Austin Theriault Racing: ACT Late Model Tour
Riverside Speedway Race Preview
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, continues to chase the ACT Late Model Tour championship this weekend in the Can-Am 200 at Riverside Speedway in Saint Croix, Quebec, on Saturday, August 25. The race is the second consecutive combination event involving both the ACT Late Model Tour and the Quebec-based ACT Castrol Series. Theriault, 18, has posted two Top-10 finishes in as many career starts at the .375-mile speedway, including a fourth-place finish in the event a year ago. With three races remaining on the schedule, Theriault sits second in the ACT standings, just 30 points out of the lead.
THE FACTS
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, South Paris, Maine
BEST CAREER RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY FINISH: 4th (September 2011)
LAST RACE AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY: 4th (September 2011)
WHAT: ACT Can-Am 200
WHERE: Riverside Speedway, Saint Croix, Quebec (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, August 25 – 1 p.m., practice; 6 p.m, qualifying; 7:45 p.m., race
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: August 12, ACT 100, Sanair Super Speedway, Saint Pie, Quebec (3rd)
NEXT RACE: September 2, Labor Day Classic 200, Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 2nd
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin Theriault has never finished outside the Top-10 at Riverside Speedway, finishing eighth there as a rookie and finishing fourth last September in the second of two Quebec races in as many nights.
Austin Theriault is the only ACT Late Model Tour driver to finish in the Top-10 in all seven races this season, and he also has six Top-5 finishes in seven races.
Austin Theriault is one of three finalists for the “2012 Maine Young Guns” competition, with the winner earning the right to compete for Go Green Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East G-Oil 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 22.
Austin Theriault finished third in the TD Bank Oxford 250 in July, one year after recording a third-place finish in 2011 to become the youngest podium finisher in the 39-year history of the event.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion, On heading to Riverside Speedway this weekend: “We’ve had some success there before. As far as I can remember, our first time out there we had a Top-10, and we finished fourth last time. We were just getting back on our feet last year, so I’m pretty confident. We should have just as much success as we’ve had before.
“It’s similar in banking to Oxford, Beech Ridge and Sanair. The configuration is a little different, because the corners are really tight. I’m pretty pumped. I think we can have a good weekend.”
On whether he’s started points racing at this stage of the season: “I don’t think so. The goal’s to finish out front every week. There’s really nothing more you can do other than trying to rack up all the bonus points you can – getting as many heat race points you can and finish up front. I’ve said it for a while: I think it’s going to come down to the wire. I don’t know who’s going to win (the championship), but it’s going to be interesting.
“We know how to execute things. We know what to bring to the track. We know what strategy to work on. We know what we want to accomplish in in practice. You have goals you want to accomplish every weekend, and you try to accomplish them all. It’s about coming out with the most points you possibly can.”
On his confidence heading to the track each week given his results over the last several weeks: “To be honest, I don’t feel a lot of pressure. I have a lot of people behind me and supporting me. I don’t feel a lot of pressure to succeed anymore than the guys on the team do. We’re trying to have the most fun that we can, but at the same time keep our focus.
“There probably will be some more bumps along the way at places like Thunder Road and all that, but the way we’ve been going, I’m not so sure we won’t figure something out there like we have everywhere else.”
MICKEY GREEN, Crew Chief on the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion, On racing at Riverside Speedway: “Honestly, the track is not one of my favorites. It’s rough, and there’s usually a lot of wrecks there. Circumstances are circumstances. There’s tight corners there and you know guys are going to be in tight quarters all night.
“This place is a paper clip. It’s got wicked long straightways and really tight corners, so you have to be able to turn there. You almost have to treat it like a Sanair or an Airborne, but then the corners are beat-and-bang like a Twin State. You have to get the car to turn, but you have to account for the speed off the corners, too.”
On whether the team is points racing at this stage of the season: “Not at all. We’re going to do the same thing we’ve done all year. We haven’t points raced all year, and we’re not going to now. We’re going to go and try to win. If you win, the points will fall where they fall. I hate points racing when you start only racing the other cars your racing (for the championship) with and not the track.”
UP NEXT
The ACT Late Model Tour heads back to its hub for the Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., on Sunday, September 2… Austin Theriault finished ninth at Thunder Road back in May, and he finished fifth in the Labor Day Classic 200 last season.