Vermont Motorsports Magazine Launches All-New Website

VMM releases new website, announces alliance with Times Argus

BURLINGTON, VT -- Vermont Motorsports Magazine has launched an all-new website for stock car racing coverage at www.vtmotormag.com. The new VMM website is an easy-to-use, all-inclusive place for feature stories, on-site reporting, weekly columns, photography, video, and more.

Originally launched as a blog in February 2009, Vermont Motorsports Magazine has become a leading source for grassroots auto racing news, focusing on Vermont's weekly tracks and regional touring series. The new www.vtmotormag.com, built by Anthony Sweet Designs, has organized and streamlined VMM's coverage. Race fans will find the new website much more attractive and easier to navigate.

"I have been overwhelmed with the recognition Vermont Motorsports Magazine has achieved in such a short amount of time," said Editor Justin St. Louis. "The blog quickly outgrew itself and we found that functionality was decreasing radiply, so it was time to make a change for our dedicated readers. Anthony Sweet comes from a racing family, and he understood what VMM needed. I feel that the new website he designed will bring VMM to the next level."

Vermont Motorsports Magazine has also formed a partnership with The Barre-Montpelier (VT) Times Argus; St. Louis' popular weekly column will appear each Wednesday in the Central Vermont newspaper.

"It is such an honor to write for The Times Argus," St. Louis said. "To follow in the footsteps of writers like Dave Moody, Tom Herzig, and especially the late Pete Hartt really is a childhood dream come true."

Vermont Motorsports Magazine will offer on-site coverage of more than 50 short track events in 2010, providing in-depth coverage of events at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre, Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, and Devil's Bowl Speedway in West Haven, events for the American-Canadian Tour and Modified Racing Series, and regional and national racing stories with Vermont interest. VMM also extends its coverage to social media including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

The new www.vtmotormag.com will debut Friday, April 30, as racing seasons open at Thunder Road and Plattsburgh, NY's Airborne Speedway on Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2. VMM is online now at www.vtmotormag.com with links to the VMM blog, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.

For advertising and promotional information, email LCRaceMedia@yahoo.com or call (802) 355-3282.

RPM Racing Engines to Present VMM Coverage of ACT Opener

RPM Racing Engines of Georgia, Vt., will present Vermont Motorsports Magazine's coverage of the inaugural Albany-Saratoga 100 stock car race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., on Sunday, April 25. The race will be the first-ever event at the track for the American-Canadian Tour, and is the opening round for the 14-race asphalt Late Model series.

RPM Racing Engines is Vermont's top performance engine builder, specializing in stock car racing, drag racing, street rods, and marine engines. RPM is a licensed dealer of PowerMist Racing Fuels, Synergyn Racing Oil, and AR Bodies, and offers a full line of engine performance parts, service, and machining.

Vermont Motorsports Magazine is quickly becoming one of the northeast's leading sources for stock car racing news, and will provide online coverage of the Albany-Saratoga 100 through its popular blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page.

"Vermont Motorsports Magazine is thrilled to have RPM Racing Engines come aboard for the first-ever ACT race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway," said Editor Justin St. Louis. "RPM has earned the respect of racers all over the U.S. and Canada, and VMM is working hard to do the same thing. It's a privilege to work with RPM Racing Engines." St. Louis also said that Vermont Motorsports Magazine will promote RPM Racing Engines through the 2010 season.

RPM Racing Engines is among the nation's top builders for short track, crate, and "spec" engines, with winning programs in place with NASCAR, the American-Canadian Tour, the Champlain Valley Racing Association, Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan Fair Speedway, Devil's Bowl Speedway, Monadnock Speedway, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Twin State Speedway, and White Mountain Motorsports Park. RPM is a top builder of NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series spec engines, and saw Andrew Ranger win six races and the 2009 Canadian Tire Series championship with RPM powerplants. Rick Paya of RPM Racing Engines is an accomplished car owner and crew chief, winning five ACT Late Model Tour championships with driver Jean-Paul Cyr and the 2009 ACT title with Brian Hoar.

For more information on RPM Racing Engines, call (802) 524-7406 or visit http://www.rpmracingengines.net/.

Vermont Motorsports Magazine will offer on-site coverage of more than 60 short track events in 2010, including the Albany-Saratoga 100. VMM is online at http://vtmotormag.blogspot.com/ and is also on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Hey, wanna win some stuff?

We're giving away a few copies of "Fifty Years of Excitement" today on our Twitter page! Answer some trivia questions and you could win! We're at http://twitter.com/VtMotorMag.

Not signed up? Go to www.twitter.com and follow the instructions. It's fast, easy, fun, and you can follow our live in-race updates from the Modified Racing Series Budweiser Blastoff 100 at Waterford Speedbowl!

BLASTOFF: Follow us today on Twitter!

Vermont Motorsports Magazine is getting its 2010 racing season started today with the Modified Racing Series Budweiser Blastoff 100 at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut!

We will have live updates throughout the day here at the VMM main page, on our Facebook group, and on our Twitter page -- Follow us today (and every day!) at http://twitter.com/VtMotorMag, or go to Twitter and search "#BudBlastoff100".

VMM coverage of the Budweiser Blastoff 100 is presented by "Fifty Years of Excitement" -- Get your copy of the Thunder Road 50th Anniversary book for just $10! For more information, click here: http://vtmotormag.blogspot.com/2009/06/fifty-years-of-excitement-available.html.

Father-Son Whitcomb Racing Team Tackles Thunder Road

A look at the father-son team of Dave and Alex Whitcomb as they prepare for their first season racing Street Stocks together at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre, VT. Filmed on site at the team's shop at the Morrisville-Stowe (VT) Airport. Produced by Justin St. Louis/Vermont Motorsports Magazine, ©2010.

VMM on VLF Radio -- TONIGHT!

Join the new VLF Radio show tonight at 7:00 as Vermont Motorsports Magazine Editor Justin St. Louis talks racing with host Eric LaFleche! Click here to listen to the live show, and be sure to call in at (347) 826-7505 with your questions and comments!

THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Junior Johnson was famous for saying, "If you want to make a small fortune in racing, start with a big one." There's only one reason we sacrifice our time, energy, money, and at times even our family lives, to stay in racing.

The love of the game.

***

"The choice was to stay at home in the cold and snow in Vermont, or come to Florida and race, so what the hell?" --Peter Jarvis at New Smyrna Speedway

"For me it's a learning-charge-your-battery-focus-on-Thunder-Road-race-the-Baja-and-not-get-killed-type of year." --Jean-Paul Cyr, looking forward to his 2009 season

"I don't race to prove things, I race because I like to race." --Eric Williams

"It was a long haul, but I got to skip school so it was worth it." --17 year-old Joey Doiron on testing on a Wednesday afternoon at Thunder Road

"It's all about wins, because it won't be long that I won't be doing this anymore." --Brad Leighton

"Who's Quinny?" --Eddie MacDonald, after an entertaining battle with Quinny Welch at Lee USA Speedway

"As long as everybody's having a good time, it's all good." --Modified Racing Series founder Jack Bateman

"We come down here every year to the first big race, we pull in with our little hauler and trailer. Some of these rigs I could park my hauler and truck inside their rig and still have a picnic underneath it, you know? And you stand there and you look around and you almost say, 'Man, what am I doing? This is crazy.' " --Eric Williams on operating a winning ACT race team with a shoestring budget

"When I was paving it, I threw some money on the track before the roller came through so I can say I've got a couple dollars in it." --Airborne Speedway champion Bucko Branham, who was on the construction team that gave the track a $300,000 facelift in April

"Not many people would give a kid a dirt Modified and say, 'Here, have at it.' " --Jason Gray

"We thought we were headed to Waterford, and we ended up winning at Ste-Croix." --Brent Dragon

"I'm gonna have to fly like the wind. Literally." --Eric Chase, on catching a flight from Concord, N.H., to Berlin, Vt., after qualifying a NASCAR Camping World Series East car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Thursday afternoon and getting to Thunder Road in time to race that evening

"Dale kept telling me, 'Slow down, slow down, slow down, save your tires,' and I said, 'How slow do you want me to go? I'm not even driving hard enough to use my brakes!' " --John Donahue after blistering an ACT field at White Mountain Motorsports Park

"ACT called asking me to run Beech Ridge, and I called them back and I said, 'You know something, I have a hard time pulling a dime out of my pocket to race on Thursday nights.' " --Doug Murphy

"If there wasn't no Saturday night racing, there wouldn't be no Sunday racing." --Seven-time NASCAR champion "King" Richard Petty on the importance of short track racing as it relates to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

"We were at the shop, heck, I was going home before them and I usually don't do that. I'm usually one of the last guys there, and I was like, 'Guys, I gotta go to work in the morning,' and they would just stay down there." --Nick Sweet on the dedication of his crew

"I've got a Formula 1 game for my PlayStation, but that's it. I drove around the track in a street car for the first time, and that track is so narrow the Formula 1 guys that raced there must be crazy." --Patrick Laperle on making his road course debut in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

"This is just for fun." --Chris Donnelly

"We're a family-run team and that's what makes it fun. We stay close as a family, and it's even fun sometimes when you're fighting. It's like a woman, you've got to fight 'em every once in a while. It wouldn't be real if you weren't fighting, right?" --Nick Sweet

"He along with his whole team always represented to me exactly why I have stayed in this business for so long. If I could have 30 Mark Lambertons on the road each week, I would keep doing this until I either dropped dead or became so senile that they threw me out." --ACT president Tom Curley, upon the news that Mark Lamberton would return to regular competition

"I'm hoping they'll think I'm Jeff Taylor and they'll cheer for me." --Nick Sweet at Oxford Plains Speedway, referencing the paint scheme on his car honoring nine-time OPS champion Taylor

"Honest to God, if I could run with those guys every week, I'd come up here and run every single week." --Wayne Helliwell, Jr. on racing against Quinny Welch and Randy Potter

"You get butterflies when you turn off the road here into New Hampshire and come through the tunnel." --Scott Payea on racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

"You couldn't ask for a better guy." --Crew chief Jeff Laquerre on his driver, Jean-Paul Cyr

"I couldn't be more pleased with the way Scott races people. He's very smart and doesn't abuse his equipment. Some guys, like Brad Leighton and Patrick Laperle, those guys will risk it all to win. He's not that type of driver." --Brian Hoar on Scott Payea

"The reality is that the chemistry with me and this team is there. I've had more fun racing this year than ever before, and that's whether we're at the track, or in the trailer on the way to a race, or on Tuesday nights when we're all in the shop together working on the car. I actually look forward to Tuesday nights more than anything." --Brain Hoar on his RPM Motorsports team

"I'm 38 years old and I still get all excited when I see these (NASCAR) guys race at this track. And in about an hour I get to be one of the guys racing here." --Dave Pembroke at NHMS

"I appreciate short track racing and haven't forgotten where I learned the sport from the grassroots up." --NHMS vice president Jerry Gappens

CHANGE

An adjustment of the panhard bar can win or lose a race. Improving a race track can help revitalize a community. Bringing two groups together can, in turn, tear racers apart.

Change is everywhere.

***

"When the tribes start to get whittled down, they merge, so here we are." --Thunder Road promoter Tom Curley on the off-season Street Stock/Junkyard Warrior divisional merge, drawing comparisons to the TV show "Survivor"

"It will change the racing completely." --Airborne Speedway promoter Mike Perrotte on his track's new layout for 2009

"I never would have thought this would have happened." --Phil Scott on conducting the first Goodyear Late Model tire test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in April, alongside four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams

"I love it. This is the way racing should be. This is the way it should have been a long time ago." --Bucko Branham on the new Airborne Speedway surface

"Those kids are good. Don't underestimate them. That 28 and the 23 car (Tim and Matt Potter), you remember what they were like last year? They were toilets. This year they're really good." --Joey Laquerre

"We're supposed to be entertaining. I think that's something Jack Bateman really needs to think about if he really wants us to bring people onto this tour and put some fans in the grandstands. He's got to take some of these rules he's got and throw them away." --Modified Racing Series driver David Pinkham

"I don't think I want to race asphalt again on a regular basis." --Devil's Bowl Speedway champion Todd Stone, upon learning that his two home tracks, Devil's Bowl and Albany-Saratoga Speedway, would likely be paved in 2010

"I guess I have run out of energy to carry on the constant fight with those that just don't get it." --Curley on the mid-season controversy that temporarily split the Street Stock and Warrior divisions apart again

"It's time we put the racing back in the racing." --David Pinkham

"I feel like a backwards rookie, maybe that's why we've got a yellow stripe on the front of the car. I'm still learning how to drive these Late Models again. Everything is different than when we ran years ago with big motors and tire softener. All those races and titles I won, that was almost ten years ago, it's been so long. It's totally different now, I'm just starting over." --Brian Hoar, who would go on to win his first ACT Late Model Tour championship since 2000

"Twelve years ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be here." --ACT driver Tyler Cahoon, who began racing Street Stocks at Thunder Road in 1998, on the reality of practicing his own Late Model at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

"I'm getting soft." --Airborne Speedway Sportsman champion Bucko Branham on keeping better control of his temper as he grows older

"We're looking into the future, far down the road, for the betterment of our company." --Devil's Bowl Speedway promoter Jerry Richards on the Champlain Valley Racing Association's decision to pave both of its facilities, including sister track Albany-Saratoga Speedway

"Our attendance was up over the previous three or four years by having ACT there, and I give them all the credit for increasing the crowd." --New Hampshire Motor Speedway vice president Jerry Gappens, on hosting the first-ever ACT Invitational on Sylvania 300 weekend in September

"Running races at Loudon singlehandedly changed the Busch North Series, and everyone thought they had to go out and get superspeedway bodies and superspeedway cars and spend lots of money. And it's already started in ACT -- Patrick Laperle had a car built specifically for Loudon before he was even invited. Ricky Rolfe tested well there in August, and put his car up on jackstands and pulled out a back-up car for the rest of the races until the Invitational. Guys are figuring out that aerodynamics have never been as important on a Late Model as they are at Loudon. It's up to ACT to clamp down on it." --ACT champion Brian Hoar on the series running future events at NHMS

WINNING

Some do it in their first try, for some it can take decades. Some do it once, some do it once a week, some never get the chance at all. But for everyone, it's all they want to do.

Just win.

***

"I'm typically not that patient." --Brad Leighton

"To race with him here is pretty impressive for us." --Quinny Welch on keeping up with hometown hero Eddie MacDonald at Lee USA Speedway

"It was interesting out there." --Rob Goodenough, Modified Racing Series winner at Monadnock Speedway, after leader Kirk Alexander crashed out with 10 laps remaining

"It's not really hard, you go as fast as you can and turn left." --Tucker Williams

"We're just small-town people up in the hills around Hyde Park, and this is a big deal for us. I'm just proud as can be of my boy." --Eric Williams, after he and son Tucker swept their feature events on opening day at Thunder Road

"I guess I was prepared to finish second. I was not looking forward to having to ask him for a ticket to Loudon." --Dave Pembroke after winning the Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road and a qualifying berth for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; Joey Polewarczyk dominated the race but spun out of the lead on lap 82

"Last year I had some bad situations I was in and things didn't turn out like I wanted them to, but this year it's just been one hell of a year." --Steve Masse after winning his first Modified Racing Series feature at Thunder Road

"I'm getting lucky this year." --Josh Harrington after his third-straight victory to open the season at Bear Ridge Speedway

"It was a lot of fun, but it wasn't pretty, I know that." --Bobby Dragon, after winning a match race at Bear Ridge Speedway over his brother, Beaver, and nephew, Brent

"They think it's kind of a facade I'm putting on, but it's really fun and I seem to do pretty well at it. I think they just hate it that I can beat them at their own kind of game." --Amanda Gray on beating the boys

"There's nothing easy about races here. Starting first is a bonus, but it's still hard. I was driving as hard as I could." --Dave Pembroke after winning the Thursday night opener at Thunder Road

"You don't want to win like that." --Daniel Laperle on his brother, Patrick, winning a wreck-filled race at New Smyrna Speedway, shortened from 25 laps to 11.

"Chris Donnelly is probably the best driver we've got in this class, and for me as an 18 year-old kid to come out and race with these guys, it's awesome." --Jason Gray

"I guess it was worth the trip." --June Dragon, wife of Brent Dragon, after winning a Série ACT-Castrol race at Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué., on June 20; the ACT Late Model Tour event at Waterford, Conn., that the Dragons planned on running was rained out earlier that day

"Pretty friggin' good." --Joey Polewarczyk's answer to the question, "How does it feel to finally win at Thunder Road?"

"I bent my steering shaft down punching the steering wheel I was so excited. I couldn't hardly turn doing the burnout." --Jimmy Hebert after his first Tiger Sportsman win

"My God, I've been waiting for that. My car's always junk, you know what I mean?" --Grant Folsom after his first win at Thunder Road

"We unload and nine out of ten times it's fast." --Jon McKennedy

"I came here probably 15 or 18 years ago with my father to watch the 250 and just watch these guys. I never thought I'd be able to come here and win the thing." --Eddie MacDonald after winning the TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway

"We have one spare shock in the race car trailer, and that's the only spare part we have with us other than our wheels and tires. We have no spare springs, the setup in the car is what we run every week. When I watch these guys beside us that are just throwing shocks and springs at their cars to make them go better, it's like, man, why do they do all that? We can do it with just what we have." --Doug Murphy

"Overall the night rates about an 8 [out of 10]. It could be a little better, but I've got to spend the money I won fixing the car." --Bucko Branham after taking an Airborne Speedway win despite his car missing half of its bodywork due to crashes

"At the front was the place to be tonight as far as I can tell. I mean, we came around and one car was upside down." --Ryan Avery after taking his first Sportsman Modified win at Bear Ridge Speedway

"I was almost in tears. I said, 'There it goes.' I knew it was going to happen here." --Shawn Duquette's mid-race thoughts after crashing in the ACT Tiger Sportsman Series finale at Thunder Road; he clinched the championship after a tie-breaker with Jason Bonnett

"We lose as a team, we win as a team, and you really find out who your real friends are when you're down. I mean, look at us, we were down tonight. This is what happens in racing. You're at your lowest point in the season, you don't think it can get any worse, all of sudden you're like, 'I'm so sick of it, I can't wait for it to be over,' and then you win a race. And look at us now, I've got a grin on my face, I'm on the ninth cloud, and we're going to come back tomorrow." --Nick Sweet after his first Late Model win

"It's really fun to race here when people actually give you some room." --Jamie Fisher

"It was easy tonight." --Martin Roy after his fifth Airborne Speedway win

"It was probably the best race I've been in, I don't know, probably my whole career." --Quinny Welch, after battling Wayne Helliwell, Jr. and Randy Potter in the Clash of the Titans 150 at Riverside (N.H.) Speedway and finishing second

"They said that we were pretty fast, but sometimes I wonder if he's not showing it all." --Todd Stone on championship rival Kenny Tremont, Jr., after Stone won the penultimate race at Devil's Bowl Speedway

"This is cool. This is what I wanted." --Jean-Paul Cyr while watching fireworks, moments after winning the Thunder Road championship

"No, no, no. The winner is on the last lap of the last race." --Martin Roy on being able to relax after gaining a season-high 12-point lead over Patrick Dupree entering the final event at Airborne Speedway

"This is our first win in the States this year, so I guess I can be a U.S. citizen again. Everybody's been beating on me about being a Canadian all year." --Brent Dragon in ACT victory lane at Twin State Speedway; Dragon had previously won at Riverside Speedway and Autodrome Chaudière, both in Québec

"You always think about the bad times instead of the good times, like when we won in '05 at Drummond. But tonight nothing bad happened. It's a happy time." --Martin Roy after clinching the Airborne Speedway Modified championship

"We went up this morning after the drivers meeting, Tom (Curley) took all the Late Models up to the three stones up there in the grandstands. My name was on two of them at the beginning of the day. Now it's on all three." --Dave Pembroke after winning the Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road; granite monuments at the track honor past winners of the Labor Day Classic, Memorial Day Classic, and Vermont Milk Bowl events

"It's not that easy. I'll bet it looks easy though." --Chris Donnelly, after his sixth win of the season at Bear Ridge Speedway

"I've won titles and I've lost some really close battles, but at the end of the day I've still got five championships. I'm not going to lose sleep if I don't win another one this year. Don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than to win my sixth ACT championship, but do I think the pressure to perform is greater on him? Yes, I do." --Brian Hoar on ACT title rival Scott Payea

"Thank God for Nick spinning out." --Lonnie Rivers, after clinching the Airborne Speedway Renegade championship when point leader Nick Heywood went off the track in the season finale

"It wasn't until last night after we got done at Donnie Avery's race shop, I was laying underneath the car changing gears, that it sunk in -- I'm going to Loudon." --Stacy Cahoon, who won the White Mountain Motorsports Park track championship late Friday night, changed his car's setup in track promoter Avery's garage, and was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway by 7:30 on Saturday morning

"Yes it was." --Oxford Plains Speedway champion Travis Adams' interjection to our offering, "Sorry your Loudon experience wasn't what you wanted." Adams finished 32nd in the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway but was so happy to be racing at the track that he cared little about his finish

"We're not idiots in this business, and I know a lot of you think we are, but we're not." --ACT president Tom Curley

"A month ago Tom (Curley) brought us all up there, and I'm looking on down through and I'm on two of them, and I said, 'Boy, I'd really like to be on that Milk Bowl one, that way my name is on all three of them.' I've been thinking about it since then." --John Donahue, moments after winning the Milk Bowl at Thunder Road and realizing his name would be on each granite monument at the track

"It's ten times better than I ever thought it would be. Ever since I was little, I dreamed of this. I never thought I would race at 16, say nothing about winning a championship at 18." --Thunder Road Tiger Sportsman champion Jimmy Hebert

"Yes." --Mike Rollins' straight-faced answer to the question, "Did you expect to win?" after winning the Hart 100 at Bucktona Int'l Speedway

"I'd see how quickly I pulled away and I figured, as long I didn't do anything mentally challenged I'll be just fine." --Eric Williams after beating Joey Polewarczyk to win the ACT Late Model Tour finale at Oxford Plains Speedway

"I celebrated for about ten minutes when we signed the deal, but then I put my head down in the ditch and got to work." --Bill Jenkins, after purchasing the #26 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team from Roush-Fenway Racing

"The irony behind it all is that probably if you hadn't decided to go with them, I might not have the opportunity to be where I'm standing right now." --Brian Hoar addressing Jean-Paul Cyr during his ACT championship speech; Cyr left the RPM Motorsports team after 2008 to form a new team with Joey and Jeff Laquerre at Thunder Road, and Hoar filled the RPM seat on the ACT Late Model Tour. The switch resulted in both Hoar and Cyr winning their respective championships in 2009

LOSING

It sucks. It's the worst part of racing, and for some it never stops. But there can only be one winner.

The question is: How good a loser are you?

***

"It's a little frustrating when you don't win, but oh well, that's racing. That's why they call it 'racing' and not just 'winning.' " --Patrick Dupree

"We're trying to figure out how to even get the car in the trailer." --Patrick Laperle after wrecking at New Smyrna Speedway

"It's a bummer not having sponsors." --Eric Williams

"I'm over it. Last year is last year. It could have been a hundred points and it wouldn't have mattered. We finished second the year before, too." --Scott Payea on losing the 2008 ACT championship by one point

"They're playing their cards, you know what I mean? Come on, they didn't start racing yesterday. They're better than they showed, and they were good." --Eric Williams on Cris Michaud's team while testing the new ACT-approved Ford 'spec' crate engine

"I don't like struggling to qualify, and I don't like struggling to keep up." --Trampas Demers

"I wasn't thinking about the trophy or going to Loudon. I wanted that chair. I wanted it last year, too. Maybe Scott [Payea] will let me sit in it." --Randy Potter, after finishing second in the Furniture World of Vermont Spring Green 100 at Airborne Speedway two years in a row

"I go from hero to zero in a one-hour drive over the mountain." --Ben Rowe on struggling in ACT events at Thunder Road, less than 24 hours after winning a PASS event at White Mountain Motorsports Park

"I'm pissed off now. I want to win here. I want to win at this place more than anything in the world." --Joey Polewarczyk after spinning out of the lead at Thunder Road, 18 laps shy of the checkered flag

---Overheard in the Bear Ridge Speedway pits following Brent Dragon's dirt racing debut---
Brent Dragon: "I'll never complain about Ste-Croix being a rough track ever again."
Gary Siemons: "What? That ain't even rough. That wasn't bad at all."
Brent Dragon: (Expletive deleted)

"Um, a little bit... maybe... not really... kinda, yeah." --Joey Polewarczyk on whether or not losing at Thunder Road to Tony Stewart -- in one of his own cars -- would bother him

"I have had to do a lot of fixing this year." --Junkyard Warrior driver Ken Christman on the Street Stock/Warrior divisional merge at Thunder Road

"We can't afford it this year from a money and risk standpoint." --Scott Payea on having to skip racing the TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway

"Right now I'm sad, but at the RV we're going to have a party." --Patrick Laperle on finishing second in the TD Bank 250

"I think he learned the hard way that racing up here in the north is nothing like what he's used to down south." -- Joe Polewarczyk, Sr., on Georgia driver Michael Pope, who wrecked out of a PASS event at Lee USA Speedway in his own Super Late Model, then wrecked in one of Polewarczyk's cars at the TD Bank 250 one week later

"He just came over and said, 'I overdrove.' I said, 'Yup, you did, but if you don't try it, you don't learn.' " --Tony Andrews after beating Brooks Clark for a win at Thunder Road

"Everybody was pretty crazy tonight. I don't know, the whole place was going nuts." --Chris Donnelly, after finishing second in a race that featured one flip and two other major wrecks at Bear Ridge Speedway

"Sometimes I get a little impatient and I run out of talent, it just happens." --Nick Sweet

"This is the funniest thing I've ever said in my life, but Brad Leighton thought I drove him rough. That's bullsh-t. And that's a direct quote. Write that down. He got his hand caught in the candy jar." --Brian Hoar after winning a controversial ACT Late Model Tour event at Waterford Speedbowl, in which Leighton crashed out of the lead coming to the final lap

"He blatantly drove over my nose. I'm not taking his crap any more. It's happened to me too many times." --Joey Polewarczyk on an incident with Brian Hoar at Waterford Speedbowl

"I guess it's sort of my fault that Jason lost the title. Duquette would have helped us out. We've lost titles before, and we've won them, too. It would have been nice to win, but it's no big deal. Stuff like this is why we race." --Ron Bonnett after helping to repair point leader Shawn Duquette's car following a crash in the ACT Tiger Sportsman Series finale at Thunder Road; Duquette beat Jason Bonnett, Ron's son, for the championship in a tie-breaker

"I'm good at doing vinyl. I'm getting fantastic at that." --Nick Sweet on making constant repairs to his car

"I gave that one away. Maybe not the championship, but tonight's race I gave away, like a f---ing moron." --Patrick Dupree after finishing second to Martin Roy in both the Charlie Trombley Memorial 100 and Modified championship points at Airborne Speedway

"I wish he would have stopped hitting me and just let us race." --John Donahue on Patrick Laperle

"I beat him in the race -- I was third and he was fifth -- but he won his heat and we were even after it was over. It all comes down to heat points. It sucks." --Scott Payea on battling for the ACT championship with Brian Hoar

"He's a pain in the ass." --Patrick Laperle on rival Donald Theetge

"Everything went black." --Joey Polewarczyk after a hard crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

"It's clearly obvious to anybody but Laperle fans what the situation was ... Laperle had a lot of options. If option number one works and option number two works, but option number three doesn't, why do it? They chose option number three. I can't explain that." --ACT president Tom Curley, following a Série ACT-Castrol controversy at Autodrome St-Eustache that penalized Patrick Laperle for allegedly mainpulating the outcome of the season's final race and the series' championship

"I don't know what it is, but I think he likes Theetge and not me." --Patrick Laperle, suggesting he was unfairly targeted by Tom Curley

"I'm afraid I might do something stupid if I go race there." --Patrick Laperle on skipping the Milk Bowl at Thunder Road, and therefore a chance at becoming the race's only three-peat winner

"We're not a bunch of idiots, we're not just a piece of meat to throw around. I'm done, I've had enough for now. I don't think I'll be racing ACT for a while, maybe like two years I'll come back. I say that I'm done, but I might have regret and come back next year. But then I'll probably want to smash my head off a wall if I do." --Patrick Laperle

"It's the second time it's happened this year. I'll be good with it, and I'll keep it in my memory bank. That's part of the deal. We'll see what happens next week." --Brent Dragon after being on the losing end of a rough battle with John Donahue

"We ran good at Thunder Road for a long time before the win. The win gives us confidence and it got the monkey off our back, but you can't ever go to Thunder Road thinking you're going to win there. It's such a tough place, and it'll bite you at any second. You can come out of Turn 4 and think you're just going to brush the wall a little bit, and the next thing you know you're upside down. You have to respect it, because something will always go wrong that will bring you back to reality." --Joey Polewarczyk

GUTS

It takes a lot of things to get into a race car: Money, people, time, energy, sponsors, equipment, dedication.

But it only takes one thing to win: Guts.

***

"The only traction control I need is in my right foot." --Patrick Laperle

"The sky is the limit, we just have to use our heads and move slowly." --Airborne Speedway promoter Mike Perrotte

"You're my new hero." --NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon's remark to ACT driver Phil Scott after Scott ran full-bore through a stream of water in Turn 1 during a Goodyear tire test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

"There was some bumping, but this is short track, right?" --Brad Leighton at Airborne Speedway

"If you're nuts enough to stick it out there, you can really go." --Mike Perrotte on Airborne Speedway's new outside lane

"He might be driving one of my cars, but he's gonna have to try to get by me to win that race." --Joey Polewarczyk on NASCAR champion Tony Stewart's Governor's Cup 150 appearance at Thunder Road

"I've been doing this a long time. I'm not going to wait if I see an opening, whether it's behind a lapped car or whatever, I'm going to head down there and take a shot at it and see if it works." --Chris Donnelly

"I've heard a lot of bad stories about it." --Airborne Speedway Sportsman driver Shawn Duquette on making his first start at Thunder Road

"At lap 80, I was getting dizzy. I kept pulling my gloves down and hanging my hands out the window trying to cool my wrists. I was good on that last run, and then that caution came out with seven to go. And it just hit, everything started spinning. If there was another lap I would have drove right off the speedway." --Wayne Helliwell, Jr., who collapsed from heat exhaustion in victory lane at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., after winning the Clash of the Titans 150 in 95-degree heat

"If you want to jack me up and spin me out, well, you're going to the rear, too. That's just the way I look at things. I'm not going to let someone booger me around." --John Donahue

"We've got good notes and a lot of confidence, and it's not like I'm going out there and pussyfooting around. We're going over to win." --Scott Payea

"The Milk Bowl is all about patience, but then again, you can't say that, either. You have to get to the front fast, but you have to race with the sense in your head that, 'Okay, there's another leg right after this one, so don't wreck.' " --Joey Polewarczyk

"I don't like being put three-wide, but this is the third segment, this is the Milk Bowl, this happens once a year. I don't know how else to put it. I wanted it more than he did. I got rough. I usually don't drive like that, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal." --John Donahue on racing for the Milk Bowl victory with Brent Dragon

"I hate seeing that black bumper in my mirror. He's always run me clean, but I still let him go if he wants a spot." --Nick Sweet on racing with Eric Williams

"You don't want to piss Eric off, because he gets mad and he don't forget." --John Donahue on racing with Eric Williams

"Life isn't a dress rehearsal." --Gardner Stone's advice to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Bill Jenkins

GOALS

Every racer needs something to work toward. An item to cross off a list. A trophy to put on the mantle. A reason to keep coming back.

A goal.

***

"The number-one goal is to create a very stout team that can be a threat week-in and week-out, and the number-two goal would be the Thunder Road title." --Jean-Paul Cyr on joining forces with Joey and Jeff Laquerre

"That's what I wanted, that's my baby." --Four-time New Hampshire Motor Speedway track champion Brad Leighton on becoming the first qualifier for the ACT Invitational at NHMS

"I have nothing to prove, people know how good we are. I just want to win races and try to go for it again this year." --Scott Payea

"My objective is win the championship. It's my year. I've finished second and third, it's my year." --Martin Roy

"I need more seat time out front so I'll be more comfortable in situations like this." --Trampas Demers, polesitter at Thunder Road's Merchants Bank 150, on his decision to race with the Série ACT-Castrol in Canada

"I can't really comment and give you anything other than baloney right now, I just don't know." --Sponsorless Eric Williams on racing the full ACT schedule after winning the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in May

"I hope to get a top-15 finish and learn about the track and the cars. But then again, I could go out and scare the hell out of myself. I'm just looking to have some fun this weekend." --Eric Chase on making his NASCAR Camping World Series East debut at NHMS

"I rememeber coming to the first race here and just looking at this place and thinking this is the cat's ass up here in New England, you know?" --Pete Potvin on the possibility of racing at NHMS

"I'd like to win this race if I have shot, but even if I finish 36th ten laps down I'll be able to say I came here and raced." --Stacy Cahoon on competing in the ACT Invitational at NHMS

---Overheard in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway infield following Friday's Camping World Series East event in September---
Tony Stewart: "Are you ready for next week?"
Joey Polewarczyk: "I'm not running Dover, we don't have the money for that."
Tony Stewart: "No, I know. I meant the Milk Bowl. That's a big deal."

"I want this one bad. Last night I stayed up and watched the last three years' Milk Bowls on DVDs that we have. I watched every part of them. I'm the most focused I've ever been for any race this year." --Joey Polewarczyk

"You watch what they do and try to follow in their footsteps. We just try to improve as we can. To be able to run up there with those guys, it's pretty cool." --Brooks Clark

"I'd like to finish top-ten in points. We'd get a check anyway, and I wouldn't mind a little bit more of ol' T-Bone's money. It spends nice." --Eric Williams, on hoping to win some ACT point fund money; series president Tom Curley's nickname has been "T-Bone" since the 1960s

"I’m Phil Scott -- native Vermonter, graduate of Spaulding High School and the University of Vermont, fisherman and snowmobiler, mechanic and laborer, truck driver and stock car driver, both a cyclist and a biker, father and business owner, State Senator, proud Republican, and as of today, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vermont." --The opening line of former Thunder Road, Airborne Speedway, and ACT champion Phil Scott's speech on Dec., 1, 2009, introducing himself as a candidate for the 2010 election

"I'm a huge race fan and I've always wanted to do this." --Bill Jenkins on becoming a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner

"You set goals, and I've never truly achieved any goal that I've ever set, believe it or not." --Jean-Paul Cyr

Dear Fans: THANK YOU!

I woke up this morning, February 3, 2010, thinking, "Why does this date sound like something familiar?"

Birthday? No. Appointment? No. Anniversary? Um, yeah, actually. But whose?

I'll tell you whose: Vermont Motorsports Magazine's!

That's right, one year ago today this little space was launched into the world for all to see. With a business model in place, but no real plan of action other than to take it one day at a time, VMM became the next joiner-upper in the long line of fledgling attempts at auto racing journalism. While we're not sure whether or not we've done a good job, we are still around, and we know that we have at least two or three fans.

Guys, gals, kids, from the bottom of my heart I simply can not thank you all enough.

Everyone has a dream, and being an auto racing writer has been mine since I was eight years old. I used to read the works of Dr. Dick Berggren, Bones Bourcier, Ken Squier, Lew Boyd, Dave Moody, Karl Fredrickson, Joyce Standridge, Pete Zanardi, Don Fillion, Pete Hartt, Mal Boright, Mark Thomas, Tom Herzig, and so many more, and I treated them as gospel. I had my heroes on the race track, of course, but I had so much respect and admiration for the people that got to tell their stories, and I wanted to be one of them.

I started posting on message boards and in chat rooms at about age 13, weaseled my way into a couple of writing jobs at 17, started working for the Amercian-Canadian Tour -- which, in my own opinion, biased or unbiased, is the most professional sanctioning body in short track racing -- at age 20, and eventually decided in the interest of my long-term goals and for the future of my family, to branch out on my own at 25, and I landed here.

It's been a weird ride, but it's one I would take over and over again, exactly the same way. I've been so fortunate to have met and worked with not only my racing heroes, but many of my writing heroes as well. I've seen some outstanding races (and some real clunkers), I've met an amazing number of wonderful people, I've told stories, I've shared opinions that have made people laugh, cry, get mad, or change their own opinion, I've been invited to report for television and radio, and, although I've heard that it's a no-no in the journalism business, I've made a lot of very good, close, trusted friends.

Well, I wasn't raised to not make friends with people, so too bad.

I know I did this in "The Juice" back in October, but I again want to thank all of the promoters and staff of the tracks in the area that have allowed me to work at their events and treated me so well, the drivers, crews, sponsors, and families of the hundreds of race teams I've covered, the advertisers that have believed in and supported Vermont Motorsports Magazine (RPM Racing Engines, Subway, Burnett Scrap Metals, C&S Screenprinting, and "Fifty Years of Excitement"), my own family and friends, and, of course, YOU! There would be no reason to do this if it wasn't supported, and it's all thanks to, as of this morning, all 83,000+ of you.

As a means of looking back on our first complete year, we have compiled our favorite quotes collected throughout the year and will be posting them periodically today. The quotes have been divided into six themes: Goals, Guts, Losing, Winning, Change, and The Love of the Game. As far as we're concerned, those six things are what racing is all about, and we've heard all about them from some of the best in the business.

There are a lot of big plans in store for VMM in 2010, including expansion from this little Blogger page into a full website, so stay tuned, and thanks again for the continued support of this project. Everyone has a dream, and Vermont Motorsports Magazine is mine. Because of you, I'm getting to live it.

--Justin St. Louis, Vermont Motorsports Magazine

A LOOK BACK: Bear Ridge Speedway 2009

Our newest feature, "A Look Back", showcases the 2009 season at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt., with highlights from throughout the year.



Video produced by Justin St. Louis/Vermont Motorsports Magazine. ©2009-2010

A LOOK BACK: ACT Fall Foliage 300

The ACT Late Model Tour's Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. was a historic event. Until that point, the longest race the series had ever run was 200 laps on a 4/10-mile track. Not only that, Airborne's newly redesigned corners allowed for some great side-by-side racing, producing a single-event record-tying 19 lead changes for the Tour.

The following video is Vermont Motorsports Magazine's recap of the race, won in impressive fashion by Patrick Laperle.

(All video/photo content by Justin St. Louis/VMM)

Got a new video editing toy for Christmas...

...so we're trying it out for the first time with a clip of one of our favorite feature finishes from the 2009 season. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Tom Placey Voted Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2009 Driver of the Year

Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Awards presented by Subway

Stock car racing champion Tom Placey of Bradford has won the Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2009 Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway, as voted by readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine, an online news website. Placey was previously voted the Bear Ridge Speedway Driver of the Year last month; the 25 year-old won the Hornet division championship at his hometown track with 11 feature race wins during the summer months.

Placey received more than 2,000 votes (51%) en route to winning the VMM/Subway 2009 Driver of the Year Award during a one-week open poll. Hyde Park teen Tucker Williams, the Street Stock Rookie of the Year at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, finished second to Placey on the ballot with nearly 1,400 votes (34%); Williams was also voted the VMM/Subway Thunder Road Driver of the Year in November. Williams' father, Eric, a two-time American-Canadian Tour Late Model winner, was third in the voting, followed closely by Ascutney drivers Chris Riendeau and Joey Jarvis, who are top stars at Twin State and Canaan Fair speedways in New Hampshire.

The Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2009 Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway was decided by fan vote from a 20-driver ballot. Top-ranking drivers from VMM Driver of the Year polls held in November were qualified to be placed on the final, overall ballot. Joining Placey and Tucker Williams as previous award winners were Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Tim LaDuc of Orwell, and Eric Williams, who won the "On The Road" Driver of the Year Award for Vermont drivers competing on a touring series or at tracks out of state.

Other drivers on the VMM/Subway 2009 Driver of the Year ballot included Bear Ridge Speedway racer Gary Siemons, Chris Donnelly, and Dan Eastman, Devil's Bowl Speedway stars Kenny Tremont, Jr. and Todd Stone, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl racers Jean-Paul Cyr, Dave Pembroke, and Donny Yates, ACT Late Model Tour stars Brian Hoar, Brent Dragon, and John Donahue, Granite State Mini Sprint series champion Lacey Hanson, Modified Racing Series star Dwight Jarvis, and White Mountain Motorsports Park (N.H.) champion Stacy Cahoon.

For more information, visit the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website at 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 www.subway.com.

(PHOTO: VMM/Subway 2009 Driver of the Year Tom Placey. Photo by Alan Ward)

Williams Family Takes Second Driver of the Year Award

Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Awards presented by Subway

Late Model stock car driver Eric Williams has been named the winner of the Vermont Motorsports Magazine "On The Road" Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway, as decided by readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine, an online news website. The veteran Hyde Park driver follows in the tracks of his son, Tucker, who won the VMM/Subway Driver of the Year Award in the Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl category one week earlier.

Eric Williams received exactly half of the more than 1,200 votes cast during a one-week open fan vote on the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website. Williams won the "On The Road" Driver of the Year honor in a category that included 30 Vermont racers competing on a touring series, or at tracks in New Hampshire and New York. Williams won 150-lap main events on the traveling American-Canadian Tour at Thunder Road in Barre in May and at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine in October.

Ascutney teenager Chris Riendeau finished second in the VMM/Subway "On The Road" Driver of the Year poll, earning 28% of the votes. Riendeau was a feature winner at both Twin State Speedway and Canaan Fair Speedway in New Hampshire, and was a regular competitor in three weekly divisions. He also made two appearances on the ACT Late Model Tour. Another Ascutney youngster, Joey Jarvis, finished third in the poll with over 100 votes; Jarvis finished second in Modified championship standings at Twin State and was the division's Rookie of the Year.

Other top vote-getters included White Mountain Motorsports Park (N.H.) Late Model Champion Stacy Cahoon of St. Johnsbury, Granite State Mini Sprint Series Champion Lacey Hanson of Orwell, and Thunder Road Milk Bowl winner John Donahue of Graniteville.

Eric Williams is the fourth VMM/Subway Driver of the Year honoree in the month of November, joining son Tucker, Bradford's Tom Placey of Bear Ridge Speedway, and Orwell racer Tim LaDuc of Devil's Bowl Speedway. Nearly 2,500 votes have been tallied in the month-long polling at Vermont Motorsports Magazine.

Voting for the final Vermont Motorsports Magazine 2009 Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway is now open through 11:59pm on Sunday, December 6. The 20-driver ballot for the 2009 Driver of the Year Award is comprised of the top-voted racers in the previous four categories. Nominees include Bear Ridge Speedway champions Gary Siemons, Dan Eastman, and Placey, Devil's Bowl Speedway Modified power trio LaDuc, Kenny Tremont, Jr., and Todd Stone, Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl stars Jean-Paul Cyr, Dave Pembroke, and Tucker Williams, and traveling racers Eric Williams, Riendeau, Joey Jarvis, Brian Hoar, and Dwight Jarvis.

To vote, visit Vermont Motorsports Magazine at 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/.

(PHOTOS: 1. VMM/Subway "On The Road" Driver of the Year Eric Williams; 2. "On The Road" runner-up Chris Riendeau. Photo 1 by Justin St. Louis/VMM; Photo 2 by Alan Ward)

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.)

LaDuc Named Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year

Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Awards presented by Subway

Veteran stock car driver Tim LaDuc has won the Vermont Motorsports Magazine Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway, as voted by readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine, an online news website. The popular Orwell driver finished third in 2009 championship standings in the headline 358-Modified division at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven; LaDuc won the opening day event in May and was in the thick of the title hunt the entire year, finishing just 13 points behind Track Champion Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y., a dozen points behind runner-up Todd Stone of Middlebury.

LaDuc won the VMM/Subway Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Award by earning 39% of the votes registered at Vermont Motorsports Magazine during a one-week open poll. Tremont finished second in the balloting with 19% of the vote, while Stone was third with 15%. Two-time Budget Sportsman winner C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. ranked high among the 14 drivers on the ballot, as Six-Cylinder Mini Stock champion Kayla Bryant of Rutland and Pro Street Stock champion Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y.

Voting for the Vermont Motorsports Magazine Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway is now open through 11:59pm on Sunday, November 22. Nominees on the 15-driver Thunder Road ballot include Late Model Track Champion Jean-Paul Cyr, Tiger Sportsman Champion Jimmy Hebert, and Street Stock Rookie of the Year Tucker Williams.

Driver of the Year polls will be held at the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website throughout the month of November; 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 Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Tim LaDuc. Photo by Dave D'Alessandro/CVRA)