Austin Theriault: ACT Late Model Tour
White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview
THE STORY
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, returns to the ACT Late Model Tour for the White Mountain 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday, June 23. The race marks the first Tour race in one month and the only stop of the season at the high-banked quarter-mile. Theriault has been busy during ACT’s off weeks, competing in a pair of weekly Late Model races at White Mountain, while also driving the Brad Keselowski Racing Super Late Model in the midwest. Currently, Theriault sits fourth in the ACT standings, just 19 points out of the lead in a tight title chase.
THE FACTS
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, South Paris, Maine
BEST CAREER FINISH AT WMMP: 6th (June 2011)
LAST RACE AT WMMP: 6th (June 2011)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour White Mountain 150
WHERE: White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile banked oval)
WHEN: 5 p.m., Saturday, June 23
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: May 20, Armed Forces Day 150, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (5th)
NEXT RACE: July 28, ACT 150, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 4th
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin Theriault has not finished outside the Top-10 in any of the ACT Late Model Tour races thus far in 2012, including three Top-5 finishes in four starts.
Austin Theriault finished 13th in the BKR No. 29 Checkered Flag Foundation Dodge on Tuesday night at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich.
Austin Theriault advanced a race-high 14 positions from his starting spot of 20th in last year’s ACT race at White Mountain Motorsports Park to finish sixth.
Austin Theriault was named one of 10 drivers selected to participate in the “Maine Young Guns” competition, with the winner earning a chance to drive for Go Green Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
Austin Theriault graduated from Fort Kent High School on June 8 with an overall class rank of seventh.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion, On spending the last two Saturdays competing in the weekly Late Model division at White Mountain Motorsports Park: “We used it as a test once again, and we tried some different things. We were just trying to find a baseline to unload with (this) weekend. I think we got some pretty good information out of it. We just have to sit down and come up with a game plan for the race.
“It had been a while since we had brought our own car there. We’ve been trying to work on our banked-track program. We haven’t been as good as I want to be compared to how we are at the flat tracks. The more time you can put in, more chassis stuff you can try, the more you’re going to learn. I think it will help us out for this weekend.”
On having had the last three weekends off from ACT Late Model Tour competition: “I think the break is good for everybody that keeps racing and tries to find more speed. I don’t think you’re helping yourself out by just taking a break, A month of from racing can do you a lot of harm, too. It might do some good to give the guys on the crew time to spend with family, but you need to find a track to race at every weekend so you keep on your game and don’t let other guys get a lot better than you.
“We technically haven’t been ‘off.’ We’ve gotten to as many tracks as we could to try and keep getting better.”
On what his goal is for this weekend’s White Mountain 150: “We’re anxious to go back (ACT Late Model Tour racing), and this is a big race for us. I think if we can come out of White Mountain not too bad – with a Top-5 or a Top-10 at the very least – it will be a big boost for us for the rest of the year.”
UP NEXT
The ACT Late Model Tour heads into the second half of the season with the ACT 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, July 28… Austin Theriault finished fifth in the event one year ago, sparking a run of six consecutive Top-5 finishes to close out the 2011 ACT season.
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