by Jay | May 17, 2010 | Canada
ARSENAULT AND BOUDREAU CLAIM WINS DURING OPENING ‘DAY OF DESTRUCTION’ EVENT AT CFS
(Shediac, N.B.) — Thirty-five drivers from the representing the three Maritime provinces battled it out in the Barely Used Auto Parts ‘Atlantic Demolition and Endurance Championship’ Season Opener on Saturday afternoon in the first of 22 motorsports events to be presented at the Centre for Speed, Atlantic Canada’s Super Speedway and “Metro Moncton’s Playground of
Power”.
Eric Arsenault (#96) of Summerside , PEI outlasted 14 other competitors aboard his 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 to capture the win in the Demolition Derby finale, taking home $2,000 for the win. The Endurance race once again went to Jason Boudreau (#10) of Boudreau Ouest who won the race of attrition aboard his Maritime Hydraulics 1994 Crown Victoria – his second Endurance win in a row at CFS going back to August 2009.
The Demolition finale came down to three drivers after Joshua Belmore’s
(#00) Toyota caught fire after a number of hits forcing CFS officials to temporarily stop the Demolition to deal with the fire raging under the hood of the Chance Harbour, N.B. driver’s disabled car. When action resumed, Eric Arsenault, his brother Billy Arsenault from Abram Village , PEI and Stéphane Poirier of St. Louis de Kent resumed their battle, circling around a number of disabled cars looking for an opportunity to put a final hit on their opponents. Eric first disabled his brother’s car and then, set his sights on putting a final hit on Poirier’s 1994
Cadillac Deville to claim the win and the first place prize money.
In the 165-lap Endurance event, Boudreau was able to stay out of trouble and cross the finish line first after seeing two strong front-runners being forced to visit the pit area for flat tires and repairs. On lap #3 of the event, Jordan Veinotte (#11) of Porter’s Lake , N.S. took the lead aboard his 1993 Civic, a lead he would maintain until a blown front passenger tire forced him to the pit area on lap #96. Mark Collicutt (#12x) of Tignish , PEI
inherited the led and kept it over the next 40 laps before mechanical problems also forced him into the pit area. Boudreau, who had been bidding his time in third, was handed the lead and he was able to hang on for the win.
The 10-lap ‘Full Contact’ race featured some exciting ‘crash and bang’ action between the 12 entries with Robert Légère (#04) of Pont Landry, N.B. crossing the finish line ahead of Dave Timmons (#47) of Inverness, N.S. Timmons had earlier captured the win in the first 5-lap ‘Barrell Race’ while Alain Gasse (#111) of Shediac was first across the stripe in the second ‘Barrell Race’ event.
The 2010 stock car racing season at CFS will get underway on Sunday, May 23 at 2:00 p.m. with the Shediac Shakedown 50-lap Invitationals. This event
will feature championship points racing, including bonus points for all competitors, in all four regular divisions of Super Sportsman, Shediac Sportsman (formerly Street Stock class), as well as the 4-cylinder Mini Stocks and Four 4 Fun divisions. The majority of this year’s CFS stock car events will be held on Sunday afternoons starting at 2:00 p.m. while a number of events in July and August are scheduled on Saturday evenings.
Full schedule details are available at www.centreforspeed.com
Forum – http://www.maineracer.com/board/viewtopic.php?p=139660#139660
by Jay | Apr 13, 2010 | Canada
CENTRE FOR SPEED INTRODUCES ACT LATE MODELS
Shediac, NB – The Center for Speed (CFS) in Shediac, New Brunswick announced today that the 2011 season will offer some changes in the type of race divisions that will be offered to Maritime stock car racing teams. The introduction of the American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model division as a premiere weekly division has generated enthusiasm among many of the top tier CENTRE racers.
“The time is right for our race facility and race teams to join forces with what has become the most successful form of weekly and touring racing in the Northeastern United States and in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. We are happy and excited to be the first organization in the Maritimes to introduce this very successful type of Late Model racing to our region,” said Tim Wile, the General Manager of the CENTRE of Speed.
The ACT program has expanded over the past decade to include a dozen weekly tracks and two major touring divisions throughout New England, Quebec, and Ontario. ACT Late Model programs are supported at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine, home of the famous “Oxford 250”; New Hampshire tracks: White Mountain, Twin State, Lee USA, Canaan Speedway; Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts, and Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut. Thunder Road Speedbowl in Vermont is the home of the ACT Late Model division, and Capital City in Ottawa, along with Kawartha Speedway in Ontario also are affiliate tracks of the ACT program. The American Canadian Tour in the United States and the ACT Castrol Series in Quebec and Ontario are two of the most successful traveling tours in the Northeast.
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by Jay | Mar 10, 2010 | Canada
March 9, 2010: Officials at Speedway 660 announced today that they will be starting a new division of Bandolero cars to compete at Speedway 660 in 2010. For the first time in the history of the Speedway racers as young as 8 years old will have an opportunity to race on the oval as part of the Saturday night racing events.
The Bandolero car is built like a miniature stock car. It’s a turnkey spec series race car designed for drivers 8 to 15 years old. Safety is the number one concern starting with a shock absorbing frame design all the way to the mandated HANS device. The cars are manufactured by US Legend Cars in Charlotte, North Carolina and are being raced all around North America.
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by Jay | Mar 8, 2010 | ACT, Canada, New England, Thunder Road
25th ACT SEASON SEES NEAR RECORD FULL SEASON ENTRY LIST
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) will celebrate 25 years of Championship Stock Car Racing with one of its largest number of pre-season full season entered teams. The balance of veteran champions and new teams joining the US touring division represents five New England states and two provinces of Canada. ACT statistician Nick Bigelow said, “I have reviewed past seasons and this looks like the most diverse and best count ACT has had in the past half dozen seasons.”
A fourteen race schedule will carry teams from the shores of Connecticut at the historic Waterford Speedbowl to new tracks located as far north as Quebec City, (the newly renovated 5/8th mile Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix), and west to the newly paved 4/10th mile Albany Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY, just outside the New York capital city.
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by Jay | Jan 16, 2010 | ACT, Canada, New England
South Burlington, VT – American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model stock car Champion Brian Hoar of Williston was honored for his sixth career ACT Late Model Tour Championship on Saturday, January 16 at the Sheraton-Burlington Hotel and Conference Center in South Burlington, VT. Hoar currently holds the record for the most career wins in ACT Late Model Tour history with 25, including back-to-back wins at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl in 2010. These wins, plus 11 top tens in 13 starts, helped Hoar edge out runner-up Scott Payea. Hoar was joined by over 500 teams, fans and officials as he celebrated his first championship with new car owner Rick Paya. Paya also has previous ACT Tour championships as a crew chief and car owner with Jean-Paul Cyr.
The 41st Annual MacTavish Award was given to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) for their contribution to Northeast stock car racing. The prestigious MacTavish Award is named for legendary New England racer Don MacTavish who was killed in 1969 while racing at Daytona International Speedway. In 2010, NHMS hosted the first annual ACT Invitational, which invited 36 of the best Late Model competitors from around the region. It was the showcase event for ACT Late Model competition during the 2010 season.
Thunder Road International Speedbowl crowned Milton’s Jean-Paul Cyr as the 2009 50th Anniversary Season “King of the Road.” The seven-time ACT Late Model Tour Champion took a break from the touring scene in 2009 and set his sights on the 50th Anniversary Season title. He joined forces with car owner Joey Laquerre and crew chief Jeff Laquerre. Cyr used his Times Argus Mid-Season Championship win to beat “Senator” Phil Scott for the championship.
The NAPA Tiger Sportsman title went to Williamstown’s Jimmy Hebert in just his third season. Hebert also scored the first feature win of his career in 2009. The 2009 Tiger Sportsman Tri-State Series Championship was won by Morrisonville, New York’s Shawn Duquette. Duquette tied Jason Bonnett for the title, but used his two victories to win the tie breaker. Veteran Gary Mullen of Tunbridge took the top Allen Lumber Street Stock honors. Donnie Yates of North Montpelier won the Power Shift Junkyard Warriors title.
Over $85,000 plus trophies were awarded to the top teams in all divisions of Thunder Road and the ACT Tours for their efforts during the 2009 season.
The second annual ACT Crew Chief of the Year Award went to John Doiron. Doiron was the crew chief for his son, Joey, who won the ACT Rookie of the Year Award for 2009. John was recognized for his hard work, dedication, enthusiasm and attitude on the ACT Tour and the continual improvement of the Berwick, Maine Doiron race team.
A new award was created this year in memory of Pete Hartt, who covered the American-Canadian Tour and Thunder Road during his time with WDEV Radio and as the sports editor for the Times Argus. The Pete Hartt Memorial Media Award was presented to WCAX sports anchor Seth Leavitt for his support of regional stock car racing.
Troy Germain, “The Voice of ACT” from St. Johnsbury received the Ken Squier Award. Germain was presented the award for his hard work and dedication as the ACT Tour and Thunder Road announcer.
The Gordon R. Nielsen Rookie Achievement Award went to Hyde Park’s Tucker Williams. Williams is the 2009 Allen Lumber Street Stock Rookie of the Year and led the division with four wins. His first career feature win came on opening day of 2009 in his first feature start. Other rookies that qualified for the award were from the ACT Tour, Joey Doiron of Berwick, Maine along with Thunder Road Late Models, Dylan Smith from Randolph and NAPA Tiger Sportsman, Erik Steel of Barre.
Sportsmanship and Most Improved driver awards were presented for all divisions based on driver and official voting. ACT Late Model Tour winners were Chip Grenier of Graniteville for the Sportsmanship Award and Graniteville’s John Donahue for Most Improved. Thunder Road Late Model awards went to Brooks Clark from Fayston for Sportsman and Cambridge’s Craig Bushey for Most Improved. The Thunder Road Sportsman awards were presented to Wolcott’s Brendan Moodie for Sportsmanship and Bradford’s Derrick O’Donnell for Most Improved.
The Ed Carroll Memorial Award for Sportsmanship in the Street Stocks was awarded to Craftsbury’s Mike Martin. The Junkyard Warrior Sportsmanship Award was given to Cabot’s Ken Christman.
The 2010 ACT Late Model Tour season will kick off on Sunday, April 18 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH. Thunder Road will open its gates for the first time on Sunday, May 2 for the 12th annual Merchants Bank 150. For complete schedules and more information visit www.acttour.com or www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.
by Jay | Jan 5, 2010 | Canada, Maine, New England, PASS
FARMINGDALE, Maine — Johnny Clark is getting an early start on the 2010 PASS North Series season.
Clark, a 4-time PASS North champion, was among the first three drivers to register with the sanctioning body for the upcoming season as he seeks to become the first driver to win five championships in the PASS North Super Late Model ranks.
“There’s no reason to believe we can’t contend for a fifth championship,” said Clark, who won back-to-back series championships in 2008-2009. “The same team is coming back, with (crew chief Robert Green) heading it up. I think it’s going to be a great year for us.”
That year kicks off this coming weekend, Jan. 8-10, at the Northeast Motorsports Expo at the Augusta Civic Center, just a few miles down the road from Clark’s Farmingdale home. Clark will be on hand to sign autographs on Friday night and again on Saturday afternoon.
The racing season begins in earnest with the opener at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine, on April 18.
Clark has 19 career PASS North victories to rank second all-time in the series. He’d not only like to break the 20-win plateau this season, but he’d also like to snap a tie with Ben Rowe for the most career PASS championships.
Green, of Benton, Maine, will be back as crew chief on the familiar black, red and yellow No. 54 Port City/Clark’s Car Crushing Chevrolet which won three times in 2009.
“The bottom line is that he wants to win races and that’s it,” Clark said of Green. “That’s really it. He doesn’t go to the racetrack to make friends. That’s a little hard sometimes, because it even goes for our own team, but he simply wants to win races.
“You’ve got to respect that.”
The 30-year-old Clark also won championships in the 2004 and 2006 PASS North seasons, giving him three of the last four series titles. He’s one of only two PASS drivers with multiple championships and more than 15 career wins.
He hopes that the momentum from last year will continue to right through the first half of the 2010 season. Four of the first five series races will be held at tracks where Clark has visited victory lane — Speedway 95, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick, and Unity Raceway.
But winning isn’t everything on the path to the championship, Clark said.
“You’ve got to be consistent all year,” he said. “The competition is so tough on this tour that you can’t really afford to have any bad races, especially early in the year.
“We’ll be ready, for sure.”
