by Jay | Mar 31, 2010 | ACT, New England
YEAR OF THE DRAGON: Brent Dragon Sets Sights on 1st ACT Championship
MILTON, Vt. — The goal is simple for a driver who carries a surname synonymous with stock car racing in the region. Brent Dragon wants to win the ACT Late Model Tour championship in 2010.
“It’s been that way for the last 25 years it seems,” Dragon said recently.
This year, though, there is even more optimism coming from the Dragon race shop than in offseasons past. For starters, Dragon finished the 2009 season as one of the hottest Late Model drivers in New England, winning three times after June 1 and finishing fifth in the final ACT standings.
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by Jay | Mar 27, 2010 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
LEIGHTON TO DEFEND TITLE AT ACT LEE USA OPENER
Waterbury, VT – Center Harbor, New Hampshire’s Brad Leighton, defending Champion of the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup has entered the opening event for the American Canadian Tour (ACT) at the Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 18, 2010. Leighton won the 2009 event after holding off the 2008 Governor’s Cup winner, Joey Polewarczyk, from nearby Hudson, NH.
Over fifty cars attempted to qualify for the event that saw nine different leaders before Leighton took over on lap 132 of the 150 lap grind. There were only five cautions in the event that saw one of the largest opening day crowds at Lee USA in many years.
“I am happy to get this first win of the season here at Lee Speedway, and I am really happy that in a few months I will be able to head about 30 minutes up the road to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) for the first ACT Invitational,” said an excited Leighton in victory lane.
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by Jay | Mar 21, 2010 | ACT
HELLIWELL LOOKS TO JUMP START FORD BLUE OVAL CUP CHALLENGE AT WATERFORD
Waterbury, VT –Lee USA Speedway 2009 Champion, Wayne Helliwell, Jr. is looking to get a head start on the other ACT Ford team members in the 2010 season-long campaign. It was announced today by car owner Bruce Bernhardt that the team will head to Waterford Speedbowl for the opening event at the ‘Bowl’ over the weekend of March 27-28.
“We are definitely planning to go to Waterford for the practice on Friday, and if things go as we hope they will, we will plan to run the 50-lap Late Model feature,” said Bernhardt. Waterford is an affiliate track of the American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model program. With the ACT system of universal rules, it allows teams from throughout the northeastern United States and Canada to travel to a large number of tracks in the region.
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by Jay | Mar 21, 2010 | ACT
BELLEROSE AND LAQUERRE TEAM UP AGAIN FOR 2010 SEASON AT THUNDER ROAD
Waterbury, VT – It has been a decade since Tracie Bellerose from Gorham, NH made history at Thunder Road International Speedbowl (TR) in Barre, VT. She became the first woman to win a major championship at one of the nation’s most famous and toughest short tracks. In a surprise today, Bellerose announced that she would be returning to full time racing with the same crew chief and team that brought her to national prominence in 2000.
“When the opportunity came calling, this kid (Bellerose) knew exactly what she wanted and that was to go back to racing competitively. I tried golf, but the golf carts were too slow, I then bought a Harley, but wrecking that on the highway was way worse than a couple of memorable wrecks I had at Thunder Road. Quite frankly, I have not even been able to visit Thunder Road as a spectator – I have missed racing so much. Obviously, I am pretty excited,” said Bellerose.
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by Jay | Mar 11, 2010 | ACT, NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, PASS
HUDSON, N.H. — The old adage tells us that consistency wins championships, and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. hopes he can prove it true once again in 2010.
The 20-year-old stock car driver will have plenty of chances to find consistency on the track, committing to run the full ACT Late Model Tour season this year as well as a partial NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Polewarczyk, who owns four career ACT wins and finished a career-best fourth in the final 2009 standings, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel.
“It’s going to be a busy summer, for sure,” Polewarczyk said. “I’m excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Polewarczyk started making waves for himself last June when he beat two-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart — plus a full field of Late Models — in the Vermont Governor’s Cup at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt. But as good a season as Polewarczyk had, it was his offseason that’s been even more productive.
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by Jay | Mar 10, 2010 | ACT, Thunder Road
Chip Grenier Aims for Bond/WIX Tiger Tour Title
American Canadian Tour (ACT) standout Chip Grenier of Graniteville will run the four (4) event ACT Bond/WIX Tiger Sportsman Tour for car owner Greg “Burger” Blake in 2010.
Grenier, the 2007 Thunder Road Late Model Rookie of the Year, is no stranger to the ACT Limited Sportsman (Tiger) car. During his eight (8) years behind the wheel of a Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman at Thunder Road, Grenier earned eleven (11) career victories and became a fan favorite of the Barre high banks. After running two (2) years in Thunder Road Late Model competition, Grenier ran the full season on the 2009 ACT Tour, earning ninth place in the final point standings and the 2009 ACT Tour Sportsmanship Award.
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