Austin Theriault: ACT Late Model Tour
Airborne Speedway Race Preview
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, joins the ACT Late Model Tour for the postponed Spring Green 100 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., on Saturday, July 10. The race, originally scheduled for May before being called off due to inclement weather, marks the 16-year-old Theriault’s first foray onto a track this size. At a half-mile in length with long straightaways, Airborne is one of the largest tracks the ACT Late Model Tour visits annually. Theriault is looking to bounce back this weekend after failing to qualify — by one spot in the ‘B’-feature — two weeks ago at White Mountain Motorsports Park. Prior to that DNQ, Theriault posted three consecutive top-10 finishes, including one in his debut at the tricky Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt.
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: No. 57 Varney Insurance/Hogan Tire/Daigle&Houghton Ford Fusion
BEST CAREER AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Spring Green 100
WHERE: Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (.500-mile oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday, July 10
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: Saturday, June 26, White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (DNQ)
NEXT RACE: Sunday, July 18, TD Bank 250 (non-points), Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine
POINTS POSITION: 20th
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AUSTIN, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU’VE BEEN TO A LOT OF TRACKS RECENTLY YOU’VE NEVER RACED ON BEFORE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HEADING TO AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY?
It’s an unknown, for sure. I don’t know much about it. We’ve talked to a couple of people that have been there and kind of told us what to expect, so that’s where we’re going to start from.
I know it’s a fast track — pretty fast for its size, anyway. A couple people told me it’s a little like Oxford as far as being flat, only bigger, with long straightaways. We’ll have to see when we get there.
ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS WILL BE THE FASTEST TRACK YOU’VE RACED ON IN YOUR CAREER?
You’re carrying a lot more speed there than I’ve ever carried into a corner. It will take a little while to get used to it, no doubt. It’s tough to say exactly how it will be for me — just that carrying that kind of speed into corners is something new for me. Like I said, it’s another unknown.
WHERE IS YOUR TEAM AT RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF CONFIDENCE?
We’ve come a long way. At the beginning of the year, we didn’t expect to be running full-time on the ACT Tour. And in the races before (White Mountain), where we didn’t qualify, we were running solidly in the top-10 each time. That’s been really good.
We kind of hit a speed bump, I guess you could say. It was a disappointment not qualifying for that race, but we’ve known all along there will be days where you will be disappointed. What we want to do now is see if we can rebound and maybe come out of (Airborne) with a top-10. We’re going to go there and see what we can do.