Austin Theriault: ACT Late Model Tour
Airborne Speedway/Milk Bowl Race Preview
THE STORY
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, looks to cash in on a first career victory when the ACT Late Model Tour stages marquee events on back-to-back days this weekend. First, the ACT Late Model Tour wraps up its regular season with the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., on Saturday, October 8, before heading to Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., for the rain-delayed 49th annual Milk Bowl on Sunday, October 9. Theriault has posted five consecutive Top-5 finishes in ACT points races entering the Fall Foliage 200 – a combination race for the ACT Late Model Tour and the ACT Castrol Series. Theriault is looking to qualify for a second consecutive Milk Bowl on Sunday, where he will field the very same No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford that he competes in on Saturday at Airborne.
THE FACTS
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, West Paris, Maine
BEST CAREER AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY FINISH: 12th (September 2010)
LAST RACE AT AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY: 12th (September 2010)
BEST CAREER MILK BOWL FINISH: 20th (October 2010)
LAST MILK BOWL FINISH: 20th (October 2010)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Fall Foliage 200 (season finale)
WHERE: Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (.500-mile flat oval)
WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday, October 8
WHAT: 49th annual Milk Bowl
WHERE: Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)
WHEN: 12 noon, Sunday, October 9
ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
LAST RACE: 3rd annual ACT Invitational, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (11th)
POINTS POSITION: 4th
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin Theriault has not finished outside of the Top-5 in any race since becoming the youngest driver to finish on podium in the history of the TD Bank Oxford 250.
Austin Theriault is fourth in the ACT standings – the highest he has been in his two-year career – just 34 points behind third-place John Donahue, despite having made one fewer start than any other driver in the Top-7.
Austin Theriault won the pole for the Fall Foliage 200 in 2010. It was just his second career start at Airborne Speedway.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford,On competing on back-to-back days this weekend: “It will be a unique experience, kind of like what we did in Canada (in September). This time, though, the race that counts (in the standings) will be on aSaturday, instead of the other way around, which is a big thing for us. We really just want to try to finish off the year strong.
“We’ve got two pretty good opportunities to get a win. I’m looking forward to the weekend. We can show what we can do as a team.”
On the outlook for the weekend at two very different tracks: “Thunder Road, we’ve had our ups and downs there in the past, but this year I think we’ve learned some things that have really helped out. I think those things will help us out at both tracks. We had a car good enough to win, it just didn’t come out the way we wanted.
“At Airborne last year, we had a decent car. I’m not sure if there’s one that’s any better for us, but both are great opportunities for us as a team to run for a win.”
On how he handles the prestige of the Milk Bowl: “I haven’t been around the sport as long as guys like Brian (Hoar) or Brent (Dragon), so it’s kind of hard for me to have the whole story. But these races this weekend are both prestigious in their own way. I can see that.
“They are prestigious, but we’re not going to go and try harder – we try our best everywhere we go. There is some added pressure with it being the end of the year and you’re trying to get all you can on the track while your mind is focused on ending the season on a good note. A bad note stays with you the whole off-season.
“There is the added pressure of a prestigious race, and the Milk Bowl does have history and maybe we can be part of it.”