Plattsburgh, NY – Nick Sweet showed why he’s one of the top American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model drivers in the Northeast on Sunday, July 19, capping a whirlwind two days by winning the ACT International at Plattsburgh, NY’s Airborne Park Speedway.
Barre, VT’s Sweet took the lead for the final time on lap 192 of the 200-lap event, beating out Alex Labbé on the final restart. The Thunder Road Late Model point leader will take home more than $10,000 for the win after lap-leader money and contingencies. The victory was also a redemption for Sweet after finishing second in the event in 2014.
Sweet, whose wife is expecting their third child at any moment, didn’t decide to attend the event until midday on Saturday, July 18 but won the pole that evening with no practice time. His Eric Chase–owned #40VT team, which ran the same car that Jean-Paul Cyr drove at Thunder Road on Thursday, then had only one 20-minute session on Sunday morning after rain moved through the area.
“I never would have imagined this,” Sweet said. “We literally started working on this car Saturday morning. I had time to go get my car inspected and take a nap, and we just made it on time. I think the team morale right now is at an all-time high.
“What can you really say?” he added. “It’s almost surreal to think we’re sitting in Victory Lane right now after the rollercoaster ride we’ve had. My wife held on; she’s a champ. She’s a saint for letting me come race, but that’s why I married her.”
Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert got the jump on the initial start and led the first ten laps. Sweet then took the lead back following the first of 10 cautions before St-Denis, QC’s Patrick Laperle grabbed the top spot on the next restart on lap 51.
Sweet elected to change tires on a lap-78 caution, eventually re-inheriting the lead from Wayne Helliwell Jr. when the rest of the leaders took tires following a mandatory fuel stop just past halfway. After Sweet dominated the third quarter of the race, he and Labbé swapped the lead back and forth on a series of restarts, with the outside groove frequently being the preferred line.
Hebert’s spin on lap 182 gave Sweet the opportunity to get the jump on the outside, putting him down low for the final restart after a three-car tangle between Jonathan Bouvrette, Brooks Clark, and Charles Harvey. While Labbé was able to nose ahead for a circuit, Sweet made the inside work when he needed it most to get the win.
Labbé finished second followed by Helliwell. Canadian Jean-François Déry and New Yorker Brandon Atkins were fourth and fifth. Laperle, Brian Hoar, Dany Trepanier, Patrick Cliche, and Hebert completed the top-10.
Berwick, ME’s Joey Doiron once again proved a quick study in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, winning the series’ inaugural event at Airborne. Doiron survived a rash of eight cautions in the first half of the event to dominate the second half, taking the lead for the final time from Milton, VT’s Brent Dragon on lap 111.
Patrick Laperle made a charge at Doiron following the race’s final restart on lap 117, but Doiron drove away in the final stages for the win. It was the second “inaugural win” of the season for Doiron, who also won PASS’s first-ever event at Thunder Road in May.
Brian Hoar muscled past Laperle in the final laps for second, followed by Dragon and Jeremy Davis. Glen Luce, point leader Mike Rowe, Bobby Therrien, Travis Benjamin, and Bobby Therrien completed the top-10.