by Jay | Aug 23, 2009 | ACT, New England, New Hampshire, Riverside Speedway
St-Croix, QC – Donald Theetge of Boischatel, QC scored his second win of the season at the Riverside 150 at Riverside Speedway in St-Croix, Quebec. Theetge is now the all-time win leader for the Serie ACT Castrol with 14 career wins. Theetge was chased to the line by Sylvain Lacombe and Patrick Hamel, the only other two on the lead lap.
Jacques Poulin came home fourth followed by Karl Allard, Dany Ouellet, Patrick Cliche, Eric St-Gelais, Stephane Descoste, and David Michaud to complete the top ten respectively.
Unofficially Theetge now moves back into the point lead after Patrick Laperle had rearend issues. Laperle had to replace his rearend after it broke in his heat race. His crew got it repaired in time for the feature, but Laperle had to start in 25th. Laperle moved from his 25th starting position through the field and into the lead by lap 22. He then led until lap 98 and lapped the majority of the field in the process. On the 99th circuit his rearend let go again and he was done for the day.
Sylvain Lacombe then inherited the lead. After battling Stephane Descoste for about 17 laps, Theetge moved into the lead and held on until the checkers. Theetge has already qualified for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19th. Therefore the number of qualifiers remains at 14 including a representative from 8 different states/provinces. Over 50 teams will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Tuesday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 26 for a “Test and Tune” session to prepare for the historical event.
Next weekend, Saturday, August 29, is the Coors Light Showdown 200 at Autodrome Chaudiere. The all-star race includes 11 of the best ACT Tour competitors against 11 of the best Serie ACT Castrol drivers. The Showdown kicks off the American Canadian Tour’s Money Month, where $250,000 in purse money will be rewarded to late model teams from August 29 to September 27 in the biggest five races of the year.
Unofficial Serie ACT Castrol Riverside 150
Riverside Speedway, St-Croix, QC
Pos Car # Driver Laps
1 80 Donald Theetge 150
2 3 Sylvain Lacombe 150
3 51PQ Patrick Hamel 150
4 97PQ Jacques Poulin 149
5 48QC Karl Allard 149
6 28QC Dany Ouellet 149
7 5QC Patrick Cliche 149
8 42 Eric St-Gelais 149
9 10QC Stéphane Descoste 148
10 40QC David Michaud 148
11 92 Jonathan Desbiens 148
12 25 Marco Savoie 147
13 99 Derek White 146
14 27 Alexandre Gingras 145
15 30 Stéphane Durand 131
16 21QC Jean-François Déry 123
17 15QC Kevin Roberge 115
18 9PQ Yvon Bédard 111
19 03 Martin Lacombe 105
20 91 Patrick Laperle 99
21 2 Daniel Descoste 95
22 12QC Etienne Lemay 89
23 17ON Justin Holtom 88
24 26QC Valerie Chiasson 63
25 98 Brandon White 16
26 11PQ Claude Leclerc 4
by Jay | Aug 22, 2009 | Maine, Unity
Unity, ME – Henry Boudreau of Winterport drove to a popular win in the Enduro division at Unity Raceway Friday night before wet conditions and intermittent rain forced postponement of feature races for all other weekly division on Wresting &Racing Night, featuring NWA On Fire Professional Wrestling.
Boudreau, who a week earlier won his first-ever feature race after five seasons of competition, made it two straight victories in the Enduro division’s race. In his first victory a week earlier Boudreau started on the front row and led all the way to the checkered flag, but this time around it was more rewarding for the young Winterport racer, who started dead last and chased down Robert Paddack, who had a straightaway lead built by the time Boudreau had climbed into second position. To the delight of the crowd, Boudreau got the job done, with Paddack adding to his huge collection of second-place trophies after the checkered flag waved.
Highlighting the wrestling portion of the program, contested under moist conditions, was an upset victory by track promoter George Fernald, Jr. over legendary professional Wrestler Bob “Mr.” Backlund. Mike Reynolds of Brewer and Kenny Robinson of East Machias were triumphant in feature races for the visiting Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association.
Reynolds cruised to an easy win aboard his 1965 Chevrolet in the Wicked Good Late Model race. Rosie Gerry of Lincolnville claimed runner-up honors in his 1951 Ford, with third-place honors going to Norris wilette of Winslow, driving a 1956 Ford. Jason Smalley of Warren, driving a 1955 Chevrolet, finished in fourth position, followed by Kevin Waterhouse of West Paris, aboard a 1957 Ford Late Model.
Robinson’s victory came in the Wicked Good Outlaw division race, Robinson’s 1949 Plymouth-bodied Modified led much of the race, but the outcome was no certainty until just before the checkered flag flew. Mike Milette made a late charge into second position on the final lap, his 1940 Oldsmobile-bodied racer just edging out Dennis Fish of Livermore in his 1966 Chevy. Tim Reynolds of Bradley, in a 1941 Lincoln, and John Rice, driving a 1972 Ford Torino, completed the top five rundown.
Unity Raceway’s Flyin’ 4 division was scheduled to be featured with an extended-distance feature event which was among the rained-out races Friday night. That class did compete in a heat race won by Cody Sleeper of Chelsea. Skowehgan racers Justin Moore and Mike Mason had eventful runs to second and third-place finishes, respectively.
NELCAR Legends Cars join the weekly racing series divisions Friday night, August 28, with racing action getting underway at 6:30 p.m. The next Wrestling & Racing program featuring NWA On Fire professional werestling at Unity Raceway has been scheduled for Friday night, September 18. For more information visit unityraceway.info or call (207) 453-2021.
by Jay | Aug 21, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, Thunder Road
Waterbury, VT – NASCAR Sprint Cup rising star David Ragan, driver of the UPS car for Rousch-Fenway, will race at Barre, Vermont’s Thunder Road in the Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU) 100-lap final Thursday summer event on August 27th.
Ragan, who represents the new generation of racers, joins NASCAR veterans Bobby Allison, Richard Petty and current point leader Tony Stewart who have made appearances during the 2009 season to help celebrate Thunder Road’s 50th Anniversary. Ragan will drive a Pete Duto-prepared, Phil Scott Ford ACT race car, and will compete in the VSECU 100-lap event. Ragan plans to arrive early to get some seat time on the tricky high banks of Thunder Road.
Unadilla, Georgia’s Ragan is an accomplished short track racer. “I have heard so much about Thunder Road that I really jumped at the opportunity to race there this summer. I love the short tracks, and from what I hear, the atmosphere at Thunder Road is fantastic. I hope I get it figured out by the end of the 100 laps,”said Ragan.
Ragan is a supporter of the Shriners organization. He donates all the proceeds from the sale of his die cast Shriner’s cars to the Shriner’s Hospital. They will be on sale at the Thunder Road event.
The ‘’King of the Road” title will also be settled at the VSECU 100 . Jean-Paul Cyr from Milton, VT, who is chasing his first Thunder Road title and sits in a comfortable first place going into the final event of 2009, has battled former track champions David Pembroke, Phil Scott, and Cris Michaud all season. Cyr, a seven-time American Canadian Tour Champion said, “ Our goal was to try and win the Thunder Road title. I sure didn’t get off to a great start, but Jeff (Laquerre) and the guys have really gotten the car to work well lately. It is some different trying to win races at Thunder Road in 50 laps from what I have been used to on the ACT Tour over the years, but it has been fun and unbelievably competitive.”
The final Thursday night of the season will also be celebrated with the largest fireworks in Thunder Road history. In addition, over 100 ‘old timers’ will help bring the curtain down on the 50th year of Thursday night racing.
Post time for the VESECU 100 is 6:00 and front gates open at 3:00 for the VESECU 100. Adult tickets are only $12.00 and a family ticket for two adults and two children between 6-12 is only $25.00. Kids under 6 are free.
The American Canadian Tour (ACT) $40,000 Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 will take place over the Labor Day weekend, on Sunday, September 6, 2009.
by Jay | Aug 21, 2009 | New England, Thompson
THOMPSON, CT. New England race fans, thanks to Mother Nature, will get to see two major racing events in two consecutive weeks at the Thompson International Speedway. The True Value Modified Racing Series will be in the spotlight on Thursday, August 27th while the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will top the bill a week later at the famed Connecticut oval.
The Town Fair Tire presentation of the True Value Modified Racing Series has been the victim of rain twice and the third attempt to run this event will be Thursday, August 27th. Rain also raised havoc with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on August 13th. As a result, the new date for the New England Dodge Dealers presentation of the Bud 150 is Thursday, September 3rd.
The True Value Modifieds have proven to be a big attraction everywhere they have run this year and their annual Thompson appearance always draws a big crowd. Thompson is the largest track on which these cars compete. Race teams and fans alike love the high speed action and the close competition that has made this annual race special. The True Value cars will be joined by Thompson’s very own NASCAR Whelen All American Series “Super6” divisions. An additional bonus comes with the addition of dual races for the Thompson Late Models. Not only will they compete in their regular 25-lap main event, but they will also complete the 40-laps remaining from their June 11th race that was halted by rain.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event on September 3rd will bring both old and new fans to watch these incredibly fast race cars. The new fans will want to see the NASCAR Modifieds in person after seeing them, possibly for the fist time ever, on national television when this touring series made its debut at the Bristol Motor Speedway this past week.
The 2007 champion, Donny Lia, captured the inaugural Bristol race by besting pre-race favorite Ted Christopher. Christopher, fighting an ill handling race car, held on for second and Ryan Preece claimed the third spot. Rounding out the top five at Bristol were George Brunnhoelzl, III and Woody Pitkat.
The grandstands at Thompson will open at 2 PM on both August 27th and September 3rd. Qualifying on both days will begin at 5:30 PM. Complete schedules for these major racing programs are available on the Thompson web site. www.thompsonspeedway.com. Tickets for these events are available in advance by calling the Thompson Int’l Speedway’s track office at 860-923-2280.
by Jay | Aug 20, 2009 | New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Shelburne’s “Hurricane” Jamie Fisher captured his 15th career Late Model win at Thunder Road and his first during the 50th Anniversary Season. Fisher took the lead from Tony Andrews with just under 10 laps remaining and held on through two late restarts to secure the win. Andrews would hold on for second followed by Joey Becker, Doug Murphy and Dave Pembroke.
Second place point man Phil Scott finished sixth but didn’t gain much on point leader Jean-Paul Cyr who finished seventh. Unofficially the distance between the top two in the point standings did not change headed into the final Late Model points counting race and the final Thursday night event, next Thursday, August 27. Cris Michaud, John Donahue and Matt White rounded out the top ten.
Joel Hodgdon of Craftsbury nosed out Eric Badore at the line for the win in the NAPA Tiger Sportsmen feature. Hodgdon and Badore raced door handle to door handle during a green-white-checkered finish with Hodgdon coming home with his second career Tiger feature win. Ray Stearns would follow them to the line to finish third, Derrick O’Donnell fourth, and David Finck rounded out the top ten. Jimmy Hebert, Tony Rossi, Erik Steel, Jeff French, and Brendan Moodie rounded out the top ten.
Pete Ainsworth’s point lead took a hit as he finished 27th. Unofficially Tony Rossi’s seventh place finish was enough to move him ahead of Pete Ainsworth with only three point counting events remaining in the 2009 NAPA Tiger Sportsmen season.
Tim Campbell of West Topsham took the Allen Lumber Street Stocks feature win from his sixth starting position. Campbell outran second place finisher Joe Blais and third place Ron Gabaree to score his sixth career Street Stock victory. Rookies Scott Weston and Danny Doyle rounded out the top five.
Cabot’s Ken Christman was the top finishing Power Shift Junkyard Warrior followed by Lance Donald and Kevin Streeter.
Next week, Thursday, August 27 is the final Thursday Night event of the 50th Anniversary Season. NASCAR star David Ragan will be joining us in the finale celebration when he battles the Barre highbanks in the 100 lap Late Model feature. It will be the final point counting event for the Late Models and the 50th Anniversary “King of the Road” will be crowned. The evening will be capped off with the biggest display of fireworks ever at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. All of this on VSECU night next Thursday, August 27. Post time 6 pm.
Late Model Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Jamie Fisher (18) Shelburne, VT, 2. Tony Andrews (1) Northfield, VT, 3. Joe Becker (16) Jeffersonville, VT, 4. Doug Murphy (4) Tunbridge, VT, 5. Dave Pembroke (44) Montpelier, VT, 6. Phil Scott (14) Montpelier, VT, 7. Jean-Paul Cyr (11vt) Milton, VT, 8. Cris Michaud (6) Northfield, VT, 9. John Donahue (26vt) Graniteville, VT, 10. Matt White (42vt) Northfield, VT, 11. Craig Bushey (05) Cambridge, VT, 12. Dylan Smith (34) Randolph, VT, 13. Nicholas Sweet (88) Barre, VT, 14. David Whitcomb (25) Essex Jct., VT, 15. Brooks Clark (68) Fayston, VT, 16. Mike Bailey (00) Barre, VT, 17. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT, 18. Jerry Lesage (74) Winooski, VT, 19. Cal Poulin (87) Braintree, VT, 20. Grant Folsom (81) Waitsfield, VT, 21. Rich Lowrey (8vt) Charlotte, VT, 22. Steve Fisher (24) Shelburne, VT, 23. Trampas Demers (85) South Burlington, VT, 24. Reno Gervais (12vt) Island Pond, VT, 25. Jay Laquerre (50) East Montpelier, VT, 26. Pete Fecteau (75) Morrisville, VT.
NAPA Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Joel Hodgdon (36) Craftsbury, VT, 2. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT, 3. Ray Stearns (89) E. Corinth, VT, 4. Derrick O’Donnell (68) Bradford, VT, 5. David Finck (37) Barre, VT, 6. James Hebert (58) Williamstown, VT, 7. Tony Rossi (90) Barre, VT, 8. #Erik Steel (32) Barre, VT, 9. Jeff French (06) Northfield, VT, 10. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT, 11. Cody Blake (99) Barre, VT, 12. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT, 13. #Mike Billado (8) Essex, VT, 14. Tim Potter (28) Plainfield, VT, 15. Tom Therrien (48) Hinesburg, VT, 16. Mike Ziter (26) Williamstown, VT, 17. Bobby Therrien (4) Hinesburg, VT, 18. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT, 19. Lance Allen (18) Barre, VT, 20. Mark Barnier (0) Essex Jct., VT, 21. John Lambert (2) Northfield, VT, 22. Jason Corliss (61) Danville, VT, 23. John Drinkwine (98) Barre, VT, 24. Ricky Roberts (9) Washington, VT, 25. Joey Laquerre (15) E. Montpelier, VT, 26. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT, 27. Pete Ainsworth Jr. (80) Middlesex, VT, 28. Matt Potter (23) Marshfield, VT.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors Unofficial Results – 1. Timmy Campbell (34ss) W. Topsham, VT, 2. Joe Blais (14ss) E. Barre, VT, 3. Ron Gabaree (9ss) Barre, VT, 4. Scott Weston (04ss) Berlin, VT, 5. #Danny Doyle (51ss) Hancock, VT, 6. William Hennequin (47ss) Morrisville, VT, 7. David LaFleche (2ss) Graniteville, VT, 8. #Tucker Williams (99ss) Hyde Park, VT, 9. Greg Adams Jr. (38ss) Hardwick, VT, 10. Gary Mullen (29ss) Tunbridge, VT.
