NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS NORTH
By Lou Modestino(for 2/11-2/14/10)
According to Area Auto Racing News, the Lee USA Speedway in NH would like to move their Friday night program to Saturday nights and meet with town officials on Jan. 25 in an effort to pull this off. The dropping of the NASCAR Saturday night sanction by the nearby Star Speedway in Epping was the catalyst to make this move. Star had a lock on the Saturday night date for many years. We also know that Red and Judy MacDonald owners of Lee have eyed a Saturday night move for some time. If this happens it will shake up the racing pecking order in southeastern NH and the Merrimack Valley.
Ford Racing announced an aggressive $35,000 contingency plan for the American Canadian Tour (ACT) for the 2010 campaign. The contingency program, tailored to support those teams that have chosen to compete in 2010 with the Ford powered S347JR engine in any ACT affiliate track weekly events, as well as the touring programs under the ACT sanction, is the largest contingency plan offered in the 25-year history of ACT.
“We want short track supporters across North America to know that we are very supportive of their efforts. Short tracks have been the backbone of stock car racing for over 50 years, and Ford recognizes their importance. We believe the contingency program that we have offered the ACT competitors and supporters reflects our support,” said Mike Delahanty, Program Manager-Sportsman Circle Track Racing for the Ford Racing Technology division of Ford Racing.
The Ford spec engine program was begun as a joint venture between Ford engineering and ACT in 2008. After months of research and development to make the Ford compatible with the existing motors that were exclusive in weekly and touring Late Model racing throughout the Northeast, the approved product was introduced at the beginning of the 2009 season. Long-time ACT competitor, and three-time King of the Road Champion at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT, Cris Michaud, brought Ford Racing their first crate victory in mid-summer last season. 2009 Lee USA Track Champion Wayne Helliwell, and ACT regular young gun Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. from Hudson, NH, among others, have switched over to Ford for their 2010 campaigns.
The FORD Racing Blue Oval Challenge Program will offer several contingency programs to registered and approved competitors who compete in ACT Tour (US) events; ACT Castrol Série events, two ACT special events: the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Invitational II and the Vermont Milk Bowl at Thunder Road. The contingency program will award the following:
I ACT TOUR & ACT Castrol Série
Win $500
2nd $250
3rd $100
II ACT Special Events, NHMS ACT Invitational II, VT Milk Bowl
Win $1000
Best FORD $ 500
III ACT Ford Racing Blue Oval Cup
(A season-long point program encompassing all Ford participants throughout the ACT Tour, ACT Castrol Canadian Series, and all ACT affiliate weekly tracks. An end-of-season point tally will reward Ford-powered competitors finishing in the top 10 as follows):
1st place- $3000 6th place- $ 600
2nd place- $1500 7th place- $ 500
3rd place- $1000 8th place- $ 400
4th place- $ 800 9th place- $ 300
5th place- $ 700 10th place- $ 200
A total of 43 ACT events will be eligible for contingency during the 2010 race season, and all ACT affiliate weekly programs will be eligible including: Thunder Road in Barre, VT; Lee USA in Lee, NH; White Mountain Motorsport Park in Lincoln, NH; Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, ME; Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, MA; Waterford Speedbowl, in Waterford, CT; Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH; Kawartha Speedway in Peterborough, ON; and Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, ON. Other tracks may be added and eligible number of point-counting events and further details will be forthcoming from the ACT office to registered competitors.
“This program, designed by Ford, validates the vision we have been working on over the past decade at ACT,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT. “We have tried to bring one region of the country under a ‘universal’ set of rules that was cost efficient for race teams, promoters, and fans. The idea was to have a strong, cost effective race car for weekly racing that was still exciting to watch and also capable of running touring events in the region. Recent events like theTD Bank 250 at Oxford and the ACT Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway have certainly showcased how successful the format for these times has been. The Ford vs. Chevrolet rivalry is now officially re-established.”
The sensational young star of ACT racing, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., said, “We made the switch to Ford for the 2010 season for a couple of reasons. We needed to try something different to compete with teams like Brian Hoar, Brent Dragon, and Brad Leighton in order to get an ACT Championship, which is our goal. If we are successful, we are hoping that Ford might also help us with some future goals we have in racing. This contingency incentive program is just great–not only the money involved, but racing against all the other potential Ford teams in a region gives our competitive juices just one more goal to go after.”
The ACT season opens on April 18, 2010 at the Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH with the annual running of the NH Governor’s Cup 150. This will also be the first opportunity to lock in an invitation to the ACT Invitational II at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 18, 2010.
Officials of the Goodyear Engineering and Racing Division and the American Canadian Tour (ACT) have announced that the final test of their new tire designed for a Limited Late Model was very successful.
Veteran racer Joey Laquerre from Barre, VT took his ACT Tiger Sportsman car to Hickory Speedway in North Carolina last week to assist with the test of the D2637 – 7.5” treaded tire designed for a Limited Late Model, or +/- 3000 lb ‘street stock’ division type race car. Laquerre originally tested the Goodyear D2635 tire for the ACT Sportsman division in 2008. He was instrumental in helping to get the modifications made resulting in a revolutionary tire for these kinds of race cars throughout the country. Laquerre also did extensive testing on the ACT Late Model tire in 2004, which led to present use by a dozen tracks, and both ACT Touring divisions in the US and Canada.
“The test went really well, and working with Joel (Reichert, a development engineer for Goodyear racing) is always interesting. He listens to what we as racers think might help the product. Goodyear really improved the tire with the added half inch, creating a better contact patch, and I was very pleased that after 150 laps of testing the tire was still performing within a tenth or two of where we had been 100 laps earlier,” said Laquerre.
The American Canadian Tour has been involved with development of short track tires in conjunction with Goodyear for over 20 years. “ It is great to have the world’s highest profile racing tire company work with us for the betterment of short track racing,” said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour. “We started out working on a treaded tire back around 1990. A few years ago we saw a need for an upgrade on the 8” Late Model slick, and Goodyear allowed us to work with them to produce the state of the art 8” slick which has become very popular nationwide and is used by our affiliate tracks and both our US ACT and Canadian Castrol tours. Now with the development of the 7.5” D2637 treaded tire, we have come full circle.”
The American Canadian Tour, which is a 25-year old sanctioning body for short track events throughout the Northeast is also working with Goodyear on a cost-effective four-cylinder tire. Additionally, Goodyear will be providing ACT competitors with a special tire for their second ACT INVITATIONAL to be held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 18, 2010.
Scott Junod, Goodyear Sales Manager, Short Track Racing, said, “Working with the competitors at ACT is always a very positive and rewarding experience for Goodyear. We have done a lot of testing with them over the past few years, and all of us in Engineering and Sales have really enjoyed the relationship. We are especially grateful to Joey (Laquerre) and appreciate all the help and input he has given us in development of this new tire for the Limited Late Model (ACT Tiger Sportsman) type car.”
The ACT Tiger division has been popular since 1966 at the flagship track, Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT. Annually, there are over forty (40) teams that compete weekly. Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY has seen continued success with the division for twenty years, and in 2010, White Mountain Motorsport Park in Lincoln, NH and the Devil’s Bowl Speedbowl in Fair Haven, Vermont will adopt the ACT rules for the ACT Tiger Sportsman division.
The Bond Auto/Wix “Tiger Sportsman Tour” will be expanding in 2010 to include events at both Thunder Road and White Mountain, as well as Riverside Speedway in Groveton, NH and Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, NH.
Tracks from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Ontario have indicated they will run the new Goodyear tire in 2010 following the testing results from Hickory.
Here’s what’s going on in the North Country this weekend. There’s stockcar racing on the ice on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Berry & Lee Ponds in Multonborough, NH , Lake Coontoocook in Jaffery, NH and Me-Te-Jo Campground in Milton, NH. The same day Jolly Roger Motorsports Park in E. Lempster, NH offers motorycle, quad and snowmobile action at 9 a.m. The Rock Maple SnoX circuit moves into Rockingham Park in Salem, NH for a full weekend, Fri., Sat. & Sun.) meet with the green flag going off at 9 a.m. each day. On Saturday night the Common Man Restaurant in Claremont, NH hosts the New England Hillclimbing Assn. with a rules meeting at 9 a.m. and the annual dinner at 6 p.m.