Tuesday, December 1, 2009

BREAKING NEWS -- Phil Scott Expected to Enter Race for Lieutenant Governor

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- Sources have confirmed to Vermont Motorsports Magazine that former Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl and American-Canadian Tour champion Phil Scott is expected announce his entry into the 2010 race for Vermont Lieutenant Governor on Monday evening at the Sheraton-Burlington Hotel & Conference Center in South Burlington.

Scott was elected to the Vermont State Senate as a Washington County Republican in 2000, a position he has held ever since. Scott, 51, also co-owns DuBois Construction in Middlesex.

Scott won Late Model track championships at Thunder Road in Barre in 1996, 1998, and 2002, and is the all-time leading winner in the division. He also won championships with the ACT Late Model Tour and at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. in 2002.

Mark Snelling of Starksboro has also entered the race for Lieutenant Governor as a Republican.

Thunder Road Late Models to Open New Era at Devil's Bowl

From Thunder Road press release

WEST HAVEN -- The American-Canadian Tour Late Models from Thunder Road will open the newly paved Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Track promoter Jerry Richards said, “This is going to be a great way to bring the new asphalt to life at Devil’s Bowl. It has been over 30 years since the track was asphalt, but we think having Thunder Road’s Late Models on the ½-mile will certainly give our fans at 'The Bowl' a great opening event.”

Thunder Road Late Models will be joined by some of the regular ACT Late Model Tour teams for this grand opening of the original Champlain Valley Racing Association track, which was founded by legendary promoter C.J. Richards.

“When we learned that 'The Bowl' was being returned to asphalt we really wanted our teams to be a part of it," said Tom Curley, the President of ACT and managing partner of Thunder Road. "Most of the Thunder Road Late Models have raced various tracks on the ACT, and this just seemed like a great fit. We have no races scheduled at Thunder Road from May 2 until Memorial Day weekend, so I am sure there will be great support from the Late Model teams.

“I am sure there will be a number of teams from Chittenden County and central Vermont who will want to give Devil’s Bowl a try, and this change the CVRA is going through is something ACT wants to support.” The sister track of Devil’s Bowl, Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., will host an ACT Late Model Tour event on April 25th at the newly paved 4/10-mile speedplant.

Some of the expected entrants to the Devil's Bowl event include reigning Thunder Road champion Jean-Paul Cyr, a former champion at Devil’s Bowl, three-time Thunder Road champion Cris Michaud, and ACT star Brent Dragon.

“I think this is really great,” Dragon said. “My father and uncle were both a part of the five-track Northern NASCAR circuit back in the mid-‘70s, and I am really excited that we have a 'long track' back in Vermont."

Monday, November 30, 2009

Waterford Speedbowl to Close 2010 ACT Schedule

Thunder Road's Milk Bowl becomes stand-alone event

WATERFORD, Conn. -- The American-Canadian Tour has tweaked its previously released partial ACT Late Model Tour 2010 schedule, deleting the Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl from the championship slate and picking up a pair of events at Waterford Speedbowl on the Connecticut shoreline.

The racy 3/8-mile oval will host a 100-lap ACT Late Model Tour event on August 21, and will also close the series' schedule -- which now stands at 14 races -- in a Late Model/SK Modified twinbill event on October 9/10. ACT will become part of Waterford's annual SK Modified Nationals event, with each division running 150 laps; the Nationals event has traditionally been the track's season opener in April, but will close the Waterford and ACT schedules for the first time.

With the addition of the Waterford race, the Milk Bowl has once again become a non-championship, stand-alone event, but will still be run on its originally released date of October 2/3. ACT Late Model Tour champion Brian Hoar of Williston won a controversial event at Waterford in August after a late-race crash eliminated leader Brad Leighton. Other ACT winners at Waterford Speedbowl include Scott Payea (2008), Roger Brown (2004), and Brent Dragon (2003).

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR 2010 SCHEDULE (as of Nov. 30, 2009)

#-Day-Date-Track-Location-Laps

1. Sun., April 18 -- Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. -- 150
2. Sun., April 25 -- Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Malta, N.Y. -- 100
3. Sun., May 2 -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 150
4. Sat., May 8 -- Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 100
5. Sun., May 16 -- Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me. -- 150
6. Sat., June 19 -- Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me. -- 150
7. Sat., June 26 -- White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. -- 150
-- Sun., July 18 -- Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me. -- 250 (non-points)
8. Sat., July 24 -- Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough (Portland), Me. -- 150
9. Fri., July 30 -- Twin State Speedway, Claremont, N.H. -- 100
10. Sat., Aug. 14 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix, Qué. -- 200 (Tour/Castrol combo)
11. Sat., Aug. 21 -- Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, Conn. -- 100
-- Sat., Aug. 28 -- Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué. -- 200 (non-points)
12. Sun., Sept. 5 -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 200
13. Sun., Sept. 12 -- Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. -- 300
-- Sat., Sept. 18 -- New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. -- TBA (non-points)
-- Sat./Sun., Oct. 2/3 -- Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl, Barre -- 150 (non-points)
14. Sat./Sun., Oct. 9/10 -- Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, Conn. -- 150

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)

Hall of Famer Gahan Passes Away at 83

'62 Thunder Road winner was National Modified Champion

CRANBERRY ISLES, Me. -- Modified racing legend Ernie Gahan passed away at his Maine home on Thursday night at the age of 83. Gahan was the 1966 NASCAR National Modified Champion.

Among the many honors bestowed upon Gahan, who began racing in 1948 at a track in his home town of Dover, N.H., were inductions into several Halls of Fame; he was part of the inaugural class of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1998, and is also a member of the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame, the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame, and the Beech Ridge (Me.) Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

Gahan's 300-plus feature victories included a Triple Crown effort at Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl on July 19, 1962; he was a frequent competitor there and at the former Catamount Stadium in Milton in the 1960s. Gahan made 11 starts in the NASCAR Grand National (Sprint Cup) Series from 1960-66, and was given the Buddy Shuman Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR after helping DeWayne "Tiny" Lund rescue driver Marvin Panch from a fiery crash at Daytona Int'l Speedway in 1963.

Gahan's last competitive start with a NASCAR touring series came in 1987 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway in a Whelen Modified Tour event, finishing 20th with his famous number-50. His son, Bobby, has amassed 15 championships and nearly 400 feature wins in a 40-year career in and around sourthern New Hampshire.

"Ernie was part of the Modified legacy that has helped make NASCAR what it is today. He was a great racer and true New England legend," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president for corporate communications. "On behalf of NASCAR and the France family, our thoughts and prayers go out to Gahan's family and friends."

Services for Gahan will be held Wednesday at Purdy Memorial Chapel, 2 Concord Rd., Durham, N.H. The wake will be from 12-2 pm, followed by the funeral service.

(Photo credit: Howie Hodge/NASCAR)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

ACT Invitational to Return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2010

Race distance and starting field to be expanded, Goodyear to develop new tire for event

From American-Canadian Tour press release


LOUDON, N.H. -- The American-Canadian Tour and New Hampshire Motor Speedway have reached an agreement for the second annual ACT Invitational to take place at the only superspeedway in the northeast on Saturday, September 18, 2010.


“The overwhelming success of the inaugural ACT Invitational this past September made it an easy decision to have the short track stars of our region return again next September,” said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.


Thirty-six teams from all six New England states, Quebec, and Ontario took part in the inaugural ACT Invitational during the Sylvania 300 weekend this past September.  One of the largest Saturday crowds in the 19-year history of the speedway was treated to an action packed tripleheader of racing featuring the ACT Late Models, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.


“We really thought things went great at New Hampshire Motor Speedway during the first ACT Invitational last season,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT.  “I would expect things to be even more fun for our teams and fans in 2010.  We will add some laps to the event, and are discussing the possibility of allowing a tire change during the event.  We will also add some positions to the starting field.”


Teams were qualified for the first Invitational by winning ACT Late Model Tour and ACT Castrol Series events in the United States, Quebec, and Ontario. Additional teams qualified through special events such as the TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains (Me.) Speedway and the Vermont Governor’s Cup at Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl in Barre.  Individual track champions from ACT-affiliated tracks were also invited to attend the inaugural Invitational.


“We plan to change some of the qualifying procedures as we continue to make this one of the most unique and exciting short track events in the country,” said Curley.


2009 ACT Champion Brian Hoar from Williston said, “It is no secret that New Hampshire Motor Speedway is my very favorite track of all time.  I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are going back.  They tell me Goodyear is making a tire for us just for New Hampshire, and that will be a good thing.  I really think I could have been in the battle to the great finish that Eddie (MacDonald), Nick Sweet, and the kid from Ontario (16 year-old Brandon Watson) had going on at the end of the race.  But I just ran out of tire. I now know what one of my goals for the RPM Motorsports team is going to be in 2010.  I can’t wait.”


The first qualifying event for the 2010 ACT Invitational will be held just down the road from New Hampshire Motor Speedway at the Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H.  Over 50 teams are expected to try and capture the first invitation at the opening 150-lap event on Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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.)