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Alan Ward photos
Barre, VT — As part of a reimagined opening weekend for the 64th season of stock car racing at Thunder Road International Speedbowl, the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) invades the Green Mountain State for an opening weekend spectacular. The PASS Super Late Model 150 headlines the Saturday night program on May 6th along with the Kennebec Equipment PASS Modifieds and the R&R Race Parts Open Street Stock Series to bring a host of New England invaders into Thunder Road prior to Sunday’s 25th Annual Community Bank N.A. 150 for the American-Canadian Tour.
With four events already in the books, the PASS Super Late Model championship season is well underway coming into Thunder Road. Defending Oxford Plains Speedway champion and current Kulwicki Driver Development finalist Max Cookson comes to the Granite Capital of the World with the early lead in the PASS National standings while current PASS North point leader Eddie MacDonald is notably absent from the entry list as of press time on Tuesday.
Multi-time PASS champions Johnny Clark, D.J. Shaw and Derek Griffith are also making their return to Thunder Road. While Shaw, Griffith, Joey Doiron and Trevor Sanborn are all looking to add another T-Road trophy to their mantle, 7-time PASS champion Johnny Clark has been unable to secure the win in Vermont. A powerhouse on sweeping corners of Oxford Plains, Speedway 660 and Beech Ridge, the Thunder Road highbanks have proved challenging for Clark who looks to finally break the winless streak.
Former Oxford Plains Speedway champion Gabe Brown will also return to Thunder Road, pulling double-duty along with the ACT Tour race on Sunday with D.J. Shaw. Thunder Road track champion Bobby Therrien, longtime PASS campaigners Scott McDaniel, Brian Whalley and Dennis Spencer, Jr. and former Beech Ridge standout Joe Pastore will also make the trek. Point chaser Andy Shaw is making his first Thunder Road start since taking the inaugural PASS Modified win at the Speedbowl back in 2016.
The Kennebec Equipment PASS Modifieds start an all-new four-race series at Thunder Road this Saturday to open their 2023 season. The Weston Automotive Challenge will see the PASS Modifieds battle for a $1,000-to-win prize with an enlarged purse throughout the field for the two PASS Mod races at Thunder Road and the two at White Mountain Motorsports Park (NH) in 2023. With 2022 PASS Modified champion Garrett Lamb moving up to the Super Late Models this summer, the door is open for a new star to step up and claim the crown.
After hosting well over thirty cars from across the Northeast at New Hampshire Motor Speedway just a few weeks ago, the R&R Race Parts Open Street Stock Series is set for their second event of the summer at Thunder Road. Current leading ACT Rookie of the Year candidate Tanner Woodard took down Thunder Road’s inaugural R&R Street Stock event last summer in the same car father Jason Woodard brought to a podium finish at the Magic Mile on April 15th. No doubt a Woodard will be a frontrunner at home this Saturday.
The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) invades Thunder Road on Saturday, May 6th to make it a doubleheader weekend to kick start the Thunder Road season. The PASS Super Late Models go for 150 laps along with the Kennebec Equipment PASS Modifieds in race #1 of the four-race Weston’s Automotive Challenge plus the R&R Race Parts Open Street Stock Series. Post time is set for 5:00pm following the annual Thunder Road Car Show during the morning beginning at 9:00am with practice sessions to follow. While the car show is free the Saturday Night Showdown general admission pricing is set at $20 for adults, $5 for children aged 12 to 6 with those 5 and under free!
The 25th Annual Community Bank N.A. 150 comes to Barre, Vermont’s Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Sunday, May 7th. The stars and cars of the American-Canadian Tour go toe-to-toe with the weekly Thunder Road faithful of the Maplewood/Irving Late Models. Also on the docket will be the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks and the Burnett Scrap Metal Road Warriors. Annual Class Day activities tp celebrate the 2022 track champions and the 2023 class of racers begins at 12:55pm with post time for the Community Bank 150 set for 1:30pm. Grandstands open at 10:00am on Sunday with general admission pricing set at $30 for adults, kids 12 to 6 are $10 with children 5 and under free!
For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ACTTour.
