BARRE, VT – American Canadian Tour rivals Scott Payea of Colchester, Vt. and Dillon Moltz of Waterford, Ct. resume their bid for the 2017 ACT Late Model Tour title at the 39th running of the Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road Sunday, September 3.
Payea leads Moltz by 28 points with two events remaining. Both drivers are seeking their first ACT championship.
Payea drove the Harrison Concrete and Redi-Mix No. 37 to victory in the Community Bank 150 on the Barre high banks earlier in the season. Moltz, who is coming off a recent win at White Mountain Motorsports Park, finished 3rd in the first Thunder Road tour event.
In addition to each other, the point leaders will likely have to contend with ACT Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Corliss of Barre, Thunder Road point leader Bobby Therrien, Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown and hometown favorite Nick Sweet – winner of the last two Labor Day Classics.
Corliss has three wins at Thunder Road this season in the Burnett Scrap Metals No. 66 – the same car he finished second to Moltz with at White Mountain.
“We’ve run weekly at Thunder Road and the ACT schedule with the same car,” owner Christopher Burnett said. “We’ve spent many hours in the shop this year!”
Sweet has run a limited schedule in 2017 after winning the ACT title a year ago and coming within a single point of earning his third “King of the Road” crown.
He will strap into the Chase Motorsports No. 40 Sunday.
“I haven’t had that many laps on the new pavement at Thunder Road this year,” Sweet said. “I had acquired the feel I wanted on the older surface. I knew where to be and where not to be. Now it’s a different track.”
“I think I’d take track position over tire changes Sunday, we’ll see,” Sweet said. “And a good starting spot helps. If you start too far back, you have to race hard early to not go a lap down.”
The Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers, Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors are also on the Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic card.
Qualifying heats begin at 1 p.m. Admission is adults/$25, children 12 and under admitted free.