Waterbury, VT – A trio of 21-and-under drivers are aiming to step up to the plate in 2015 and make their mark on the American-Canadian Tour (ACT). Emily Packard, Kyle Welch, and Brandon Atkins all experienced success during their first full seasons on the ACT Tour in 2014, and are looking to emerge as title contenders this season.
Of the three, Packard enjoyed the strongest overall 2014 season. After competing part-time on the ACT Tour in 2013, the then 17-year-old moved up to a full schedule last year and turned heads early. The East Montpelier, VT resident scored her first Tour podium finish in the second race of the year with a third-place effort in the Merchant’s Bank 150 at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT in late April.
Packard recorded two more top-fives and three more top-10s over the course of the season, including a fifth-place effort at Riverside Speedway (now Speedway 51) in Groveton, NH after leading a race-high 115 laps. At the end of the season, Packard found herself sitting an impressive fourth in the final point standing. Packard accomplished this while also participating in full weekly schedules at Thunder Road and Devil’s Bowl Speedway, where she finished 15th and 3rd in the standings, respectively.
Packard, who is in her senior year at U32 High School, said recently that she will be focusing exclusively on the ACT Tour for the 2015 season.
“I want to grow more as a driver and we want to grow more as a team, and obviously I want to start winning some races,” Packard said of her goals for the year. Last year we learned a lot not only about me as a driver but the team about the car. It was the first year we’d run on a Distance chassis. Hopefully we’ll learn more this year and add that to what we gained last year.
“There’s not really any changes (to the team),” she added. “There’s a new paint scheme and that’s about it. We’ve had that same (scheme) for seven years, so it was time for something different.”
Packard also recently participated in the American Racer Challenge at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, FL, finishing 12th and 16th in the two 100-lap events on February 16 and 18, and 16th in the overall result.
“It was a really good experience,” she said. “The thing we learned is don’t get behind the 8-ball. We started on Thursday and that put us behind for the 8-ball for the whole weekend.”