Offseason Spotlight: Conger Named CVTsport.net Thunder Road Hero 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.

CVTsport.net founder Carl Parton, the official videographer of Thunder Road, had presented the Highlight Star of the Year Award in 2018. For 2019, he chose to honor someone who made an impact off the track. Thunder Road, and auto racing as a whole, has long been known for the “racing family” that develops among participants and fans. Conger’s actions this past year, which received acknowledgement far beyond the racing community. demonstrated just how deep those bonds go.

Conger, a senior at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College and a longtime Thunder Road fan, spent the last two summers interning at the track. Through her work and new friendships, she learned of the story of Cameron Ouellette, a Flying Tiger racer who had experienced kidney failure and was seeking a kidney donor. Unprompted and unknown to Ouellette, Conger decided to look into being his donor, and tests revealed she was a match. The process led to Conger successfully donating a kidney to Ouellette in early June of 2019.

Since then, both have resumed their normal lives at and away from the track. Conger returned to school in the fall, where she is a forward and captain on the Saint Anselm women’s ice hockey team that won last year’s New England Woman’s Hockey Alliance playoff. Ouellette, meanwhile, plans to restart his racing career this coming season. Conger’s gesture gave both the chance to live a healthy life to the fullest, making her the clear choice for the award.

Parton was unable to attend the Banquet of Champions to present the award as his filming scheduled included the Vermont high school soccer playoffs. Still, his remarks, which were read by Thunder Road General Manager Tina Gallison, noted that Conger’s actions were just one of many uncommon deeds at Thunder Road in 2019. This selfless, caring attitude shared by so many is part of why the track has thrived for 60 years.

“We see some amazing heroics and great feats of driving excellence at the track,” Parton noted. “This year, the tradition, the culture, the community, and the family atmosphere that I have come to admire at Thunder Road showed us even more amazing heroics apart from racing.”

Conger was a popular winner, receiving a standing ovation when the award was announced. She noted that she’s gotten to meet a lot of amazing drivers and officials in her two years working at the track. She also gave an extra thanks to the Michauds, a longtime family friend, for giving her the opportunity to be a part of the Thunder Road community.

“I wouldn’t know Thunder Road if it wasn’t for the Michaud family,” Conger said. “So Cris, Heather, and Jordo, thank you for introducing me to this amazing family. I couldn’t be more proud to receive this award and be a part of this.”