He’s found victory lane at many other tracks, but a win at Thunder Road has always eluded Flying Tiger driver Adam Maynard. That is until July 3, when he took home a victory there for the first time in 20 years of trying.
“I’ve won at Devil’s Bowl [Speedway in Fair Haven, Vermont], Airborne [Speedway in Plattsburgh, New York], Oxford [Plains Speedway in Maine],” said Maynard, 47, of Milton, Vermont. “I’ve never won at Thunder Road. I started racing there in 1999.”
It’s not like Maynard’s not come close at Thunder Road, especially when it comes to the track’s signature event, the Milk Bowl.
“I’ve had a ton of Milk Bowl flat tires,” Maynard said. “I’ve been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I doubted that a Milk Bowl [win] was doable, but I knew I’d eventually win one at [Thunder Road], just from the odds. You can’t do this forever and not win one.”
Despite wins elsewhere, 20 years of near-misses can weigh on a driver. Maynard takes us through what was going through his mind as the laps wound down to his feature victory.
“At halfway, I had the lead, and I glanced across my mirror and saw some of the guys behind me that are usually faster than me,” said Maynard. “I thought, “Well, this has been a good run. We’ll see how long I hold these guys off.’
“I saw the five to go, and I looked at my mirror, and they were racing side by side. I got a cushion here, I thought, ‘I might do this!’
“About three to go, I couldn’t feel anything — I had gone completely numb. Every muscle in my body had tightened up.
“When I got the one to go, it flashed in my head that I was going to blow my right-rear tire … going into turn one. I went into turn one real easy, set the car in the middle, and started to squeeze the throttle and realized I didn’t blow a tire. I’m going to win this thing.”
Finally. After 20 years of heartbreak, Adam Maynard made it across the line first at Thunder Road. Admittedly, he might need to work on his celebration.
“I went to the back straightaway to do a donut, and I screwed it up,” Maynard said. “I ended up backwards in the infield. So, I went back for the interview … and I had no idea where victory lane was. [After I found it], there’s my dad. I’m like, ‘How did he beat me to victory lane?’”
Adam Maynard often dreamed of how he was going to win his first race at Thunder Road, but the reality didn’t match his expectations. It well exceeded it. His brother, Aaron Maynard, interviewed him in victory lane.
Maynard was joined in the post-race celebrations by his father, Robert Maynard.
Friend Ray Giguere came from Maine and told Maynard before the race, “I’m here to watch you win.”
Maynard’s best friend since childhood, Matt Luzzatto, who’s active duty in the military, also joined him in victory lane. Maynard, himself, served a tour in Afghanistan while in the Vermont Army National Guard.
“You couldn’t ask for a better victory lane,” said Maynard. “You couldn’t ask for a better night. Red, white, and blue race car. Combat veteran. Fourth of July. Fireworks. It was just awesome.”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
