ACT Late Model Tour: Emily Packard
Canaan Fair Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., returns to ACT Late Model Tour competition with the Canaan 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., on Saturday, June 15. Packard has made three ACT starts this season, and two weeks ago, she became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned event at Canaan Fair Speedway when she took the victory in Twin 25s at the track on June 1. This weekend mark’s Packard’s first attempt at qualifying for an ACT Late Model Tour race at her home track, and she’ll do so with the new No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Ford she debuted last weekend in weekly competition. After the Canaan 150, Packard will cap her weekend with a 50-lap Late Model event at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., on Sunday, June 16.
THE FACTS
WHO: Emily Packard, East Montpelier, Vt.
CREW CHIEF: Neal Woodward, Georgia, Vt.
TEAM: No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet
SPONSORS: Northstar Fireworks, Fecteau Homes, Berlin Optical Expressions, Yipes! of Barre, VT Shifter Karts, GossCars.com, Be The Match, Rutland Regional Medical Center, R.G. Paving
BEST CAREER CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Canaan 150
WHERE: Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, June 15 – 2 p.m., practice; 5 p.m., qualifying; 8 p.m., race
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: June 2, Riverside 150, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (PPD-rain)
NEXT RACE: June 22, White Mountains 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 22nd
DID YOU KNOW?
Emily Packard became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned Late Model event at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., when she won the Twin 25s event at the track on June 1 of this season.
Emily Packard became the first woman in a decade to win a feature event at Thunder Road International Speedbowl when she won a Street Stock feature at the track last summer.
Emily Packard was voted the 2012 Vermont Motorsports Magazine Rookie of the Year, and she was also named the Vermont Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association Athlete of the Month for August 2012.
Emily Packard posted her first career Top-10 finish in ACT Late Model Tour competition when she finished 10th in the Spring Green 113 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Sunday, May 5.
Emily Packard Motorsports crew chief Neal Woodward is a five-time ACT Late Model Tour champion crew chief whose cars set track qualifying records at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
EMILY PACKARD, Driver of the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Ford, On having the ACT Late Model Tour visit her home track this weekend: “I think it’s great timing for us. Obviously, it’s been a rough couple of weeks at Canaan. Even though we had the win, there’s still some rough racing all season so far. I think it’s going to be good having ACT there.
“The ACT drivers will come in – there are a couple of drivers in our (weekly) division that need some ‘guidance’ and I think the ACT drivers will give them that.”
On whether she learned enough about the new Ford last weekend to feel competitive going into this weekend: “Obviously, we learned a lot, but there’s always a ton more to learn. I think we learned enough to be competitive – but I think we have a bit more to go to be able to say we can win against the ACT boys.”
On whether her goals change with the Tour racing on a track where she races weekly: “I’d like to say I expect more at my home track, but with us still figuring out the Ford and everything else that it takes in these races, I’d feel really good if we could come out of it with a Top-10 on Saturday.”
UP NEXT
After the final Sunday afternoon show to open the weekly racing season on Sunday, June 16, Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., kicks off its regular Thursday night program on Thursday, June 20… Emily Packard is a rookie in the track’s Late Model division in 2013.