CRIS MICHAUD INJURED IN WORK ACCIDENT

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

T-Road Milk Bowl Event PR

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

$70,000 CHITTENDEN MILK BOWL NO POINTS-JUST MONEY

For Immediate Release - ACT 091509-41

Waterbury, VT The 47^th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl will have plenty of action on September 26^th and 27^that Barre, VTs Thunder Road. The toughest short track race in America will be a non-point counting race for both the American Canadian Tour (ACT) and the Thunder Road regular Late Model competitors. A record purse has been posted of $70,000. The purse includes bonus money for recording low points in each of the three segments. If one team can win all three segments, they will earn a bonus of $5,000. That has only been done three times in 46 years (Larry Demar in 1967, Dave Dion in 1975, and Robbie Crouch in 1986).

Long known as the grand-daddy of the Northeast short track Late Model special races, this year there is no pressure to win titles or count points. This is my kind of race. Just put my foot on the floor and go! said the defending and three-time winner, Patrick Laperle from Montreal. I just love the Milk Bowl race. It is not like the 200 and 300 lap races we run, it is every man for himself, every lap. There is no time to wait for breaks, you have to make your own breaks, continued Laperle. When Laperle was told about the $5,000 bonus for winning all three segments and the fact that it has not been done for nearly 25 years, he said I guess it is time to change that in 2009!

The hottest driver in ACT racing down the stretch is point leader Brian Hoar. Hoar joined the Rick Paya, RPM racing team this season and the team started an impressive string of top 5 finishes with two wins thrown into the mix during the second half of the season on the ACT. Hoar is one of the last drivers to win more than one segment in the Milk Bowl when he did it a decade ago. I think it speaks to the present day competition and how equal these cars are now. If you are not on top of your game as a team, and on top of the wheel as a driver, you are going to get beaten, said Hoar. He is a two-time winner of the Chittenden Milk Bowl.

The history of the famous race indicates that it takes a veterans patience and a young drivers risky attitude in order to win the toughest short track race in America. It also takes a lot of luck. Three-time Thunder Road Champion, two time Milk Bowl winner, and the winningest Late Model driver of all time at Thunder Road with 22 wins, Phil Scott of Middlesex, VT, says it best: I have lost some Milk Bowls because of bad luck, but the two I have won I will remember for that one time, in one segment of each, when I risked it all for a lane a position the win. It could have gone the other way, but I know that my two Chittenden Milk Bowl wins rank up there as highlights of my racing career because winning at Thunder Road in any event is toughto win the Milk Bowl is a racers dream come true, just ask anyone who has won it.

Over 50 of the best Late Model teams in the Northeast are expected to enter the 47^th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl. They will time trial, then race in a 50-lap qualifying event on Saturday, September 26. If they fail to get into the first segment through time or the 50-lap dash, they will have a final opportunity in a Last Chance Race on Milk Bowl Sunday. Gates open at 10:00 am each day. Adult tickets are $25 and are good for both days of racing, kids 6-12 are $5 for two days. Post time each day is 1:00pm.

For additional information contact the Thunder Road office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com

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openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

Larolupine Crowned Miss Milk Bowl 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACT-092409-42

Berlin, VT - Harvest Hills Larolupine, a genuine Vermont beauty, has been crowned the 2009 Miss Milk Bowl. The three year-old registered Ayershire will deliver the victory smooch at the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road International Speedbowl this Sunday afternoon (Septemeber 27^th).

Larolupine comes from a Scottish background and has been winning pageants since she was a heifer. She has earned the honors of Miss Milk Bowl after recently being named the Grand Champion at the Worlds Fair in Tunbridge. Owner Anne Burke claims she is very kissable.

Over forty of the finest Late Model competitors from the Northeast are expected to be on hand to battle for the honor of locking lips with Larolupine this weekend. Saturday, September 26 is Booth Bros./H.P. Hood qualifying day with the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl on Sunday, September 27. Post time for both days is 1 p.m.

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For more information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

New Faces Take on Chittenden Milk Bowl

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACT-092409-44

Barre, VT Lots of new names will be at Barres Thunder Road this weekend for their first Chittenden Milk Bowl experience. These outsiders will invade the Barre highbanks to take on the Thunder Road and American Canadian Tour regulars in the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl on Sunday, September 27.

Newcomers Wayne Helliwell, Jr. (2009 Lee USA Champion), Quebecs Daniel Bergeron, stock car builder Jeff Taylor, White Mountains Bernie Lantagne and Travis Fadden will take on local favorites Dave Pembroke, 2009 King of the Road Jean-Paul Cyr, Nick Sweet, Phil Scott, Jamie Fisher and Eric Williams among others.

Its fun competing against new faces and we proved at Loudon last weekend that you dont have to know one another to race each other with respect, said Barres Nick Sweet. Sweet turned heads when he finished second at the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH last Saturday, September 19.

With no points on the line and over $75,000 in purse up for grabs, the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl is an intriguing event for many Late Model competitors from around the Northeast. With track champions already decided at most tracks in the area the Milk Bowl could turn out to be one of the best showcases of ACT Late Model competition in 2009.

Milk Bowl weekend will kick off with Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day on Saturday, September 26 at 1 pm. Times Trials as well as Triple 50 qualifiers will be run on Saturday to decide the first 24 starting positions of segment one. The final six positions will be filled after the Last Chance race at 1 pm on Sunday, September 27^th, with the first segment of the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl soon to follow. Visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com for more information.

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openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

FORMER KING OF THE ROAD CHAD WHEELER TO DRIVE IN 47^TH MILK BOWL

CRIS MICHAUD INJURED IN WORK ACCIDENT

For Immediate Release - ACT 093009-48

Waterbury, VT For Cris Michaud it was a pretty easy decision.

Michaud was injured when he fell off a ladder at a job site and broke a vertebrae. When doctors informed him that he would not be able to race in the rained-out 47^th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road this coming Sunday, October 4, the three-time track champion went after one of his biggest Thunder Road rivals to fill the seat for him.

What better guy to take over my ride in the Milk Bowl than Chad (Wheeler)? I really wanted to win the three Thunder Road Championships in a row in 2006 (Michaud won the Thunder Road track championships in 2004 and 2005, along with his title in 2001), but Chad was unbelievably consistent with his finishes all season long. He deserved to win the title that year, said Michaud convalescing at his home in Williamstown, VT.

The 2004 winner of what is known as the toughest short track race in America went on to say, I think the Milk Bowl is the perfect race for Chad to come back and have some fun. He is a patient and smart racer and thats what it takes to raise the milk can and kiss the cow, concluded Michaud.

Over $70,000 in purse money, with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 to win, is up for grabs by the American Canadian Tour (ACT) starting field of competitors. The thirty car field was set last Saturday in the unique format of time trials, triple 50 lap qualifying races, and a Last Chance Race. Fifty-four (54) teams attempted to qualify for the prestigious event.

A pair of ACT young guns will sit on the front row. 2008 ACT Rookie of the Year, Nick Sweet, in only his second year of racing Late Models, will lead the field to the green flag in segment one of the unique three-segment event. The first segment is lined up according to time trials and the Triple 50 qualifiers. The following two segments are reversed from the previous segments, with the best having to come from the rear twice to have a chance to win the Milk Bowl. Sweet, a hometown favorite from Barre, VT, will start beside Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., a three-time pole sitter and holder of the Thunder Road track record of 12.935 seconds.

I have heard that Cris had a heck of a run in the Triple 50 qualifiers last Saturday. Coming from dead last to finish fourth was pretty darn impressive. I know I will have a good car under me and I am excited about trying out the only Ford engine. I had a great time racing against Cris for a lot of years and beating him for the title in 2006 got me to thinking that there really wasnt much more for me in the sport at this time in my life. I wanted to spend a lot of time with my young boys, but now maybe there is one more thing I could accomplish with racing. It sure will be fun to try. I am looking forward to it, and I appreciate the confidence Cris has in putting me in his car, said Wheeler.

The 47^th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl is re-scheduled for this Sunday, October 4^th, after having been rained out last Sunday. Gates will open at 10:00 am and pre-race ceremonies, which will include the Catamount Pipe and Drum Corps, the Norwich University color guard and Shock Platoon Drill Team will kick off the festivities at 1:00 pm. Racing will start at 1:30, and all the competitors in the various Thunder Road divisions, except the Late Models, will complete their championship seasons. Late Model racer Jean-Paul Cyr, from Milton, VT was named the King of the Road for 2009 at the final Thursday night event in August.

The Milk Bowl will bring down the curtain on the 50^th Anniversary celebration of the racetrack.

For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com

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openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

Seven Past Milk Bowl Champions Qualify for 47^th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACT-093009-47

Barre, VT Seven former Milk Bowl Champions have secured a spot in the starting grid for the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl rescheduled for this Sunday (October 4) at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Brent Dragon, Dave Pembroke, Eric Williams, Cris Michaud and Jean-Paul Cyr each have their name etched in the Milk Bowl Champions granite monument once, while Phil Scott and Brian Hoar have two wins apiece. This leaves 23 drivers aiming for their first career Milk Bowl win.

Two favorites will start segment one from the front row. Barres Nick Sweet starts on the pole after earning the Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole award last Saturday. His lap was the fourth fastest to earn the pole since Late Models took over the Chittenden Milk Bowl in 1996. Sweet will attempt to become the tenth driver in the history of the Milk Bowl to win from the pole. It is only his second career start in the prestigious event. His ninth place finish in last years event helped him earn the 2008 ACT Tour Rookie of the Year honors.

I was really surprised. We were just looking for a strong time that would get us somewhere near the front, because last year we were way off, said Sweet of his pole winning lap. Now the key is to finish every segment. There are 20 cars in this that could win it. You just have to have better luck and not wreck. We ran 50 lap features all year and the whole Thunder Road season has been building up to this.

However, the 25 year-old Sweet will have his hands full early as 20 year-old Joey Pole Polewarczyk, Jr. of Hudson, NH will be starting on his outside. Pole was just 54 one-thousandths of a second away from becoming the third driver in history with four pole awards and the second with four straight. None of Poles pole awards translated into a Milk Bowl win, as his best finish remains third.

While the front row is a demonstration of the youth movement in ACT Late Model competition, they had better keep an eye out for 66 year-old veteran Joey Laquerre from East Montpelier. Sunday will be Laquerres 12th career Milk Bowl start, none resulting in a kiss with the cow. The only competitor in the field with more career Milk Bowl starts will be Senator Phil Scott (Sunday will be number 13). Laquerre has been around Thunder Road for all 50 years of its existence and has been winning for almost as long. But the Chittenden Milk Bowl remains elusive. His best finish was ninth, which he earned in his first career Milk Bowl start in 1996. Laquerre will start from sixth position in segment number one on Sunday.

I think we have a very good chance on Sunday, said Laquerre. Winning the 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl would rank right up there with running at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway), as highlights of my career. I would love to kiss the cow if it means Ive won the race.

The 47^th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl will cap off the 50^th Anniversary Season celebration at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Pre-race ceremonies will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 4^th, followed by all three segments of the Milk Bowl and features to decide the 2009 Champions of the NAPA Tiger Sportsman, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors. For more information visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com.

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$70,000 CHITTENDEN MILK BOWL NO POINTS-JUST MONEY

FORMER KING OF THE ROAD CHAD WHEELER TO DRIVE IN 47TH MILK BOWL

CRIS MICHAUD INJURED IN WORK ACCIDENT

FORMER KING OF THE ROAD CHAD WHEELER TO DRIVE IN 47^TH MILK BOWL