by Jay | Nov 12, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England
Waterbury VT —- The American Canadian Tour (ACT) has announced the majority of its 2010 US Tour schedule. The confirmed schedule shows a total of 13 events, which will take place at nine (9) different racing facilities. There are two additional events that are expected to be announced within the month, according to Darla Hartt, Vice President and Director of Administration.
“The ACT Tour has enjoyed tremendous support in the Northeast and throughout the provinces of Quebec and Ontario over the past five years. We had many opportunities to book additional events as we continue to enjoy growth with our Late Model business model, but we feel at this time it is in the best interest of our affiliate tracks and race teams to continue to concentrate in helping our weekly affiliate tracks and marketing areas that best serve our various sponsors and team needs. We continue to study the possibility of how we might be able to accommodate an expanded schedule in the future as the popularity of regional Late Model racing continues to develop,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT. “We have reserved two dates for events that we are very hopeful will be a part of the 2010 campaign. We plan to release those dates before the end of this month, but wanted our present and interested race teams to have the benefit of the completed schedule to date,” concluded Curley.
There have been two new tracks added to the 2010 schedule. An April event will be staged at the historic Albany Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY in the greater Albany region. The popular former paved speedway will undergo improvements and a repaving project. The ACT will be the initial asphalt tour to be a part of the opening event of this major change by the CVRA (Champlain Valley Racing Association) organization.
A return to the 5/8th Riverside Speedway (formerly Autodrome Ste-Croix) will take place in August. The event will be the ‘$40,000 CAN-AM Confrontation by the Seaway’ a $40,000.00 combination event with the Série ACT Castrol division of the American Canadian Tour. Jean Bergeron, owner and manager of the new Riverside complex, has agreed to major renovations in the pits, pit road alterations, and improvements and repaving of the full 5/8th mile track. “This opportunity to race on what will become one of the premiere short track facilities in Canada will be a great opportunity for the competitors in both our series. Speeds of up to 130 mph with the long straight-aways will continue to provide our veteran and younger teams with a different and important kind of racing experience,” continued Curley.
The US Tour season will open at the Lee USA Speedway in mid-April with the annual Governor’s Cup event and will continue through the final event, the 48th annual Milk Bowl at Thunder Road to be held the first weekend of October 2010. Return mid-summer trips to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Maine, and the Twin State Speedway in Claremont, New Hampshire, along with the long supporting tracks Oxford Plains Speedway, White Mountain Motorsport Park, Airborne Speedway in New York and Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont will round out the 13 event 2010 schedule.
There will be additional ‘special events’ available to the teams of the ACT Late Model divisions on both sides of the border. The largest event of the race season, the TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway will be held for Late Model teams on the weekend of July 18th. Thunder Road will present the Memorial Day Classic on May 30th and the Vermont Governor’s Cup in June. The third annual $5,000 to win Showdown at Chaudiere, which is contested by the best of the ACT teams in the US and on the Castrol Série, will again take place in August in Valle Junction, Que.
“For 2010 ACT feature events, we have requested that the features be started no later than 8:30 pm. We continue to try and accommodate the fans and teams of ACT racing in our efforts to make the tours friendlier to compete in and to attend. We are anxious to complete the US schedule and expect to have the final two dates in place within a couple of weeks,” concluded Curley.
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2010 Série ACT Castrol SCHEDULE
# DATE DAY TRACK LAPS
1 APR 18 SUN Lee USA 150
2 APR 25 SUN Albany-Saratoga 100
3 MAY 02 SUN Thunder Road 150
4 MAY 08 SAT Airborne 100
5 MAY 16 SUN Oxford 150
6 JUN 19 SAT Oxford 150
7 JUN 26 SAT White Mnt 150
Jul 18 Sun Oxford 250
8 JUL 24 SAT Beech Ridge 150
9 JUL 30 SAT Twin State 100
10 AUG 14 SAT Riverside (COMBO) 200
Aug 28 Sat Chaudiere (SHOWDOWN) 200
11 SEP 05 SUN Thunder Road 200
12 SEP 12 SUN Airborne 300
13 OCT 02/03 SA/SU Thunder Road 150
by Jay | Nov 4, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England
Waterbury, VT—- The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced an aggressive schedule for the 2010 season on the ACT Castrol Series. Fans of the popular series will see an increase to 12 events, or three additional events from the past couple of seasons.
“We continue to have increased interest from the promoters in Quebec, Ontario, and even Maine for our ACT Castrol Series. For 2010 we have added Autodrome Ste-Felicien in the Lac St. Jean region, and third events are scheduled for both Autodrome Ste-Eustache and Riverside Speedway (formerly Autodrome St-Croix),” said Tom Curley the President of the ACT.
A July date will be added to the Ste-Eustache schedule and the new Riverside Speedway will host the “$40,000 CAN-AM Confrontation by the Seaway” in August. The 200-lap event on the 5/8th mile speedway will join both the ACT from the US and the ACT Castrol competitors in dual point divisional races.
Curley reported that the management of Riverside agreed to a major renovation program with the scenic racetrack located along the St. Lawrence River if ACT would sanction the dual division event. “ A complete re-paving of the racetrack, with major improvements to the pits and pit road, convinced us that this was good for ACT racing and racers on both sides of the border, as well as Riverside Speedway, but most of all for the great fans of the Quebec City area,” said Curley.
The 12-event schedule will also include return visits to Autodrome Montmagny, Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, and the very popular Autodrome Chaudiere. Chaudiere will also present the third annual Showdown for the best of the Castrol and US teams with a hefty $5,000 to win and minimum $1,000 for all 22 teams that represent the two ACT divisions.
ACT Castrol teams will also run full ACT rules, which will enable them to compete on many special events in the US throughout the 2010 season, including the prestigious Oxford 250 in Maine, along with major events held at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY and the famous Thunder Road in Barre, VT. In addition, it is highly anticipated that ACT will announce a return to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which will include invitations to various Castrol Série teams.
The 2010 Série ACT Castrol campaign will open at the Autodrome Ste-Eustache on Saturday, May 22, 2010.
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2010 Série ACT Castrol SCHEDULE
# DATE DAY TRACK LAPS
1 MAY 22 SAT Ste-Eustache 100
2 MAY 29 SAT Montmagny 100
3 JUN 05 SAT Chaudiere 150
4 JUN 12 SAT Capital City 100
5 JUN 19 SAT Riverside 100
6 JUL 03 SAT Montmagny 250
7 JUL 10 SAT Ste-Felicien 135
Jul 18 Sun Oxford 250
8 JUL 26 MON Riverside 100
9 JUL 31 SAT Ste-Eustache 100
10 AUG 07 SAT Chaudiere 150
11 AUG 14 SAT Riverside (COMBO) 200
Aug 28 Sat Chaudiere (SHOWDOWN) 200
12 SEP 26 SUN Ste-Eustache 300
by Jay | Oct 12, 2009 | ACT, Canada, Maine, New England, Oxford Plains Speedway
Eric Williams Wins Fall 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway
Oxford, ME – Williston’s Brian Hoar captured his sixth career American Canadian Tour Championship with a fourth place finish in the New England Dodge Dealers Fall 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, October 11. Hoar’s most recent title came in 2000, after which he took several years off from ACT competition. Hoar returned for the 2009 season with a new car owner in Rick Paya. Paya has seven previous ACT championships as a car owner. Hoar earned the championship over Scott Payea who finished in the runner-up position for the second year in a row.
Hyde Park’s Eric Williams scored his second ACT Tour win of the season and first career win at Oxford Plains. Williams took the lead from John Donahue on 119 and held off Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. during several restarts in the final ten laps. Polewarczyk held on for second followed by Donahue, Hoar and Oxford regular Tim Brackett. Bradley Babb, Jay Laquerre, Scott Payea, Brent Dragon and Jamie Fisher completed the top ten.
The New England Dodge Dealers Fall 150 was completed in just over one hour and was slowed by just six cautions. Twenty-eight of the thirty-three drivers that took the green flag were running at the finish. Four different drivers led a lap.
The New England Dodge Dealers Fall 150 caps off the 2009 ACT Tour season. Hoar will be honored among others at the 2009 ACT Banquet of Champions. The date and other information will be announced at a later date.
Unofficial Results
New England Dodge Dealers Fall 150
Oxford Plains Speedway
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Pos Car # Driver
1 7VT Eric Williams
2 97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
3 26VT John Donahue
4 37 Brian Hoar
5 68 Tim Brackett
6 60NH Bradley Babb
7 50 Jay Laquerre
8 89 Scott Payea
9 55VT Brent Dragon
10 18 Jamie Fisher
11 7ME Glen Luce
12 03 Travis Adams
13 15VT Joey Laquerre
14 2 Aaron Ricker
15 55NH DJ Shaw
16 94 Shawn Martin
17 9VT Chip Grenier
18 57 Austin Theriault
19 73ME Joey Doiron
20 17 Eddie MacDonald
21 6 Tom Ricker
22 26ME Corey Morgan
23 78NH Quinten Welch
24 88 Nicholas Sweet
25 02NH Randy Potter
26 71 Scott Dragon
27 25 Shawn Knight
28 51ME Ricky Rolfe
29 41 Pete Potvin, III
30 5 Jeff White
31 38VT Tyler Cahoon
32 10NH Ben Rowe
33 40VT Eric Chase
by Jay | Oct 4, 2009 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
Hebert, Mullen and Yates Crowned 2009 Champions
Barre, VT – Graniteville’s John Donahue won the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Sunday, October 4. Donahue’s fifth place finish in the third segment was enough to edge out Brent Dragon by just four points. Dragon went into the third segment as the overall leader after winning the first segment and placing 10th in the second segment. His tenth place finish in the third segment gave him an overall score of 21 points for the three segment event.
Donahue took the green in the final segment trailing Dragon by just one point. The two fought hard through traffic to get to the front but Donahue got into the open air quicker and made it up to fifth and secured the win with a combined score of 17.
Eric Williams finished third overall with 26 points, followed by Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. (28), Brian Hoar (29), Dave Pembroke (31), Jamie Fisher (31), Nick Sweet (31), Joey Laquerre (34), and Chip Grenier (37) rounded out the top ten.
In the Tiger Sportsman division Shawn Fleury of Middlesex took home his second win of the 2009 season at Thunder Road. His previous win was in the Tiger Tri-State Series 100 back in August. Fleury was followed to the line by Jason Corliss, Derrick O’Donnell, Tony Rossi and Bobby Therrien.
Williamstown’s Jimmy Hebert was crowned the 2009 Tiger Sportsman Champion after point leader Pete Ainsworth finished just one position shy of qualifying for the main event. Hebert recovered from an early spin to edged out Tony Rossi for the title.
Tommy Smith of Williamstown took his third win of the season in the Allen Lumber Street Stocks. Mike Martin, Danny Doyle, Gary Bashaw and Marcus Farnham completed the top five.
Gary Mullen of Tunbridge took the Allen Lumber Street Stock title over Mike Martin after Tucker Williams failed to qualify. Mullen secured the championship after finishing ninth in the feature. With that ninth Mullen finished the year with ten top tens in 16 starts.
Cabot’s Ken Christman took the Power Shift Junkyard Warrior feature win over Keith Fortier and Kevin Streeter. Donnie Yates of Montpelier was crowned the Power Shift Junkyard Warrior Champion even though he did not qualify for the feature. He had a big enough lead over Christman going into the feature that he could not be beaten. Yates had an amazing six wins during the 2009 season.
The 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl capped off the 50th Anniversary Season at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. The American Canadian Tour title will be decided next Sunday, October 11 at Oxford Plains Speedway.
47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl Results
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Pos Car # Driver TOTAL
1 26vt John Donahue 17
2 55vt Brent Dragon 21
3 7vt Eric Williams 26
4 97nh Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. 28
5 37 Brian Hoar 29
6 44 Dave Pembroke 31
7 18 Jamie Fisher 31
8 88 Nicholas Sweet 31
9 15vt Joey Laquerre 34
10 9vt Chip Grenier 37
11 11vt Jean-Paul Cyr 38
12 14 Phil Scott 39
13 89 Scott Payea 40
14 55nh Brad Leighton 41
15 38vt Tyler Cahoon 44
16 7me Glen Luce 45
17 1 Tony Andrews 45
18 27 Wayne Helliwell Jr. 47
19 73me Joey Doiron 47
20 78nh Quinten Welch 50
21 42vt Matt White 59
22 6 Chad Wheeler 62
23 77nh Mark Hayward 63
24 32 Mike Olsen 63
25 40vt Eric Chase 63
26 16 Joe Becker 65
27 41 Pete Potvin, III 66
28 8vt Rich Lowrey 71
29 00 Mike Bailey 77
30 25 David Whitcomb 85
NAPA Tiger Sportsman Results
Pos Car # Driver
1 31 Shawn Fleury
2 61 Jason Corliss
3 68 Derrick O’Donnell
4 90 Tony Rossi
5 4 Bobby Therrien
6 89 Ray Stearns
7 94 Brendan Moodie
8 48 Tom Therrien
9 10 Josh Demers
10 18 Lance Allen
11 37 David Finck
12 06 Jeff French
13 58 James Hebert
14 15 Troy Gray
15 99 Cody Blake
16 04 Eric Badore
17 23 Matt Potter
18 19 #Neal Foster
19 2 John Lambert
20 55 Brian Delphia
21 1 Scott Coburn
22 32 #Erik Steel
23 84 Richard LaFond
24 33 Jason Allen
25 16 George May
26 0 Mark Barnier
27 79 Jason Bonnett
28 26 Mike Ziter
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warrior Results
Pos Car # Driver
1 22ss Tommy Smith
2 01ss Mike Martin
3 51ss #Danny Doyle
4 92ss Garry Bashaw
5 13ss Markus Farnham
6 68ss Bruce Melendy
7 83ss Bunker Hodgdon
8 38ss Greg Adams Jr.
9 29ss Gary Mullen
10 30ss Lloyd Blakely
11 34ss Timmy Campbell
12 77ss Dave Whitcomb
13 43ss #Jamie Davis
14 61ss Jason Corliss
15 42ss Tyler Therrien
16 73ss Vern Woodard
17 2ss David LaFleche
18 24ss Marvin Johnson
19 6ss #Daniel Lathrop
20 4jyw Ken Christman
21 35jyw Keith Fortier
22 61jyw Kevin Streeter
23 87jyw John Prentice
24 88jyw Thomas Elwood
25 31jyw Kevin Wheatley
26 06ss Michael Moore
27 7ss Martin Ingram
28 09ss #Amanda Habel
by Jay | Oct 2, 2009 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced today that they are planning a ten (10) race program for their ACT Late Model division located in Canada for the 2010 race season. This will be one additional event from the recently concluded 2009 schedule on the Série ACT Castrol. There will also be special events available to the ACT Castrol competitors such as the SHOWDOWN at Chaudiere, the Oxford 250, an anticipated return to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH for those who qualify, as well as ACT events throughout New England, including the Spring Green and Fall Foliage 300 at the new Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY.
This will be the fourth season of ACT Late Model racing throughout Quebec, which also includes a stop in Ottawa as a part of the proposed 10-race schedule.
“We have sent proposals this week to all our track promoters. We hope to have a confirmed schedule before the month of October is completed”, said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour. “We still have two more events to be run this season on the US Tour schedule (Thunder Road’s rain-postponed Milk Bowl this Sunday and the final event at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, October 11), but with all the rumors that have been floating around Quebec, we wanted to let our competitors know that we will continue to organize and sanction race events on the Série ACT Castrol in 2010”, continued Curley.
Plans call for an additional event in 2010 at the Autodrome Ste. Felicien in the Lac St. Jean region. The track is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2010, and negotiations are underway between ACT and promoter Louise Boulanger to have the Castrol Série help them celebrate. ACT last raced at Ste. Felicien in 2008.
It was also announced today by ACT headquarters that the annual Série ACT Castrol Banquet of Champions will be held on Saturday, November 21, 2009 in Drummondville, QC. ACT will distribute over $30,000 in point fund and prize money to the ACT Castrol competitors. Donald Theetge of Boischatel, QC will be crowned the ACT Castrol Série Champion.
by Jay | Oct 1, 2009 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
Waterbury, VT – For Cris Michaud it was a pretty easy decision.
Michaud was injured when he fell off a ladder at a job site and broke a vertebrae. When doctors informed him that he would not be able to race in the rained-out 47th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road this coming Sunday, October 4, the three-time track champion went after one of his biggest Thunder Road rivals to fill the seat for him.
“What better guy to take over my ride in the Milk Bowl than Chad (Wheeler)? I really wanted to win the three Thunder Road Championships in a row in 2006 (Michaud won the Thunder Road track championships in 2004 and 2005, along with his title in 2001), but Chad was unbelievably consistent with his finishes all season long. He deserved to win the title that year”, said Michaud convalescing at his home in Williamstown, VT.
The 2004 winner of what is known as the ‘toughest short track race in America’ went on to say, “I think the Milk Bowl is the perfect race for Chad to come back and have some fun. He is a patient and smart racer and that’s what it takes to raise the milk can and kiss the cow,” concluded Michaud.
Over $70,000 in purse money, with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 to win, is up for grabs by the American Canadian Tour (ACT) starting field of competitors. The thirty car field was set last Saturday in the unique format of time trials, triple 50 lap qualifying races, and a ‘Last Chance Race’. Fifty-four (54) teams attempted to qualify for the prestigious event.
A pair of ACT young guns will sit on the front row. 2008 ACT Rookie of the Year, Nick Sweet, in only his second year of racing Late Models, will lead the field to the green flag in segment one of the unique three-segment event. The first segment is lined up according to time trials and the Triple 50 qualifiers. The following two segments are reversed from the previous segments, with the best having to come from the rear twice to have a chance to win the Milk Bowl. Sweet, a hometown favorite from Barre, VT, will start beside Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., a three-time pole sitter and holder of the Thunder Road track record of 12.935 seconds.
“I have heard that Cris had a heck of a run in the Triple 50 qualifiers last Saturday. Coming from dead last to finish fourth was pretty darn impressive. I know I will have a good car under me and I am excited about trying out the only Ford engine. I had a great time racing against Cris for a lot of years and beating him for the title in 2006 got me to thinking that there really wasn’t much more for me in the sport at this time in my life. I wanted to spend a lot of time with my young boys, but now maybe there is one more thing I could accomplish with racing. It sure will be fun to try. I am looking forward to it, and I appreciate the confidence Cris has in putting me in his car,” said Wheeler.
The 47th annual Chittenden Milk Bowl is re-scheduled for this Sunday, October 4th, after having been rained out last Sunday. Gates will open at 10:00 am and pre-race ceremonies, which will include the Catamount Pipe and Drum Corps, the Norwich University color guard and Shock Platoon Drill Team will kick off the festivities at 1:00 pm. Racing will start at 1:30, and all the competitors in the various Thunder Road divisions, except the Late Models, will complete their championship seasons. Late Model racer Jean-Paul Cyr, from Milton, VT was named the King of the Road for 2009 at the final Thursday night event in August.
The Milk Bowl will bring down the curtain on the 50th Anniversary celebration of the racetrack.
