Pit Notes: Full Field in Attendance at Thunder Road Open Practice Session
Barre, VT—Thunder Road held its second open practice session of the 2015 season on Friday. Drivers from all three weekly divisions converged on Barre, VT’s Thunder Road in preparation for the Memorial Day Classic on Sunday, May 24.
26 of Thunder Road’s American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models were on hand. South Burlington, VT’s Trampas Demers, the 2005 Memorial Day Classic Champion, was one of the drivers taking advantage of the chance to earn track time and experiment with setups.
“I think we can win another Memorial Day Classic,” Demers said. “We certainly have the team and the car under us. If things go our way, we’d certainly love to be in Victory Lane and put another name on the granite monument. An open practice like this is a great opportunity to try things we’ve always wanted to try.”
Fellow former event champions Jason Corliss, Derrick O’Donnell, Nick Sweet, John Donahue, and Phil Scott joined Demers at the practice session. A number of cars took to the Barre high banks for the first time in 2015, ranging from veterans Jamie Fisher and Eric Chase to rookie Scott Coburn and youngster Kyle Pembroke.
A number of Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks were also in attendance. The Tigers came in search of more time to work on the new right front slicks. Defending Tiger Champion Jason Woodard and Opening Day winner Christopher Pelkey headlined the list, and both were solid throughout the session.
The Tigers saw the only major incident of the day. Bert Gallison spun, and fellow rookie Stephen Donahue was unable to avoid him, sliding passenger-door first into Gallison’s front end. Both will try to get their cars back together for Sunday.
The Street Stocks similarly saw a mix of veterans and newcomers. Opening Day winner Tyler Austin and runner-up Patrick Tibbetts were there to make sure they didn’t rest on their laurels. The practice also saw an appearance by Kevin Streeter, the father of Street Stock drivers Kyle and Travis Streeter, who will run some events this year against his sons.
The 53rd Annual Mekkelsen Memorial Day Classic will be held at Thunder Road on Sunday. May 24. The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models will make their inaugural visit with a 150-lap feature, while the Thunder Road Late Models will run a 100-lap event. The Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks will also be in action. The front gates open at 10:00am with post time at 1:30pm. Admission is $30 for adults and free for kids 12 and under.
A PASS-only practice will also be held on Saturday, May 23. The pit gates will open at 10:00am with practice from 12:00-4:00pm.
For more information contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
Sources: Michael Stridsberg/ACT PR