RPM Motorsports: ACT Late Model Tour
Brian Hoar Beech Ridge Race Preview
THE STORY
Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., begins the stretch drive toward a ninth career ACT Late Model Tour championship in the ACT 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, July 28. After more than a month off from ACT competition, the Top-4 drivers in the standings begin the final five-race stretch toward the season’s conclusion separated by just 42 points. Hoar has always had an affinity for the flat Beech Ridge Motor Speedway – having returned to ACT Victory Lane at the track in 2009 following an eight-year hiatus from the series to concentrate on what is now the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He is one of only three drivers to have won at Beech Ridge since ACT’s return to the track in 2009.
THE FACTS
WHO: Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt.
TEAM: RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge Charger
CREW CHIEF: Rick Paya, Georgia, Vt.
BEST CAREER FINISH AT BEECH RIDGE: 1st (July 2009)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE: 6th (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 (16th)
NEXT RACE: August 11, ACT 100, Sanair Super Speedway, St. Pie, Que. (.875-mile tri-oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 3rd
DID YOU KNOW?
Brian Hoar has never finished worse than sixth at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, with an average finish of 2.3 in three starts at the track.
Brian Hoar has never been below third in the ACT Late Model Tour standings since joining RPM Motorsports in 2009.
Brian Hoar has more career ACT championships (8) and race wins (35) than any driver in history.
Brian Hoar and RPM Motorsports have won the last three ACT Late Model Tour championships as a team (2009-2011) and have each won eight ACT championships overall.
Brian Hoar won the first two ACT races of the 2012 season – at Lee USA Speedway and at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – marking the sixth time in his career that he’s won consecutive points races.
RPM Motorsports had two cars finish in the Top-6 at Beech Ridge the last time ACT competed at the NASCAR-sanctioned short track.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRIAN HOAR, Driver of the RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge Charger, On heading to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway this weekend: “I definitely like going to Beech Ridge, and I’ve had some pretty good runs there in the past. It’s a place I like a lot.
“I think I was always pretty comfortable on (flat tracks). Airborne Raceway was always considered a flat track – it’s got a little more banking and you’re carrying a little more speed going into the corners there, but it’s still flat. That’s where I spent all my Saturday nights (as a weekly racer). It was probably more difficult for me to adapt to Thunder Road and some of the other banked tracks we go to. Probably the biggest difference with the flat tracks is the throttle control you have to have at the Oxfords and the Beech Ridges.”
On if what the team learned at Oxford Plains Speedway last weekend translates into racing at Beech Ridge this weekend: “I sure hope so. I think so. The tracks are very similar in a lot of respects. Our setup last week was a pretty decent setup. We probably should have fine-tuned it a little differently going backwards – like a lot of people wish they had done.
“But if we can get the balance right on the car this weekend, I think we’ve got a good setup.”
On what it will take over the final five races of the season to win the championship: “The second half of the season, it is what it is. We’ve just got to get our performance back up and get to Victory Lane, and we’ll be good.
“When everybody is as competitive and as good as the top few teams are, then, yes, you probably are going to need to win some races here. But it also depends on what everybody else does, too. If they finish 30th, then we don’t need to win, right? But our plan going in, we need to get top points, lead some laps, and win some races. The championship will take care of itself.”