Memorial Day Classic Finally Returns to High Banks on May 30
Barre, VT — The high banks of Barre’s Thunder Road roar back to life on Sunday, May 30 with the 58th Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. After a one-year hiatus due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the historic event returns for a full afternoon of holiday action that can be seen live worldwide on FloRacing.
The Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road goes back to 1961, the second year of the track’s existence. The 2020 cancellation marked the first time since 1981 the event wasn’t held. Now, with the country moving back towards normal, modern Thunder Road heroes such as Trampas Demers, Jason Corliss, Brooks Clark, Bobby Therrien, and Scott Dragon will battle for a spot on the event’s granite monument.
“The history of Thunder Road is very important as far as the track itself,” Shelburne’s Demers said. “The Memorial Day Classic gets you on the granite, and that’s what ultimately matters, because you’re etched in stone at that point. It’s an important race for everybody. It kicks off the season for Thunder Road weekly racing, so it’s also an important event from that standpoint — because as we know, the weekly competition is super-competitive.”
The rich history of the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic spans divisions, series, and generations. It began as an event for the Sportsman Coupes before shifting to the Modifieds, Flying Tigers, and Late Model Sportsmen through the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982, the Memorial Day Classic marked Thunder Road’s return after the high banks had sat dormant for nearly two years. The event was then part of the ACT Pro Stock Tour schedule through 1995 before becoming an ACT Late Model Tour event for many years.
Now, the Memorial Day Classic is the opener in the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model “King of the Road” battle. As the first of 14 point-counting events, drivers will try to start their season on the right foot. The event has increased to 125 laps this year, but the goal remains the same: be at the front when the checkered flag falls.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s 50 laps or 125 laps — you have to be there on the final lap,” Demers said. “I think the patience that you need to pace yourself is important. There’s also tire management and the weather, which has the potential to be warm. That would be the first time we expose ourselves to that situation with the Hoosier tires, which is another factor.”
“Based on the way the car drove at the Community Bank N.A. 150, I’m more excited than I’ve been in many years (for the season),” Demers continued. “I think we showed that we gained a lot throughout the winter, and we learned a lot from last year from some paths that we went down and where we came back. I think week in and week out, with the Hoosier tires, we’re going to see some really good competition and side-by-side racing.”
Demers, the 2005 Memorial Day Classic Champion, is one of several former winners likely to be in the field on May 30. Barre’s Jason Corliss won the last edition of the event. Now, he will start his quest for both a third straight “King of the Road” title and a third Memorial Day Classic trophy. Hinesburg’s Bobby Therrien, the 2017 winner, is expected to chase another granite monument spot, as are Danville’s Tyler Cahoon (2016) and Barre’s Cody Blake (2018).
Meanwhile, many top Thunder Road Late Model drivers are hungry for their first Memorial Day Classic triumph. Milton’s Scott Dragon, a two-time “King of the Road”, is still searching for a “granite monument victory”. So is Fayston’s Brooks Clark, who captured the Community Bank N.A. 150 two weeks ago. Racers such as Marcel J. Gravel, Matt White, Kyle Pembroke, and Christopher Pelkey have a lot of Thunder Road wins between them, but a Memorial Day Classic would be a crown jewel — especially in front of an international FloRacing audience.
It’s just part of a full card scheduled for the event’s long-awaited return. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers share center stage with the opener of the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series. The Tigers will go 100 green-flag laps in their biggest race of the season.
Opening Day winner Jaden Perry, four-time Flying Tiger Champion Jason Woodard, former Triple Crown Champions Mike Martin and Joel Hodgdon, and 2020 Most Improved Driver Sam Caron, and veteran Derrick Calkins are entered for this year’s Triple Crown Series. So are young hotshoes Brandon Gray, Stephen Martin, Tyler Austin, Kelsea Woodard, Cooper French. White Mountain Motorsports Park regulars Matt Potter and Russ Clark are invading Thunder Road while Florida’s Jeff Oeschger is making an even longer haul.
The RK Miles Street Stocks and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors add a double-barreled attack of four-cylinder thrills. In the Street Stocks, former champions Jeffrey Martin, Tommy “Thunder” Smith, and Jamie Davis are trying to hold off the new generation of Kaiden “Tropical Storm” Fisher, Luke Peters, James Dopp, and Kyler Davis. The always-exciting Road Warriors will do their best to steal the show with talented racers Frank Putney, “Flyin’” Fred Fleury, Sean McCarthy, Paige Whittemore, and Josh Vilbrin among others.
Thunder Road celebrates the holiday weekend Sunday, May 30 at 1:30pm with the 58th Mekklesen RV Memorial Day Classic. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models go 125 laps in the “King of the Road” opener while the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers have 100 laps for the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series. The RK Miles Street Stocks and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors round out the card.
Admission is $20 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12, and $40 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). All Thunder Road events are also broadcast live 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 or www.FloSports.tv.
(tr05022135.jpg): The Memorial Day Classic returns to Thunder Road on Sunday, May 30 with a 125-lap event that opens the “King of the Road” battle. (Alan Ward photo)
(IMG_7522.jpg): The Flying Tigers go 100 laps on Memorial Day Sunday as part of the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series. (Buzz Fisher/Creative Outbursts photo)