Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic Ready to Start the Summer Season at Thunder Road

Barre, VT – This week’s warm weather has race fans and teams itching to return to Thunder Road Speedbowl for this Sunday’s 63rd Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. The holiday tradition at the Nation’s Site of Excitement has long heralded the start of summer for Central Vermont and this weekend will be no different with the Maplefields/Irving Late Models getting a powerful start to their track championship season.

The Memorial Day Classic goes all the way back to 1961 when Roy ‘Pappy’ Forsythe took down the inaugural event en-route to an unmatched ten-win season and King of the Road track championship! Hudson, New Hampshire’s Dave Dion is still the King of the Memorial Day Classic with nine wins to his credit, but last year’s showdown once again proved that anyone can take the holiday special.

Bryan Wall Jr., a former rk Miles Street Stock and Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger standout, wowed the crowd with the 125-lap win one year ago, just the most recent in a line of standout performances at the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic. Once again, the 125-lap affair will be the first of the three extra-distance events that make-up the Squier Cup presented by Milton CAT. In two seasons, two longtime veterans of the Nation’s Site of Excitement have carried the Squier Cup but it’s still anyone’s game in year three!

A pair of standout performances on opening day have both the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and rk Miles Street Stocks a-buzz with an uncertain future! Hinesburg’s Eric Messier fought tooth and nail for his first Tiger win on opening day and looks to make it two-for-two in Sunday showdowns on the Barre highbanks while veterans Brendan Moodie and Derrick Calkins are among the top point chasers looking for win number one to help cement their place atop the charts.

Alan Ward photo

Alan Ward photo

After an overzealous car count pushed officials to build two feature events for the rk Miles Street Stocks on opening day, it seems anything is possible for the top four-cylinder division in the region. A pair of young-guns in Hayden Morris and Connor Rueda took the feature wins but had plenty of veterans breathing down their necks. Longtime stars like Tommy ‘Thunder’ Smith, Jamie Davis, Nate ‘Tater’ Brien and Derek Farnham are among those looking to overtake the younger crowd to a feature win on Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Sunday.

A new addition joins the group on Sunday as well with the Dad’s 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Division joining the stars and cars at Thunder Road for the first of an expanded five-event schedule this summer. After making on-again, off-again appearances at the Northfield Savings Bank Vermont Milk Bowl, and having been a long-successful part of the White Mountain Motorsports Park line-up, officials made the easy decision to add these youth racers on a once-a-month basis at the Nation’s Site of Excitement this year!

Johnny Racer photo

Thunder Road is back in action on Sunday, May 24 for the 63rd running of the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic! The Maplefields/Irving Late Models begin their King of the Road track championship charge with 125 laps in Race #1 of the Squier Cup presented by Milton CAT. The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks, Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Division join in for a stellar holiday spectacular with a 1:30pm Post Time on Sunday, May 24.

Grandstands open at 10:15am on Sunday with Adult General Admission set at $20, Kids 6-12 are $10 and children five and under are free! The Family Four Pack (two adults, two kids) will also be available for $50.

For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.