Eagle Times Staff
BARRE, VT — The stars of Thunder Road International Speedbowl and American-Canadian Tour (ACT) will meet all together once more in 2023 at the annual Banquet of Champions this Saturday, Nov. 4. All of the top teams, including 2023 American-Canadian Tour champion D.J. Shaw, Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model King of the Road Stephen Donahue, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger champion Kyle Streeter and rk Miles Street Stock champion James Dopp, will meet at the Barre Elks Club for the end-of-season celebration of their 2023 achievements plus a full contingent of annual special awards and random-draw prizes.
Along with the overall top-10 finishers in ACT Touring and weekly Thunder Road Late Model, Flying Tiger and Street Stock competition, the top-5 in Myers Container Service Flying Tiger Triple Crown Series competition will be celebrated along with a highlighted group of Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warrior teams who once again made the entry-level division one of Thunder Road’s most entertaining week in and week out.
Nearly $100,000 in point fund monies and contingency prizes will be given out to the racers that called Thunder Road and ACT home in 2023. Multiple manufacturers that participate in the Thunder Road and American-Canadian Tour programs have added such prizes as full body kits, suspension components and cash prizes. Raffle prizes include body kits courtesy of both AR Bodies and Five Star Bodies for Thunder Road Late Models and Flying Tigers and the ACT Touring teams. One set of QA1 Shocks will be raffled to both a Thunder Road and ACT Late Model team while both a 54-gallon drum of Sunoco 110 Race Fuel and a set of powder coated Bassett Wheels will be raffled.
Alongside the raffle prizes, Tilton Racing, N.E.S. Enterprises, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, KRC Power Steering, DRP Performance Products and Edelbrock Corporation are among those who also contribute products and prizes for overall champions and top point finishers. Adding in point fund money for the three Thunder Road divisions and the ACT Tour pushes Saturday’s haul to nearly $100,000 for those that supported the iconic track and the legendary series.
Annual Special Awards will also be given out to secret winners including the annual Most Improved Driver, Rookie of the Year and Sportsmanship awards for both Thunder Road and the ACT Tour. Along with the coveted ACT Crew Chief of the Year, a litany of memorial awards begin with the Pete Hartt Media Award, Ed Carroll Sportsmanship Award and Doc Nielsen Outstanding Rookie Award. The Ken Squier Award will be given for contributions to Thunder Road while the Tom Curley Award will be gifted for contributions to the ACT sanctioning body. Lastly, the beloved Don MacTavish Award will be handed to someone who has supported Northeast stock car racing over a lifetime of contributions.
The annual Banquet of Champions is set for Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Barre Elks Club in Barre, VT, as the top teams from Thunder Road and the American-Canadian Tour celebrate their 2023 stock car racing season in style. Special award winners will be released during Saturday’s banquet, along with nearly $100,000 in season-long point fund and contingency prizes.
For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, email [email protected], or visit thunderroadvt.com.
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