AT Racing: ACT Late Model Tour
White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Report
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, finished fourth in the ACT Late Model Tour White Mountain 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday, June 23. It marked the best career finish for Theriault at the banked quarter-mile track and his fourth Top-5 finish in five races this season. Theriault started ninth and rode inside the Top-10 throughout the event, making a late move for fourth-place while racing in traffic with several cars vying for second place.
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, South Paris, Maine
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour White Mountain 150
WHERE: White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile banked oval)
WHEN: Saturday, June 23
STARTED: 9th
FINISHED: 4th
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 4th
******
AUSTIN, HOW WOULD YOU BEST SUM UP YOUR NIGHT?
To be honest, I think we beat our own expectations going into the night. We felt we had a good car, but we’ve generally been lacking at the banked tracks for some reason. I feel we made some pretty big gains in that department. I know the finish didn’t reflect how good the car was at the end of the race. We didn’t fall off as much as everybody else.
We were running Joey (Polewarczyk) down, running Eric Chase down. A couple more laps, we probably would have had second. It just goes to show how hard we’ve been working lately. We’re making gains in the areas that we need to work on, and that’s what we’ll continue to do. That’s why I like to go weekly racing – its an opportunity not only for me, but it gives (crew chief Mickey Green) a chance to learn more about what these cars do, too.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FINAL LAPS?
With three or four laps to go, I’ve learned you’ve got to take chances. If a guy gives you three-quarters of a lane and he opens it up, you have to fill the hole and worry about the outcomes later. I did that. I knew we were going to make contact (with the 37), and I didn’t think it went over the edge.
That doesn’t give you the green light to take a guy out of his lane, either. I calculated that. I feel it was as clean as it could have been. It could have been a lot worse. Obviously, the emotions fired and things will only get better from here as everybody has time to reflect. Anybody in that situation would have probably done the same thing, especially when you’re racing for points as close as the points battle is right now.
NOW THAT THE ACT TOUR IS AT THE SEASON’S MIDPOINT, ARE YOU HAPPY WITH WHERE THE TEAM IS AT?
I think we’re in a good position right now. Things could have gone better, and you could say we could have gotten a win by now – but you can’t say “could’ve” and “would’ve,” you’ve got to keep working. If we can keep doing what we’re doing, we can get a Top-3 points finish.
We’ve got some good tracks coming up, so I’m excited about that. But to win a championship in this series, you’ve really got to win races. We’re going to shoot to keep getting Top-5s and shoot for wins and just work on being as consistent as we can.
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