by Jay | Sep 6, 2009 | ACT, New England, Thunder Road
Barre, VT – Dave Pembroke of Montpelier led all 200 laps of the American Canadian Tour Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, VT. Pembroke started on the pole after earning a +8 handicap by moving from 11th to 3rd in his heat race. John Donahue and Patrick Laperle battled hard for the final 19 laps with Donahue getting the edge by a bumper at the line. Brian Hoar and Eric Williams were the final two cars on the lead lap and rounded out the top five.
The thirty car field made it through the first 181 laps caution free while Pembroke put all but the top five cars down a lap. Pembroke felt no competition as the closest car on the lead lap was nearly a half a track behind as they both worked their way through lap traffic. All thirty cars were still on the track when the checkered flag flew.
Pembroke has already qualified for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19 with his win earlier this year at the Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road.
Scott Coburn of Barre took home his 6th career NAPA Tiger Sportsmen feature win. Coburn came from the fifth starting spot and held the lead through the majority of the race while surviving a late race restart. Ricky Roberts, Pete Ainsworth, Joey Laquerre and Tom Therrien all finished in the top five. Lance Allen, Bobby Therrien, Shawn Fleury, Brendan Moodie and Matt Potter finished in the sixth through tenth positions.
Hyde Park’s Tucker Williams captured the fourth feature win of his rookie season. Williams was chased to the line by Tommy Smith, David Whitcomb, Kevin Streeter, and Lloyd Blakely rounding out the top five. Martin Ingram, Greg Adams, point leader Gary Mullen, Mike Martin and Bunker Hodgdon all came home with top ten finishes.
Donnie Yates of Montpelier was the top finishing leader and remains on top of the point standings. Kevin Streeter finished second followed by Ken Christman, Keith Fortier, and Kevin Dodge.
The 50th Anniversary Season at Thunder Road International Speedbowl will come to a conclusion with the Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day on Saturday, September 26 and the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl on Sunday, September 27th. The Milk Bowl will be the final point counting event for the NAPA Tiger Sportsmen, Allen Lumber Street Stocks, and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors. The 47th Annual Milk Bowl will award a purse of over $70,000.
The American Canadian Tour will be back in action next weekend on Sunday, September 13 for the Mohawk Casino Fall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway. It will be the 12th race on the ACT Tour schedule and the final qualifying race for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19. Post time next Sunday is set for 1 pm.
ACT Tour Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 Results – 1. Dave Pembroke (44) Montpelier, VT, 2. John Donahue (26VT) Graniteville, VT, 3. Patrick Laperle (91) St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, 4. Brian Hoar (37) Williston, VT, 5. Eric Williams (7VT) Hyde Park, VT, 6. Cris Michaud (6) Northfield, VT, 7. Brent Dragon (55vt) Milton, VT, 8. Chip Grenier (9vt) Graniteville, VT, 9. Craig Bushey (05) Cambridge, VT, 10. Nicholas Sweet (88) Barre, VT, 11. Scott Payea (89) Milton, VT, 12. Jean-Paul Cyr (11vt) Milton, VT, 13. Phil Scott (14) Montpelier, VT, 14. Pete Potvin, III (41) Graniteville, VT, 15. Jamie Fisher (18) Shelburne, VT, 16. Travis Stearns (5) Auburn, ME, 17. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. (97nh) Hudson, NH, 18. Brad Leighton (55nh) Center Harbor, NH, 19. Quinten Welch (78nh) Lancaster, NH, 20. Randy Potter (02nh) Groveton, NH, 21. Tony Andrews (1) Northfield, VT, 22. Trampas Demers (85) South Burlington, VT, 23. Tyler Cahoon (38vt) St.Johnsbury, VT, 24. Joe Becker (16) Jeffersonville, VT, 25. Eric Chase (40vt) Milton, VT, 26. Dave Paya (72vt) N. Clarendon, VT, 27. Gary Caron (22vt) Colchester, VT, 28. David Whitcomb (25) Essex Jct., VT, 29. Jerry Lesage (74) Winooski, VT, 30. Glen Luce (7me) Turner, ME.
NAPA Tiger Sportsmen Unofficial Feature Results – 1. Scott Coburn (1) Barre, VT, 2. Ricky Roberts (9) Washington, VT, 3. Pete Ainsworth Jr. (80) Middlesex, VT, 4. Joey Laquerre (15) E. Montpelier, VT, 5. Tom Therrien (48) Hinesburg, VT, 6. Lance Allen (18) Barre, VT, 7. Bobby Therrien (4) Hinesburg, VT, 8. Shawn Fleury (31) Middlesex, VT, 9. Brendan Moodie (94) Wolcott, VT, 10. Matt Potter (23) Marshfield, VT, 11. Brian Delphia (55) Waterbury, VT, 12. Jason Bonnett (79) St. Albans, VT, 13. James Hebert (58) Williamstown, VT, 14. David Finck (37) Barre, VT, 15. Derrick O’Donnell (68) Bradford, VT, 16. Joel Hodgdon (36) Craftsbury, VT, 17. Christopher Lacey (35) Burlington, VT, 18. Jason Corliss (61) Danville, VT, 19. #Neal Foster (19) Waterbury, VT, 20. Tony Rossi (90) Barre, VT, 21. Eric Badore (04) Milton, VT, 22. John Drinkwine (98) Barre, VT, 23. Steven Quenneville (88) Barre, VT, 24. Mark Barnier (0) Essex Jct., VT, 25. Jeff Bousquet (60) Montpelier, VT, 26. Josh Demers (10) Middlesex, VT, 27. Ray Stearns (89) E. Corinth, VT, 28. Jason Allen (33) Northfield, VT.
Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors Unofficial Feature Results – 1. #Tucker Williams (99ss) Hyde Park, VT, 2. Tommy Smith (50ss) Williamstown, VT, 3. Dave Whitcomb (77ss) Elmore, VT, 4. Jason Corliss (61ss) Danville, VT, 5. Lloyd Blakely (30ss) Graniteville, VT, 6. Martin Ingram (7ss)Essex Jct., VT, 7. Greg Adams Jr. (38ss) Hardwick, VT, 8. Gary Mullen (29ss) Tunbridge, VT, 9. Mike Martin (01ss) Craftbury Comn,VT, 10. Bunker Hodgdon (83ss) Hardwick, VT, 11. David Allen (11ss) North Troy, VT, 12. Marvin Johnson (24ss) Essex Jct., VT, 13. #Jamie Davis (43ss) Wolcott, VT, 14. Ron Gabaree (9ss) Barre, VT, 15. Garry Bashaw (92ss) Lincoln, VT, 16. Michael MacAskill (3ss) Williamstown, VT, 17. David LaFleche (2ss) Graniteville, VT, 18. Bruce Melendy (68ss) Danville, VT, 19. #Danny Doyle (51ss) Hancock, VT, 20. Markus Farnham (13ss) Randolph Ctr, VT, 21. Donny Yates (05jyw) N. Montpelier, VT, 22. Kevin Streeter (61jyw) Waitsfield, VT, 23. Ken Christman (4jyw) Cabot, VT, 24. Keith Fortier (35jyw) Hinesburg, VT, 25. Buddy Chapman (8jyw) Barre, VT, 26. Lance Donald (52jyw) Williamstown, VT, 27. Joe Fecteau (75ss) Hardwick, VT, 28. Timmy Campbell (34ss) W. Topsham, VT, 29. Michael Moore (06ss) East Haven, VT, 30. William Hennequin (47ss) Morrisville, VT.
by Jay | Sep 5, 2009 | ACT, New England, New Hampshire
Claremont, NH – Brent Dragon of Milton, VT scored his second feature win of the week in American Canadian Tour competition. Dragon took home the win in the Twin State 100 at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH after winning the Showdown at Chaudiere just five days ago. It was Dragon’s first win of the 2009 ACT Tour season.
Dragon took over the lead after Phil Scott was involved in a lap 82 accident. Prior to the accident Scott had led every lap after starting on the pole. Dragon came from the fourth starting position to challenge Scott before the wreck. John Donahue challenged Dragon for the final 17 laps but settled for second, followed by point leader Scott Payea in third. Young Joey Doiron came home fourth followed by Brian Hoar to round out the top five. Quebec’s Daniel Descoste finished sixth followed by Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Ben Rowe, Aaron Fellows and Dallas Trombley completed the top ten.
The 100 green flag laps were completed in just under 45 minutes with sixth cautions. Thirty cars started the event with 14 cars finishing on the lead lap. Forty-one cars attempted to qualify.
Dragon has already qualified for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19 with both a win on the Serie ACT Castrol at Riverside Speedway and with last week’s win in the Showdown at Chaudiere. Twenty-eight drivers have received invites with more to be announced next week.
The American Canadian Tour Championship Stock Cars will be back in action in just two days, as they finished off their Labor Day weekend doubleheader at Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Sunday, September 6 will mark the running of the 31st Annual Bond Auto Labor Day Classic. Local divisions will start their qualifying on Saturday, September 5 at 3 pm. Also Saturday will be a practice session for the ACT Tour. Sunday’s action will begin at 1:30 pm.
Unofficial Twin State 100 Results
American Canadian Tour
Friday, September 4, 2009
Pos Car # Driver Laps
1 55VT Brent Dragon 100
2 26VT John Donahue 100
3 89 Scott Payea 100
4 73ME #Joey Doiron 100
5 37 Brian Hoar 100
6 2 Daniel Descoste 100
7 97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. 100
8 10NH Ben Rowe 100
9 29 Aaron Fellows 100
10 25 Dallas Trombley 100
11 10QC Stéphane Descoste 100
12 02NH Randy Potter 100
13 79 Darrell Keane 100
14 55NH Phil Scott 100
15 4 Chris Riendeau 99
16 38VT Tyler Cahoon 99
17 18 Jamie Fisher 99
18 34 Todd Davis 99
19 41 Pete Potvin, III 99
20 33 Marc Palmisano 99
21 9VT Chip Grenier 93
22 11 Bryan Town 92
23 27 Chris Bergeron 92
24 77NH Mark Hayward 89
25 81 Punky Caron 73
26 8 Guy Caron 70
27 7VT Eric Williams 62
28 44 Dennis Stange 48
29 51ME Ricky Rolfe 39
30 7ME Glen Luce 17
by Jay | Sep 1, 2009 | ACT, New England, New Hampshire
Waterbury, VT – The upcoming Labor Day weekend will bring a major test for the American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model race teams. The first double-header weekend of the season takes place with a rain make up event at the Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH on Friday night, September 4. Post time is 7 pm. Following the event at Twin State; the TOUR will head to Thunder Road for the 31st running of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 on Sunday, September 6, 2009.
“This is just like the old days, when we used to race lots of double header weekends”, said Tom Curley, President of the ACT. “I actually liked doing a couple of races a weekend back when we ran the old NASCAR North and ACT Pro-Stock Tours. It seemed to build great camaraderie among the teams who helped put the cars together with each other, and certainly those weekends created some interesting short term rivalries”, continued Curley.
Five points separate Milton, VT’s Scott Payea and his closest competition with fellow Vermonter and 5 time ACT Champion, Brian Hoar. With the ‘best pick 10’ system used on the ACT, Hoar actually leads Payea by a single point if the worst point races of 2009 were dropped by the two drivers. “I will just have to keep doing what I have been doing all season”, said Payea. “I am trying to win every race and not get caught up in the Championship point battle. I know winning the title is our goal, but the focus for our team has been to try and win races and finish well in every race…if we can do that, the points will follow”, continued Payea. Payea has plenty of experience with how the points work. In 2008, the Payea team lost the ACT title by one point following the Chittenden Milk Bowl final event at Thunder Road. Patrick Laperle had to win the Milk Bowl to win the championship. He won the Milk Bowl and thus the championship.
Not one for being conservative in his young racing career, hard charger Joey Polewarczyk Jr. of Hudson, NH has taken over as the leader of the ‘young guns’ on the ACT. ‘Joey Pole’, as he is known, is a two-time winner in ACT competition this season. “I was pretty disappointed last Sunday at the Showdown when we started to overheat from a pin hole in the radiator. I am anxious to race at Twin State Speedway. Our team always likes the challenge that new tracks like Twin State present, and I can’t wait to get back to Thunder Road”, said Pole. He was leading the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 100 before flying off the turn three burm with just a handful of laps left. The team led by his father, Joe Pole, rebounded at the Vermont Governor’s Cup in June, when they fielded a car for Tony Stewart in his appearance at Thunder Road. Joey Pole went on the win the Governor’s Cup. The 97 team trails front runner Payea by only 35 points with four events to go on the 2009 ACT schedule.
Post time for the Twin State 100 this Friday is 7 pm. There were 37 teams that attempted to qualify when the rains came on August 2. The gates will open at Thunder Road for Labor Day holiday camping at noon on Friday. Over 40 Late Models from throughout New England and Canada are expected to try and qualify for the Labor Day Classic.
Saturday will be qualifying for the Thunder Road regular divisions and Sunday will be a full day of racing with qualifying and the 31st Annual Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 for ACT Late Models. The Thunder Road Sportsman, Street Stocks and Warriors will also run features on Sunday, September 6. Gates open at noon on Saturday, and 10 on Sunday morning. Post time is 1:30 on Sunday. Advance tickets are now on sale at over 30 Bond Auto locations throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. There is a five-dollar ($5) discount if tickets are purchased in advance until 5 o’clock on Friday, September 4, 2009. Day of race tickets will be $25 for the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200. The posted purse is over $40,000.00
by Jay | Aug 31, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England
U.S Team Takes Overall Victory
Vallee-Jct., QC – Milton’s Brent Dragon dominates the final half of the second annual Showdown at Chaudiere 200 at Autodrome Chaudiere and leads the U.S. team to the overall victory. The first 91 laps saw a battle between former Serie ACT Castrol champion Karl Allard and current ACT Tour point leader Scott Payea.
The two swapped the lead a total of five times before Dragon took the lead from Payea on lap 92. Dragon came from the ninth starting position to lead the final 109 laps of the 200 lap event. The U.S. team took 7 of the top 10 positions on its way to taking the team win for the second year in a row.
The race was slowed by only 5 cautions and took just over an hour to complete. Dragon has already qualified for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19.
Next weekend is a doubleheader for the ACT Tour. They will head to Twin State Speedway in Clairmont, NH on Friday, September 4 for the Twin State 100, before heading to Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Sunday, September 6 for the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200. Saturday, September 5 will be qualifying day for the local divisions at Thunder Road.
Showdown at Chaudiere 200
Unofficial Results
Pos Car # Driver
1 55vt Brent Dragon
2 89 Scott Payea
3 02nh Randy Potter
4 80 Donald Theetge
5 41 Pete Potvin, III
6 37 Brian Hoar
7 48qc Karl Allard
8 21qc Jean-François Déry
9 73me Joey Doiron
10 9vt Chip Grenier
11 5qc Patrick Cliche
12 97pq Jacques Poulin
13 9pq Yvon Bédard
14 28qc Dany Ouellet
15 68 Brooks Clark
16 51me Ricky Rolfe
17 91 Patrick Laperle
18 11pq Claude Leclerc
19 26vt John Donahue
20 27 Alexandre Gingras
21 51pq Patrick Hamel
22 97nh Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
by Jay | Aug 28, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) has notified the first 22 teams that have officially been invited to participate in the inaugural ACT Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday, September 19th.
Twenty-two teams from all six New England states and the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario have been selected in the first round, following two very successful test and tune sessions at NHMS this past week.
“We still have to fill the field with fourteen more spots and there are a lot of worthy candidates who deserve to be at the inaugural race”, said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour on Friday. “We confirmed the fourteen qualified teams who earned their spots through wins so far this season, and added another eight teams who we feel will contribute in a positive way to the success of this event for both NHMS and ACT Late Model racing”, continued Curley.
ACT expects to add another six to eight Invitees after this weekend’s event at the Showdown of Champions in Chaudiere, Quebec. The 200-lap event pits the best eleven teams from the ACT US Tour and the best eleven teams from the Série ACT Castrol against each other, with over $35,000 in prize money. All but one selection to make up the 36-car starting field will be done following the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 to be held at Thunder Road Speedbowl on September 6, 2009. The final event will be at the Plattsburgh, NY newly designed ½ mile where up to 50 teams from both the ACT US and Castrol Series are expected to participate in the Fall Foliage 300. The final Invitees will be announced following that event, just prior to the September 19th ACT Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The invited teams include:
* Multiple qualifier wins
Car# State Name Hometown Track/Series Notes
9 ON Brandon Watson Stayner, ON Kawartha Downs NHMS test & tune at large
10 NH Ben Rowe Turner, ME ACT Tour NHMS test & tune at large/PASS Champ
11 VT Jean Paul Cyr Milton, VT Thunder Road 09 TR Champion; 7x ACT Champion
11 RI Ryan Vanesse Warwick, RI Seekonk 09 Trk Champion
14 ON Sean Kennedy Dunrobin, ON Capital City Castrol Event Qualifier
14 VT Phil Scott Montpelier, VT Thunder Road ACT Champion; 3x TR Champion
17 MA Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA ACT Tour Event Qualifier
21 QC Jean-Francois Dery Quebec City, QC Castrol Serie Castrol Qualifier
26 VT John Donahue Graniteville, VT ACT Tour Event Qualifier
35 CT Bruce Thomas Groton, CT Waterford 09 Trk Champion
37* VT Brian Hoar Williston, VT ACT Tour 5x ACT Champion;TR/Airborne Champ
44 VT Dave Pembroke Montpelier, VT Thunder Road ACT Tour Event Qualifier..TR/Champ
48 QC Karl Allard Ste Felicien, QC Castrol Serie Former Castrol Series Champion
55 VT Brent Dragon Milton, VT ACT Tour Castrol Qualifier..Airborne Champ
55* NH Brad Leighton Ctr Harbor, NH ACT Tour ACT Tour Event Qualifier..ACT/Champ
71 ON Dan McHattie Cavan, ON Kawartha, Downs NHMS test & tune at large
80* QC Donald Theerge Quebec City, QC Castrol Serie Castrol Qualifier.. Castrol Champ
89 VT Scott Payea Milton, VT ACT Tour Event Qualifier
91* QC Patrick Laperle Montreal, QC Castrol Serie Castrol Qualifier..US & Castrol Champ
97* NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr Hudson, NH ACT Tour Event Qualifier
02 NH Randy Potter Groveton, NH ACT Tour NHMS test & tune at large
04 ME TJ Watson Cundys Harbor, ME Wiscasset Event Qualifier
by Jay | Aug 26, 2009 | ACT, New England
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) will open up the 2010 season at the 4/10-mile Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, New York (A/S) in April.
Albany-Saratoga Promoter Bruce Richards contacted the ACT office several months ago and discussed the possibility that there might be a change from the clay surface to the asphalt. “Part of our plan is to pull up the clay this Fall and open the first several events in the Spring with the asphalt. We have considered this for a number of years, but now it is time to make the move. The ACT has grown throughout the Northeast and Canada over the past several years, and our long-standing relationship with Tom Curley and Ken Squier made this a natural for us to hook up again for what will be a very exciting change for Albany-Saratoga Speedway’’, said Richards.
‘Malta”, as the track was know for many years in the 60’s and 70’s, used to be one of the regular asphalt tracks for weekly Modified racing. Part of the race for NASCAR National Point Championships would see some of the Northeast’s greatest stars make “Malta” a regular stop. On a weekly basis the best of New England stars like Rene Charland, Ed Flemke, Don MacTavish, Bugsy Stevens, and dozens of other New England ‘shoes’ would take on the great drivers from New York , including Jerry Cook and multi-time NASCAR National Champion, Rome, New York’s Richie Evans.
A new era on the asphalt at A/S will take place when the Late Model full-bodied cars of the American Canadian Tour compete at the historic New York oval. The American Canadian Tour has been sanctioning major short track stock car events throughout New England and Canada since 1986. It will now add Albany Saratoga Speedway to its only other New York track, Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh.
“I can’t wait to visit Albany Saratoga. My dad (legendary driver Beaver Dragon) has told me about all the racing that went on there in the 60’s. Our team always enjoys the challenges of a new track”, said ACT veteran racer Brent Dragon from Milton, VT. Dragon will join race teams from every corner of New England and two provinces of Canada to make racing history at the Albany Saratoga Speedway in April, 2010.
“This is going to be a lot of fun for our race teams”, Tom Curley, director of the American Canadian Tour said. “They all like going to new tracks and ‘Malta’ is a special place for me personally. I spent nearly every Friday night for a couple of summers at A/S with my friend Don MacTavish, back in the mid-sixties. Without his great finishes at “Malta”, he never would have won his NASCAR National Championship. I also raced my ‘36 coupe with a 427 big block there, although I doubt it will show up in many record books, but it was always a fun place to be on a Friday night back then”, Curley said with a laugh.
The opening date is slated for April, 2010. The day and particulars will be forthcoming as soon as the 2010 American Canadian Tour schedule is completed sometime around mid-November.
For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or [email protected], or the Albany Saratoga Speedway office at 518.587.0220.
