BARRE, VT – A huge cast of Late Model stock car racing stars will flock to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, August 31 for the 30th running of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200.  The $5,000-to-win event is the tenth of 12 races for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT), and will feature the region’s top short track talent, as many as 50 or more championship-caliber drivers.

      ACT Late Model Tour point leader Scott Payea of Milton, VT and second-place Patrick Laperle of Montréal will continue a heated battle for the ACT championship.  Each is a multi-time winner at Thunder Road, and the pair fought for a recent victory at New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park before late contact sent both drivers to the rear of the field.  Payea, who won the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in May, and Laperle, the 2007 Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl winner, enter the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 separated by 51 points (671-620).

       Seven-time and defending ACT champion Jean-Paul Cyr, also from Milton, VT, sits just seven points behind Laperle in third place.  Brent Dragon, Payea and Cyr’s Milton, VT neighbor, is in a tight fourth-place battle with defending Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 winner John Donahue of Graniteville, VT, and New Hampshire drivers Randy Potter of Groveton and young Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk of Hudson.  The four drivers are only 11 points apart. Turner, ME’s Glen Luce, Barre, VT rookie Nick Sweet, and Scott Dragon of Milton, VT complete the top ten in order.

       Joining the ACT Late Model Tour top ten at Thunder Road will be star drivers Donald Theetge of Québec City, recent Thunder Road feature winner Jamie “Hurricane” Fisher of Shelburne, VT, London, ON rookie Jonathan Urlin, and Wilton, ME’s “Neon” Leon Heckbert.  Former Labor Day Classic winner and ACT champion Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH will also compete.  In only two starts this season, Leighton has finishes of third at Waterford (CT) Speedbowl and fifth at White Mountain.

       Thunder Road’s local divisions will qualify on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30pm, in conjunction with an
optional practice session for ACT Late Models.  Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 qualifying begins at 1:30pm on Sunday, Aug. 31.  Discount advance sale tickets are available at all 36 Bond Auto Parts stores in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.  Save $5 on the front gate Adult price by purchasing tickets at any Bond Auto Parts; visit www.bondauto.com for locations.  Tickets at the Thunder Road gate will be $25 for adults and $5 for children (6-12), and are good for both days’ events.  Gates open at 12:00 noon on Saturday and 10:00am on Sunday.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or www.acttour.com.