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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ACT News

Waterbury, VT – Eight-time American Canadian Tour Champion Brian Hoar of Williston, VT topped the $250,000 mark in career earnings during the 2011 season. Including special events, Hoar pocketed $65,000 in 2011 alone.

Hoar and his Rick Paya Motorsports team put together one of the greatest ACT Late Model seasons ever to claim their [...]]]>

Waterbury, VT – Eight-time American Canadian Tour Champion Brian Hoar of Williston, VT topped the $250,000 mark in career earnings during the 2011 season. Including special events, Hoar pocketed $65,000 in 2011 alone.

Hoar and his Rick Paya Motorsports team put together one of the greatest ACT Late Model seasons ever to claim their third straight title. While finishing outside the top ten just once in twelve starts, the team managed to tie the previous record for most wins in a season with five, which Hoar set back in 1999. Those five wins bring Hoar’s record career wins total to 33.

Not included in those statistics are the special events of 2011. The Goss Dodge Chrysler team claimed wins in the 49th Annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl at Thunder Road (Barre, VT), the Showdown at Chaudiere at Autodrome Chaudiere (Vallee Jct., QC), and a 100-lap segment of the Goodyear Speedweeks Cup at New Smyrna Speedway (New Smyrna Beach, FL). Their Milk Bowl win alone earned them over $13,000 with combined special event winnings surpassing the $20,000 mark.

Hoar will be honored as the Champion for the 8th time in twenty ACT Late Model seasons at the 2011 Banquet of Champions in January of 2012. More details on the banquet will be announced soon.

(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Stafford Motor Speedway Limited Late Model
driver Kevin Gambacorta, the 2011 season played out like déją vu all over
again. After winning the DARE Stock track championship in 2004, Gambacorta
claimed his first Ltd. Late Model track title in 2006 by the narrowest of
margins, 2 points [...]]]>

(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Stafford Motor Speedway Limited Late Model
driver Kevin Gambacorta, the 2011 season played out like déją vu all over
again. After winning the DARE Stock track championship in 2004, Gambacorta
claimed his first Ltd. Late Model track title in 2006 by the narrowest of
margins, 2 points ahead of George Nocera. When the final checkered flag of
the 2011 season fell on the Ltd. Late Model cars at the CARQUEST Fall Final
Weekend, Gambacorta was again the champion, but by a 4 point margin over
Nocera and a 6 point margin over Shawn Thibeault.

“It feels pretty good to be champion again,” said Gambacorta. “It feels
just as good or even a little better than the last two championships. This
was the best year I’ve ever had, our worst finish all year long was 7th
place and the fact that we only won by a couple of points just shows how
tough George and Shawn were this season. They had 4 or 5 wins each and we
only had one win, but I figured they were both due for a bad race or two and
as long as I didn’t have a bad race, we were going to be ok. This
championship is more special because it’s the first championship I’ve won
with a sponsor on the car who puts money and time into the car. I can’t
thank Kurt and Rhonda Rafferty enough for their support and I’m really happy
we were able to win this championship for them. We won the first DARE Stock
championship and to be the first one to win two Limited Late Model
championships is pretty neat.”

While Gambacorta was in the thick of the championship race all season long,
he didn’t spend much time at the head of the standings. Gambacorta took the
points lead for the first time at the midway point of the 2011 season
following the July 1st feature event, and from there to the end of the
season, it was a see-saw duel between himself and Thibeault with each driver
taking turns at the front of the standings. Nocera put himself in the thick
of the championship race with five top-2 finishes in the final 6 races of
the season, but he came up just short of Gambacorta at season’s end.

“It seemed like it was between me and Shawn for most of the season and no
one was talking about George, but once the track started impounding tires,
it seemed like George was the car to beat instead of Shawn,” said
Gambacorta. “It was back and forth between us for most of the season, but I
wasn’t really nervous about it at all. I remember in 2006, I was nervous
every week and that experience probably helped me stay calm this time
around. We felt pretty good going into the last race, we had a 14 point
lead, which is 7 spots on the track and we hadn’t finished worse than 7th
all year long.”

As consistent as Gambacorta was all season long, he points to the Friday
night of May 13th as a key to his championship effort.

“I have to thank Bill Davis and Marshall Usher for letting me use their
car,” said Gambacorta. “It was real early in the season and we had broke
the rear end in our car and we didn’t have a spare or enough time to fix the
car if we did have a spare. They let me drive their car in the feature and
without them giving me their car, we wouldn’t have won the championship.”
Gambacorta will officially be crowned the 2011 Limited Late Model track
champion at the 42nd Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards
Ceremony on Friday, November 18, 2011 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility
in East Windsor.

For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

A large turnout of Late Model teams from both sides of the border are expected to compete for the $34,450 purse, [...]]]>
SOUTH PLATTSBURGH – Airborne Speedway concludes its 58th stock car racing season Saturday, October 8 by hosting one of the American Canadian Tour’s premier events – the 40th Rent-A-Wreck Fall Foliage 200.

A large turnout of Late Model teams from both sides of the border are expected to compete for the $34,450 purse, including 2011 ACT champion Brian Hoar of Williston, VT, 2011 Séries Castrol champion Patrick Laperle of St. Denis, QC, Brent Dragon and Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton, VT – both past Fall Foliage winners and Airborne champions – and Mark Lamberton of Mooers Forks, NY.

Lamberton earned the 2001 Airborne Late Model championship with his Fall Foliage victory after a lengthy battle with Dragon and Todd Stone. He is the only New York driver other than Kenny Tremont Jr. to win the event.

Laperle is seeking his third consecutive Fall Foliage victory. He has won the event four times. Robbie Crouch is the all-time Fall Foliage win leader (7). Bobby Dragon won the inaugural Fall Foliage event at Catamount Stadium in 1972.

When the Fall Foliage race first became an ACT Late Model showcase in 1996, Dave Whitcomb of Essex Jct., VT, scored one of the closest and most memorable wins in Airborne history, besting Jean-Pau Cyr and Ron Weston in a photo finish.

The Rent-A-Wreck race card includes the 100-lap final event of the Bond/WIX Tiger Sportsman Tour and Airborne’s Versatile Trailer Sales Renegades.

Post time is 1 p.m. Admission is $18/adults, children 12 and under free of charge. Advance sale tickets – $15/adults, are available at Rent-A-Wreck 779 Route 3 in Plattsburgh.

FORT KENT, Maine – Austin Theriault enjoyed every minute of his coming-out party at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month.

On Saturday, Theriault hopes to celebrate an even better performance.

The 17-year-old ACT Late Model Tour [...]]]> Austin Theriault Ready To Seal The Deal At NHMS
17-year-old Hopes To Cash In First Victory This Weekend

FORT KENT, Maine – Austin Theriault enjoyed every minute of his coming-out party at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month.

On Saturday, Theriault hopes to celebrate an even better performance.

The 17-year-old ACT Late Model Tour sophomore driver joins 42 other Late Model teams from across the northeast and Canada in the 3rd annual ACT Invitational at New Hampshire on Saturday. Teams will practice in the morning before taking the green flag for the 50-lap ACT Invitational shortly after 5:30 p.m.

“It definitely drives different than any other track. No matter what car you’re in, you have to approach this kind of track differently,” Theriault said of the flat, 1.058-mile oval.” Loudon – I wouldn’t call it a crap-shoot – but there’s a lot more variables there than in regular short-track racing.”

At the inaugural ACT All-Star Challenge in August, the first-ever Tour points race at NHMS, Theriault roared from 32nd to second over the final 50 laps to finish as the runner-up to Brian Hoar, the winningest driver in ACT history. That effort was part of an impressive run that has now seen Theriault leap to fourth in the season standings – despite running one fewer race than everybody else in the Top-7.

His second-place finish in the All-Star Challenge was part of a streak that has seen Theriault post five straight Top-5 finishes to date in the No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford.

“We learn every week. Compared to last year, we’re a much better team as far as paying attention to details and fine-tuning at the track. I think that’s made the biggest difference,” Theriault said. “It’s not something we have that no one else has – it’s something we’ve been able to put into one good package. Right now, we’re a pretty respectable team when it comes to racing on the ACT Tour, as far as being able to put everything together.”

There is the very real possibility that Theriault, who made his New Hampshire debut last season as a rookie in this race, can finally get that first ACT victory. He’s put himself in position to do that virtually every week since finishing third in the TD Bank Oxford 250 in July – when he became the youngest podium finisher in the nearly four-decade history of that event.

And there’s no better stage for doing that than New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“I think I learned to be a little more aggressive,” Theriault said of racing at NHMS. “You really have to drive it down into the corners. A lot of this series is downforce, especially at Loudon. The car was a lot better (in Augusta) than it was last year.

“I think having a good car here makes the biggest difference.”

MILTON, Vt. – When Brent Dragon heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a fourth time this weekend, he’s looking for the kind of result that matches his strong previous efforts at the 1-mile [...]]]>
Brent Dragon Seeks Redemption At NHMS
ACT Tour Fixture Looks For Solid Run At Magic Mile On Saturday

MILTON, Vt. – When Brent Dragon heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a fourth time this weekend, he’s looking for the kind of result that matches his strong previous efforts at the 1-mile oval.

It’s not coincidence that Dragon, who has more ACT Late Model Tour starts than any driver in history, has competed in every Tour event at New Hampshire. He’s one of just 43 Late Model drivers across the northeast and Canada to be invited to participate in the 3rd annual ACT Invitational on Saturday.

Following a brief practice session in the morning, the green flag flies on the Invitational shortly after 5:30 p.m.

“I really like the track a lot,” said Dragon, who will bring his own Dragon Motorsports No. 55 Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT/Charlesbois Freightliner Chevrolet this weekend. “It’s a completely different kind of racing than we have most weeks on the Tour, but it’s something that I definitely enjoy.”

Dragon finished 31st in the ACT Invitational a year ago, but his performance at New Hampshire goes well beyond his actual finishing position. As short-track racers have tried to find the right setups for their cars over the last few seasons, many have turned to Dragon to help get them in the ballpark.

In 2009, several drivers – including former Thunder Road International Speedbowl track champion Cris Michaud – had Dragon drive their cars during practice sessions at New Hampshire to help dial the car in.

This time around, however, Dragon has his sights set on rebounding from a disappointing trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August. After needing a provisional to make the race, Dragon fought to a 37th-place finish in the 44-car field.

“It was a tough weekend right from when we unloaded to the last race,” Dragon said of the two-segment ACT All-Star Challenge. “We were just never able to get the car where it needed to be. We didn’t come down to test, and I think that hurt us. An hour of practice is not a lot of time to get it back and we never were able to get the car to where it felt comfortable all day. That’s the way we ended.”

Dragon headed back to his race shop and got to work on the No. 55, which is a different piece than the team brought to the track in August.

“We know what not to do, I guess,” Dragon said with a chuckle. “Maybe it will give us something to head for and we’ll have to talk to Jeff (Taylor) up at Distance Racing and see if he can get us back in line.”

ACT Forum
ACT News

GEORGIA, Vt. – If the inaugural All-Star Challenge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway back in August was the ACT Late Model Tour’s “Daytona 500,” then this weekend’s event at the Magic Mile is Late Model [...]]]>
Brian Hoar Looks For New Hampshire Repeat
8-time ACT Late Model Tour Champion Roars Into Magic Mile

GEORGIA, Vt. – If the inaugural All-Star Challenge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway back in August was the ACT Late Model Tour’s “Daytona 500,” then this weekend’s event at the Magic Mile is Late Model racing’s Bristol, Charlotte and Talladega all wrapped into one.

And Brian Hoar will gladly take center stage in the third annual ACT Invitational on the flat, one-mile oval in Loudon, N.H.

“It’s one of the biggest races and the biggest track that we run,” Hoar said. “I like racing there. I really like the track.”

The ACT Invitational is a 50-lap event featuring the top teams from the ACT Late Model Tour, its Quebec counterpart the ACT Castrol Series, and weekly competition at ACT-sanctioned short tracks across New England, Ontario and Quebec. Following a brief practice session in the morning, the 43-car ACT Invitational field will take the green flag at 5:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Hoar looks for the season sweep of ACT events at New Hampshire this weekend, having won the ACT All-Star Challenge at the facility back in August. That race was the first-ever ACT points race held at NHMS, and it served as one of seven victories in 2011 for the driver of the RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge.

“I’ve been after this thing for 10 years or so with the (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) cars and now these ACT cars,” said Hoar, who held the K&N Pro Series track record for nearly a decade before it was broken in 2010. “We’ve had an awesome car every time we’ve come here.”

No driver has been more dominant in ACT Late Model Tour competition than Hoar.

The Williston, Vt., driver clinched his record eighth series championship with a win in the Can-Am 200 at Circuit Riverside in Ste-Croix, Quebec, earlier this month, and his 33 career ACT victories are the most by any driver in ACT history.

No other driver has cracked the 20-win plateau in ACT competition.

Hoar’s success has not come alone. RPM Motorsports owner and crew chief Rick Paya of Georgia, Vt., also is the owner of eight career ACT championships. The last three in a row came with Hoar behind the wheel of the RPM ride.

Winning at New Hampshire in August was emotional for Paya.

“This is really special,” Paya said after the victory. “This is our Daytona 500. This win is going to be one of our pride and joys. Brian and I have always talked about what a special place this is to win.”

Laperle started in [...]]]> St-Eustache, QC – Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, QC held off a hard charging Karl Allard over the final 10 laps of the Série ACT Castrol St-Eustache 300 at Autodrome St-Eustache on Sunday, September 18. Laperle led for the majority of the event and unofficially locks up the 2011 Série ACT Castrol title.

Laperle started in the eleventh position and worked his way to the front with the help of seven cautions by lap 79. He would lead the next 98 circuits before pitting out of the lead for tires and fuel on lap 176. With fresh tires it took him just 35 laps to work his way back to the point.

Allard started in the third position and led early while battling with Sylvain Lacombe. He relinquished the lead on lap 211 to Laperle on fresher tires. Allard chose to hold off and pit for his fresh tires on the lap 240 caution. After working his way back towards the front, Allard took the final restart on lap 281 as the fourth car on the track but in the second position.

After clearing the two lap cars several laps later, Allard reached Laperle’s bumper with less than 10 laps to go. The two fought hard over the remaining laps with Allard fighting to make a hole on the inside line, but making several lifts so as not to wreck Laperle. Entering turn three on the final lap, Allard once again got into Laperle and sent him sideways up the track. With a clear lane on the inside, Allard again chose to lift and let Laperle gather the car back up. Laperle would straighten the car out and take the win followed by Allard in second.

Dany Trepanier would take the third position followed by Stephane Descoste and Sylvain Lacombe. Lacombe was the final car on the lead lap after driving under both Laperle and Allard in the last lap battle. Patrick Hamel, Jonathan Bouvrette, Claude Leclerc, Valerie Chiasson and Patrick Cliche rounded out the top ten.

The 300 lap event saw 16 cautions and was completed in two hours and fifteen minutes. Twenty-six cars were on hand for the event and they all started the feature. Five cars completed all 300 circuits and fifteen cars were on the track for the checkers.

Several of the Série ACT Castrol competitors will head to the U.S. next weekend for the third annual ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 24. The following weekend will be another non-point counting event with the 49th running of the People’s United Bank Milk Bowl at Thunder Road in Barre, VT on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2.

The 2011 Série ACT Castrol season will then come to a close on Saturday, October 8 with the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY. It will be a combination event with the ACT Late Model Tour. The day will also feature the final Bond/WIX Tiger Tour 100 lap event and a 50 lap Airborne Renegade race.

St-Eustache 300 Unofficial Results
Série ACT Castrol
Autodrome St-Eustache – St-Eustache, QC
Pos. (Start) Driver, Hometown, Laps Completed
1. (11) Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, 300 Laps

2. (3) Karl Allard, Quebec, QC, 300 Laps

3. (4) Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, QC, 300 Laps

4. (18) Stephane Descoste, Oka, QC, 300 Laps

5. (13) Sylvain Lacombe, Terrebonne, QC, 300 Laps

6. (2) Patrick Hamel, St-Edouard, QC, 298 Laps

7. (7) Jonathan Bouvrette, Blainville, QC, 297 Laps

8. (16) Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, QC, 297 Laps

9. (24) Valerie Chiasson, Le Gardeur, QC, 297 Laps

10. (5) Patrick Cliche, St-Jean-Chrysostome, QC, 295 Laps

11. (22) #Yannick Tremblay, Chicoutimi, QC, 295 Laps

12. (6) Martin Goulet, Jr., Mascouche, QC, 292 Laps

13. (15) Brandon White, Kahnawake, QC, 283 Laps

14. (9) David Michaud, Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, QC, 279 Laps

15. (10) Donald Theetge, Boischatel, QC, 258 Laps

16. (8) Jacques Poulin, East Broughton, QC, 203 Laps

17. (14) Martin Goulet, Mascouche, QC, 158 Laps

18. (26) Maxime Pelletier, Mascouche, QC, 154 Laps

19. (12) Gaetan Lauzier, St-Pacome, QC, 138 Laps

20. (1) Steven Boissonneault, Lyster, QC, 123 Laps

21. (21) Philippe Jeannotte, Brossard, QC, 122 Laps

22. (25) Jacques Guinette, Lavac, QC, 83 Laps

23. (17) Martin Lacombe, Terrebonne, QC, 60 Laps

24. (23) Dave Baldwin, Carleton Place, ON, 40 Laps

25. (19) Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, QC, 14 Laps

26. (20) Gaetan Gaudreault, Quebec, QC, 10 Laps

Time of Race: 2:15:24

Margin of Victory: .260 seconds

Cautions: 16 (Laps 11, 16, 28, 30, 41, 63, 73, 97, 123, 137, 158, 175, 240, 246, 276, 281)

Leaders: Steve Boissonneault, 1-20; Karl Allard, 21-62; Sylvain Lacombe, 63-75; Allard, 76-78; Patrick Laperle, 79-176; S. Lacombe, 177-180; Allard, 181-210; Laperle, 211-300.