Packard Set For Thunder Road Late Model Debut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 8.15.12 EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – With an eye on the future, Emily Packard will attempt to make her Late Model debut at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., on Thursday night. |
The teenager from East Montpelier, Vt., has been a regular in both Thunder Road's Street Stock division and Canaan Fair Speedway's Late Model ranks in 2012. As she prepares for a season on the ACT Late Model Tour as early as next year, Packard sees this as the next step in her development. “This is going to be really good for our hopes next year in our attempt to run the ACT Tour,” Packard said. “Hopefully, if we do well (on Thursday), we'll get the chance to run a couple of Tour races at the end of this year. “Obviously, it's competitive at Thunder Road and you're always in traffic there, which will be really good for me. That's a lot more what I will be experiencing when we do run the Tour.” Packard currently sits fifth in the Late Model standings at Canaan, and she ranks fourth in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series rookie standings in the state of New Hampshire with four Top-5 finishes in 13 starts at Canaan this season. Earlier this summer, she became the youngest feature winner in Thunder Road history when she claimed victory in a Street Stock event – also becoming the first woman to win at the quarter-mile in more than a decade. “My biggest goal is to get a win in a Late Model this year. That's been my goal since the start of the season, to get a win in both divisions,” Packard said. “I think last week we probably had a winning car (at Canaan), and we've definitely had a really good car and are getting closer.” On Tuesday, she enlisted the help of 2010 King of the Road and current Late Model point leader Nick Sweet in a test session at Thunder Road for the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Fecteau Homes/VT Shifter Karts/GossCars.com Chevrolet. “It's very different from what I was used to there,” Packard said. “With the Street Stock, you're not sideways all the way down the straightaway. In the Late Model, it's a huge difference even from Canaan, which has a lot of bite. Thunder Road definitely doesn't have that.” Packard's success on Thursday night when she competes in both divisions won't be measured in results. It will be in a look at the big picture as she tries translate her rookie Late Model season into a future on the ACT Late Model Tour, whose hub is at Thunder Road. “I'm really looking forward to my whole family being able to see me race in a Late Model (at Thunder Road),” Packard said. “The only goal I have is to show everybody what I can do and what I've been up to this year. I want everybody around here to really know that I'm a Late Model driver – and not just a Street Stock driver.” SOCIAL MEDIA Follow Emily Packard on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyPackardMotorsports |
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