Weekly Racing at Thunder Road Starts with McGee Hyundai of Barre Friday Night Special
Barre, VT — Thunder Road International Speedbowl is ready to roll out weekly racing for the 2024 season with the annual Friday Night Special kickoff courtesy of McGee Hyundai of Barre! Along with track championship action for the Maplefields/Irving Late Models, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, and rk Miles Street Stocks, the New England Supermodified Series (NESS) returns to the Barre highbanks along with the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors!
After getting a fantastic start to their season just two weeks ago at White Mountain Motorsports Park, the lightning-fast NESS Supermodifieds are ready to launch into Thunder Road this Friday. Epping, New Hampshire’s Dan Bowles is more than prepared to defend his 2023 NESS Series title but Milford’s Dave Duggan is leading the standings by just one point! After a rough introduction to the Nation’s Site of Excitement in 2022, Bowles was able to take the season-opening Thunder Road win last June and would love to add another trophy to his shelf back home!
After a stellar Memorial Day Classic run, Barre’s Cody Blake leads fellow Granite Capital homesteader Jason Corliss on the Maplefields/Irving Late Models point tally. While both looked stout in 125-lap action, defending champion Stephen Donahue showed powerful short-run speed in the opening stages of the Memorial Day Classic and will certainly be a threat for the McGee Hyundai Friday Night Special honors!
Brandon Gray has continued his dominance at White Mountain Motorsports Park and raced hard for his top-10 finish at Thunder Road on Memorial Day weekend, but has yet to stand atop the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger standings. Barre’s Chris LaForest leads the popular division after two consecutive career-best finishes with former champion Sam Caron just eight points behind. The Flying Tigers are sure to thrill once again this Friday under the lights and can always be counted on for plenty of fender-bending action!
Milton’s Trevor Jaques continues to stand atop the rk Miles Street Stocks while a two-way tie for second between Dean Switser and Tyler Whittemore shows a strong and competitive field is once again in play under the Friday Night Lights! The one to watch on Friday is ‘The Mailman’ Patrick Tibbetts after a heartbreaker on Memorial Day Sunday where a flat right front tire cost Tibbetts the win after a dominant run up front. Tibbetts, fellow strong Sunday runner Kyle MacAskill and a host of others are sure to be digging for redemption on Friday.
They have the most fun on race day and Friday night will be no different for the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors! Already an even split between first-time winner Kendall Zeno and longtime campaigner Nate Brien on the wins list, it’s been an interesting mix in the popular division the first two times out. With a two-week break for the Warriors following McGee Hyundai’s Friday Special, expect the gloves to be off for an all-out brawl to the checkered flag!
The brave drivers of Thunder Road return to action on Friday, June 7 with McGee Hyundai of Barre presenting the annual Friday Night kickoff to weekly racing at the Nation’s Site of Excitement. The McGee Hyundai of Barre Friday Special is headlined by a visit from the New England Supermodified Series (NESS) plus the Late Models, Flying Tigers, Street Stocks, and Road Warriors will also be in attendance for the start of weekly championship racing. Grandstands open at 4:15pm with a 7:00pm Post Time. Adult General Admission is set at $20, kids 12-6 for $5 with children 5 and under free plus the Family Four Pack (Two Adults, Two Kids) for $40.
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, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.
Sources: Cale King/Thunder Road Speedbowl PR
(IMG_6456.jpg): The lightning-fast New England Supermodified Series (NESS) returns for the first of two shows at Thunder Road on the McGee Hyundai of Barre Friday Night Special on June 7.
(IMG_6272.jpg): The rk Miles Street Stocks will be just one division to watch this Friday, with many drivers looking for redemption after a late-race restart turned a mess for some and triumph for others on Memorial Day Sunday. (Alan Ward photos)