Elder Mike Rowe to make first Vermont race appearance since 2000

       BARRE, VT – Champion stock car racers Mike and Ben Rowe of Turner, ME will make their return to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl on Sunday, Sept. 2 for the American-Canadian Tour’s $50,000+ 29th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200, part of the ACTion Super Series.  The father-son duo has won races and championships all
along the eastern seaboard, and each will make their first trip of the year around the Thunder Road high banks this weekend.  For Mike Rowe, Sunday’s race ends a seven-year absence in the Green Mountain State.

      “It’s been a long time, but I’m looking forward to coming back to Thunder Road,” he said.  “I always liked Thunder Road in the old days, and I think we’ll have a good car for this weekend.”  Rowe’s last appearance at Thunder Road was behind the wheel of a Phil Scott team car at the 2000 VT Milk Bowl.  “Practice on Saturday and getting used to the place again should be pretty interesting,” Mike Rowe continued.  “I hear there’s going to be a lot of cars.  Hopefully, we’ll have something to show for ourselves by
the end of the day on Sunday.”

       Mike Rowe was the 1994 Champion of the ACT Pro Stock Tour, solidifying his title run with a September victory at Thunder Road that year.  He took the inaugural Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South crown last season, and has seven track titles and 150 feature victories at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway.  Rowe will reunite with car
owner Mike Lux for the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200.  Lux has recently fielded ACT entries for Quebec racer Patrick Laperle, and has been a long-time Rowe supporter.

       Driving for New Hampshire’s David Avery last season, three-time PASS North Champion Ben Rowe finished 20th in his first Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200.  “We want to figure out Thunder Road this weekend,” said the younger
Rowe.  “Of all the tracks I’ve been to, I’ve never struggled anywhere as much as at Thunder Road.  I want to win there before I retire, but for now I’ll be happy just to qualify and finish on the lead lap.  There will be a ton of cars, and I’d love to run up front with Jean-Paul Cyr, Brent Dragon, Cris Michaud, and the rest, but our focus
is on getting in the show and being competitive.  I think Scott Payea will be tough again this weekend, and I enjoyed running with him at White Mountain.  I understand that he won (the Merchants Bank 150) at Thunder Road this spring, so he should be one of the men to beat.”

       Ben Rowe will steer a Richard Moody Racing entry this weekend.  He led 21 laps with the car at the most recent ACT Late Model Tour event at White Mountain Motorsports Park two weeks ago, spending much of the race battling with eventual winner Payea for the top spot.  Ben took four ACT Late Model Tour victories in the Avery car last year.
 

      The Rowes will face off against top ACT Late Model Tour point drivers Cyr, Payea, and “Rocket” Roger Brown, and as many as 50 others at the 29th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 on Sunday, Sept. 2 at Thunder Road. An optional ACT practice, along with preliminary qualifying for Thunder Road’s weekly NAPA Tiger Sportsman, Allen
Lumber Street Stock, and Power Shift Warrior divisions will begin at 12:00 noon on Saturday, Sept. 1.  ACT qualifying begins at 1:00 pm on Sunday.  Thunder Road is located on Fisher Road at the top of Quarry Hill in Barre, VT.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963, or visit www.acttour.com or www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.