Barre, VT — Memorial Day Weekend brings with it the start of summer, and especially the beginning of full-fledged race season. For race fans from across New England, seeing 138 different racecars pack the pit area of Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Sunday was a welcome sight for the summer season ahead. Along with the four weekly Thunder Road divisions, Tour-type Modifieds made their triumphant return for the first time in 12 years with the inaugural Granite City 100.

The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, New England’s most successful open modified touring series, brought an interesting mix of twenty-five touring megastars and weekly drivers from across the East. Led from the start of the Granite City 100 by former Modified winner at Thunder Road, Kirk Alexander, former Monaco Modified winner Sam Rameau took over the lead on the 13th lap. A pair of cautions on laps 31 and 33 ultimately spelled disaster for Carl Medeiros, who went from spinning in turn four to a three-car pileup on the front-stretch, taking Chase Cook and Todd Patnode with him.

Just after the halfway point, on lap 52, Roxbury, Connecticut’s Chase Dowling took over the lead from Alexander and never looked back. Even after a lap 80 restart pitted him against fellow stalwarts Anthony Nocella and Matt Hirschman, Dowling never faltered with the $10,000 winners check just at the end of his bumper.

“I just want to say to all you fans, this is badass,” Dowling said in Victory Lane. “All you guys coming out on a Sunday for a Memorial Day...This is great to see a great crowd for Tri-Track. This facility is awesome. Hopefully we’re back next year.”

As if the Granite City 100 wasn’t enough, the 59 Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic certainly didn’t disappoint either. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models ballooned to a total of thirty-one cars with local point chasers joined by several new visitors, including 2021 White Mountain Motorsports Park champion Jeff Marshall and double-duty pilot Woody Pitkat.

The 125-lap Classic featured some growing pains for more than a few part-timers and Rookies with Marshall, Laci Potter and Evan Hallstrom among those who loaded up early. Former Labor Day Classic champion Brooks Clark led the early goings but by the halfway point it was all Stephen Donahue.

Donahue, in the familiar Norm Andrews mount, sewed his way through seemingly constant strings of lap traffic throughout the feature event. All the while, the Kinney Drugs machine of Kyle Pembroke and TheOilBoys.com Chevy Camaro of Derrick O’Donnell stalked him through pin holes and open lanes alike. In a daring dash in the final laps, Donahue made his way through a four-way battle that included former track champions Jason Corliss and Vermont Governor Phil Scott to help seal his victory and the immortality of his name in granite. Pembroke and O’Donnell would round out the podium with Christopher Pelkey nabbing fourth and Clark driving back up through the field after pitting for fifth.

Thirty-three rk Miles Street Stocks took the green for their 25-lap feature with Dean Switser Jr. taking the lead early and holding off late charges by youngsters Tyler Whittemore and 2021 runner-up in points Kyler Davis.

The Lenny's Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers launched into a quick 40-lap feature with Williamstown's Michael MacAskill taking down the win. Frequent hard-luck drivers Adam Maynard and Robert Gordon had luck on their side Sunday by taking second and third, respectively.

Lastly, the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors ended the evening with a 20-lap feature won handily by Neal Foster, followed by Taylor Sayers and 'Flyin' Fred Fleury.

Thunder Road is back on a special Friday Night Special on June 10th with the debut of the New England Supermodified Series along with the first leg of the Myers Container Service Flying Tiger Triple Crown series. The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models, rk Miles Street Stocks and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors will also be in the house for an action-packed night of high-speed thrills! Race day information, including pricing and schedules will be out soon.

For more information on the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, visit www.monacomodifieds.com or contact info@monacomodifieds.com. You can also follow the Series on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MonacoMods.

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.