CLASS DAY CEREMONIES TO HONOR THUNDER ROAD CHAMPIONS

For Immediate Release                                        TR-050207-1

    BARRE, VT Race fans, competitors, and officials will honor the four defending Track Champions at Thunder
Road International Speedbowl during the annual Class Day ceremonies as the high-banked Barre, VT oval opens for
its 48th season of stock car racing on Sunday, May 6.  The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) returns to The Nations
Site of Excitement with the Merchants Bank 150, at a post time of 1:30 pm.
    The championship battles for all four of Thunder Roads weekly divisions are wide open in the 2007 season,
as all four Kings of the Road have either moved up or moved on.  In the ultimate go out on top move, Waterbury
Ctr., VT veteran Chad Wheeler captured his first Thunder Road title in the ACT Late Model division in 2006, and
promptly announced his retirement from driving.  Wheeler has sold his inventory to rookie Chip Grenier of
Northfield, VT.
    Shawn Fleury leaves the intermediate NAPA Auto Parts Tiger Sportsman division after winning consecutive
championships in 2005-06.  Fleury will make the big jump to the Late Model division driving the VT Army National
Guard Chevrolet owned by Scott Fearn of Wilbraham, MA and prepared by multi-time Champion crew chief Jeff Laquerre
of East Montpelier, VT.  Fleurys two-year stranglehold on the Sportsman division produced four feature wins and a
staggering 20 top 10 finishes in 32 starts.
    The entry-level Allen Lumber Street Stock and Power Shift Junkyard Warrior titles are also up for grabs,
as the champions of both divisions have declared their intentions to move up to a new division.  In addition to
winning three feature events in his home class, Street Stock King Eric Badore of Milton, VT tested the Sportsman
waters in 2006 and will make a run at the Rookie of the Year title this season.  Warrior Champion Maynard
Bartlett, Jr. of Wolcott, VT also nailed down three victories and will join his father, Maynard, Sr., in the
Street Stock division this year.
    Class Day is an event unique to Thunder Road.  Nearly 125 drivers from the four competing divisions will
line their stock cars up in formation on the infield grass for presentation to the Thunder Road faithful.  Battle
flags bearing the car number and team colors of each of the four previous champions will be raised on Forsythe
Hill in the Turn 3 seating area.  The flags will fly in honor of the champions at each race event in the 2007
season.  The top three finishers in each division from Saturdays Merchants Bank Car Show will be given awards for
their efforts in preparing their beautiful new machinery.
    Class Day ceremonies will kick off the Sunday, May 6 program at Thunder Road at 1:00pm.  The first green
flag of the season drops at 1:30pm as qualifying action for the ACT Late Model Tour Merchants Bank 150 begins. 
The Merchants Bank Car Show will be held on Main Street in Barre City from 9:00am to 12:00 noon on Saturday, May
5, with a pit stop contest at 10:15am.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit
www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
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Contact: Justin St. Louis                                    Phone: (802) 244-
6963
Email: media@acttour.com                                    Fax: (802) 244-1616