Brent Dragon: ACT Late Model Tour
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Brent Dragon of Milton, Vt., aims to build on the momentum of last weekend when he heads to the ACT Late Model Tour Big Jab 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, June 4. Dragon finished fifth in the Memorial Day Classic 100 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl last weekend for his first Top-5 finish of the year. Dragon sits fifth in the ACT standings after three races and this weekend visits one of his favorite tracks on the circuit. For the fourth time in as many Tour races, he will compete in an Avery Motorsports entry at Oxford.
THE FACTS
WHO: Brent Dragon, Milton, Vt.
TEAM: Avery Motorsports No. 55 Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT/Charlesbois Freightliner Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Donnie Avery, Ashland, N.H.
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: 2nd (May 2001)
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY: 7th (June 2010)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour The Big Jab 150
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 4
ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
LAST RACE: May 22, Spring Green 111, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, Vt. (11th)
NEXT RACE: June 18, ACT 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 5th
DID YOU KNOW?
Brent Dragon has more starts than any driver in the history of the ACT Late Model Tour with 189.
Brent Dragon is one of only nine drivers to have qualified for all three ACT events in 2011, and he’s yet to finish worse than 15th in any of them.
Avery Motorsports won three straight ACT Late Model Tour events in 2006 with driver Ben Rowe.
Last season, Brent Dragon got his first taste of driving an Avery Motorsports car when he practiced the car for then-driver Ben Rowe on the day before last season’s TD Bank Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
BRENT DRAGON, Driver of the No. 55 Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT/Charlesbois Freightliner, On getting a good finish at Thunder Road last weekend: “It was a really good run. We were pretty competitive. Second through seventh, we were all pretty much the same, and we fell right into that group. We made some big gains with it.
“I’m looking forward to going back and trying again, because that was only the second time we ran that car. We were competitive with (defending track champion Nick Sweet) – we were fourth and fifth for 50 laps. We passed one another a bunch of times, and that’s pretty good for us. Nick runs really well there. We know we can make this car better, too. We’re definitely headed in the right direction.”
On going to Oxford Plains Speedway this weekend: “I expect it to be pretty good. This is the car I drove last year in practice at the 250, and I couldn’t get over how the car went. I do think we’ll have a better chance than we’ve had. The car went better through the corners than what mine had. I like Oxford, anyway. If that’s still the case, when we get there, we should be pretty good.”
On where he sits right now a quarter of the way through the ACT season: “I’m happy with how everything is working as far as the new group of guys, but we’ve had some really good chances to start the year out really well. We’ve run in the Top-5 of every single Tour race and had something happen — power steering in the first two races, two flat tires at Devil’s Bowl. If we could stay there (in the Top-5), we’d be in pretty good shape right now. Either of those flat tires could have happened to (point leaders Brian Hoar and John Donahue), it’s just the luck.”
On whether Oxford is a setup track or a driver’s track: “It’s probably been more chassis-wise and learning the line a little better for me. I think the track is actually quite a bit different every time we go there, at least that’s what I’ve sort of found. This time of year it’s usually a different setup than in July.
“I’ve been lucky enough to hit on something on both ends – when the track is cool and green and also when it’s hot and slippery in the summer. Hopefully we’ll keep it going this weekend.”
UP NEXT
The ACT Late Model Tour heads to White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., for the ACT 150 on Saturday, June 18… Avery Motorsports family members own the high-banked quarter-mile track, and Brent Dragon has already tested there this season.