Brent Dragon: ACT Late Model Tour
Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl Race Preview
THE STORY
Brent Dragon of Milton, Vt., hopes to start turning the corner on the ACT Late Model Tour in preparation for next season as the Tour returns to its home track, Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., for the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 on Sunday, September 4. In a season filled with ups and downs, Dragon has shifted his focus to getting his cars better for the 2012 season and began to see some great improvements last weekend at Riverside Speedway in St. Croix, Que. Dragon will run the same car for this weekend’s Bond Auto Labor Day Classic as he looks to finish the 2011 season with strong finishes.
THE FACTS
WHO: Brent Dragon, Milton, Vt.
TEAM: Dragon Motorsports No. 55 Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT/Charlesbois Freightliner Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Donnie Avery, Ashland, N.H.
BEST CAREER THUNDER ROAD INTERNATIONAL SPEEDBOWL FINISH: 1st (October 2006)
LAST RACE AT THUNDER ROAD INTERNATIONAL SPEEDBOWL: 15th (May 2011)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200
WHERE: Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)
WHEN: 1:30 p.m., Sunday, September 4
ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
LAST RACE: August 20, Q 97.9 FM 150, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (17th)
NEXT RACE: September 10, Budweiser Showdown At Chaudiere, Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que. (.333-mile oval)
POINTS POSITION: 7th
DID YOU KNOW?
Brent Dragon plans to run his own car for the Labor Day Classic, the Budweiser Showdown at Chaudiere, the Can-Am 200, and the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Brent Dragon joined his father, Beaver Dragon, and uncle, Bobby Dragon, as a Labor Day Classic 200 winner when he won the event in 2004.
Brent Dragon was the 2006 Milk Bowl and 2004 Labor Day Classic 200 champion at Thunder Road.
Brent Dragon has finished in the Top-10 in the final ACT standings in 11 straight seasons.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
BRENT DRAGON, Driver of the No. 55 Beverage Mart/Furniture World of VT/Charlesbois Freightliner, On his experience at Thunder Road International Speedbowl: “This year has been pretty good. The last two times we raced weekly 100-lappers and finished around fifth in both after starting in the rear. It was a big improvement over the past few weeks. We’re looking forward to running 200 laps there.”
On heading into the final three points races of the season:“We’re trying to learn more for next year. We’re pretty much out of everything for this year. So we are trying a bunch of stuff to get better for next year.”
On how the race weekend at Ste-Croix was going before the rain hit: “Very good. We were top of the board in the first practice and second or third in the second session. We were looking forward to the race.
“We’ve been working with (car builder Jeff Taylor of Distance Racing) a lot and he’s got us moving in the right direction. We’ll be running our car this weekend as well as in Quebec and New Hampshire.”
UP NEXT
The ACT Late Model Tour heads north of the border to Quebec to run a doubleheader weekend at Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jonction, Que., on Saturday, September 10, and Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Que., on Sunday, September 11… Brent Dragon will attempt to win his second Showdown at Chaudiere and help the American-Canadian Tour drivers battle the ACT Castrol Series’ best in the ACT Late Model Tour’s All-Star Race. The following day he will compete in the postponed Can-Am 200, where Dragon will roll off 8th and hopes to pick up where he left off with a strong car.