Thunder Road International SpeedBowl

Thunder Road International Speedbowl

Thunder Road, "Nation's Site of Excitement"
Location	Quarry Hill, Barre, Vermont
Capacity	8,000
Owner	Cris Michaud and Pat Malone
Opened	June 1960
Major events	Community Bank 150 Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic Vermont Governor's Cup Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic Vermont Milk Bowl "The Toughest Short Track Stock Car Race in North America"
Website	http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com
Oval
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.25 miles (0.40 km)
Turns	4
Banking	18°

Thunder Road International Speedbowl, more commonly known as Thunder Road, is a .25-mile (0.40 km) high-banked, paved short track speedway located just outside the limits of the city of Barre. The track was founded by Ken Squier 1960 and sold by Squier and co-owner Tom Curley in the spring of 2017 to former Thunder Road track champion Cris Michaud and local businessman Pat Malone. Currently, Thunder Road hosts four weekly divisions: Late Models, Tiger Sportsman, Street Stocks, and Road Warriors. The track is known for hosting its weekly races on Thursday night, rather than Saturday, as nearly all other short tracks do.

In the past, Thunder Road had hosted 22 races of NASCAR North Tour between 1979 and 1985 and also hosted 7 races of the NASCAR Busch North Series, a feeder series of NASCAR, between 1997 and 2003.

Currently, the track hosts regional touring series including the American Canadian Tour, the Pro All Stars Series and the New England Antique Racers. On June 28, 2007, NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace raced at Thunder Road. Ken Schrader, another NASCAR driver, had raced once at Thunder Road each of the two years prior to Wallace's visit. Phil Scott, current governor of Vermont, is a former track champion in 1996, 1998, and 2002.

Thunder Road has hosted the "Milk Bowl" Late Model race since 1962. It is the season finale each fall, and consists of three 50-lap segments, with cumulative scoring and full-field inversions between segments. The driver with the highest combined total of finishes in the three segments is declared the winner, receives a loving cup full of milk as the trophy, and is expected to kiss a cow in Victory Circle.

In 2009, as part of its 50th Season in operation, Thunder Road was visited by NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. Current NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and David Ragan raced there at different events during the season as well.

Past track champions (King of the Road)

The title of King of the Road is given to the highest points winner of the top weekly division at Thunder Road. While the other divisions have their respective champions, King of the Road is the most coveted title at Thunder Road. There have been fifty-five Kings of the Road; the one female driver who won the track championship, Tracie Bellerose, was christened the 2000 Queen of the Road. Vermont's governor since 2017, Phil Scott, is a longtime participant in Thunder Road's Late Model series, and is a three-time King of the Road (1996, 1998, 2002).

Year	Driver	Hometown	Division
1960	Ronnie Marvin	Bethlehem, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1961	Roy "Pappy" Forsythe	Keene, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1962	Lee Ingerson	Jefferson, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1963	Lee Ingerson	Jefferson, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1964	Harold "Hardluck" Hanaford	Plymouth, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1965	Harold "Hardluck" Hanaford	Plymouth, NH	Sportsman Coupe
1966	Larry Demar	Harwick, VT	Flying Tiger
1967	Larry Demar	Harwick, VT	Flying Tiger
1968	Tom Tiller	Essex Jct., VT	Flying Tiger
1969	Clement "Desperate" Despault	Waterbury, VT	Flying Tiger
1970	Bobby Giroux	South Burlington, VT	Limited Sportsman
1971	Jean-Paul Cabana	Sherrington, QC	Late Model Sportsman
1972	Bobby Giroux	South Burlington, VT	Late Model Sportsman
1973	Bobby Dragon	Milton, VT	Late Model Sportsman
1974	Joey Kourafas	Sharon, MA	Late Model Sportsman
1975	Dave Dion	Hudson, NH	Late Model Sportsman
1976	Bobby Dragon	Milton, VT	Late Model Sportsman
1977	Dave Dion	Hudson, VT	Late Model Sportsman
1978	Stanley "Stub" Fadden	North Haverhill, NH	Late Model Sportsman
1979	Stanley "Stub" Fadden	North Haverhill, NH	Late Model Sportsman
1980	Jean-Paul Cabana	Sherrington, QC	Late Model Sportsman
1981	-Track Closed-
1982	Joey Laquerre	East Montpelier, VT	Flying Tiger
1983	Clement "Desperate" Despault	Waterbury, VT	Flying Tiger
1984	Larry Caron	Williston, VT	Flying Tiger
1985	Chuck Beede	Williamstown, VT	Flying Tiger
1986	Norm Andrews	Northfield, VT	Flying Tiger
1987	Dan Beede	Williamstown, VT	Flying Tiger
1988	Ron Lamell, Jr	Essex Jct., VT	Flying Tiger
1989	Greg "Burger" Blake	East Barre, VT	Flying Tiger
1990	Joey Laquerre, Jr.	East Montpelier, VT	Flying Tiger
1991	Dwayne Lanphear	Morrisville, VT	Flying Tiger
1992	Chuck Beede	Williamstown, VT	Late Model
1993	Chuck Beede	Williamstown, VT	Late Model
1994	Chuck Beede	Williamstown, VT	Late Model
1995	Dave Whitcomb	Essex Jct., VT	Late Model
1996	Phil Scott	Middlesex, VT	Late Model
1997	Pete Fecteau	Morrisville, VT	Late Model
1998	Phil Scott	Middlesex, VT	Late Model
1999	Brian Hoar	Williston, VT	Late Model
2000	Tracie Bellerose	Gorham, NH	Late Model
2001	Cris Michaud	Northfield, VT	Late Model
2002	Phil Scott	Middlesex, VT	Late Model
2003	Jamie Fisher	Shelburne, VT	Late Model
2004	Cris Michaud	Williamstown, VT	Late Model
2005	Cris Michaud	Williamstown, VT	Late Model
2006	Chad Wheeler	Waterbury Ctr., VT	Late Model
2007	Dave Pembroke	Montpelier, VT	Late Model
2008	Eric Williams	Hyde Park, VT	Late Model
2009	Jean-Paul Cyr	Milton, VT	Late Model
2010	Nick Sweet	Barre, VT	Late Model
2011	Dave Pembroke	Montpelier, VT	Late Model
2012	Nick Sweet	Barre, VT	Late Model
2013	Derrick O'Donnell	North Haverhill, NH	Late Model
2014	Derrick O'Donnell	North Haverhill, NH	Late Model
2015	Derrick O'Donnell	North Haverhill, NH	Late Model
2016	Scott Dragon	Milton, VT	Late Model
2017	Bobby Therrien	Hinesburg, VT	Late Model
2018	Scott Dragon	Milton, VT	Late Model
2019	Jason Corliss	Barre, VT	Late Model

External links

• Official site
• Thunder Road International SpeedBowl archive at Racing-Reference