Barre, VT — Thunder Road is ready to break into the month of October with Vermont’s most popular stock car racing event, the 61st running of the Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank. Over 40 of New England and Quebec’s top short-track stars are ready to take on the Toughest Short Track Stock Car Race in North America this Saturday and Sunday, all looking to join the granite monument at the venerable Vermont oval and join a winning roster of legends. 

Headed by eight former champions, the Vermont Milk Bowl is once again laden with Northeast talent. Former Milk Bowl champions Brian Hoar, John Donahue, Patrick Laperle, Bobby Therrien, Jason Corliss, Joey Polewarczyk, Nick Sweet and defending victor Christopher Pelkey are all looking for one more chance to kiss the cow. Along for the ride is 2023 King of the Road Stephen Donahue, fellow former Thunder Road champions Derrick O’Donnell and Scott Dragon, former American-Canadian Tour champions Jimmy Hebert and D.J. Shaw, and current ACT point leader Gabe Brown. 

Canadian Jonathan Bouvrette and fellow ACT Tour standouts Jimmy Renfrew Jr., Derek Gluchacki, Erick Sands, Shawn Swallow, Dylan Payea and Walter Sutcliffe have entered the exciting autumn event. Top Thunder Road rookies Kaiden Fisher and Justin Prescott with ACT Touring rookies Tanner Woodard, Andrew Molleur and Bryan Wall Jr. are also joining the 61st Vermont Milk Bowl roster. 

By far the largest contingent of teams come from the home-grown Thunder Road stable. Along with Donahue, Fisher and Prescott, top weekly pilots Marcel Gravel, Cody Blake, Brandon Lanphear, Darrell Morin, Stephen Martin, Chris Roberts, Cooper Bouchard and Kyle Pembroke, among others, are ready to take on the highbanks for one final ride in 2023. Part-time hard-chargers Brooks Clark and Brendan Moodie are also joining the field as are surprise visits from former weekly warriors Lance Allen and Grant Folsom. 

VIDEO: Drivers weigh in on why the Milk Bowl is North America's Toughest Short Track Race.

All these stars and more are ready to take on the Toughest Short Track Stock Car Race in North America on Sunday. The uniquely formatted Vermont Milk Bowl contains three 50-lap segments with full field inversions that determine a final winner through points earned in the lightning-fast features. The lowest point total at the end earns the Vermont Milk Bowl win, with a special $10,000 bonus for a perfect three-point total or a $5,000 bonus for a 4-5 point total also on the line. $100 in lap money is available to the top three runners in each of the 150-laps while the winner earns a guaranteed $12,000 payday, their name etched in stone in Thunder Road’s granite monument and the opportunity to kiss one lucky Ayrshire dairy cow!  

The 61st Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank on Sunday will also host the final segment in the Mini Milk Bowl features for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers and rk Miles Street Stocks while the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors also invade for their two-segment Mini Milk Bowl. 

Racing returns for the last great show of the Thunder Road season with the 61st Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank on Saturday, September 30th and Sunday, October 1st. Booth Bros./Hood Qualifying Saturday will feature Milk Bowl qualifying for the Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models along with the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, rk Miles Street Stocks, Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models and the New England Supermodified Series. Post Time is set for 1:00pm on Saturday. Saturday-Only general admission is available at $30 for adults, $10 for kids 12-6 with children 5 and under free. The Two-Day (Saturday and Sunday) ticket is also available at $50 for adults and $20 for kids 12-6.  

Sunday, October 1 is headlined by the $100,000 Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank with the Flying Tigers and Street Stocks finishing out their Mini Milk Bowl alongside the Mini Milk Bowl for the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors. Post Time is set for 12:15pm on Sunday starting with the Last Chance, B-Feature for the ACT/Maplewood-Irving Oil Late Models followed by opening ceremonies with the Green Flag set to drop on Segment #1 of the Vermont Milk Bowl at 1:30pm. Sunday-Only general admission is available at $30 for adults, $10 for kids 12-6 with children 5 and under free! 

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.