my right-front tire touched the wall. The next thing you know, it was one of those classic Thunder Road photos from the infield where all you could see is Barcomb's car driving by, and my roof number. The car finally rolled over and back onto its wheels by the end of the front stretch, and we decided to stay home for a while after that.
"It took a long time for me to like that track and feel comfortable. But that first night, that crowd just energized me. Thunder Road's crowd can make you do things you don't think you're capable of, you just don't want to give up when you're racing for them. I've never considered any track too tough to tame since those first nights at Thunder Road. We've run everywhere: Hickory, North Carolina; Langley Field and South Boston, Virgina; Beltsville, Maryland; all over Canada, and they were all easy to race at compared to Thunder Road."
Although the fans may have been "shocked" at his win on July 13, 1972, Dion would quickly build a die-hard following at the track unparalleled by any other driver, one that would help make him one of the most popular racers of all-time in the northeast. And over the next five seasons, Dion would win 22 more times at Thunder Road alone, many of them after instantly-legendary battles with Bobby Dragon -- during that same 1972-77 stretch, Dragon won 20 times and each driver was twice crowned "King of the Road".
After much success at Thunder Road and practically everywhere else -- they were also champions at Catamount Stadium and had an Oxford 250 title under their belts, for example -- Dion and his brothers tried their hand at a limited NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule from 1978-83, with a top finish of ninth place at Richmond, Va.
"Fifty Years of Excitement" will be available beginning Thursday, July 2 at Thunder Road's Pepsi Holiday Fireworks event. Click here for more information.
***
If my Yahoo! Fantasy NASCAR team was any worse, I'd be arrested for public indecency. I'm sure of that.
My team for the race at Infineon: Kyle Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, and Robby Gordon. Safe bets, right? Busch won that race last year, Montoya the year before, Newman's on a hot streak, and Robby Gordon can just flat drive anything he wants to, especially road courses.
Busch led, then wrecked. Newman ran up front all day, then wrecked. Gordon looked like a hero, then finished 36th. Montoya, thank God, got a top-ten. Out of the 14 people in my league, I'm ranked 159th. And national standings? Forget it.
On to Loudon. I hear Ted Christopher is racing...
***
Gonna be nice to have a little northern rep at Loudon this weekend, as Shelburne's Kevin Lepage, Sean Caisse of Pelham, N.H., and Joey Logano of Middletown, Conn. are entered in Saturday's Nationwide Series event, plus, like we just said, Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn. will be joining Logano and Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Qué. in the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.
And from the "It's A Stretch, But We'll Take It" Department, A.J. Allmendinger will run with a Dave Dion-like orange paint scheme and sponsorship from Berlin City Auto Group in the Sprint Cup Series event on his #44 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge. Or Toyota.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: The Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut was re-rained out on Saturday. The race has been re-re-scheduled for Saturday, August 8, according to the Waterford Speedbowl website.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Jason Durgan of Morrisonville, N.Y. took a well-deserved first career win in the Modifieds on Saturday night, beating defending track champion Patrick Dupree. Mike Bruno of Castleton finished fifth, with Sheldon's Aaron Bartemy sixth. Robin Wood of Plattsburgh, N.Y. scored his third-straight Sportsman win over Milton's Larry Underwood and Richie Turner of Fairfax. Dave Rabtoy of Swanton finished fourth in the Renegades, with Milton's Rob Gordon seventh and Lance Rabtoy of Fairfax tenth.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): A week after Kenny Tremont, Jr. took his 60th win at Devil's Bowl Speedway, he earned his 50th win at Albany-Saratoga on Friday night in the 358 Modified class. Fair Haven's Dave Camara finished fifth, with Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon seventh. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester was the Budget Sportsman runner-up, and South Londonderry's Cullen Howe was eighth. Lori Langevin of Londonderry finished second in the Pro Street Stock feature after Cale Kneer stole the lead on the final lap. Jeff Washburn of Benson was sixth and Chuck Towslee of Manchester Center was ninth.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Wayne Stearns of Thetford Center took his second Sportsman Modified win on Saturday night, while Gene Pierson, Jr. of East Corinth finished third in his first start of the year. Bryan King of Corinth was fourth. Josh Harrington of Topsham returned to Sportsman Coupe victory lane with his fourth win of the year, over brothers Billy and Richie Simmons of Bradford. King repeated his Modified finish with a fourth in the Coupe race; Melvin Pierson of Topsham was fifth. Thetford Center's Dan Eastman won his fifth Limited Late Model feature of the season over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge and Will Hull of East Montpelier. Ryan Dutton of Bradford and Nathan Potter of Sharon each took their first Fast Four checkers of the season in twin features, while West Topsham's Kyle Ashford and Bobby Lee Bell of St. Johnsbury split Hornet features. Brenda Atherton of Fairlee won the Hornet Queen race.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Friday night's race card was rained out. A new clay surface has been laid down on the track and is being worked in for the June 26 program.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Fair Haven): Bear Ridge Speedway promoter C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. posted his first Budget Sportsman win of the year in the 50-lap Ridge Runner Series event, with Willy Knight of Dorset and Jared McMahon of Hydeville completing the underdog sweep of the podium positions. Wayne Stearns of Thetford Center was fifth. Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven finished second to Cale Kneer in the Pro Street Stocks, with Jeff Washburn of Benson, Fred Little of Salisbury, and Lori Langevin of Londonderry in tow. Bill Duprey of Hydeville picked up his second Limited win of the year over Brandon's Mike Clark. Kayla Bryant of Rutland won the Mini Stock feature with Fair Haven's Chris Murray taking top Duke Stock honors. The 358 Modifieds were not in action.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Saturday's race event was rained out.
Pro All Stars Series: Sunday's event at Unity (Me.) Raceway was rained out.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Bob Ailes, Sr. of St. Johnsbury finished fourth in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Lyndonville's Paul Schartner, III sixth, Steve Hodgdon of Danville seventh, and Brett Gervais of Island Pond ninth. Dilyn Swister of West Burke won the Super Stock feature over St. Johnsbury's Michael Smith. Andrew Fecteau of Hardwick was second in the Street Stocks with West Burke's Jesse Switser fourth. Ernie LaPlant of Lyndonville was second in the Dwarf Car race with Anthony Young of Beecher Falls third.
Série ACT-Castrol: Brent Dragon of Milton made a surprise visit to Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Québec on Saturday night and walked away with his first career Série ACT-Castrol victory. Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished sixth.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Dennis Demers of Shelburne dominated the Late Model feature on Friday night, with Robbie Crouch second. Phil Scott of Montpelier finished third over Jeffersonville's Joey Becker and Trampas Demers of South Burlington. Mike Ziter of Williamstown earned his first Tiger Sportsman win of the season over Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg, Barre's Tony Rossi, Derrick O'Donnell of Bradford, and David Finck of Barre. Street Stocker Michael Moore of East Haven won the Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior 'A' feature over Topsham's Tim Campbell. Joe Blais of East Barre finished third over Lincoln's Garry Bashaw and Bunker Hodgdon of Hardwick. Donny Yates of North Montpelier was the Junkyard Warrior winner. Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick on the Street Stock/Warrior 'reserve' feature for the second week in a row.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Thursday's race at Thompson Int'l Speedway in Connecticut was postponed by rain to Thursday, July 23.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): The weekly racing program at Twin State was rained out on Friday and again on Sunday.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury finished third in the Late Model feature on Saturday night, with Morrisville's Dwayne Lanphear fifth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville won the Strictly Stock feature, and Concord's Rubin Call was the Strictly Stock Mini runner-up.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre welcomes NASCAR's Tony Stewart on Thursday for the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150, an ACT Invitational qualifying event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On Friday, the PASS North Super Late Models are at Maine's Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Camping World Series East is at NHMS, and regular events will be held at Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State. The ACT Late Model Tour is at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, NASCAR's Nationwide Series and Whelen Modified Tour are at NHMS, and regular events are on tap for Airborne, Bear Ridge, Canaan Fair, Mondanock, and Riverside (N.H.). Devil's Bowl and Utica-Rome speedways return to action on Sunday, while the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Lenox Industrial Tools 301 is at NHMS.
Lauzon "Not Anticipating Any Horror Stories"
Mayor says Barre is prepared for Stewart appearance
BARRE CITY -- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will come to Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on Thursday evening to compete in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150. Rumors of a Stewart appearance at the track began swirling as early as 2007, and the buzz following the announcement of his impending arrival, which was made in March, likely suprasses any promotion the track has seen since its opening in 1960.
Stewart -- one of the most popular auto racing athletes of the last half-century, in case you hadn't heard -- is expected to draw a record crowd of as many as 10,000 spectators to Thunder Road.
For track promoter Tom Curley, a crowd like that should be a nice little revenue booster. For Barre City Mayor Thom Lauzon, though, that crowd has the makings of a traffic disaster. Fortunately, he and his team have it figured out.
"I had a meeting with Jeff Blow, Tim Bombardier, Mike Stevens, Tom Curley, and Darla Hartt, and we're pretty confident that we've got the traffic situation under control," said Lauzon. Bombardier and Stevens, who are the Chiefs of Police for Barre City and Barre Town, respectively, and Blow, a Barre Town Selectman who is active in the racing community, got together with Lauzon, Curley, and Thunder Road Vice President Hartt to come up with a game plan. Signs will be posted on Interstate 89 and local routes in and around Barre directing race fans to and from Thunder Road, and hopefully, limiting delays and frustration.
"VTrans (the Vermont Agency of Transportation) has been a huge help, and they've loaned us some sign boards," said Lauzon. "There will be blinking traffic lights and directing police officers stationed at several points to ease traffic. There will be more officers on duty to handle the race traffic on Thursday than ever before. The effort that everyone on staff has and will put in is pretty unpecedented. They've all done a great job."
The team has also come up with another plan: Race fans, leave your GPS at home.
"The biggest problem that we know we're going to face is people relying on their GPS units," Lauzon explained. "We've tested several different units, and not a single one of them pointed in the best route to get to Thunder Road." Lauzon himself tested two GPS units with the same negative result.
"We are suggesting that race fans take Exit 6 off I-89 and travel straight up Middle Road and follow the signs, rather than take a left onto Route 14, or use Exit 7 and drive through the city and go up Quarry Hill like everyone is used to doing," he said. "Middle Road is actually about a half-mile longer in distance, but the difference in time, traffic congestion, and frustration is huge. The biggest problem we'll face is modern technology with the GPS. Still, we're confident that our plan will work very well. We're not anticipating any horror stories."
Lauzon reminded that, like most major events practically anywhere, getting in will be easier than getting out.
"Bring your favorite CD for when it's time to leave," he laughed. "Pack a sandwich, relax, and take your time. I go to a lot of Red Sox and Patriots games, and I'm used to sitting on Route 1 for an hour waiting to get moving. We're expecting a sort of mass exodus around 9:30pm when the 150 is getting over with and before the rest of the features finish -- maybe a third of the crowd or more -- and that's when the waiting will begin.
"We are asking drivers to use patience, especialy because it will be getting dark and visibility will be limited. We want everyone to have a great time at the race, but our number-one concern is safety."
BARRE CITY -- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will come to Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on Thursday evening to compete in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150. Rumors of a Stewart appearance at the track began swirling as early as 2007, and the buzz following the announcement of his impending arrival, which was made in March, likely suprasses any promotion the track has seen since its opening in 1960.Stewart -- one of the most popular auto racing athletes of the last half-century, in case you hadn't heard -- is expected to draw a record crowd of as many as 10,000 spectators to Thunder Road.
For track promoter Tom Curley, a crowd like that should be a nice little revenue booster. For Barre City Mayor Thom Lauzon, though, that crowd has the makings of a traffic disaster. Fortunately, he and his team have it figured out.
"I had a meeting with Jeff Blow, Tim Bombardier, Mike Stevens, Tom Curley, and Darla Hartt, and we're pretty confident that we've got the traffic situation under control," said Lauzon. Bombardier and Stevens, who are the Chiefs of Police for Barre City and Barre Town, respectively, and Blow, a Barre Town Selectman who is active in the racing community, got together with Lauzon, Curley, and Thunder Road Vice President Hartt to come up with a game plan. Signs will be posted on Interstate 89 and local routes in and around Barre directing race fans to and from Thunder Road, and hopefully, limiting delays and frustration.
"VTrans (the Vermont Agency of Transportation) has been a huge help, and they've loaned us some sign boards," said Lauzon. "There will be blinking traffic lights and directing police officers stationed at several points to ease traffic. There will be more officers on duty to handle the race traffic on Thursday than ever before. The effort that everyone on staff has and will put in is pretty unpecedented. They've all done a great job."
The team has also come up with another plan: Race fans, leave your GPS at home.
"The biggest problem that we know we're going to face is people relying on their GPS units," Lauzon explained. "We've tested several different units, and not a single one of them pointed in the best route to get to Thunder Road." Lauzon himself tested two GPS units with the same negative result.
"We are suggesting that race fans take Exit 6 off I-89 and travel straight up Middle Road and follow the signs, rather than take a left onto Route 14, or use Exit 7 and drive through the city and go up Quarry Hill like everyone is used to doing," he said. "Middle Road is actually about a half-mile longer in distance, but the difference in time, traffic congestion, and frustration is huge. The biggest problem we'll face is modern technology with the GPS. Still, we're confident that our plan will work very well. We're not anticipating any horror stories."
Lauzon reminded that, like most major events practically anywhere, getting in will be easier than getting out.
"Bring your favorite CD for when it's time to leave," he laughed. "Pack a sandwich, relax, and take your time. I go to a lot of Red Sox and Patriots games, and I'm used to sitting on Route 1 for an hour waiting to get moving. We're expecting a sort of mass exodus around 9:30pm when the 150 is getting over with and before the rest of the features finish -- maybe a third of the crowd or more -- and that's when the waiting will begin.
"We are asking drivers to use patience, especialy because it will be getting dark and visibility will be limited. We want everyone to have a great time at the race, but our number-one concern is safety."
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Juice: I Hope This Is A Good Excuse
-by Justin St. Louis
Apologies to the readers of VMM for the lack of consistent updates lately, but we feel like we might have a half-decent excuse: we've been putting the final touches on the Thunder Road 50th Anniversary book, due for release in the coming weeks. The project, which was borne out of a meeting just two short months ago, has demanded a lot of time management, energy, and disciplined focus (none of which are things this particular writer is familiar with, by the way), and has left precious little room for much else, especially the last three weeks.
But thanks to Dave Moody, Cho Lee, John Casey, the staff at Queen City Printers, and dozens of other people, the 88-page collection, titled "Fifty Years of Excitement" is filled with stories and both black-and-white and full-color photos of the Barre track's remarkable half-century run. At just $10, the book will be available before the end of the month.
Here's a small excerpt of the book, just as a teaser. The following is from a colorful piece about Thunder Road pioneer Chester T. Wood, penned by Moody. In it, motorsports writer Mark Thomas, who grew up working on Wood's race cars, and Harold Hanaford, a competitor of Wood's for many years, tell some classic Chester T stories:
"Friday night, out of the blue, Chet said, 'We’re running the Milk Bowl,'" said Thomas. "He didn’t have a racecar, but that didn’t matter to him. He rounded up a bunch of his buddies and a few of the neighborhood kids, and we went to work."
Fueled by pizza, beer and cigarettes, Wood and his helpers labored all through the night and the next day, as well. Just 18 hours later, their hastily assembled #X1 Plymouth sat on the Milk Bowl pole, after turning the quarter mile in a then-sizzling 14.38 seconds. He took care of business in the opening segment, winning it handily, but problems surfaced in Round Two when he finished back in the pack, behind winner Moe Dubois. A win in the final 50-lapper wasn’t quite enough to claim the overall title – that went to Stub Fadden – but Chester T’s "two-day wonder" cemented his status as Thunder Road’s ultimate underdog.
While Wood was beloved by the vast majority of Thunder Road’s fans and competitors, Ronnie Marvin was not a member of his fan club.
"For some reason, Chet and Ronnie didn’t like each other," said Hanaford. "If you saw them running side-by-side, you knew something bad was probably going to happen.
"One day, they got into it pretty good on the racetrack. After the races, a bunch of us were sitting on the track, shooting the bull and waiting for the traffic to clear. Someone remarked that Ronnie was lucky not to have gotten hurt, saying, 'It would have taken an awfully big coffin to handle you.'
"My wife Florence loved to pick on Ronnie, and she said, 'Aw, if they give him an enema first, they can bury him in a shoebox.'
"Chet was eating a hotdog at the time, and he spit that hotdog about 50 feet in the air. He thought that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard."
Details for "Fifty Years of Excitement" will be forthcoming, so stay tuned.
***
There's all kinds of news surrounding the upcoming CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Thunder Road next Thursday, June 25, including a sneak peek from the JPR Racing team of driver Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., which is preparing a car for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader Tony Stewart to drive at the event.
Stewart will drive a car nicknamed "Betsy" -- the car Polewarczyk used to set the Thunder Road single-lap track record of 12.935 seconds with at the 2006 Milk Bowl. The car has been fitted with a new body and will carry the #14 and Old Spice and Office Depot signage from Stewart's Sprint Cup car.
"What more could you ask for?" said Polewarczyk. "She is proven to be the fastest car on that track."
"Tony will be driving Thunder Road with the best available equipment possible," added crew chief Joe Polewarczyk, Sr. Hudson, N.H. driver Polewarczyk, Jr., who crashed out of the lead late in last month's Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic at the track, will drive his familiar #97 Chevrolet in the race.
Along with the anticipation of the Governor's Cup event came the announcement that Patrick Laperle has filed a surprise entry for the race. Laperle, of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué., has won three of the last four, Chittenden Bank Milk Bowls at Thunder Road, and becomes an instant favorite for the win.
"I can’t wait to race against Tony Stewart," said Laperle in a Thunder Road press release. "My brother and I are huge fans of his and this is going to be one of my best racing memories. The idea that I can just race and not worry about Série ACT-Castrol points or anything like that is what I love to do. I hope we come to the wire side-by-side for the win after 149 laps. It would be the thrill of a lifetime."
VMM has also learned that two-time Airborne Speedway Sportsman division champion Jason Bonnett of St. Albans will make his Late Model debut at the race driving the #32 RPMb.JPG)
Motorsports entry driven earlier this season by Mike Olsen. Bonnett has attracted his main sponsor, Desorcie Emergency Products, to fund the effort, and will also drive the car in the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne in September.
RPM Motorsports owner Rick Paya said he is excited about bringing Bonnett into the division. "He's already tested the car, and I was very impressed by him. I always have been, watching him in the (Sportsman) cars. Jason's just so smooth and consistent. It should be fun."
Williston's Brian Hoar, who drives the #37 car for RPM, will also be in the field.
***
So, Sean Kennedy is headed to Loudon. Kennedy, a regular at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, won the Série ACT-Castrol event there last weekend and earned a chance to compete at the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the ACT Invitational in September.
Kennedy, of Durobin, Ont., is probably largely unfamiliar to most ACT fans, due to his mostly one-track schedule at Capital City. Kennedy is a well-spoken guy with a good sense of humor, is a good, clean racer with top-notch equipment, first-class sponsorship from Waste Management, and one of the most professional-looking teams in the region, and would be an asset to any series he competes with, but his lack of experience may be his downfall at NHMS. Kennedy plans to compete at Kawartha Speedway in the ACT Late Model Tour event in July, and then will be a part of the test session in August at NHMS which will determine approval for the ACT Invitational the following month.
Nick Bigelow, Media Director for ACT, says that while the approval process has already begun, a major part of it will be finalized at the August test.
"Everyone who goes to the test in August will be watched closely, and only the ones that are able to race around the track within a certain percentage of a (pre-determined) lap time, whatever that time ends up being, will be invited to compete in the race," Bigelow said. "There are other things that will determine (eligible drivers), too."
We hope Kennedy gets in the show at Loudon. His win and subsequent invitation to NHMS is a major victory for the "little guy" and gives positive hope and encouragement for other weekly-level Late Model racers -- a la Dan McHattie at Kawartha, Guy Caron at Twin State, or Jeff White at Oxford Plains, drivers that in the right situation, could reel off an NHMS qualifier win -- and a top finish in the actual ACT Invitational itself would give an instant boost to the confidence of the Capital City Speedway Late Model division (or Kawartha, Twin State, Oxford, or where ever) and motivate more weekly racers to branch out and strut their stuff against the touring teams.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: The Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut was halted by rain after 28 laps on Saturday night. Brad Leighton was leading Randy Potter, Ricky Rolfe, and Graniteville's Chip Grenier at the time of the postponement. The race will be completed this Satruday.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Saturday night's event was rained out after heats were completed for four of five divisions.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): As Brett Hearn won his sixth 358 Modified race of the season on Friday night, Middlebury's Todd Stone could do no better than 12th. Rob Langevin of Londonderry finished sixth in the Sportsman feature. Hunter Bates of Middlebury was sixth in the Budget Sportsman race, while Lori Langevin of Londonderry and Chuck Towslee of Manchester Center finished fourth and fifth in the Pro Street Stock event, respectively.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Bob Shepard of West Topsham returned to Sportsman Modified victory lane on Saturday night for the first time this season. Jason Gray of East Thetford was fourth with Thetford Center's Wayne Stearns fifth. It was a top-five sweep for Vermonters in the Sportsman Coupe race, as rookie Billy Simmons of Bradford took his first win. Josh Harrington and Melvin Pierson, both of Topsham, were second and third, followed by Bryan King of Corinth and rookie Jason Horniak of Bradford. Thetford Center's Dan Eastman won again in the Limited Late Model feature over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge and Will Hull of East Montpelier. The Fast Four and Hornet features were rained out. Anthony Cain of Fairfax won the SCONE 360 Sprint Car feature.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse finished fifth in the Modified feature on Friday night, while Dan Eastman of Thetford Center led East Montpelier's Will Hull to the win in the Street Stocks. Josh Sunn of White River Junction won the Mini Stock feature with Wilder's Andy Johnson fourth.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Fair Haven): Kenny Tremont of West Sand Lake, N.Y. earned his 60th win at Devil's Bowl on Sunday night -- the 275th win of his career -- in the 358 Modified division. Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon was fourth, with Orwell's Tim LaDuc, Middlebury's Todd Stone, and Jimmy Ryan of Whiting right behind. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester took his first win of the year in the Budget Sportsman feature with Middlebury's Hunter Bates second. Defending champion Cullen Howe of South Londonderry was third. Jeff Washburn of Benson won the Pro Street Stock feature over Manchester Center's Chuck Towslee. Rob Ketcham of Sudbury was the Limited division runner-up.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 12th in the Super Stock race on Saturday night, and Ludlow's Joe Rogers was a season-best sixth in the Mini Stock feature.
Pro All Stars Series: Steven Legendre of Danville finished 16th in the PASS North Super Late Model 200-lap event at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick on Saturday night.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Island Pond's Derek Ming continued his hot streak in the Outlaw Sportsman division on Saturday night with a win, while Newport Center's David Ofsuryk was second. Lyndonville's Ben Bedor finished fourth in the Super Stock feature, and Brendan Hunt of Derby Line was second in the Street Stocks with Rick Utley, Jr. of Wheelock third. Ernie LaPlant of Lyndonville was second in the Dwarf Car race, and Andy Simpson of Lyndon Center was third in the Cyclone race.
Série ACT-Castrol: Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished 12th in Toromont CAT 100 at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, Ont. on Saturday night.
Utica-Rome Speedway (Vernon, N.Y.): John Scarborough of Bomoseen finished sixth in the Sportsman feature on Sunday.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Dave Pembroke of Middlesex backed up his Memorial Day Classic victory by winning the Thursday night opener last week, holding off Barre's Nick Sweet and Shelburne's Jamie Fisher in the process. Cris Michaud of Northfield was fourth, while Winooski's Jerry Lesage had a good run for fifth place. Joey Laquerre of East Montpelier took his first Tiger Sportsman win of the season, beating Marshfield's Matt Potter, Middlesex driver Shawn Fleury, Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott, and Plainfield's Tim Potter. Jason Corliss of Danville won a wild Street Stock feature over David Whitcomb of Elmore and Hardwick's "Super" Joe Fecteau. Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield got his second Junkyard Warrior win of the year. Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick on the Street Stock/Warrior 'reserve' feature.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Dwight Jarvis of Ascutney finished second to Jon McKennedy for the second race in a row on Saturday night, this time in the Connecticut Laborers Union 100 at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Ascutney driver Chris Riendeau earned his first Late Model win of the season on Friday night, with Rutland's Dallas Trombley third. Joey Jarvis of Ascutney was fourth in the Pepsi Modified feature with Windham's Nate Kehoe fifth. Russ Davis of Cavendish and Chris Wilk of Mendon swapped finishing positions from last week's Super Street feature, with Davis beating Wilk for the win. Jeremy Blood of West Hartford was third in Strictly Stock feature. Jeremiah Losee of West Springfield won the Wildact feature over Rob Leitch of Cavendish and Hartland's Cody Small.
White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantange of McIndoe Falls finished fourth in the Late Model feature on Friday night, with Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury ninth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was third in the Strictly Stock feature, while Hyde Park's Tucker Williams won the Strictly Stock Mini race in his first start of the season at the track.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre opens is in action on Thursday, with a special appearance by NASCAR legend Bobby Allison, and the True Value Modified Racing Series is at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway. Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State speedways are all in action on Friday night, while Saturday will see regular events at Airborne, Bear Ridge, Canaan Fair, Mondanock, Riverside, and White Mountain. The ACT Late Model Tour is back for the final 72 laps of last week's rained out race at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday, while the Série ACT-Castrol is at the newly renamed Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué. The PASS North Super Late Models are at Maine's Unity Raceway on Saturday. Devil's Bowl and Utica-Rome speedways return to action on Sunday.
(PHOTOS: 1. Chester T. Wood in the X-1; 2. Smoke's new ride; 3. Jason Bonnett will test the Late Model waters at the Governor's Cup next week; Twin State Late Model winner Chris Riendeau. Photo 1 courtesy ACT archives; Photo 2 courtesy Joey Pole Racing; Photo 3 by Leif Tillotson; Photo 4 by Alan Ward)
Apologies to the readers of VMM for the lack of consistent updates lately, but we feel like we might have a half-decent excuse: we've been putting the final touches on the Thunder Road 50th Anniversary book, due for release in the coming weeks. The project, which was borne out of a meeting just two short months ago, has demanded a lot of time management, energy, and disciplined focus (none of which are things this particular writer is familiar with, by the way), and has left precious little room for much else, especially the last three weeks.But thanks to Dave Moody, Cho Lee, John Casey, the staff at Queen City Printers, and dozens of other people, the 88-page collection, titled "Fifty Years of Excitement" is filled with stories and both black-and-white and full-color photos of the Barre track's remarkable half-century run. At just $10, the book will be available before the end of the month.
Here's a small excerpt of the book, just as a teaser. The following is from a colorful piece about Thunder Road pioneer Chester T. Wood, penned by Moody. In it, motorsports writer Mark Thomas, who grew up working on Wood's race cars, and Harold Hanaford, a competitor of Wood's for many years, tell some classic Chester T stories:
"Friday night, out of the blue, Chet said, 'We’re running the Milk Bowl,'" said Thomas. "He didn’t have a racecar, but that didn’t matter to him. He rounded up a bunch of his buddies and a few of the neighborhood kids, and we went to work."
Fueled by pizza, beer and cigarettes, Wood and his helpers labored all through the night and the next day, as well. Just 18 hours later, their hastily assembled #X1 Plymouth sat on the Milk Bowl pole, after turning the quarter mile in a then-sizzling 14.38 seconds. He took care of business in the opening segment, winning it handily, but problems surfaced in Round Two when he finished back in the pack, behind winner Moe Dubois. A win in the final 50-lapper wasn’t quite enough to claim the overall title – that went to Stub Fadden – but Chester T’s "two-day wonder" cemented his status as Thunder Road’s ultimate underdog.
While Wood was beloved by the vast majority of Thunder Road’s fans and competitors, Ronnie Marvin was not a member of his fan club.
"For some reason, Chet and Ronnie didn’t like each other," said Hanaford. "If you saw them running side-by-side, you knew something bad was probably going to happen. "One day, they got into it pretty good on the racetrack. After the races, a bunch of us were sitting on the track, shooting the bull and waiting for the traffic to clear. Someone remarked that Ronnie was lucky not to have gotten hurt, saying, 'It would have taken an awfully big coffin to handle you.'
"My wife Florence loved to pick on Ronnie, and she said, 'Aw, if they give him an enema first, they can bury him in a shoebox.'
"Chet was eating a hotdog at the time, and he spit that hotdog about 50 feet in the air. He thought that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard."
Details for "Fifty Years of Excitement" will be forthcoming, so stay tuned.
***
There's all kinds of news surrounding the upcoming CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Thunder Road next Thursday, June 25, including a sneak peek from the JPR Racing team of driver Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., which is preparing a car for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader Tony Stewart to drive at the event.
Stewart will drive a car nicknamed "Betsy" -- the car Polewarczyk used to set the Thunder Road single-lap track record of 12.935 seconds with at the 2006 Milk Bowl. The car has been fitted with a new body and will carry the #14 and Old Spice and Office Depot signage from Stewart's Sprint Cup car."What more could you ask for?" said Polewarczyk. "She is proven to be the fastest car on that track."
"Tony will be driving Thunder Road with the best available equipment possible," added crew chief Joe Polewarczyk, Sr. Hudson, N.H. driver Polewarczyk, Jr., who crashed out of the lead late in last month's Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic at the track, will drive his familiar #97 Chevrolet in the race.
Along with the anticipation of the Governor's Cup event came the announcement that Patrick Laperle has filed a surprise entry for the race. Laperle, of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué., has won three of the last four, Chittenden Bank Milk Bowls at Thunder Road, and becomes an instant favorite for the win.
"I can’t wait to race against Tony Stewart," said Laperle in a Thunder Road press release. "My brother and I are huge fans of his and this is going to be one of my best racing memories. The idea that I can just race and not worry about Série ACT-Castrol points or anything like that is what I love to do. I hope we come to the wire side-by-side for the win after 149 laps. It would be the thrill of a lifetime."
VMM has also learned that two-time Airborne Speedway Sportsman division champion Jason Bonnett of St. Albans will make his Late Model debut at the race driving the #32 RPM
b.JPG)
Motorsports entry driven earlier this season by Mike Olsen. Bonnett has attracted his main sponsor, Desorcie Emergency Products, to fund the effort, and will also drive the car in the Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne in September.RPM Motorsports owner Rick Paya said he is excited about bringing Bonnett into the division. "He's already tested the car, and I was very impressed by him. I always have been, watching him in the (Sportsman) cars. Jason's just so smooth and consistent. It should be fun."
Williston's Brian Hoar, who drives the #37 car for RPM, will also be in the field.
***
So, Sean Kennedy is headed to Loudon. Kennedy, a regular at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, won the Série ACT-Castrol event there last weekend and earned a chance to compete at the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the ACT Invitational in September.
Kennedy, of Durobin, Ont., is probably largely unfamiliar to most ACT fans, due to his mostly one-track schedule at Capital City. Kennedy is a well-spoken guy with a good sense of humor, is a good, clean racer with top-notch equipment, first-class sponsorship from Waste Management, and one of the most professional-looking teams in the region, and would be an asset to any series he competes with, but his lack of experience may be his downfall at NHMS. Kennedy plans to compete at Kawartha Speedway in the ACT Late Model Tour event in July, and then will be a part of the test session in August at NHMS which will determine approval for the ACT Invitational the following month.
Nick Bigelow, Media Director for ACT, says that while the approval process has already begun, a major part of it will be finalized at the August test.
"Everyone who goes to the test in August will be watched closely, and only the ones that are able to race around the track within a certain percentage of a (pre-determined) lap time, whatever that time ends up being, will be invited to compete in the race," Bigelow said. "There are other things that will determine (eligible drivers), too."
We hope Kennedy gets in the show at Loudon. His win and subsequent invitation to NHMS is a major victory for the "little guy" and gives positive hope and encouragement for other weekly-level Late Model racers -- a la Dan McHattie at Kawartha, Guy Caron at Twin State, or Jeff White at Oxford Plains, drivers that in the right situation, could reel off an NHMS qualifier win -- and a top finish in the actual ACT Invitational itself would give an instant boost to the confidence of the Capital City Speedway Late Model division (or Kawartha, Twin State, Oxford, or where ever) and motivate more weekly racers to branch out and strut their stuff against the touring teams.
***
AROUND THE REGION:
Time to take a look at the top Vermonters from the past weekend...
ACT Late Model Tour: The Nutmeg State 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut was halted by rain after 28 laps on Saturday night. Brad Leighton was leading Randy Potter, Ricky Rolfe, and Graniteville's Chip Grenier at the time of the postponement. The race will be completed this Satruday.
Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, N.Y.): Saturday night's event was rained out after heats were completed for four of five divisions.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, N.Y.): As Brett Hearn won his sixth 358 Modified race of the season on Friday night, Middlebury's Todd Stone could do no better than 12th. Rob Langevin of Londonderry finished sixth in the Sportsman feature. Hunter Bates of Middlebury was sixth in the Budget Sportsman race, while Lori Langevin of Londonderry and Chuck Towslee of Manchester Center finished fourth and fifth in the Pro Street Stock event, respectively.
Bear Ridge Speedway (Bradford): Bob Shepard of West Topsham returned to Sportsman Modified victory lane on Saturday night for the first time this season. Jason Gray of East Thetford was fourth with Thetford Center's Wayne Stearns fifth. It was a top-five sweep for Vermonters in the Sportsman Coupe race, as rookie Billy Simmons of Bradford took his first win. Josh Harrington and Melvin Pierson, both of Topsham, were second and third, followed by Bryan King of Corinth and rookie Jason Horniak of Bradford. Thetford Center's Dan Eastman won again in the Limited Late Model feature over Bradford's Jeremy Hodge and Will Hull of East Montpelier. The Fast Four and Hornet features were rained out. Anthony Cain of Fairfax won the SCONE 360 Sprint Car feature.
Canaan Dirt Speedway (Canaan, N.H.): Thetford Center's Dave Lacasse finished fifth in the Modified feature on Friday night, while Dan Eastman of Thetford Center led East Montpelier's Will Hull to the win in the Street Stocks. Josh Sunn of White River Junction won the Mini Stock feature with Wilder's Andy Johnson fourth.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Fair Haven): Kenny Tremont of West Sand Lake, N.Y. earned his 60th win at Devil's Bowl on Sunday night -- the 275th win of his career -- in the 358 Modified division. Vince Quenneville, Jr. of Brandon was fourth, with Orwell's Tim LaDuc, Middlebury's Todd Stone, and Jimmy Ryan of Whiting right behind. Frank Hoard, III of Manchester took his first win of the year in the Budget Sportsman feature with Middlebury's Hunter Bates second. Defending champion Cullen Howe of South Londonderry was third. Jeff Washburn of Benson won the Pro Street Stock feature over Manchester Center's Chuck Towslee. Rob Ketcham of Sudbury was the Limited division runner-up.
Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, N.H.): Dana Shepard of Putney finished 12th in the Super Stock race on Saturday night, and Ludlow's Joe Rogers was a season-best sixth in the Mini Stock feature.
Pro All Stars Series: Steven Legendre of Danville finished 16th in the PASS North Super Late Model 200-lap event at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick on Saturday night.
Riverside Speedway (Groveton, N.H.): Island Pond's Derek Ming continued his hot streak in the Outlaw Sportsman division on Saturday night with a win, while Newport Center's David Ofsuryk was second. Lyndonville's Ben Bedor finished fourth in the Super Stock feature, and Brendan Hunt of Derby Line was second in the Street Stocks with Rick Utley, Jr. of Wheelock third. Ernie LaPlant of Lyndonville was second in the Dwarf Car race, and Andy Simpson of Lyndon Center was third in the Cyclone race.
Série ACT-Castrol: Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished 12th in Toromont CAT 100 at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, Ont. on Saturday night.
Utica-Rome Speedway (Vernon, N.Y.): John Scarborough of Bomoseen finished sixth in the Sportsman feature on Sunday.
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl (Barre): Dave Pembroke of Middlesex backed up his Memorial Day Classic victory by winning the Thursday night opener last week, holding off Barre's Nick Sweet and Shelburne's Jamie Fisher in the process. Cris Michaud of Northfield was fourth, while Winooski's Jerry Lesage had a good run for fifth place. Joey Laquerre of East Montpelier took his first Tiger Sportsman win of the season, beating Marshfield's Matt Potter, Middlesex driver Shawn Fleury, Brendan Moodie of North Wolcott, and Plainfield's Tim Potter. Jason Corliss of Danville won a wild Street Stock feature over David Whitcomb of Elmore and Hardwick's "Super" Joe Fecteau. Kevin Streeter of Waitsfield got his second Junkyard Warrior win of the year. Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick on the Street Stock/Warrior 'reserve' feature.
True Value Modified Racing Series: Dwight Jarvis of Ascutney finished second to Jon McKennedy for the second race in a row on Saturday night, this time in the Connecticut Laborers Union 100 at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass.
Twin State Speedway (Claremont, N.H.): Ascutney driver Chris Riendeau earned his first Late Model win of the season on Friday night, with Rutland's Dallas Trombley third. Joey Jarvis of Ascutney was fourth in the Pepsi Modified feature with Windham's Nate Kehoe fifth. Russ Davis of Cavendish and Chris Wilk of Mendon swapped finishing positions from last week's Super Street feature, with Davis beating Wilk for the win. Jeremy Blood of West Hartford was third in Strictly Stock feature. Jeremiah Losee of West Springfield won the Wildact feature over Rob Leitch of Cavendish and Hartland's Cody Small.White Mountain Motorsports Park (North Woodstock, N.H.): Bernie Lantange of McIndoe Falls finished fourth in the Late Model feature on Friday night, with Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury ninth. Stevie Parker of Lyndonville was third in the Strictly Stock feature, while Hyde Park's Tucker Williams won the Strictly Stock Mini race in his first start of the season at the track.
***
Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre opens is in action on Thursday, with a special appearance by NASCAR legend Bobby Allison, and the True Value Modified Racing Series is at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway. Albany-Saratoga, Canaan Dirt, and Twin State speedways are all in action on Friday night, while Saturday will see regular events at Airborne, Bear Ridge, Canaan Fair, Mondanock, Riverside, and White Mountain. The ACT Late Model Tour is back for the final 72 laps of last week's rained out race at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday, while the Série ACT-Castrol is at the newly renamed Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué. The PASS North Super Late Models are at Maine's Unity Raceway on Saturday. Devil's Bowl and Utica-Rome speedways return to action on Sunday.
(PHOTOS: 1. Chester T. Wood in the X-1; 2. Smoke's new ride; 3. Jason Bonnett will test the Late Model waters at the Governor's Cup next week; Twin State Late Model winner Chris Riendeau. Photo 1 courtesy ACT archives; Photo 2 courtesy Joey Pole Racing; Photo 3 by Leif Tillotson; Photo 4 by Alan Ward)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Stewart 'excited' about Governor's Cup
Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is still excited about his upcoming trip to Barre's Thunder Road on June 25 for the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150.Travis Barrett of Green-White-Checker is at Dover, Del. for this weekend's Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400, and spoke with Stewart about the Thunder Road event. Click here to read the story.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Stewart to Drive Polewarczyk Team Car at Governor's Cup
Vermont Motorsports Magazine has learned that the American-Canadian Tour is expected to announce later today that two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart will drive a car prepared by the team of ACT Late Model Tour star Joey Polewraczyk, Jr. at the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on June 25.Stewart's appearance in the race was announced last Tuesday. The race is the first of four special events that will award qualifying positions for the inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
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