GEORGIA, Vt. – After a season decorated with wins in some of New England’s most prestigious racing events and a series-record eighth championship for both car owner and driver alike, RPM Motorsports doesn’t have any plans [...]]]> RPM Revs Up For Another Title Run
Brian Hoar, Rick Paya Seek Ninth Career ACT Championship in 2012

GEORGIA, Vt. – After a season decorated with wins in some of New England’s most prestigious racing events and a series-record eighth championship for both car owner and driver alike, RPM Motorsports doesn’t have any plans two slow down in 2012.

The same car, same equipment, same crew and same driver will try and top a 2011 season in which they won a total of seven races and clinched the ACT Late Model Tour title with two races remaining.

“Whatever it is, it seems to work,” said Brian Hoar, of Williston, Vt., driver of the RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge. “If you could bottle it up and sell it – we’d probably make a lot of money. I just know that I have an approach that works for me, that works for success in this sport. The statistics show that. That’s teamed and combined with – and only works – with the team surrounding you. If the chemistry’s not there, it just doesn’t work.

“Obviously, (team owner and crew chief Rick Paya) and my team have the same formula. All of the things come together for us.”

Paya said that there’s no lack of motivation for his team, despite winning a third straight ACT championship last season. Every season, every race weekend presents another opportunity.

“I just love winning,” Paya said. “Winning is what motivates me to win another one and another one. When we go to some new tracks or tracks we haven’t won at before, that’s motivation. Competition is motivation.

“You’re only as good as your competition. Everybody on our Tour, when they step up, we step up. It makes everybody better. And when you get better as a Tour, you go out to run other races with other series, and you’re able to be competitive. I think that’s a great thing for all of us.”

Both Paya and Hoar – with 33 career victories, the only driver in ACT history to even break the 20-win plateau – count wins at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Thunder Road International Speedbowl’s Milk Bowl as their 2011 season highlights.

While the Milk Bowl win was Hoar’s second, it was the first in the event for Paya. Paya has 26 career victories as a crew chief.

“It’s pretty humbling to think about, but really it’s all about consistency,” said Paya, who, like Hoar, has eight career ACT titles – including five previously with Jean-Paul Cyr as driver.

“I know we’re consistent now, but you can always make yourselves better. Every time we go to the race track, we’re always learning. Every race. We motivate ourselves to do better and better and better. Our motivation is to be better than we were last time out.”

RPM has some 20 races planned for its 2012 schedule, including the full 10-race ACT Late Model Tour slate, the TD Bank Oxford 250, the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire, the Milk Bowl and a PASS-sanctioned Super Late Model race at Oxford in July.

The ACT Late Model Tour season begins with the NH Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 15. Hoar is the defending champion of the event.

“Here we are going into another season with great equipment, great cars and a great bunch of people,” Hoar said. “We’re ready for another great season, and it’s coming really fast. When it comes right down to it, we just want to win races. That’s why we do it – to have fun and enjoy the sport.

“There’s lots of guys that are going to try and knock us off the pedestal again this year, but that’s part of what motivates us. It’s a challenge, and we can’t wait for it.”

Hoar turns 40 this year, and he laughs at any suggestion that he’s looking at life away from motorsports in the near future.

“You either have the passion for the sport, or you don’t,” Hoar said. “It’s that simple. You want to be part of the sport, or you don’t. It seems like a silly question. It’s not like I’m going to hang my hat up now.”

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The [...]]]> Dan Brown of Sutton, QC, plans a full Airborne Speedway 358 DIRTcar Modified schedule in 2012. He ran a part-time Airborne schedule in 2010, nearly a full schedule in 2011 despite some motor issues He’s purchased a Bicknell chassis, added a new sponsor and is working out an engine deal with (Yves) Lafrance Performance.

The competition is intense in Airborne’s DIRTcar 358 Modified division. The average starting field for a Ernie’s Discount Tools Modified feature in 2011 was 29 cars – most of which were separated by four-tenths of a second or less. Top-10 finishes were worthy of respect each and every week. Any race program not working hard to move forward can end up in the other direction.

“I got more seat time last year and it made a difference, but we still struggled to finish races,” Brown said. “We could have had five top-5 finishes, but things broke. We were making our own parts trying to get by.”

Brown drove the No. 327 Modified to two top-10 finishes in 2011, including a 5th-place run on Casella Night. His son Matt and Lawrence Gaylor serve as his race night crew and help him out during the week.

This year, Brown has signed a new sponsor, HYVA Corp., a hydraulics and telescoping cylinder manufacturer. They will join Les Carrieres de St. Dominique Quarry, CSTP Inc of Foster, QC and Gaylor’s Garage of Fulford, QC.

Dan, Matt and Lawrence attended the recent Modified setup seminar conducted by Airborne promoter Mike Perrotte. “We learned a lot and are very appreciative of Mike’s making the effort to do that,” Brown said.

The No. 327 team intends to donate a percentage of its purse money to a local organization working with kids with learning disabilities. “We haven’t set a exact number yet, but we’ll be meeting again with them and displaying the car on their behalf the day before the Airborne opener,’ Brown said. “We’ll definitely be racing for a cause this season.”

With three events and six actual Pro finals now in the books, it’s time to review how the 2012 ECS Rookie of the Year (ROTY) candidates are doing on-track.

Three athletes are battling for top honors as they tackle the challenge of Pro level competition; Chris Ackerman, Michael George and Jacob Muller. All three [...]]]>

With three events and six actual Pro finals now in the books, it’s time to review how the 2012 ECS Rookie of the Year (ROTY) candidates are doing on-track.

Three athletes are battling for top honors as they tackle the challenge of Pro level competition; Chris Ackerman, Michael George and Jacob Muller. All three were stars during their time in Pro Lite (I know, we called it Semi-Pro back then – just what is a “Semi-Pro” anyway?) and were clearly ready to make the move in 2012.

With a half dozen finals now complete, Muller leads the current standings with 125 rookie points. Keep in mind, these tallies are based on the highest finishing rookie within each Pro final, and are based on 25, 20 and 15-point awards for the top three rookies in each race.

Do the math, and Muller comes out with a slight five-point advantage over Ackerman and a 10-point gap between himself and Mr. George. While he does have finishes of 10th (Plattsburgh Open) and 14th (Plattsburgh Stock) to his credit, Muller’s performance at Burke and Boonville give him the edge. Just as it is with the big guns fighting for the overall point titles, it’s all about consistency in ROTY action.

What should be noted here is that Mike George has already landed on the podium, with an impressive second place run in Pro Open at Burke Mountain.
For a rookie to hit the box his first time out is indeed spectacular, and we expect more solid runs like that from these talented first-year Pro riders. Ackerman hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in six starts, a real testament to his immense skills. As the season rolls on, it’s clear these three athletes are going to battle right down to the wire at Titus Mountain to earn the coveted ECS ROTY crown.

East Coast Snocross, presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction, sanctions championship snocross races throughout the northeast.

Waterbury, VT – Veteran American Canadian Tour (ACT) stock car racer Randy Potter of Groveton, NH filed the first full season entry for the 10-event 2012 ACT Tour. Potter and his Lancaster Auto Sales/Speedway Sports Park Chevrolet team were recently honored at the ACT Banquet of Champions for their 5th [...]]]>

Waterbury, VT – Veteran American Canadian Tour (ACT) stock car racer Randy Potter of Groveton, NH filed the first full season entry for the 10-event 2012 ACT Tour. Potter and his Lancaster Auto Sales/Speedway Sports Park Chevrolet team were recently honored at the ACT Banquet of Champions for their 5th place finish in the 2011 standings.

“Our chances at the 2012 title right now are as good as anyone’s, but in order to pull it out of the clutches of RPM and Brian Hoar we are going to need luck, no mechanical or mental break downs and some really good finishes in all of the 10 races,” said Potter.

During the 2011 season, Potter had one of the most consistent years of his career. He finished with four podium finishes, including three straight at White Mountain Motorsports Park, Twin State Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. He capped off the year with a second at Airborne Speedway in the season finale.

Potter is looking forward to the 10-event 2012 season and ACT’s return to Sanair Super Speedway in St-Pie, Quebec. “Ten races will probably get more cars to run the whole tour schedule, which is good for the car counts and the competition, but it will make it tougher to qualify too,” said Potter. “I’ve always wanted to go to Sanair. Something always happens to keep us from making the trip so I hate to jinx anything, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Potter, a former Riverside Speedway (Groveton, NH) Late Model Champion, raced off and on with ACT beginning in 1993. He returned to the Tour full-time in 2007 and immediately established himself as a championship contender with his first career ACT win in the season opener at Oxford Plains Speedway. Since 2007, Potter has finished in the top ten in the final standings each season, including three times in the top five. He is also the only driver to qualify for all 63 ACT feature events since 2007.

The 2012 will kick off with the traditional NH Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH on Sunday, April 15.

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Burlington, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) crowned Brian Hoar of Williston, VT and Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, Quebec as the ACT Tour and Série ACT Castrol stock car racing champions respectively, at the ACT Banquet of Champions on Saturday, January 21 at the Double Tree [...]]]>
Jimmy “Scruffy” Linardy Receives MacTavish Award

Burlington, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) crowned Brian Hoar of Williston, VT and Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, Quebec as the ACT Tour and Série ACT Castrol stock car racing champions respectively, at the ACT Banquet of Champions on Saturday, January 21 at the Double Tree Inn in Burlington, VT. It was the first ever combined banquet for the sister championship stock car racing series. Both champions cashed a point fund check of $10,000.

Hoar earned his eighth career championship on the U.S.-based ACT Tour during another strong season in which he earned five wins in 12 events. With those five wins he solidified himself on top of the ACT Late Model career wins list with 33 and added wins at four new tracks including New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He also won the Showdown at Chaudiere in Vallee-Jct., Quebec and the 49th Annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road. Hoar and car owner Rick Paya earned their third straight ACT Tour title.

Laperle earned his second career title on the Quebec-based Série ACT Castrol. He finished the season with four wins in his 12 events, including his first ever win in the Quebec season finale St-Eustache 300 at Autodrome St-Eustache. Laperle and his crew chief brother, Eric, now have 13 career wins on the Série ACT Castrol. Patrick is also the 2008 ACT Tour (U.S.) Champion and three-time People’s United Bank Milk Bowl Champion.

The 43rd Annual Don MacTavish Award went to ACT veteran Jimmy “Scruffy” Linardy of Somerville, MA. The prestigious MacTavish Award is named for legendary New England racer Don MacTavish who was killed in 1969 while racing at Daytona International Speedway. Linardy received the award for his continued support of ACT and Northeast stock car racing and his always positive attitude. Those qualities also helped Linardy grace the cover of this month’s edition of Late Model Racer magazine.

Wayne Helliwell, Jr. of Dover, NH and car owner Bruce Bernhardt were honored for their second straight Ford Blue Oval Cup Championship. The special program was designed for competitors who ran the Ford crate engine on the ACT Late Model Tour, Série ACT Castrol Edge or any of the twelve ACT affiliated tracks. Helliwell is a multi-time Lee USA Speedway Champion and joined the ACT Tour full-time in 2011. While visiting most of the tracks on the ACT schedule for the first time, they put together an impressive season with 10 top tens in 12 starts and earned second in the ACT Tour standings. They also earned feature wins at Twin State Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl on their way to the Ford title.

Rookie of the Year honors went to Ben Ashline of Pittston, ME and Yannick Tremblay of Chicoutimi, Quebec for the ACT Tour and Série ACT Castrol, respectively. The 21-year-old Ashline and his family team claimed 9th in the final standings of the ACT Tour. They also earned a career best 5th place finish in the Spring Green at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT. Tremblay finished 9th in the Série ACT Castrol standings on his way to the Rookie title. He also gained the respect of the veterans with his clean driving on his way to just one did not finish for the year.

The Crew Chief of the Year Awards were awarded for the fourth consecutive season on the U.S. tour and for the first time on the Série ACT Castrol. Eric Laperle earned the first ever Castrol Crew Chief Award as part of the two-time Série ACT Castrol Championship team with his brother Patrick behind the wheel. Bruce Bernhardt received the fourth ACT Tour Crew Chief of the Year Award as part of the second place ACT Tour and Ford Blue Oval Cup Championship team with driver Wayne Helliwell, Jr.

Teams will continue to prepare their cars for the 2012 seasons during the winter months. The U.S.-based ACT Tour will start their season at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH with a 150-lap event on Sunday, April 15. The Quebec-based Série ACT Castrol kicks off their season with a 100-lap event at Autodrome Montmagny in Montmagny, Quebec on Saturday, May 26. The 2012 Série ACT Castrol schedule will consist of 12 events, while the ACT Tour will hold 10 events. Special events include the 50th People’s United Bank Milk Bowl at Thunder Road, the fourth annual ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Showdown at Chaudiere at Autodrome Chaudiere, and the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.

For more information contact the ACT office (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com or visit www.acttour.com.

Waterbury, VT – The 2012 schedule featuring twelve (12) point- counting events, and the special combination event with the ACT US teams, the “Showdown at Chaudière”, has been announced for the popular Castrol Late Model racing series sanctioned by The American Canadian Tour (ACT).

Four tracks will host three events each from the [...]]]>

Waterbury, VT – The 2012 schedule featuring twelve (12) point- counting events, and the special combination event with the ACT US teams, the “Showdown at Chaudière”, has been announced for the popular Castrol Late Model racing series sanctioned by The American Canadian Tour (ACT).

Four tracks will host three events each from the opening event at the Autodrome Montmagny east of Quebec City in late May through the close of the race season at the Autodrome Ste. Eustache outside Montreal. Circuit Riverside Speedway in Ste. Croix, QC and Autodrome Chaudière will each host three events, including the CAN-AM combination event with ACT Castrol teams and ACT US teams and the fifth annual “Showdown at Chaudière”.

The addition of the Sanair Super Speedway in St. Pie, QC, which will be promoted by Jean Bergeron and the Riverside Speedway, will highlight the ambitious schedule. The event will be 100 miles on the unique tri-oval.

“Our ACT Quebec promoters have provided the ACT Castrol teams with their best schedule in the seven years of the series. We are very pleased with the way the 2012 season has evolved, and the addition of Sanair back on the schedule certainly will please the teams”, said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour.

The teams of the ACT Castrol Series will compete for a record of over $400,000.00 in purse and prize money in the 2012 point-counting events. In addition, ACT Castrol teams will have special non-point events to compete in such as the TD Bank Oxford 250 at the Oxford Plains Speedway, July 22, 2012; the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway, October 6, 2012 in Plattsburgh, NY; and the 50th annual Milk Bowl at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT, September 29th.

Two-time ACT Castrol Series Champion Donald Theetge from Boischatel, QC said, “This is a great schedule for our Quebec teams. I appreciate that ACT listened to some of our concerns about the schedule and purses. I love racing at the US events, but we really wanted to have our series point races in Quebec and now we have that.”

“The addition of Sanair this coming season is exciting news for fans and racers. It should be an unbelievable race now that many of us have had some experience at Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway),” concluded Theetge.

The teams from the 2011 season will honor both the Castrol and US teams at a Late Model combined banquet in Burlington, VT on January 21, before they begin to focus on the ambitious 2012 schedule.

2012 SCHEDULE

EVENT DATE DAY TRACK LAPS NOTE

1 MAY 26 SAT AUTODROME MONTMAGNY 100

2 JUN 02 SAT AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 100

3 JUN 08 FRI AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE 150

4 JUN 16 SAT CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY 100

5 JUN 30 SAT AUTODROME MONTMAGNY 200

6 JUL 14 SAT AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 200

7 JUL 28 SAT CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY 150

8 AUG 03 FRI AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE 150

9 AUG 11 SAT SANAIR SUPER SPEEDWAY 100 [combo]

10 AUG 25 SAT CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY 200 [combo]

11 SEP 01 SAT AUTODROME MONTMAGNY 200

SEP 08 SAT AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE SHOWDOWN 200
[combo]
12 SEP 16 SUN AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 300

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced today that the top teams of the US-based ACT Tour, the Quebec based ACT Castrol Series, and Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl will receive in excess of $100,000 in championship point fund awards at the season-ending ACT banquets to be held in December, 2011 and [...]]]>

Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced today that the top teams of the US-based ACT Tour, the Quebec based ACT Castrol Series, and Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl will receive in excess of $100,000 in championship point fund awards at the season-ending ACT banquets to be held in December, 2011 and January, 2012.

Highest money earners are car owners Rick Paya from the ACT US Tour and Patrick Laperle from the ACT Castrol Series. They will each receive year-end point fund checks of $10,000.00. Both teams ran the full twelve (12) race series in their respective areas.

Brian Hoar, now a record-setting eight (8) time ACT Champion from Williston, VT brought home the championship to Paya’s RPM team, and Patrick Laperle, driving for his family team located in St. Denis, QC, was a second time ACT Castrol Series Champion.
Ford Racing contributed $11,000.00 to those teams who elected to race the ACT-approved Ford crate engine in 2011. Ten of the 17 Ford teams registered with ACT collected Ford Blue Oval Challenge point fund money. Wayne Helliwell, Jr. won for the title for the second straight year. Team owner, Bruce Bernhardt, from Hudson, NH, will collect the $5,000.00 point check, along with the Blue Oval Challenge Cup, at the upcoming ACT Banquet of Champions.

ACT will pay out over $20,000.00 on behalf of those competitors that participated at Thunder Road in 2011. Over the 15-event battle for the ‘King of the Road’ championship, Montpelier, VT’s David Pembroke narrowly beat out former multi-time champion Phil Scott and “Irish” John Donahue, from Graniteville, VT. Pembroke will earn point fund money of $5,000.00 for his 2011 effort.

In addition to the $101,720.00 to be paid in point fund money, a record amount of combined purse money was paid to ACT Late Model teams in 2011. There was $739,277.00 paid in purse money to the two ACT series and ACT managed Thunder Road.

Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire will continue the tradition of [...]]]>
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian US Tour (ACT) 2012 schedule will feature ten (10) point-counting events at nine different tracks. In addition, there will be four ‘special’ non-point counting events that most ACT teams will put on their 2012 calendars.

Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire will continue the tradition of opening the ACT Late Model race season with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 on Sunday, April 15, 2012.

Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, VT will host the 14th annual Merchants Bank 150 lap event to open the 53rd season at the “Nation’s Site of Excitement” on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Thunder Road will present a second event over Labor Day weekend with the 34th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 scheduled for Sunday, September 02, 2012.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway, under the new management team of Mike and Alayne Bruno in West Haven, VT will open their season with the historic Spring Green 112 lap championship race on Sunday, May 06, 2012. The freshly paved wide half mile has become a favorite of the ACT teams over the past two years, since the conversion from dirt to asphalt.

White Mountain Motorsports Park was a charter member of the ACT Late Model touring program. Saturday, June 23, 2011 will be the 15th consecutive year that a Tour event will be held at the scenic facility in the heart of the White Mountains.

The Pine Tree State will host two events in 2012. Oxford Plains Speedway will open their season featuring a solid challenge by the very competitive weekly Late Model teams when the Tour arrives for a Sunday, May 20th 150 lap battle. Local racer, Jeff White from Winthrop, ME, stunned the ACT regular teams with a dominant win during the opening event in 2011. He went on to win the Oxford Plains Speedway Championship. The Beech Ridge Motor Speedway near the Portland seacoast will once again host a mid-summer 150 lap race on Saturday, July 28, 2012.

The Tour will head north of the border during August. A return to the SANAIR Super Speedway has teams from both the Castrol Series and the US excited for the 2012 season. The very fast tri-oval design was opened by ACT in the early mid-eighties and hosted numerous events over the decades of the 80’s and 90’s. The 100-mile combination event (also an ACT Castrol Series point race) is scheduled for Saturday, August 11, 2012. The return of the $40,000 Can-Am 200 to the 5/8th mile Circuit Riverside Speedway along the St. Lawrence River across from Quebec City will be presented on Saturday, August 25, 2012.

The final point-counting event in 2012 will again be the Fall Foliage 200 at the fabulous and very competitive half mile Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY. The season finale will be held on Saturday, October 06, 2012.

Teams from the ACT Late Model ranks in both the US and Canada will once again have some non-point must participate events in 2012. The TD Bank Oxford 250 will have the best Late Model teams in the region competing for the 2012 bragging rights in what has been billed as the nation’s richest one day short track event. Qualifying begins at high noon on Sunday, July 22, 2012.

The $40,000.00 5th annual Showdown at Chaudière will once again challenge the best of the ACT Castrol teams against the best of the ACT US teams. A favorite event for the season’s best competitors will take place on Saturday, September 8, 2012.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host NASCAR Cup Chase weekend over September 21-23, 2012. The 4th ACT Invitational will provide both weekly and ACT Tour teams with the opportunity to compete at the ‘Magic Mile’ during NASCAR Cup weekend again in 2012.

The 50th People’s United Bank Milk Bowl will take place at Thunder Road on Saturday and Sunday, September 29-30, 2012. Plans for a very special 50th Milk Bowl are already in the works, including a Late Model ‘mini-milk bowl’ for non-qualified teams.

2012 ACT US SCHEDULE

EVENT DATE DAY TRACK LAPS NOTE
1 APR 15 SUN LEE USA SPEEDWAY 150
2 APR 29 SUN THUNDER ROAD 150
3 MAY 06 SUN DEVIL’S BOWL 112
4 MAY 20 SUN OXFORD PLAINS 150
5 JUN 23 SAT WHITE MOUNTAIN 150
JUL 22 SUN OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY 250 250
6 JUL 28 SAT BEECHRIDGE MOTOR SPDWY 150
7 AUG 11 SAT SANAIR SUPER SPEEDWAY 100 [combo]
8 AUG 25 SAT CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY 200 [combo]
9 SEP 02 SUN THUNDER ROAD 200
SEP 08 SAT AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE SHOWDOWN 200 [combo]
SEP 22 SAT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPDWY INVITATIONAL 50
SEP 29-30 SA/SU THUNDER ROAD MILK BOWL 150
10 OCT 06 SAT AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY 200
Schedule Subject to Change