Thunder Road Bringing the Excitement with Packed Friday Night Card

Barre, VT — Barre’s Thunder Road begins the weekly racing season in earnest this Friday, June 11. With three championship divisions, the Myers Container Service Triple Crown 100, and a visit from the New England Antique Racers, fans will have plenty to talk about whether they’re watching at the track or live on FloRacing.

The huge Friday program has a special 6:30pm post time to fit all the excitement in. Racing begins with the 100-lap Triple Crown showdown for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, which was postponed from last week’s Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic due to unexpected rain showers. Tiger stars like four-time champion Jason Woodard, Triple Crown champions Jaden Perry and Mike Martin, Sam Caron, and Logan Powers will go at it in the series opener. Waitsfield’s Kevin Streeter and Milton’s Caron are slated to lead the field to the green flag.

From there, the evening moves straight into the regular event. A full card is scheduled for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, and RK Miles Street Stocks. It will be an extra-busy night in the Flying Tiger pits with 140 laps of feature action.

“It’ll be fun,” Caron said. “We have the 100-lapper, which is essentially two and half races crammed into one, to start the night. Then there’s the meat and potatos of the weekly racing season right after that…patience will probably be the key. Some (teams) might bring two cars, but I don’t have that luxury. So we’ll have to balance aggression and opportunity in the first race, knowing that there’s more to come after the Triple Crown.”

The double features also mean Friday is a big early marker in the 2021 Flying Tiger championship chase. Racers who had a strong Opening Day such as point leader Bryan Wall Jr., Perry, Caron, and Stephen Martin can build on it and start two different title runs. Conversely, those whose opener didn’t live up to expectations have a golden opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.

“One of the most pivotal nights of the season is usually double-points night — and that’s essentially what you have with two races in one,” Caron said. “And it’s one of three Triple Crown races, so a good start to that season definitely sets you up for the last two. Last year, I think it took three top-fives to win the (Triple Crown) championship. So that’s going to kind of weigh on the back of your mind, with the field being similarly competitive.”

In the Late Models, familiar faces sit atop the standings following the Memorial Day Classic. Barre’s Jason Corliss began his mission for a third straight “King of the Road” with a third triumph in the historic event. He leads the points over fellow two-time champion Scott Dragon of Milton, who has come out of the gate strong with his new Todd Rueda-owned team.

Two other early notables include Shelburne’s Trampas Demers and Graniteville’s Christopher Pelkey. Demers suffered a hard crash in qualifying last Friday while Pelkey had most of the driver’s side sheet metal shorn off in an early feature crash. Undaunted, both battled back to finish in the top-5, making a statement for the season to come. Meanwhile, Kyle Pembroke and Brendan Moodie both need a quick turnaround after they were unable to start the Memorial Day feature.

The RK Mile Street Stocks have a 25-lap feature this Friday. Their Memorial Day Classic main event was also rained out, meaning they’ll run double features next Thursday, June 17 at Casella Wase Systems Night. In the meantime, hotshoes like Jeffrey Martin, Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher, James Dopp, and Jamie Davis are looking to get dialed in for the season ahead. Derek Farnham, Tommy “Thunder” Smith, Will Hennequin, and Josh Lovely all hope their speed in qualifying last Friday will carry over at least one more week.

The June 11 show is rounded out by the New England Antique Racers. It’s their first appearance in three years at Thunder Road. The 2019 appearance was cancelled due to weather while the 2020 event was a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now in 2021, classic Modifieds and Sportsmen get to roar on the high banks again for a pair of 15-lap features. Some of these vintage vehicles are piloted by former racers familiar to Thunder Road fans, including Milton’s Norm Cyr, Worcester’s Wayne “The Polish Cannon” Wojtyna, and Moscow’s John “The Birdman” Adams.

Last but not least, Friday night is also “Scout Night” at Thunder Road. All scouts in uniforms will be admitted free of charge. Scout leaders in uniform accompanying scouts who are minors also get free admission.

Thunder Road goes green this Friday, June 11 at 6:30pm with a packed program of championship stock car racing. The night begins with the Myers Container Service Triple Crown 100 for the Flying Tigers. It’s followed by a full card of the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, RK Miles Street Stocks, and New England Antique Racers.

Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12, and $30 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). Advance tickets are available at www.happsnow.com/event/Thunder-Road-Speedbowl. All Thunder Road events are also live-streamed on FloRacing for those with a monthly or yearly subscription.

For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @ThunderRoadVT. For more information about FloRacing, visit www.FloRacing.com.