Austin Theriault: ACT Late Model Tour
Autodrome Chaudiere/Circuit Riverside Race Report
STE-CROIX, Que. – Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, continued to roll along on the ACT Late Model Tour, posting a pair of strong finishes in a doubleheader weekend north of the border. Theriault finished eighth in the 24-car ACT Budweiser Showdown at Chaudiere 200 all-star race at Autodrome Chaudiere on Saturday, September 10, and the 17-year-old then posted a fourth-place effort the very next day in the postponed Can-Am 200 at Circuit Riverside in Ste-Croix, Que. It marked the fifth straight Top-5 finish for the AT Racing No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford in ACT points events and moved him up one spot to fourth in the overall ACT standings with one race remaining.
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57ME Varney Insurance Ford
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, West Paris, Maine
WHAT: ACT Budweiser Showdown at Chaudiere 200
WHERE: Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que. (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 19th
FINISHED: 8th
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Can-Am 200
WHERE: Circuit Riverside, Ste-Croix, Que. (.625-mile oval)
STARTED: 10th
FINISHED: 4th
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: September 4, Labor Day Classic 200, Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (5th)
NEXT RACE: September 24, 3rd annual ACT Invitational, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (1.058-mile flat oval)
POINTS POSITION: 4th
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AUSTIN, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR WEEKEND?
“I think we had a pretty respectable weekend. It’s definitely a challenge going back-to-back with the same car. You’re not able to get all the information that you need to get to get the car ready, because you really have to switch gears quickly without going back to the shop. The team did a great job.
“We were super-fast in practice (at Chaudiere). But when we put race tires on, it didn’t go the way we thought it would. I wish we could have done a little better, but overall it was a good day. Then we got a couple hours of sleep and headed to Ste-Croix. Once again, we were Top-5 in practice, and had a really good day. Brian (Hoar) was good and (Wayne) Helliwell was good, but we definitely had a tTop-5 car.”
HOW HARD WAS IT TO RACE TWICE IN QUEBEC IN LESS THAN 18 HOURS?
“The guys that I have working on the team, they’re really awesome. They actually left (Chaudiere) before we did, so they were ready to go when I arrived in Ste-Croix. We’d found some stuff that was bent from the night before. But it really just shows how good a crew we have on the car.
“Once again, we have a really great car at all of the races we’re going to. I’m pretty confident that we can win every time we go out now.”