Brian Hoar: ACT Late Model Tour
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., will try and add to his record ACT Late Model Tour win total in The Big Jab 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, June 4. Hoar collected victory No. 30 of his career in the Spring Green 111 two weeks ago, giving him two wins in the first three races of the season and a commanding early lead atop the standings. Despite a runner-up effort in last year’s non-point TD Bank Oxford 250, Hoar has yet to win at Oxford – where the series will run twice in a span of three weeks.
THE FACTS
WHO: Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt.
TEAM: RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge
CREW CHIEF: Rick Paya, Georgia, Vt.
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: 2nd (July 2010)
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY: 2nd (July 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. (1st)
NEXT RACE: June 18, ACT 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 1st
DID YOU KNOW?
This is a doubleheader weekend for Brian Hoar and RPM Motorsports, which will also compete on Sunday, June 5, in the Subway Fresh Fit 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway.
Brian Hoar has never won at Oxford Plains Speedway, but he did finish third and fifth in the two ACT points races held at the track last season..
RPM Motorsports and Brian Hoar have not trailed in the ACT Late Model Tour standings since winning at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl in August of 2009.
In three races this season, Brian Hoar has wins at Lee USA Speedway and Devil’s Bowl Speedway, as well as a pole at Thunder Road International Speedbowl.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
BRIAN HOAR, Driver of the No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge, On the strong start to the season: “I’d just as soon be in the position I’m in than be the one chasing. At this point, I’d like to have a little pad – heck, I want to have all the pad I can have (atop the standings). I’d like to win the championship halfway through the year, but that’s not the way this sport works.
“Last year, I think we clinched a week before the end of the season, but that’s unusual.”
On what Oxford Plains Speedway is like: “It’s a big circle. There’s not any straightaway there. The big thing that’s changed – it used to be much more of a one-groove track. Now that they’ve started using some sort of track adhesion, it’s been some of the best racing I’ve been involved with at any race track over the years. If they get it right (with the traction compound), that outside groove really comes in.
“I think it’s one of those tricky tracks. When we went in ’09 for the first time together (with crew chief Rick Paya), he was pretty well convinced he had a good setup and I’d always run well there, too. Last year as well as we ran, it was a great track for us, but we just didn’t win. I think we’re going to run well there this weekend. It’s just one of those places that we’ve set a goal where we want to win one. We’d like to get that victory at that place.”
On whether he changes his approach for an open race at Canaan versus a Tour race at Oxford: “No. I pretty much approach every race the same. In all fairness… I guess subconsciously I do think about it. I’m big into points racing – I dig for every point I can get on Tour. There’s got to be certain circumstances in (an open race) where you’re like, ‘Dude, you want to race like that? OK, here we go, then.’ And there’s probably times in a Tour race where you’ll think, ‘OK, maybe I won’t push this quite so hard right now.’
“Part of it probably depends a little on who you’re racing with, too.”
RICK PAYA, Crew chief and owner of the No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge Charger, On racing at Oxford: “It’s a hard track to get a handle on as far as handling goes. It’s really a driver’s track. It’s a unique track. Our setup for that race track is totally different than anywhere we go, anywhere on the circuit. It’s taken me a few years to really figure it out. Local guys have a big edge over us Tour guys that only race there a couple of times a year. It’s the kind of place where you see that the weekly cars really have it figured out.
“It stays pretty consistent for our setup. What we have in the spring is what we show up for the ‘250’ with. It seems to stay consistent for us. I’ve heard some guys say that it changes for them, but we haven’t really found that. It’s usually the same for us as far as what we bring for a setup every time we go.”
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 … Brian Hoar is the defending champion of the event, the only stop of the season for the Tour at the high-banked quarter-mile.