Thunder Road Wraps Thursday Season at Jet Service Night

Alan Ward photo

Run-What-U-Brung, Razor-Close Championship Battles Mean Big Night on Quarry Hill

Barre, VT — The final Thursday night event of the year at Barre’s Thunder Road arrives this Thursday, August 26. Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night promises a program chock-full of thrills both at the track and live on FloRacing.

For many, the highlight of the night will be the annual “Run-What-U-Brung” spectator races. It’s the one chance each year that people get to race their street-legal cars on the Barre high banks. The Run-What-U-Brung has produced some of Thunder Road’s most memorable moments, including the legendary “Flip and Win” by Patrick Martin Jr. in 2018, bread trucks racing each other, and the winning exploits of Justin Lawrence in his Corvette.

To participate in Run-What-U-Brung, competitors must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and wear an approved safety helmet plus long-sleeve clothing. Vehicles must have at least four wheels and be registered, inspected, and insured. Registration is at the back gate on race day only from 3:30-6:00pm. The full Run-What-U-Brung rules are available at www.thunderroadvt.com.

The racing for Thunder Road’s weekly racing divisions is sure to enthrall fans, too. With three point-counting events left for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models, the quest to be “King of the Road” is about as close as it can be. Christopher Pelkey’s lead over two-time defending champion Jason Corliss is down to just one point.

Alan Ward photo

Barre’s Corliss has been on the fly in the last three events, posting a win, a sixth, and a third. The higher handicap from his double-point Midseason win has put Graniteville’s Pelkey farther back in the starting field, but he is doing a stellar job limiting the gains by Corliss.

Behind the top-two, the fight is on to finish third overall. Danville’s Tyler Cahoon currently has the spot, but he is only 42 markers ahead of 10th-place Matthew Smith. Marcel J. Gravel, Stephen Donahue, and Brandon Lanphear are making late-season charges as Trampas Demers and Brendan Moodie try to hold them off. Chip Grenier and Darrell Morin — the latter of whom finally got his first Late Model win last Friday — also have a shot at making the top-10 and getting a banquet invite.

Most of these drivers are chasing a second point fund check in the New England Late Model Challenge Cup. To top it off, Thursday’s duel is the final tune-up for the $5,000-to-win Optical Expressions Berlin Labor Day Classic on September 5. Pelkey, Gravel, Kyle Pembroke, Cody Blake, and Brooks Clark are among the locals entered into the ACT Late Model Tour showdown.

In the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, Craftsbury Common’s Mike Martin still leads his son Stephen. However, the gap has shrunk to eight points. Stephen leads the division with seven top-five finishes, but Mike has made up the difference with consistency and strong qualifying results.

Milton’s Sam Caron continues his second-half comeback by assuming the third-place points position coming into Thursday. He’s only 21 points ahead of eighth-place Kelsea Woodard, though, meaning a lot is still to be decided. Derrick Calkins has been on fire the last few weeks while Jaden Perry, Jason Pelkey, and Robert Gordon are trying to make late-season charges.

Shelburne’s Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher broke open the RK Miles Street Stock championship chase with his victory in the Street Stock Special. Fisher is now 34 points ahead of Williamstown’s Tommy “Thunder” Smith and 53 points up on Berlin’s Kyler Davis. Dean Switser Jr. and Jeffrey Martin complete the top-five.

The Street Stocks have the most point-counting events left of any Thunder Road division with five total. This includes double features at the Optical Expressions Berlin Labor Day Classic. Smith, Davis, and Switser will have opportunities to gain on Fisher before Championship Night.

The Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors are expected to bring a strong field. After a midseason lull, Williamstown’s Nate “Tater” Brien got back into the kitchen last week and french-fried up his third win of the year. Josh Vilbrin has been close-but-no-potato with three straight runner-up finishes. Their recent success means Brien and Vilbrin will have to start out back on Thursday, opening the door for racers like Matt Ballard, Nick Copping, and Rodney Campbell to try and chip out a victory.

Thunder Road throws the green flag on Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing Night this Thursday, August 26 at 7:00pm. The final Thursday event of the year features the annual “Run-What-U-Brung” spectator races plus a full card for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, RK Miles Street Stocks, and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors. The pits open at 3:30pm and the front gates open at 5:15pm.

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 paid 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.