VALLÉE-JCT., QC – Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. of Akron, OH has posted a “team” bonus for the Coors Light 200 “Showdown at Chaudière” all-star Late Model stock car event at Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction, QC on Saturday, Sept. 6. The race will feature the top 11 drivers from the U.S.-based American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and the top 11 drivers from the Québec/Ontario-based Série ACT Castrol.
The 11-man team that outperforms the other will be awarded the Goodyear bonus: a free set of four ACT-legal race tires for each driver on the team. The total value of the award package is over $5,000, in addition to the $26,000+ purse already posted, which will pay $5,000 to the race winner and a healthy $1,000 to the last-place (22nd) finisher.
“Goodyear has shown its commitment and support for ACT-style Late Model racing in the U.S. and Canada for many years, and this bonus is just an affirmation of their devotion to a successful racing program,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT. “We’re expecting our U.S. and Canadian stars to put on quite a show, and the Goodyear bonus will only add to their drive.” A score will be kept for each driver in the Coors Light 200 Showdown; the winner will be given one point, the second-place finisher two points, etc. The team with the lower overall score at the end of the event will be the winner. In the event of a tie, the team with the race-winning driver will win the Goodyear bonus.
Representing the Série ACT Castrol “home” team will be point leader Alexandre Gingras of Val-Bélair, QC, recent Autodrome Chaudière winner Karl Allard of St-Félicien, QC, and veteran Yvon Bédard of St-Nicolas, QC. They’ll be joined by fellow Québecers Jean-François Déry, Claude Leclerc, Martin Lacombe, and Dany Ouellet, sophomore competitors Jonathan Desbiens and Stéphane Durand, and top rookies Patrick Hamel of St-Édouard-de-Lotbinière, QC and Spencer MacPherson of Carleton Place, ON.
The U.S. team will be determined following Sunday’s Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road in Barre, VT. Drivers that are scheduled to be in the Coors Light 200 Showdown include Vermont competitors Scott Payea, Jean-Paul Cyr, Brent Dragon, and John Donahue, New Hampshire drivers Randy Potter and Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk, Jr., Glen Luce of Maine, and top rookie Nick Sweet of Vermont.
The U.S. team will, ironically, have at least one Canadian member, Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, QC, as he is in the championship hunt. Three drivers are in a tight battle for the final two positions, which will be determined in the Bond Auto 200 on Sunday: Vermont’s Pete Potvin and Scott Dragon, and Boischatel, QC driver Donald Theetge. The trio is separated by just 11 points from 10th to 12th place in point standings.
The Coors Light 200 “Showdown at Chaudière” will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 6:30pm at Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction, QC. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com, www.laserieactcastrol.com, or www.autodromechaudiere.com/showdown2008/.