AT Racing: ACT Late Model Tour
Austin Theriault Beech Ridge Race Preview
THE STORY
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, returns to ACT Late Model Tour competition this week for for the ACT 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, July 28. Theriault heads into the first ACT points race in more than a month fresh off a third-place finish in the TD Bank Oxford 250 last Sunday, and he’s currently fourth in the overall standings – just 42 points out of the lead. Beech Ridge is a flat, .333-mile track, which is traditionally the kind of track where the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion performs at its best. In two previous starts at Beech Ridge, Theriault has never finished outside the Top-5.
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 BEECH RIDGE FINISH: 2nd (July 2010)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE: 5th (July 2011)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour 150
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile flat oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday, July 28
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: July 22, TD Bank Oxford 250 (non-points), Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (3rd)
NEXT RACE: August 11, ACT 100, Sanair Super Speedway, St. Pie, Que. (.875-mile tri-oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 4th
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin Theriault has an average finish of 3.5 in two career ACT Late Model Tour starts at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
Austin Theriault is one of three finalists for the 2012 Maine Young Guns competition, along with PASS North Series driver Joey Doiron and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Pro Series driver Brad Babb. The winner will earn the right to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 22.
Austin Theriault finished third in this year’s TD Bank Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway, one year after becoming the youngest podium finisher in the history of the event.
Austin Theriault is the only ACT Late Model Tour driver to finish in the Top-10 in every race thus far in 2012, and he has four Top-5 finishes in five races this year.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion, On heading to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway this weekend: “I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve always had a good setup for Oxford (Plains Speedway), and we think it probably will transfer pretty well to Beech Ridge. We haven’t finished outside the Top-5 there, and I’m thinking it will probably be a repeat of Oxford last weekend – with a lot of the same guys out front.
“Hopefully, we can show how good we were with the new car when we get to Beech Ridge. I don’t think we ever really got to show just what we had last weekend.”
On his success on flat tracks like Beech Ridge, where he finished second as a rookie in 2010: “Always seem to have a little bit more success at the flat tracks. For some reason, it seems that been more the case at Beech Ridge than at Oxford. I haven’t quite figured out why.
“We’re usually a lot better later in the run there, so I don’t know if everyone falls off more than we do or I’ve just figured out how to save my stuff. It just seems that I have some sort of feel for the place.”
On what it will take to win the ACT championship over the next five races: “I don’t think it’s going to be over until the last race at Airborne (Speedway). I think we still have a shot at finishing in the Top-3 this year, but I think wins are what’s most important to us right now – just for the sake of racking up points.
“The guys that are winning races this year, obviously they’re out front in the points. Even though we’ve been more consistent than some other guys, I guess winning is a little more more important in the current point system. We’re keeping an eye on it, but we’re putting our focus on wins and letting the points take care of themselves.”
MICKEY GREEN, Crew chief on the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion, On what challenges Beech Ridge presents: “It’s similar to Oxford – you need to get the car to turn. But you also need to have the drive off up the corner, too. It’s a little tighter than Oxford, but if you’re going to compare any two tracks that we race on – those two are the closest.
“It’s about when do you go, when do you not go. We’ll be racing against the same guys we were last week. It will be deja vu.”