T Road Scenes & Moments

                      I was trying here to capture some of the essence of the earlier Thunder Road, years through single items, through particular experiences, and maybe some familiar faces. In re - doing this page I have learning from bitter experience that I can't seem to have a page full of numerous, large photos concentrated together without memory issues that ruin the looks of it.
So, these are a bit smaller than I hoped for but still achieve the same goal.

Courtesy of Cho Lee A little old picklup from the East Barre Fire Dept seems to double as track cleanup. Seriously ? An Indian fire pack ? Not exactly Whelen.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Listening at a pit meeting around 1962. Recognizable are Lee and Russ Ingerson, Larry Granger, Ronnie Marvin, and Harold Hanford [along with one of his wild Havelock] crewmen.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Karl Lingenfelter and his Hardwick Ambulance Service were a fixture at the track for years and years.
Courtesy of Cho Lee Thunder Road had its own weekly radio show - before such things were in vogue. That is host, Bob Doyle, at right.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Harold Hanaford shares a trophy with one of his crew - one of those wild Havelock boys from New Hampshire.	Courtesy of Cho Lee A Ned Lemieux wreck. Thunder Road was not just the superstars like Ronnie Marvin. Ned came from the Northeastern Speedway [and before that - SWebster Flats, Lyndonville], which T Road was in the process of putting out of business. Low budgeteers like Ned did their darnedest to compete with the hot shots at T Road.
Courtesy of Cho Lee Young George Whitney and future Bear Ridge promoter C.V. "Chuck" Elms were part of the overwhelming majority of T Road teams from the eastern side.	Courtesy of Andy Boright T Road had something you never saw anywhere else - a track nurse, in the complete uniform of the day. Here she checks on a mishap with Hanaford, Gammell and Hunt.	Courtesy of Cho Lee One of those T Road hot shots was one Rex Shattuck, bringing his considerable experience in from the tracks west of Thunder Road - especially in Colchester. Here, he has managed to climb the Widow Maker, onto the lawn above. The western guys were badly outnumbered by the eastern Vermont and New Hampshire drivers. This also shows how the track initially covered up those terrible railroad ties with the first Widowmaker cement wall.
Courtesy of Cho Lee The infamous Wayne Vincent wreck. No HANS devices in those days. He suffered serious head injuries.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Early Thunder Road was strongly defined by these two men: Roy "Pappy" Forsyth  and car owner George Barber, of Bradford .	Courtesy of Cho Lee No Thunder Road scenario would be complete without Bardahl dealer and photographer Bob Doyle. Sorry it is so blurry.
Courtesy of Cho Lee One of the first [if not THE first] Governor's Cups. Tony Colicchio, a Walpole, MA transplant, drove Libero Buzzi's [far right] #93 to victory. That is Governor Bob Stafford.	Courtesy of Cho Lee This is a classic Thunder Road photo of track co - founder Spade Cooley [left] with prominent car owner Fred LaPrade, likely in Ronnie Marvin's pit area.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Rex Shattuck is joined in Victory Lane by wife, Peg and a daughter. By this time, Rex had already been driving for more than ten years. He's likely happier than when he was walled in the photo above.
Courtesy of Cho Lee Thunder Road flagman Archie Blackadar looks ready to jump as car 70 Meriden Nelson loses a  wheel on the front stretch. Note the wall is now cement.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Thunder Road's ever - popular Chester T. Wood was injured in this wreck. This is a rare post - 1934 body on the X-1.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Former Northeastern Speedway runner Perley Densmore dumped his best - looking car ever at T Road in 1962.

Courtesy of Cho Lee
This shot of Archie Blackadar handing off to Leland Ingerson shows the dreadful railroad tie wall that was
there before the present day widowmaker cement version.

Courtesy of Cho Lee Jack Dubrul, future partner of Ken Squier, shows off his slingshot dragster to the crowd. This is early - look at the wall.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Jack Dubrul, future partner of Ken Squier, shows off his Daytona Permatex car to the crowd. This is later [cement wall].	Courtesy of Cho Lee A pivotal moment in Thunder Road was the 1965 season, when the NASCAR overhead V-8 sportsman cars invaded and made life hard for the original flathead teams. Here, Dick Nephew, former NASCAR National Sportsman co-Champion, is on the track with flathead star Harold Hanaford.
Courtesy of Cho Lee The Bud Messier 50 was usually driven by some sort of star du jour. In this case, it is Jean-Paul Cabana, looking for NASCAR national points. Ironically, T Road regular [and flathead driver]  Ronnie Marvin outdid most of the NASCAR hotshots in the national standings in that 1965 season.	Courtesy of Marty Harty After the departed George Barber team, the next super team at Thunder Road was that of Andy Cote. Said to have made  big money in muinitions development, Cote fielded cars for icons Ron Marvin [13], Tony Colicchio [0], andPaul Martell [3J]. The team was controversial and may have been banned for a while.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Perennial Thunder Road tow truck driver, Dick Blake, figured - if ya can't beat 'em - join 'em. He put local drivers like  Merlin  Bean in a sportsman of their own for a couple of seasons.
Courtesy of Cho Lee From 1965 until about mid - 1968, the NASCAR modifieds and sportsman stars were all rage at T Road. Here, Ken Squier is interviewing hardbitten racing veteran Leo Cleary. [This happens to be a Catamount shot].	Courtesy of Cho Lee In 1965, Thunder Road saw the newly - arrived NASCAR overhead V-8 sportsman mixed in [for one season] with the Road's traditional flatheads. Here is a rare shot of Bob Bruno in Vic Wolfe's sedan leading Ronnie Marvin. Marvin went on to a high finish in NASCAR national sportsman points with a car that was decidedly underpowered. Bruno and owner Vic Wolfe also went down to Fonda and pulled a major upset with this sedan in 1965.	Courtesy of Mark Austin Dick Blake labors with one of his earlier wreckers in a 1965 mixup on the frotnstretch. While rapidly tiring of the job these days, Dick is still showing up every week and has since the track opened. Below - later Blake wrecker. Courtesy of Mark Austin
Courtesy of Cho Lee Thunder Road was about to have a baby brother called Catamouint Stadium. Here, Jack Dubrul is towing into T Road with "Nascat", the mascot for the new track.	Courtesy of Cho Lee This is a classic Thunder Road photo because no TR photos series would be complete without a few of Bob Doyle.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Someone [likely Jack DuBrul] brought a Studebaker Avanti to the races; so, they put it to use as a pace car du jour.

Courtesy of Andy Boright
Thunder Road's interesting 1965 points race. The flatheads had been grandfathered and were racing
against overhead V-8's. Marvin finished only 11th here but in the top ten in the nation that year. He
was often off chasing national points somewhere else. 

Courtesy of Cho Lee Bob Quinn hands the checkers to some unknown B Class winner named Beaver Dragon. A holdover from the old Northeastern Speedway, the B class was a harbinger of things to come - when the track would be forever dominated by late model type cars.	Courtesy of Cho Lee I love this B Class shot ! It is either a former Northeastern Speedway entry or maybe it's Ralph Stygles, early in the career.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Some of the Thunder Road coupe stars did double  duty in B class cars. Here Leland Ingerson [lft] is in Victory Lane with future Groveton promoter Mike Beattie and future LMS star George Horn.
Courtesy of Cho Lee The B Class cars - later called Flying Tigers would become the future of Thunder Road. Here a Kentucky transplant | named Tom Tiller, brought to Vermont by the US Air Force, returns the flag to Starter Bob Quinn. Jack Paradee, himself once a B Class driver, is behind.	Courtesy of Andy Moore This flying car is avoiding climbing the Widow Maker behind Dickie Southworth's 43. It looks like another car [in the dust] wasn't so lucky.	Courtesy of Mike Gilbert The glory years of the original Flying Tigers. That same Tom Tiller, with a car that doesn't appear to be much different than the B class car at left. Tiller would also appear in the "New Tigers" around 1988, then at the age of around 50.
Courtesy of Melody Mattison Anukem Ken Squier has his hands full with rough and tumble Flying Tigers stars: left -  Norm Cyr, Larry Demar, Tom Tiller, and Lennie "Tiger" Stockwell.	Courtesy of Wayne Bettis Ken Squier and Big John Untied conduct the pit meeting. Judging from hair styles, this is in the earlier 1970's.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Stub Fadden, arguably the symbolic driver in the history of the track, came in with B class. Here, in a Flying Tiger, he has experienced uh awful accident !
Courtesy of Cho Lee Russ Ingerson enjoyed a second career high point when he joined forces with the White River Jct. team of Ed Pelletier and Doug Falzarano.	Courtesy Of Andy Boright Russ Ingerson is in a pickle with the Pelletier / Falzarano. This 1972 shots shows some new late model sportsman cars as well as Red Fisk's holdover Limited [91].	Courtesy of Andy Boright Local favorite Dennis Tucker of Washington is biting the wall as Moretown's Carl Nelson looks for room. The condition of the bodies suggests the division involved a wee bit of rubbing.

Courtesy of A. and A. Ward
B.J. Willard's 33 pits in the back of the T Road pit area.  She
pitted next to Red Mead. The six cylinder Grand American class
seemed to fit the smaller T Road track like a glove.  

Courtesy of Cho Lee When Ralph Nason wanted to express displeasure with NASCAR late model sportsman body rules in the late 1970's, he came out with this retro Chevelle. Everyone else was into the Pontiac Le Mans and similar bodies.	Courtesy of Cho Lee The Richard Buzzi gang, in their hurricane period: Dennis Tucker, H.C. Harvey, Louie Cassani, and Richard.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Thunder Road's longest - active driver, Joey LaQuerre,  walks by as future Busch Grand National North driver Barney McRae unloads his mini stock. Also seen are Barney's ex - wife Fran and Mr. McRae.
Courtesy of Cho Lee The crews of Russ Ingerson and John Rosati gather on the Thunder Road start/finish line to celebrate fast qualifying times for the 1972 Milk Bowl.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Ford stalwarts: Dave Dion [ctr], along with Jay Yantz and another man.	Courtesy of Alex Alexander One of Thunder Road's lesser known but most successful female drivers was Linda Alexander, whose career involved multiple race classes and track surfaces.
Courtesy of Cho Lee One of the most sour periods in the history of T Road came when the track was bought by Tommy Kalimiris shown here with Stub Fadden. Often conducting business from the New York City area, he let the track deteriorate before abandoning it entirely Doesn't Stubby look thrilled ?.	Courtesy of Andy Boright In the end of the Kalimiris era, the track sat, abandoned, unmowed, and largely unattended in 1979.	Courtesy of Walter Newell Two of the most thrilled people when Northern NASCAR got T Road back from Kalimiris were Tom Curley and Stub Fadden.
Ron Pittsley Photo During an often - frustrating and under - funded career, Barney McRae occasionally grabbed the brass ring .	A & A Ward Photo Long - time support division [and very popular] driver Dave Gibbs tried his hand at late models. That effort was not rewarded at T Road this night.	Courtesy of Andy Boright Gard Leavitt and Ontario's Tony Corcoran spice up the show a littel as a brave flagger stands in there and throws the yellow.
Courtesy of Andy Boright Two of T Road's most important and beloved figures. Bob Doyle and Archie Blackadar.	Courtesy of Jason Lahue The names Despault and Tunder Road are synonymous. Here Clem [3] races with son, Topo around 1989. Racing in 2017, Clem has raced at the track in five decades.	Courtesy of Andy Boright Jean - Paul Cabana and other ACT cars enjoy the challenges that come with driving at The Nation's Site of Excitement..

Some T Road Views 

Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge The pace car in 1963, with a field in tow.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge Silvio Bilodeau is on the pole for this heat.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge Another heat comes up to speed.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge In this shot, you can make out the 3J of Paul Martell and the 51 of Russ Ingerson.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge This shot has one of the George Barber team cars I can make out.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge A great look over toward the pits. Similar view; just fewer pit buildings.
		Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge A similar look east maybe during intermission.	Bob Dodge Photo Courtesy of Troy Dodge This one shows the infield with that go - kart track they put in when they built the place.

A 1961 THUNDER ROAD PROGRAM
Can you imagine the price for this program today ?

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MIDGETS AT THUNDER ROAD
Occasional Visitors in the Early Years

Courtesy of Cho Lee
This midget, carrying the ad for famed photographer Les King, has wrecked in an early T Road show.

Courtesy of Cho Lee MIdget racers in action at T Road circa 1961.	Courtesy of Andy Boright MIdgElmer Peckham gets pushed off.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Ed Clouthier under way after a push at T Road.	Courtesy of Cho Lee A heat rface of MIdget racers ready to take green at T Road circa 1961.	Courtesy of Cho Lee T Road winner Len Thrall in the Milt Smith Offy.
		Bob Mackey Photo Courtesy of Mike Watts, Sr. Work goes on with this midget as their special flagger waits for action.

Bob Mackey Photo Courtesy of Mike Watts, Sr.
This midget, carrying the ad for famed photographer Les King is involved in another mixup and King heads out to check.

KEY THUNDER ROAD FIGURES
Important Movers and Shakers in the Early Years

Courtesy of Cho Lee Ken Squier, the face [and co - owner] of Thunder Road with Roy "Pappy" Forsyth, arguably the track's first superstar.

Norman McIver Photo Courtesy of Cho Lee Archie Blackadar, first flagger and later the pit steward.

Courtesy of Cho Lee Spade Cooley, the most visible of the owning Cooley brothers [maybe because he was so tall] interviews Rex Shattuck.

Courtesy of Cho Lee Huge, intimidating Ronnie Marvin may have arguably been the track's first villain. He definitely inherited super  star  status after the Forsyth retirement.

Courtesy of Cho Lee Bob Doyle was the Bardahl representativ, a speed parts retailer, and a photographer. More importantly, he was a godfather of sorts for the track.	Courtesy of Cho Lee George Barber, a Bradford, VT auto parts dealer, owned the first dominant team at the track. He would later establish Bear Ridge Speedway in his home town as a refuge for the flat head race cars which had been legislated out of T Road.	Courtesy of Cho Lee Tough, charismatic, and very good at driving, the Ingerson brothers were synonymous with early T Road. A fourth brother, Don, also finished well in the 1965 standings. Left - Doug, Lee. and Russ.	v Courtesy of JT Racer Dick Blake and his familiar Blake & Loso wrecker was at the first race program and generally hasn't missed one since. When needed, he sometimes doubled as a car owner.
Courtesy of Cho Lee Patriarch of a racing family whose tragic losses rival the Allison's, Joey LaQuerre, Sr. [shown here with Ron Marvin] has raced in four decades, built dozens of cars, won titles, and promoted his own race track in his storied life.	Norman McIver Portrait Courtesy of Cho Lee Proudly posing for a 1960's driver photo, Thomas M. "T Bone" Curley joined up with Squier in the 1970's and devoted a lifetime to Thunder Road and his racing tours.	Courtesy of Cho Lee No one has - or maybe ever will - race as long at Thunder Road as Waterbury's Clem  "Desperate"  Despault. He has won track titles and probably set records for oldest driver.	ACT Photo Courtesy of Cho Lee Governor Phil Scott holds records for wins at Thunder  Road.  He has also put the  trck on the map as having the nation's only racing governor.

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