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Catamount Stadium

Milton, Vermont  1965-1987

Narrative by John Nelson, updated July 25, 2022

     The founding. The team that founded Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont in 1960 had a vision of a bigger speedway closer to Vermont’s largest population center and to Montreal. Radio personality Ken Squier, paving contractors Ray and Reginald “Spade” Cooley of Barre, and race-car owner Gordon Fitzgerald purchased land just off new Interstate 89 in Milton, 10 miles north of Burlington and close to the established Milton Dragway. Joining the four were Burlington businessman and race driver Jack DuBrul and Milton contractor John Campbell.  Ground was broken for the 1/3-mile paved oval in October 1964. Grandstands that had been used for President Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration were purchased and erected on site to accommodate 6,500 spectators. Perhaps most importantly, Squier and his partners signed a contract for NASCAR sanction and arranged a three-track circuit with Thunder Road and Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, New York. The speedway name refers to the catamount or mountain lion, formerly native to the region and mascot of the University of Vermont. A live catamount from a game farm served in early promotions. Miss Vermont, Lois Dodge, also was on hand for the grand opening.

     Sportsman and Modified coupes, 1965-1967. Catamount Stadium opened on June 11, 1965 with Limited Sportsman cars as the headline division. These were mostly pre-war coupes and coaches similar to NASCAR Sportsman cars, except they had a 275-cubic-inch engine limit. Canadian drivers dominated Limited Sportsman action at Catamount in 1965. Claiming five feature wins and the track championship was Andre Manny from Laval-des-Rapides, Quebec. Jean-Paul Cabana of Montreal won three features. The remainder were taken by Charlie Trombley (3), Bob Brunell, Gaston Desmarais, and former NASCAR National Sportsman champion Dick Nephew (1 each), all from the Adirondack region of New York. Not until midway in the 1967 season would a Vermonter win a feature in Catamount’s headline division.

         For a support division Catamount adopted the Flying Tigers, which had been established at Thunder Road in 1965. The Tigers were 1949-1956 model American and Canadian sedans with basically stock engines, similar to NASCAR’s Hobby Division. Nearly all the drivers were local, so the Tigers proved to be popular with the fans. As added attractions, the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA), which is still active today, made three appearances at Catamount in 1965. Booked on August 21, 1965 was the Sports Car Owners and Drivers Association (SCODA), an organization that raced stock and modified sports cars on oval tracks during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Results of that event have not been located.    

       In hopes of drawing larger fields of cars, for 1966 the Limited Sportsman class was dropped in favor of regular Sportsman, which had a 335-cubic-inch limit. The Tiger class was expanded through 1959 models, with stock engine, stock rear end, and one shock absorber per wheel. Catamount shared car specifications with Airborne and Autodrome St-Eustache in Quebec, as Thunder Road was closed until July when it reopened with Flying Tigers only.   Stepping up to the Sportsman Division brought more top regional drivers to Milton. Among them were four-time NASCAR National Champion Rene Charland of Agawam, Massachusetts; Don MacTavish, who would capture the 1966 national title; and Jerry Cook of Rome, New York, who would go on to earn six National Modified titles. Marcel Godard of Montreal joined fellow Canadians Cabana and Manny in the winner’s circle. The NEMA Midgets returned for three shows, but results of only one made the local newspaper. 

     For 1967 the level of competition stepped up another notch, as Catamount opened its weekly program to both Sportsman and Modified cars. While the former were restricted to 335 cubic inches and one carburetor on pump gasoline, Modifieds could run any size engine with multiple carburetors, fuel injection, and alcohol fuel. Modifieds and Sportsmen raced side by side, but top-finishing Sportsmen received bonus money, and separate points were tallied for both divisions. This practice was the norm for many NASCAR-sanctioned tracks around the nation. More top national drivers joined the fray, including Carl “Bugs” Stevens of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, whose three feature wins included both of Catamount’s 100-lappers. Stevens went on to claim three straight NASCAR National Modified Championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969. Another great driver, Ed Flemke of Southington, Connecticut, took the trophy in the biggest event to date at Milton, a 200-lapper on October 1 paying $1,000 to win. New in the winner’s circle this year was Jean-Guy Chartrand of Montreal, also a top runner at Airborne. But the loudest cheers went up on June 4 when home-town boy Harmon “Beaver” Dragon became the first Vermonter to win a feature race at Catamount. In winning that feature, Dragon drove a small-block Sportsman car against the far-more-powerful Modifieds of nationally ranked drivers. This accomplishment demonstrates how the design of Catamount’s oval prioritized handling over horsepower, making for close and thrilling competition. Proving his feature win was no fluke, Dragon went on to claim the Sportsman championship.   At the 1967 season banquet, Vermont’s Lieutenant Governor John Daley echoed the feelings of many Vermonters when he said, “Vermont won’t ever have an American League pennant winner, but we can feel proud that we have professional big-league racing in Vermont.”  Daley attended several races in 1967 and praised track officials and pit crews (Area Auto Racing News, 1/31/68).

Flying Tigers headline, 1968-1969. For 1968, Catamount Stadium dropped the Sportsman and Modified cars from weekly competition, substituting the Flying Tigers as the lead division. Several factors influenced this change. First, the traveling Modified stars demanded high payouts, which stressed Catamount’s budget. Second, NASCAR dropped the old Sportsman coupes and coaches for the 1968 season, substituting Late Model Sportsmen with 1955 and newer bodies. In fact, there was considerable sentiment within NASCAR at this time to eliminate Modifieds as well, based on the idea that spectators could relate better to newer model cars than the pre-war coupes and sedans. Finally, fans in northern Vermont loved their local heroes. Writing in AARN (June 21, 1967), Les Deuel found Catamount fans more enthusiastic about the Flying Tigers than the nationally known Modified stars. “Surprisingly, this is one of the few tracks where the hobby-type car (1949-59) and drivers mean more to the fans than the expensive and faster modified sportsman machines”. In the end, track management agreed with Deuel and dropped the Modifieds from weekly competition, elevating Flying Tigers to headline status. From this point forward, the Modifieds would come to Catamount only for special programs. For the sake of faster racing, Tiger specifications were opened up to a 370-cubic-inch limit. These changes led to larger Tiger fields, with some former Sportsman drivers such as “Beaver” Dragon joining the division. “Beaver” captured three feature wins, while his brother Bob Dragon won five, including the season-ending Vermont 100. However, Larry Demar of Hardwick, Vermont turned in a more consistent performance along with two feature victories and was crowned track champion for 1968.   Five Modified races took place in 1968. Ed Flemke won a 100-lapper on May 26, while “Bugs” Stevens took the checkers at the other four. Most impressive was his performance on July 11, when “Bugs” won the first of two 50-lap features and then, starting last in the second 50-lapper, raced through the completely inverted field for his second victory. These wins inflated Stevens’ point tally in route to his second straight national Modified title.

         During the 1969 season, Flying Tigers continued weekly at Catamount, with 1955 through 1961 models now eligible .Any engine listed as stock for the model and year could be used. Although a 1961 Dodge could run a 383 and a 1961 Chevy a 409, mid-fifties Fords and Chevys with much smaller engines continued to dominate the division. These cars were considerably lighter and easier to set up for racing on a small oval than the bulkier new model cars. To add incentives for the local drivers, the Tiger schedule included two “Silver Cup” 100-lap races that carried a special $2,500 point fund, plus the late-season “World Tiger Championship” paying $500 to win. Most of the top drivers also raced weekly at Thunder Road. With five feature victories, Bob Dragon was the only driver to win more than two Catamount features in 1969.

         In their lone appearance for the year, Modifieds came to Milton on July 17 under auspices of the All Star League. This touring series competed on both dirt and asphalt tracks, attracting top drivers from both circuits. “Bugs” Stevens continued his dominance with Montrealer Chartrand second and Florida’s Emil “Buzzie” Reutimann, who raced mainly on dirt (and is still racing in 2022 at age 81) taking the third spot.

         The biggest event of the 1969 season, however, was the Vermont 300 for NASCAR’s Grand Touring Division on August 21. Later known as the Grand American Division, the GT Division was open to American-made compact and sporty cars such as Dodge Dart, Ford Mustang, and Chevy Camaro. These cars were similar to SCCA’s Trans-Am Series but the NASCAR GT cars were limited to oval tracks. These ranged from short tracks like Catamount to superspeedways, including Daytona. The purses and point funds were sufficient to attract a number of Grand National (Cup) regulars, including Donnie Allison, Buck Baker, Pete Hamilton, DeWayne “Tiny” Lund, and Jim Paschal. Also competing in his rookie season as a driver was future championship Cup team owner Richard Childress. Whether Childress was among the field at Catamount is unknown. One of the few local drivers who took part was Catamount co-founder Jack DuBrul, who was forced out of the second heat with engine problems and did not compete in the main event.  

Late Model Sportsmen, 1970-1978. For 1970, Catamount and Thunder Road advanced from Flying Tigers to Late Model Sportsman cars as their headline weekly division. Model years through 1964 now were eligible. Revised car specifications made Ford and Chrysler products more competitive than before. In 1969, Chevrolets had taken 30 out of 35 feature wins at the two tracks. The Vermont NASCAR point fund was boosted to $8,000, with $1,000 to the champion.

         A problem that would prove recurrent reared its head. Escalating car costs and stagnant purses led drivers to threaten a strike, cancelling the August 13 races. Reg Cooley and Ken Squier told the Free Press that despite good spectator turnout, Catamount was losing money and being subsidized by Thunder Road. The strike was settled through minor concessions, but the problem persisted.   A new economy support division, dubbed Hurricane, was introduced. These were 1954 to 1960 models with automatic transmissions, street tires, and few modifications permitted.

         The Grand American Division returned to Catamount on July 16 for the Panther 300. North Carolina drivers swept the podium, the best local finisher being Tom Tiller, who placed 10th. Needless to say, few local drivers had a car meeting Grand Am specs at their disposal. The other big special event was a return engagement of the All Star League for Modifieds, staged on August 11. The winner, Richie Evans of Rome, New York, went on to earn nine NASCAR National Modified championships and became the first inductee in the NASCAR Hall of Fame who did not compete in the Cup Series.

     For 1971 Late Model Sportsman rules specified 1957 to 1968 models with a 3,300-pound minimum weight. Chevrolets were limited to 302 c.i., whereas Fords could run 390 and Chrysler products 383 c.i. Like 1970, the 1971 season saw ample participation from all brands. Quick-change rear ends were now permitted, as was conversion from coil to leaf springs. Mid-sized cars such as Chevelle, Torino, Satellite, and Charger made up most of the fields. Joining Thunder Road and Catamount on the weekly circuit was the new Sanair Speedway at St-Pie, Quebec. The circuit attracted sponsorship money from Permatex, STP, and SK Tools.

     Through Ken Squier’s efforts, for 1972 Catamount became part of a five-track weekly NASCAR LMS circuit with Thunder Road, Sanair, Plattsburgh International (Airborne) and the newly paved Devil’s Bowl. Here was the genesis of NASCAR North, which would be officially launched in 1978. Most races paid $400 to win, the biggest events paid $1,000. Because all of these races counted toward national LMS points, Southern drivers such as Bobby Allison and “Tiny” Lund made occasional appearances at Catamount. A more regular competitor was Richie Panch, the 17-year-old son of Grand National star Marvin Panch. Although Richie Panch had several good runs at Catamount, including a feature win on July 1, his racing career was short-lived.

     In January of 1973, the Eastern Motor Press Association named Ken Squier the year’s Outstanding Racing Broadcaster. As Squier’s big-time media career ramped up, Tony Parisi arrived to manage weekly racing at Catamount. Four Catamount regulars, Jean-Paul Cabana, Richie Panch, John Rosati, and Tom Tiller, raced in the Permatex 300 at Daytona in February. Seven Northern circuit drivers were among the top 20 in national LMS points for 1972. However, on July 9 a group of drivers again threatened to boycott NASCAR North Series races because purses did not keep pace with car costs. The protesting group claimed competitive cars now cost up to $13,000 and engines up to $2,500. In counterpoint, Burlington Free Press sports editor Don Fillion noted that 1972 was the first year that Catamount showed a profit, while Devil’s Bowl at best broke even. Yet, rising costs were forcing more local drivers to drop off the circuit and precluded Hurricane drivers from advancing to LMS.

     In 1974 engine size limits were more or less equalized among makes (no definitive statement, but I believe 358 c.i. was standardized.) Cars with smaller engines received a weight break. The Spring Green season opener was inaugurated with a $6,500 purse and $800 winner’s prize. Due to the “energy crisis”, the season schedule was cut back a bit, five events being dropped. Mini-stocks, basically stock subcompact cars, joined Hurricanes as a weekly support class.

     Purses and profile of Catamount’s LMS program continued to grow through the mid 1970s. More big-name Southern drivers made appearances. Cup regulars Richard Brooks and Bennie Parsons competed in a regular weekly show on June 21, 1975. Brooks finished 8th while Parsons did not complete the feature event. Tennessee invader L.D. Ottinger won the 1975 New England Championship race. Richard Petty was on hand for a meet-and-greet on August 14, 1976.

     Among Late Models, Chevelle and Nova were dominant, although a few Fords and Chrysler kit cars competed. New rules set a $65 limit for tires and specified allowable compounds. Firestone had dominated in the past, but Hoosier was making inroads. The Spring Green and Schlitz 100 on July 16, 1977 both carried $10,000 purses, while the New England Championship posted $19,000 with $2,500 to the winner and $4,000 in lap money. “Beaver” Dragon prevailed in the Spring Green, but invaders Bob Pressley and Butch Lindley scored victories in the two later season events. As throughout Catamount’s run, Canadian drivers were a major presence. Among them were Claude Aubin of Montreal, Don Biedermann from Burlington, ON, Gilles Lussier of St-Damase, QC, Claude LeClerc of Repentigny, QC, Roger LaPerle from St-Denis, QC, and Andre Beaudoin from Quebec City.

     Meanwhile, the Hurricane class was retitled Limited Sportsman in 1976 and opened to V-8 mid-sized cars and 6-cylinder “pony cars”. For 1977 the division was again renamed to Grand Am. The Mini-Stock class stipulated a 2.0 liter limit and 1,000 pounds per liter for pushrod engines, 1,100 pounds per liter for overhead cam

NASCAR North, 1978-1985.  In an attempt to offset the high cost of LMS racing, Tony Parisi and Archie Blackador of NASCAR devised a NASCAR North Tour of 30 high-paying races, with 8 dates each at Catamount, Thunder Road, and Oxford Plains and also races at Sanair and Deux Montagnes (now Autrodrome St-Eustache, west of Montreal). Catamount continued with weekly programs for Grand Am and Mini-Stock, at lower admission prices. A Street Stock class was added in June. With Parisi now occupied running NASCAR North, Tom Curley came on as promoter for Catamount.   A crisis developed at Thunder Road under promoter Tommy Kalomiris. The speedway closed in July 1978, leaving its NASCAR North dates vacant. Under threats of lawsuits, Catamount picked up TR’s signature event, the Milk Bowl. This situation would wind its way through the courts for several years before being resolved.

         NASCAR North entered a period of rapid growth, with purses for 1979 totaling $300,000, plus a point fund of $40,000. In addition to previous regular tracks, events were held at Quebec City, Autodrome Laval, Oxford Plains, and Stafford Springs. However, in a dispute over sanctioning of the Oxford 250, now the nation’s highest paying short-track race, promoter Bob Bahre dropped most of his NASCAR North dates.

     Catamount continued its weekly programs with LMS and support classes in 1980, but attendance was meager, as the NASCAR North Tour drew most of the drivers away from weekly competition. In his December 1 column, Don Fillion called Catamount’s weekly racing “a financial disaster”, with losses of more than $55,000. The speedway struggled to make its tax payments and its existence was threatened. Thus, management abandoned weekly competition at Catamount in favor of just five or six NASCAR North events per year. These included the Spring Green, usually the opening event on the tour; the Governor’s Cup, and the season-ending New England 300, the second-highest paying (after the Oxford 250) NASCAR North race. With backing by major brewing companies, the Tour budget ballooned from about $500,000 in 1981 to $1.2 million in 1985. Title sponsors were Molson in 1981-1982, Stroh’s in 1983-1984, and Coors in 1985. Purses and point funds grew apace, and Catamount generally filled its grandstands.

         Ironically, this new-found prosperity led in part to the demise of Catamount Stadium. The track’s location just off the Interstate close to Burlington proved attractive to developers. In late December of 1982 the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation took an option to purchase 180 acres including the speedway property, to build an industrial park. From the outset, the deal provided for racing to continue through the 1987 season. As Don Fillion observed in the 12/30/82 Free Press, Squier and Curley hoped to build a bigger track in Vermont to capitalize on the NASCAR North boom. There was talk of a short track akin to Martinsville with seating capacity to match, or even a 1-mile superspeedway that could host Cup events. However, events took different turns over the ensuing 5 years, and ultimately Bob Bahre, not Curley and Squier, built the big track in Loudon, New Hampshire.

         Although drivers, fans, and sponsors loved the NASCAR North Tour, the parent organization viewed things differently. Announcing on October 23, 1985 that the series would be discontinued, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter told the media that NASCAR was losing money on the series due to the way sanctioning fees were structured. That statement rings hollow, because NASCAR should have had no difficulty boosting its take from the $1-million plus NASCAR North coffers. It is likely that NASCAR and Anheuser-Busch were concerned that NASCAR North – sponsored by rival brewers – might upstage the Busch Grand National (now Xfinity) Series.

American Canadian Tour (ACT), 1986-1987. With the demise of NASCAR North, Curley and Squier met with Coors Brewing Company officials and others to form a new series, the American Canadian Tour (ACT). Thus, Catamount’s two final seasons would play out under ACT, which carries on today as the premier asphalt late-model touring series in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. For 1986 ACT announced a 28-race schedule, including six events at Catamount. Basic format of the series changed little from NASCAR North. Car specifications were altered somewhat, allowing 1980-1986 models with a 358-c.i. limit, 108-inch or longer wheelbase, and minimum weight of 3,050 pounds. Coors continued as the title sponsor as Quaker State signed on as an associate sponsor. Payouts and point funds were not publicized. Most likely, they were smaller than during the NASCAR years.   In a parallel move, Bob Bahre brought Oxford Plains into NASCAR, and brought the Oxford 250 into the Busch Grand National Series. These events paved the way for Bahre to build New Hampshire International Speedway, which opened in 1990 and squelched plans for a big track in Vermont.

         The final Late Model race at Catamount was the New England 300 on September 27, 1987. This played out with suitable fanfare before an overflow crowd of 12,000, which witnessed Russ Urlin of London, Ontario setting the ultimate 1-lap record of 15.446 seconds. Urlin had little Catamount experience, but he competed in ACT with considerable success for four seasons, capturing the 1989 championship. Fittingly, victory in the 300-lap main event went to  the man who won the first ever feature race at Catamount in 1965, Jean-Paul Cabana. According to www.stockcarquebec.com, Cabana accrued 503 feature race wins in his long career, placing him a close second behind Rene Clair (with 507 wins) among all oval-track drivers from Quebec. After “retiring” several times, Cabana drove his final competitive race in 2001 and continues to operate a racing school.   One more race took place in Milton before the wrecking crews arrived. This was a 300-lap Enduro on November 1, 1987. Don Tofani of Barre, Vermont emerged as winner over a field of 235 cars and captured the $5,000 prize.

Finis. Although grandstands and buildings were removed and the asphalt torn out within weeks of the final race, Catamount’s oval can still be discerned from the air, and remnants survive on the ground. Catamount Drive bisects the oval, the Burlington Drug Company stands next to Turn 4, and trucking facilities are just north of the back stretch. The site is approximately one mile north of the Chimney Corner interchange off Interstate 89 (south of Milton village) on the west side of U.S. Rt. 7.

     The legacy of Catamount Stadium lives on. As noted, ACT remains among the leading regional Late Model touring series in North America. Flying Tigers still race at Thunder Road, and this track carries the tradition of the Governor’s Cup race. This is fitting, because Catamount picked up Thunder Road’s signature Milk Bowl event when TR was threatened with closure in 1978-1980. The Spring Green race continues as an annual event on ACT, now held at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. Following a tradition established in the 1970s, the race is one lap longer each year, being 122 laps for 2022. The long run of the Spring Green in Vermont ended in 2017 when Devil’s Bowl converted its paved oval to a dirt surface. Arguably, New Hampshire International Speedway would not exist were it not for the impetus Ken Squier and Tom Curley gave to NASCAR North and their plans, ultimately set aside, to build a “destination” speedway in Vermont.

     In 2018 the state of Vermont erected a historic marker near the site with a ceremony attended by many veterans of Catamount Stadium. Photos from this ceremony can be viewed on www.catamount.com.

Notes on Sources. Primary resource for race results and narrative history is Vermont’s largest daily newspaper, the Burlington Free Press. Throughout the life of Catamount Stadium the Free Press thoroughly covered its activities. For many years sports editor Don Fillion was a major booster of Catamount and of stock car racing in general. The Free Press initially was researched on microfilm at the Middlebury College library, but recently, www.newspapers.com has added nearly the entire press run to its searchable online archives, greatly facilitating research on Catamount and other Vermont auto racing.

         Weekly racing newspapers, especially Area Auto Racing News and National Speed Sport News, covered some of the racing at Catamount and filled in the few gaps in the Free Press coverage. The website www.catamountstadium.com, maintained by Bill Ladabouche, contains hundreds of images of cars, drivers, and other personalities of Catamount Stadium and contemporary racetracks of the North Country.