Barre, VT – Seven former Milk Bowl Champions have secured a spot in the starting grid for the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl rescheduled for this Sunday (October 4) at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Brent Dragon, Dave Pembroke, Eric Williams, Cris Michaud and Jean-Paul Cyr each have their name etched in the Milk Bowl Champions granite monument once, while Phil Scott and Brian Hoar have two wins apiece. This leaves 23 drivers aiming for their first career Milk Bowl win.

Two favorites will start segment one from the front row. Barre’s Nick Sweet starts on the pole after earning the Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Pole award last Saturday. His lap was the fourth fastest to earn the pole since Late Models took over the Chittenden Milk Bowl in 1996. Sweet will attempt to become the tenth driver in the history of the Milk Bowl to win from the pole. It is only his second career start in the prestigious event. His ninth place finish in last year’s event helped him earn the 2008 ACT Tour Rookie of the Year honors.

“I was really surprised. We were just looking for a strong time that would get us somewhere near the front, because last year we were way off,” said Sweet of his pole winning lap. “Now the key is to finish every segment. There are 20 cars in this that could win it. You just have to have better luck and not wreck. We ran 50 lap features all year and the whole Thunder Road season has been building up to this.”

However, the 25 year-old Sweet will have his hands full early as 20 year-old Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk, Jr. of Hudson, NH will be starting on his outside. Pole was just 54 one-thousandths of a second away from becoming the third driver in history with four pole awards and the second with four straight. None of Pole’s pole awards translated into a Milk Bowl win, as his best finish remains third.

While the front row is a demonstration of the youth movement in ACT Late Model competition, they had better keep an eye out for 66 year-old veteran Joey Laquerre from East Montpelier. Sunday will be Laquerre’s 12th career Milk Bowl start, none resulting in a kiss with the cow. The only competitor in the field with more career Milk Bowl starts will be Senator Phil Scott (Sunday will be number 13). Laquerre has been around Thunder Road for all 50 years of its existence and has been winning for almost as long. But the Chittenden Milk Bowl remains elusive. His best finish was ninth, which he earned in his first career Milk Bowl start in 1996. Laquerre will start from sixth position in segment number one on Sunday.

“I think we have a very good chance on Sunday,” said Laquerre. “Winning the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl would rank right up there with running at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway), as highlights of my career. I would love to kiss the cow if it means I’ve won the race.”

The 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl will cap off the 50th Anniversary Season celebration at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Pre-race ceremonies will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 4th, followed by all three segments of the Milk Bowl and features to decide the 2009 Champions of the NAPA Tiger Sportsman, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors. For more information visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com.

Waterbury, VT – For Cris Michaud it was a pretty easy decision.

Michaud was injured when he fell off a ladder at a job site and broke a vertebrae. When doctors informed him that he would not be able to race in the rained-out 47th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road this coming Sunday, October 4, the three-time track champion went after one of his biggest Thunder Road rivals to fill the seat for him.

“What better guy to take over my ride in the Milk Bowl than Chad (Wheeler)? I really wanted to win the three Thunder Road Championships in a row in 2006 (Michaud won the Thunder Road track championships in 2004 and 2005, along with his title in 2001), but Chad was unbelievably consistent with his finishes all season long. He deserved to win the title that year”, said Michaud convalescing at his home in Williamstown, VT.

The 2004 winner of what is known as the ‘toughest short track race in America’ went on to say, “I think the Milk Bowl is the perfect race for Chad to come back and have some fun. He is a patient and smart racer and that’s what it takes to raise the milk can and kiss the cow,” concluded Michaud.

Over $70,000 in purse money, with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 to win, is up for grabs by the American Canadian Tour (ACT) starting field of competitors. The thirty car field was set last Saturday in the unique format of time trials, triple 50 lap qualifying races, and a ‘Last Chance Race’. Fifty-four (54) teams attempted to qualify for the prestigious event.

A pair of ACT young guns will sit on the front row. 2008 ACT Rookie of the Year, Nick Sweet, in only his second year of racing Late Models, will lead the field to the green flag in segment one of the unique three-segment event. The first segment is lined up according to time trials and the Triple 50 qualifiers. The following two segments are reversed from the previous segments, with the best having to come from the rear twice to have a chance to win the Milk Bowl. Sweet, a hometown favorite from Barre, VT, will start beside Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., a three-time pole sitter and holder of the Thunder Road track record of 12.935 seconds.

“I have heard that Cris had a heck of a run in the Triple 50 qualifiers last Saturday. Coming from dead last to finish fourth was pretty darn impressive. I know I will have a good car under me and I am excited about trying out the only Ford engine. I had a great time racing against Cris for a lot of years and beating him for the title in 2006 got me to thinking that there really wasn’t much more for me in the sport at this time in my life. I wanted to spend a lot of time with my young boys, but now maybe there is one more thing I could accomplish with racing. It sure will be fun to try. I am looking forward to it, and I appreciate the confidence Cris has in putting me in his car,” said Wheeler.

The 47th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl is re-scheduled for this Sunday, October 4th, after having been rained out last Sunday. Gates will open at 10:00 am and pre-race ceremonies, which will include the Catamount Pipe and Drum Corps, the Norwich University color guard and Shock Platoon Drill Team will kick off the festivities at 1:00 pm. Racing will start at 1:30, and all the competitors in the various Thunder Road divisions, except the Late Models, will complete their championship seasons. Late Model racer Jean-Paul Cyr, from Milton, VT was named the King of the Road for 2009 at the final Thursday night event in August.

The Milk Bowl will bring down the curtain on the 50th Anniversary celebration of the racetrack.