PASS North Series: Austin Theriault
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, looks to make it two in a row in PASS North Series competition when he returns to Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, for the PASS Championship 150 on Saturday, September 28. Theriault won the most recent PASS North event, the Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway two weeks ago, and he won the season finale at Oxford Plains in 2012 for his first Super Late Model win. He returns to the seat of his family-owned AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford/Daigle Oil Ford for the final PASS event of the 2013 season. Last weekend, Theriault was in his Brad Keselowski Racing No. 29 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. – an effort cut short by a mechanical failure, and he’s hoping to bounce back from that in his home state at a track where he has three consecutive Top-5 finishes in the Oxford 250.
THE FACTS
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (October 2012)
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS: 4th (July 2013)
WHAT: PASS North Series Championship 150
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: Friday, September 27 – 12 noon, practice; Saturday, September 28 – 9 a.m., practice; 1 p.m., qualifying; 4 p.m., race
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: September 15, Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (1st)
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin Theriault has PASS South Series wins this season at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, S.C., and Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C., while driving for Brad Keselowski Racing.
Austin Theriault has four career PASS-sanctioned victories, including a win two weeks ago in the longest race on the schedule – the Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300 – and the PASS North Series season finale at Oxford Plains Speedway in October of 2012.
Austin Theriault has never finished worse than ninth in a PASS North Series race in his career.
Austin Theriault finished fourth in this summer’s TD Bank Oxford 250, his third consecutive Top-5 finish in the event.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford/Daigle Oil Ford Fusion, On any ‘home track’ advantage he might have at Oxford Plains Speedway: “I think we honestly do feel like we have a little bit of an advantage because we’ve had far more races at Oxford than a lot of the PASS guys have. They’ve only been running at Oxford a couple of years, where we’ve had a lot of ACT (Late Model Tour) races at the track. I feel like from a driver’s standpoint, I have more laps at Oxford. I can’t tell you how much or how little it helps, but the more seat time you have, the better things usually go.
“For us, it’s about having more seat time, more time on the track, knowing what to expect from the track as the day goes on. It’s a lot of basic stuff like that, but I think it helps us.”
On running select races in Maine this season: “It comes down to the fact that I think we can compete for wins up here. It’s also nice to not forget where you came from and support the people who supported you for a bunch of years. That’s why I’m racing up north – to support Crazy Horse Racing and all the people who have played a part in my career and made it possible for me to get where I am now.”
On racing at Oxford Plains Speedway: “It’s very unique. You don’t find tracks like these down South. Beech Ridge and Oxford are one of a kind, and I’ve learned a lot racing those tracks. I give them a lot of credit for where I’m at now and how I drive a race car.
“That’s why I enjoy coming to (Oxford), in particular. I don’t find the pressure is on at all. Obviously, we want to perform, and we’re plenty capable of doing that.”
UP NEXT
Austin Theriault heads to one of the most historic races of the year, the Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Ind, on Oct. 13… Theriault made his first appearance on the lightning-fast half-mile last season, running with the leaders for most of the event before a mechanical failure took him out of contention.