ACT Late Model Tour: Brian Hoar
Devil’s Bowl Speedway Race Report
WEST HAVEN, VT. – Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., finished second in one of the closest finishes in ACT Late Model Tour history, just .02-seconds out of the lead in the Spring Green 113 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Sunday, May 5. The eight-time ACT champion started fourth in the 30-car field and led on two different occasions for a total of 17 laps heading into a final restart with five laps remaining. He battled eventual winner Wayne Helliwell Jr. side-by-side for every one of the final circuits in the RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge Charger before coming up just a fender short at the checkered flag. Hoar remains one of just three ACT drivers to finish in the Top-10 in each of the season’s first three races.
WHO: Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt.
TEAM: RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge Charger
CREW CHIEF: Rick Paya, Georgia, Vt.
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Spring Green 113
WHERE: Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, Vt. (.500-mile oval)
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 2nd
LAPS LED: 2 times for 17 laps
NEXT RACE: May 18, Airborne 100, Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (.500-mile oval)
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BRIAN, DID YOU THINK YOU HAD THE RACE WON AT THE CHECKERED FLAG?
Yes. I really thought I had it won.
We had a great night, and I can’t complain, really. I wish I’d put one tire mark on Wayne coming off Turn 4, but hey, I like the guy. In all seriousness, we had a restart before that when we got the lead and he ran me really clean on that one. We were side-by-side at the end, and I thought I owed it to him to race him the same way he raced me. We really had a good battle there.
IT SEEMED THE REST OF THE RACE PLAYED OUT EXACTLY HOW YOU WOULD HAVE HOPED.
It did. We started fourth, bided our time and settled in and ran behind Wayne. It didn’t seem like anybody could keep with Wayne and I. There were some senseless cautions, but we kept starting in the front row and we kept pulling away from everybody else until it was time to settle it at the end.
DID YOU MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO RIDE PATIENTLY THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF THE RACE?
It’s only a 113-lap race. There was a caution with 20 or 22 (laps) to go, and prior to that, we kept dropping back into second place. With 22 to go, I felt like it was time to fight for the lead and we got it. We led until five to go when caution came back out. We didn’t need that caution.
We had the restart, and then the caution came right back out. When we restarted again, Wayne and I were side-by-side for the last five laps.