Thunder Road International Speedbowl, more commonly known as just Thunder Road, is a high-banked, paved short track speedway located in the town of Barre, Vermont. The track was founded by Ken Squier in 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 three weekly championship divisions: Late Models, Flying Tigers, and Street Stocks along with the non-point Road Warrior class. The track is known for hosting its weekly races on Thursday night and as of April 2020 it was one of three active race tracks in Vermont.

History Ken Squier envisioned the need for an asphalt track in the area which had been full of dirt tracks. He worked with pavement contractor Reginald Cooley to build the track. Squier operated the track until selling to local businessman Tommy Kalomiris. Kalomiris operated the track for two years; he faced lawsuits in 1978 and the track only ran six events that year. Squier bought the track back in 1979 along with Tom Curley. After running four events in 1981, the duo was forced to shut the track down again due to a lawsuit. They regained control by 1982 and operated it until April 2017. They sold the track to former track champion Cris Michaud and real estate developer Pat Malone.

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.

The track was scheduled to host the second event of the 2023 Superstar Racing Experience season on July 20, 2023, but the event was moved to Stafford Motor Speedway, the site of the first event of the season, due to the 2023 Vermont floods. The track was awarded an SRX race in 2024 as a compromise, but it ultimately didn’t take place due to the cancellation of the 2024 SRX season.

Touring Series In the past, Thunder Road had hosted 22 races of NASCAR North Tour between 1979 and 1985. Winners include Chuck Bown, Robbie Crouch, Randy Lajoie, and Kevin Lepage. After the formation of the American-Canadian Tour in 1986, Thunder Road became sanctioned by the organization as well as host to nearly 150 ACT races between the Pro Stock, Late Model and Flying Tiger tours as of September, 2021. ACT winners include Jean-Paul Cyr, Brian Hoar and Phil Scott. It 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. The track has hosted several high profile drivers from the highest level of NASCAR. 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. In 2009, Tony Stewart made an appearance at the track. Clint Bowyer has raced in the track in 2013. Kyle Busch raced in Vermont in 2017. The next year in 2018, Christopher Bell raced at the highbanks. And most recently, Ryan Preece has visited in 2021. All these drivers making an appearance in the Vermont Governor's Cup, which is run on a Thursday night, which coincides with NASCARs visit to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the weekend. Phil Scott, current governor of Vermont, is a former track champion in 1996, 1998, and 2002.

Milk Bowl 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.

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 Coupe1963 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 Hardwick, VT Flying Tiger 1967 Larry Demar Hardwick, 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 Junction, 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 Junction, 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 Center., 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 Model2019 Jason Corliss Barre, VT Late Model2020 Jason Corliss Barre, VT Late Model2021 Jason Corliss Barre, VT Late Model2022 Christopher Pelkey Graniteville, VT Late Model2023 Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT Late Model2024Kaiden FisherShelburne, VTLate Model2025Jason CorlissBarre, VTLate Model

Sources

External links Official site Thunder Road International SpeedBowl archive at Racing-Reference