Barre, VT — The Stars and Cars of the American-Canadian Tour return home for the 26th annual Community Bank N.A. 150 on Sunday, May 5 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl! Along with Saturday’s annual Car Show at the track and the Kenley Dean Extravaganza Celebration of Life for the legendary Ken Squier, the ACT Tour title chasers come up on their first major challenge of the season as they prepare to tackle the infamous highbanks of the Nation’s Site of Excitement!
Storming into Thunder Road this weekend is ACT point leader Derek Gluchacki. The Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) finalist has been barnstorming once again at the start of this season with three top-fives in as many events, including his third-consecutive victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Dartmouth, Massachusetts-native has also found strong footing on the tricky Vermont oval in recent years, taking the outside pole for the Vermont Milk Bowl last October after finding short-run speed for the quick-paced 50 lap segments.
American-Canadian Tour title chasers Jesse Switser, Gabe Brown, Jonathan Bouvrette and D.J. Shaw all had rebound days at Oxford to start the week, and they look to continue the momentum into Thunder Road this Sunday for the Community Bank 150. Just outside the limelight is Windham, Maine’s Brandon Barker. Barker, piloting the Sullivan Construction #0NH, has earned two heat wins in as many ACT events this season and currently sits second in the standings behind Gluchacki. While Barker has limited experience at Thunder Road, car owner Chad Sullivan is sure to give the Mainer a good piece for Sunday.
The ACT Rookie of the Year battle has shown that the competition in the nation’s number one touring series isn’t something to take lightly. While St. Johnsbury, Vermont’s Kasey Beattie has jumped up to lead the greenhorns, and looks to use his past Thunder Road experience to his advantage, the one to watch on Sunday is 2023 Thunder Road Rookie of the Year, and fellow ACT rookie hopeful, Kaiden Fisher. Fisher needs to turn a rough start around to gain an upper hand over Beattie, Jeremy Sorel and Cole Littlewood with Thunder Road providing the Shelburne, Vermont-native a fighting chance he needs.
As with all American-Canadian Tour events at the Nation’s Site of Excitement, a strong and talented group of weekly warriors in the Maplefields/Irving Late Models are set to defend their home turf. Former King of the Road track champions Stephen Donahue, Christopher Pelkey, Jason Corliss and Bobby Therrien are ready to roll along with former ACT and Thunder Road Flying Tiger champion Jimmy Hebert and young-guns Brandon Lanphear, Stephen Martin and Cooper Bouchard.
The American-Canadian Tour makes a quick turn-around this week in preparation for the 26th annual Community Bank N.A. 150 at the Nation’s Site of Excitement, Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. The American-Canadian Tour will also pay respects for one its founders, Ken Squier with the Kenley Dean Extravaganza; A Celebration of Life for the One-and-Only Ken Squier on Saturday, May 4 before taking on the infamous highbanks Squier built way back in 1960 for the Community Bank 150 on Sunday, May 5 along with the Flying Tigers, Street Stocks and Road Warriors for a whopping season opener!
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @ACTTour.
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