NMCS schedule opens at Thunder Road’s Memorial Day Classic on May 25
BARRE, VT – The ground-pounding Modifieds are headed back to the road – Thunder Road. The Northern Modified Challenge Series opens its second year of open-wheel stock car racing at the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, VT on Sunday, May 25. The race will be run in conjunction with the Vermont State Late Model Championship Series.
Jessey Mueller made history last year at the track, winning the first-ever event for the Northern Modified Challenge Series. The Olmstedville, NY racer, just 18 years old at the time, led the way ahead of veterans Leon Gonyo and Kenny Tremont, Jr. for the 50-lap victory. The race featured side-by-side action in the high-banked corners and a spectacular opening-lap crash on the “Widowmaker” frontstretch wall.
Eight feature races on six total race dates form the 2014 NMCS schedule. From Thunder Road, the series moves across Lake Champlain to its first-ever event at Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY on Saturday, July 26. The event is expected to draw a large field for twin 25-lap races.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, the home track for the NMCS, hosts the Carrara Masonry & Concrete C.J. Richards Memorial 67 on Friday, August 1, then heads back to Airborne Park for a 50-lap event on Saturday, September 6. The final asphalt event will be a twin-50 run at Devil’s Bowl on September 13-14, at the Mekkelsen RV Vermont 200 Weekend.
The season finale will be a brand new event, run on a temporary dirt surface on the Devil’s Bowl Speedway half-mile on Saturday, October 18. The finale will bring NMCS teams from the Champlain Valley together with the GRIT Sportsman Series teams of New York’s Capital District for a 100-lap slugfest.
The Northern Modified Challenge Series, sanctioned by Devil’s Bowl Speedway, opens at Thunder Road in Barre, VT on Sunday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. For event information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com. For more information on the Northern Modified Challenge Series, call (802) 265-3112, visit www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com, or follow @NorthernModCS on Twitter.
Northern Modified Challenge Series 2014 Schedule of Events:• Sunday, May 25 – Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, VT – 50 laps
• Saturday, July 26 – Airborne Park Speedway, Plattsburgh, NY – 25 laps x 2
• Friday, August 1 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT – 67 laps
• Saturday, September 6 – Airborne Park Speedway, Plattsburgh, NY – 50 laps
• Sat.-Sun., September 13-14 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT – 50 laps x 2
• Saturday, October 18 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (dirt), West Haven, VT – 100 laps
(Leif Tillotson photos – 2)