LaFleche/VLFphotos.com photo

LaFleche/VLFphotos.com photo

Barre, VT—Thunder Road’s American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models begin their 2015 championship chase on Sunday, May 24 in the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 100. Montpelier, VT’s Josh Demers, entering his sophomore season, will be looking to build on his unexpected performance at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida this past February.

Coming off a 12th-place points finish in Demers’ rookie year at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road, expectations were low entering the American Racer Challenge Cup at New Smyrna. At one point, when asked why the team was going to Florida, Demers’ father Randy responded that “someone has to finish last.”

But after gaining experience in a standalone 100-lap event on Sunday, February 15, Demers finished fourth overall in the two-segment Challenge. Among others, Demers placed ahead of defending ACT Champion Joey Polewarczyk Jr., two-time Thunder Road Champion Nick Sweet, and former NASCAR All-American Series Champion Keith Rocco.

“Our team bonded well together down there,” Demers said. “That track just seemed to suit our style, and we were racing well down there. It seemed to just work out well.”

The event was another milestone for the 25-year-old with competition in his blood. Demers was the Vermont State Division II Hockey Player of the Year his senior year at U32 High School. He also was a perennial all-star baseball player at U32.

But Demers, who recently welcomed a daughter with wife Ashley, always knew he wanted to be a racer. He began racing go-karts when he was nine, then jumped into a Street Stock in 2005 at Speedway 51 in Groveton, NH at age 15. He moved to Thunder Road a year later and graduated to the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen in 2008.

Demers’ team bought a used Late Model from FastOne Motorsports prior to the 2013 season and competed in select events while continuing to run weekly in the Tigers. His Late Model debut came at the International 500 at Airborne Park Speedway, where Demers won the B-feature and then gave up the $3,000 prize in favor of starting the main event.

“At that moment in time, we showed up there to race, and that’s what our goal was,” Demers recalled. “It didn’t really make any difference how we had to do it.”

The experience Demers gained aided his move into the weekly Late Model ranks the following season, as did a budding friendship with veteran Thunder Road racer Chip Grenier. The many-time Late Model winner eventually agreed to be Demers’ crew chief.

“Chip is so good at what he does, but you have to be able to communicate what the car is doing on the race track,” Demers said. “That can be intimidating at times. He’s done very well not to let me get to that point.”

The increasing chemistry between them was on display in February, catching the eye of racers and industry members in both Vermont and Florida.

“He did a great job down there,” said Eddie MacDonald, who won all three ACT New Smyrna events. “It’s always good to be able to go down to a fast track like that and stay out of trouble and have a good run. It sets you up for the rest of the year and sets the tone to have a good season.”

Demers withdrew from the ACT Tour Merchants Bank 150 after his family’s Meadow Mart store was robbed the previous week, but remains committed to the full Thunder Road weekly schedule. He thinks getting his first Late Model win and finishing in the top-10 in points are both achievable. Anything more is “icing on the cake.”

Demers will begin the 2015 title chase along with former “Kings of the Road” Derrick O’Donnell, Nick Sweet, Dave Pembroke, and Phil Scott at the 53rd Annual Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic on Sunday, May 24. The Thunder Road Late Models will run 100 laps, while the Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Models make their inaugural visit to Barre with a 150-lap event. The Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks will also be in action. Post time is 1:30pm.

For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.