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THUNDER ROAD Not Intended to Take The Track History Beyond Catamount's Life Span |
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ALWAYS - UNDER
Things were going very smoothly at Thunder Road by the mid - '60's. The huge fields included a healthy contingent of New Hampshire drivers, many of whom had come from the Elms Family - operated Northeastern Speedway in Waterford: the wild Ingerson brothers, Roy "Pappy"Forsythe, Ronnie Marvin, Stanley "Stub" Fadden, Hank Montandon, and more crossed the Eastern border to run against Vermonters like Chester T. Wood, John Gammell, Tony Colucchio, etc.
Roy "Pappy" Forsythe, with the legendary George Barber 46, was one of Thunder Road's first superstars. Somebody decided that was time for expansion .... expansion into the state's most highly - populated county, Chittenden County. And they did - in the northern Chittenden County town of Milton. Catamount Stadium was born. However, for many years to come, Thunder Road remained the more stable and better- attended track in the family. While Catamount struggled with small fields and inconsistent attendance, T-Road was the anchor. Eventually. Thunder Road began mixing its familiar flathead cars with the NASCAR overhead V-8's. It wasn't popular with the Barre fans. Finally, the flatheads winning became a rarity.
Beloeil, Quebec's Jean-Paul Cabana was the first successful V-8 competitor at the Barre oval. Here is a look at a few aspects of Catamount's parent track:
Winooski High School athletic star Ron "Red Dog" Barcomb became one of the Flying Tigers' stars. Eventually, management tried switching the evenings that the two tracks operated. but Catamount did not really catch on until it dropped the sportsman and modifieds and worked only with local late model drivers. Thunder Road followed suit. By then, the traditional flat-topped coupes were gone, and many of the older drivers had grabbed themselves a Flying Tiger car and joined the fray. Sometimes, the T-Road drivers and the Catamount regulars would be bonded together in a mutual dislike of the big dollar Canadians who began to filter back - especially to Catamount : Jean-Paul Cabana, Andre Manny, and Claude Aubin - to name a few.
Andre Manny, in the immaculate Gaston Ethier 27A was typical of the well-financed Canadian invasion of the early 1970's. T-Road would go on to work in perfect concert with Catamount - and with a host of other tracks which whom the management of the two tracks would form temporary arrangements over the course of the next decades: Devil's Bowl, Airborne, Sanair, Oxford, and others. By 1972 and 3, the teams found themselves racing several nights a week - strangely reminiscent of the very early days of stock car racing.  Fairfax, Vermont's Hector LeClair, though well sponsored, shows the strain of the intense schedule almost as much as his Chevelle. The NASCAR North teams would soon tire of the exhausting five-track schedule. The toll wore heavily on the equipment and on attendance at certain tracks. Some teams said to heck with the points title, and cut their travel. But, very few teams skipped Thunder Road. The newcoming CVRA track, Devil's Bowl, and Sanair lost the most competitors to the grind that year. The track management had the foresight to install a support division to replace when the Flying Tigers had become the whole show in 1968. By 1970, they had the automatic transmission, totally - stock Hurricane Division which developed future stars like Jamie Aube, Richard Buzzi, and Darrell Owens.
Photo Courtesy of Cho Lee Dennis Tucker, Washington, VT was one of the local boys who started in the Hurricane Division at Thunder Road. The Hurricanes were evolved into six cylinder pony cars like Camaros and Mustangs - probably because they had more appeal. The new division was called The Grand Americans. Within a year, those cars could corner as effortlessly as the late models. Several of the competitors from this short-lived division would go on to participate in the late models - or the next version of the Flying Tigers, which came about in the 1980's.
Photo Courtesy of Lonnie Terry The Hurricane support division evolved into the nifty, well-handling six cylinder Grand American Division by 1980. Those cars especially loved the T-Road quarter mile. This is Milton, Vermont's Jim Barton. As the fortunes of the late models and their touring system seemed to hit an all-time high, a major disaster struck Thunder Road, and - therefore - the whole city of Barre. For some reason, the management inexplicably decided to sell the track to a man from Long Island, New York named Tommy Kalimeris. Kalemiris, an avowed lover of the track and its activities had big plans to make great improvements to the facility. All of this started to fall apart in his first season of operation, and, before long, financial problems were piling up. The track was padlocked and Kalimeris went back to the New York area - apparently making calls to Vermont from a pay phone at times. He refused to release the track so that it could be re-opened. Furious locals began to vent their frustrations with Kalimeris on the property itself. The once-famous lights were destroyed, building were knocked down, and various other forms of vandalism erupted on the track. Eventually, Tom Curley, Ken Squier, and others regained control and it took months of work and legions of volunteer help to put the facility back in usable shape. Bear Ridge Speedway had to lend their lighting system, at one point. No one is too sure what happened to Kalimeris - his life would have been in danger in Vermont.
Thunder Road was now fielding very sophisticated, state - of - the - art late model sportsman cars - until the split with NASCAR in the 1980's. By now, the new Tigers were established and a new street stock was starting up. Mr. Puffer, then the owner of a tiny radio station in Wells River, Vermont, put it best for everyone. He said 'If ya heeyah from that Kalameerus fella, tell him he's s faht flatlandah !" Translated - a fart flatlander. Races began again and the old track breathed a sigh of relief. Kalimeris hasn't been heard from much - he might be involved in a bible outfit out of New Jersey.
Cavalcade of Auto Racing Photo Thunder Road, 1962. Bill White is struck from behind by NEAR Hall of Famer Stub Fadden - as George Horne goes by. White is still an official at Bear Ridge |
Ronnie Marvin, A driver who embodies the spirit of T-Road |
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EARLY DRIVERS IN THE NEXT ERA PRIMARILY FLYING TIGERS
THE
NEW SUPPORT DIVISIONS OF THE 1970's
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 Photo Courtesy of Cho Lee George Horne, St. Johnsbury, VT |
MORE
EARLY LATE MODELS
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The next event to have a strong effect on the fortunes of Thunder Road International Speedbowl was the untimely demise of sister track, Catamount Stadium in Milton. Built on what was reportedly leased land, the track could no longer obtain a lease extension and it closed in the late 1980's. Now T-Road was the flagship of the American - Canadian Tour. It continues to carry this banner to this day. The track has enjoyed several wonderful modernizing improvements and considerable expansion.  By the 1990's Thunder Road would have more divisions and its usual great fan support. The track underwent several wonderful physical improvements during this period, as well. |
 Courtesy of Cho Lee Jim
Schaubb,
Photo Courtesy of Andy Boright Dion is crumpled as John Peoples sneaks by and Geo. Horne spins |
 Courtesy of Dan Nolin Ed
Doggett, One of the Very First Chevelles
Photo Courtesy of Andy Boright Fresh back from Devils Bowl, Beaver catches a ride in Bobby Giroux's backup car.
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 Courtesy of Chris Companion LMS tangle at T Road: Bettis, LeClaire, Anderson, Panch, Wood, and Horne.
Photo Courtesy of Lonnie Dion is crumpled as John Peoples sneaks by and Geo. Horne spins
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CONSTRUCTION 
Courtesy of Jim Watson
1972. A feature starting field, looking East. John Untied is on the track.
Courtesy of Jim Watson
The same field, looking West, with Barton's Jerry Young on the pole.
ACT Archives Courtesy of Cho Lee
A much younger Tom Curley, with
Archie Blackadar and Lennie
Stockwell - when Lennie was an official.
Terraserver USGS Photo
Thunder Road in the
1990's - from satellite. The stands and front
stretch are to the bottom of the photo.