EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – With winter in full swing here in New England, Emily Packard and her 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels team are ready to head south for the inaugural ACT American Racer Challenge at New Smyrna Speedway this weekend. Packard has never raced the high banked half mile oval but is looking forward to starting off the season here. “I can’t wait for the start of the season; it’s been a long winter,” Packard said. “I have heard a lot of great things about the New Smyrna Speedway and I am excited to be racing the half mile track, I like the bigger tracks like that.”
Packard is ready to get to the track and see how the changes during the off season will work out. “We have spent the off season going through the car, completely stripping it down and making some good changes for the 2015 season,” said Packard. “I can’t wait to get to the track, shake the car down and see exactly what we have this season.” In addition to the upkeep and changes to the car, Packard will be sporting a new paint scheme this year, which will be debuted in Florida.
The American Racer Challenge is a two night event, featuring 100 lap races on Monday February 16th and Tuesday February 17th with the American Racer Cup given to the best finisher combining points from both events. To date, there are 29 teams that have entered to win the $35,000 purse being offered. Packard’s goal is to finish the first night with a solid finish to take into the second night of racing, and race hard for a good finish on the second night. “It’s great to have these races early in the season, and I look forward to having some fun and the chance to experience this track,” Packard said. “We can put the car through the paces these two nights and when we head to Lee USA Speedway in April we will have a better idea as to what we have.”
After finishing fourth in the American Canadian Tour championship points in 2014, Packard and the team have decided to concentrate on running ACT full time again this year. “We want to contend for the championship this year and building on the momentum from last year, we feel strongly that with more time in the one series will help us grow all the more,” Packard said. “We will be running a handful of other races this year, but I like the touring format of the American Canadian Tour. We know that concentrating on the one series will also allow us more time to maintain the cars and focus on the car being the best when we get to the track.”