Barre, VT – For the fourth time in the past 30 years, a member of the Pelkey family has been saluted for the progress they’ve made behind the wheel of a race car. Barre’s Jason Pelkey received the unexpected honor at the 2019 Thunder Road Banquet of Champions when he was presented with the track’s annual Most Improved Driver Award.

Barre, VT – Pittsfield’s Juan “Paco” Marshall has made big strides in his first two seasons behind the wheel of an Allen Lumber Street Stock at Thunder Road. However, it’s off the track where he has truly shined. Marshall’s all-around great attitude and joy for auto racing made him the winner of the 2019 Ed Carroll Memorial Sportsmanship Award.

Barre, VT – For much of the year, no one in the stands could have predicted who the top Street Stock rookie was going to be. The favorite seemed to change on a weekly basis as young drivers gained experience on the high banks. But down the stretch, it was Berlin’s Keegan Lamson who established himself as the racer to beat and who stood atop the heap as the Allen Lumber Street Stock Rookie of the Year.

Barre, VT – For decades, Thunder Road co-founder Ken Squier has talked about how the track makes heroes out of ordinary people – “common men doing uncommon deeds.” This past November, one of those heroes was recognized at the annual Banquet of Champions, as Swanton’s Amanda Conger was presented with the inaugural CVTsport.net Thunder Road Hero of the Year Award.

Barre, VT – Usually, when a driver moves up a division, there’s at least a short learning curve. They’re adjusting to cars that are faster, bigger and handle differently than their previous car, and are going up against different competition, too.

For Craftsbury’s Stephen Martin, however, there was no such learning curve in 2019. The 2018 Allen Lumber Street Stock Champion burst onto the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger scene in a big way. At season’s end, he was the 2019 Flying Tiger Rookie of the Year and served notice he will be one to watch for years to come.

The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and its sanctioned tracks will all be fueled by Sunoco beginning in the 2020 season. New England Racing Fuel, the official New England distributor of Sunoco race fuels, has signed a multi-year agreement to make Sunoco the Official Fuel of ACT, Barre, VT’s Thunder Road Speedbowl, and N. Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park (WMMP).

Barre, VT – For more than 30 years, the Allen Lumber Company has been a fixture at Thunder Road. As the entitlement sponsor of the Street Stock division, they have overseen hundreds of drivers either on their way through the ranks or who have found a home in the entry-level class. Thunder Road recognized their role in the track’s history this off-season by awarding Allen Lumber and Burnie Allen with the Ken Squier Award.