Sep 29, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, NE Racing News, Touring Series News
LABBE WINS ACT FALL FOLIAGE 200
Helliwell Wins Second Consecutive ACT Championship by 16 points
Event Photos – http://newenglandracingnews.com/blog/2013/09/photo-act-airborne/
Waterbury, VT – Alex Labbe of St. Albert, Quebec won the 39th annual American Canadian Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY on Sunday, September 28, 2013. Labbe became the spoiler in the season-long championship title bout between defending Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. of Dover, NH and contender Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. of Hudson, NH. Polewarczyk took the lead on lap 34 and led the most laps, held off numerous challenges from Labbe until lap 186 when the fourth and final caution of the day flew for a major wreck involving Helliwell, Jonathan Bouvrette, and shuffled many cars, including Polewarczyk.
Labbe led the final 16 laps, while Polewarczyk had to contend with a hard-charging Brian Hoar for 2nd place. Helliwell pitted after the 186 damage, and nursed his car to finish as the last car on the lead lap, finishing ninth (9th), and his pre-race 41-point lead ended up unofficially at 16 points securing his second ACT Championship.
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Sep 28, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
Waterbury, VT – One of the country’s most unique events, billed as the ‘toughest short track race in America’, Thunder Road’s Milk Bowl just got tougher. The American Canadian Tour recently announced that they will be making a tire change for the first time in nearly a decade. The American Racer tire will become the tire of choice beginning in 2014 for the large network of weekly tracks and the two popular touring series sanctioned by ACT. The season-ending 51st Milk Bowl will unveil the new product for use in the Fall classic the weekend of October 4-6, 2013.
“We have spent the entire summer developing and testing a tire to serve our needs for future years. American Racer has done an outstanding job of getting us exactly what we asked for to replace our current brand of Late Model tires. We have full confidence that the teams will be enthusiastic about the new tire that was developed and ‘rolling’ it out at Thunder Road’s most historic event should let everyone know how confident we are about this product”, said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour and Promoter of Thunder Road International Speedbowl.
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Sep 26, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
ACT Late Model Tour: Brian Hoar
Airborne Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
GEORGIA, Vt. – Eight-time ACT Late Model Tour champion Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., heads to one of the tracks that has been the best to him in his career – Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. – for the Fall Foliage 200 on Saturday, September 28. Hoar has an ACT Late Model Tour-record 39 career victories, including a Tour-record eight alone at Airborne, where he began his racing career in the weekly divisions. Hoar won at the track already this season while running a partial ACT schedule, taking the Airborne 100 in May, and the RPM Motorsports No. 37 GossCars.com Dodge also finished second in the inaugural International 500 at the track in July.
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Sep 26, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
ACT Late Model Tour: Emily Packard
Airborne Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., returns to the type of track where she’s had the most success in her young career for the ACT Late Model Tour Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., on Saturday, September 28. Packard has been at her best on the flat, half-mile tracks like Airborne, and she posted her first career ACT Top-10 starting spot at Airborne last season. She has produced similarly strong runs at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, another wide half-mile track, and the driver of the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet thinks that success should translate into this weekend. Packard finished fourth in the final Vermont State Championship Series standings, which included half of its races at Devil’s Bowl, and she’s looking to rebound from an early ending to the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend.
THE FACTS
WHO: Emily Packard, East Montpelier, Vt.
CREW CHIEF: Neal Woodward, Georgia, Vt.
TEAM: No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet
SPONSORS: Northstar Fireworks, Fecteau Homes, Berlin Optical Expressions, Yipes! of Barre, VT Shifter Karts, GossCars.com, Be The Match, Rutland Regional Medical Center, R.G. Paving
BEST CAREER AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY FINISH: 15th (October 2012)
LAST RACE AT AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY: 32nd (July 2013)
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Fall Foliage 200
WHERE: Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (.500-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, September 28 – 10 a.m., practice; 1:30 p.m., qualifying; 4 p.m., race
ACT Late Model Tour
LAST RACE: September 21, ACT Invitational, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (42nd)
DID YOU KNOW?
Emily Packard became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned Late Model event at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., when she won the Twin 25s event at the track on June 1 of this season.
Emily Packard was one of 43 Late Model drivers in the region selected to participate in the fifth annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 21 – her second consecutive appearance in the event.
Emily Packard became the first woman in a decade to win a feature event at Thunder Road International Speedbowl when she won a Street Stock feature at the track last summer.
Emily Packard was voted the 2012 Vermont Motorsports Magazine Rookie of the Year, and she was also named the Vermont Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association Athlete of the Month for August 2012.
Emily Packard Motorsports crew chief Neal Woodward is a five-time ACT Late Model Tour champion crew chief whose cars set track qualifying records at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
EMILY PACKARD, Driver of the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet, On the racing at Airborne Speedway this weekend: “I’m definitely looking forward to it. Airborne has a lot of room. You can definitely do a lot of two-lane racing there, and there’s enough room to go three-wide, too. There’s more room, and it’s a lot deeper than a place like Thunder Road. We’ve seen over and over how three-wide can be a little risky on the smaller tracks.
“I can’t wait to go back and redeem ourselves for last time. When we were there in July (for the International 500), we got caught up in that big wreck at the start of the second segment and our day was over. It was as hard a hit as I’ve ever had, and I want to make up for that.”
On what makes Airborne Speedway unique: “Every track has its own little thing about it that makes it great. That track at Airborne is very, very different – very different. It’s like all of a sudden a big sweeping turn becomes a straightaway and you have to be ready to turn the car.
“I’ve always liked the bigger tracks, and this is another one that I’m looking forward to.”
On the second half of the season: “Everybody’s been working really hard. It’s good that we’re finally having some good finishes – aside from getting collected by someone else at Loudon last weekend – and we’ve had some luck on our side, too. That always helps.
“There are still some big races for us coming up, so I’m excited. I’m really excited about how things have gone the last few weeks. We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season, but now we’re finally clicking and the things we’re doing with the car are working for us.”
Sep 26, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, NHMS, Touring Series News
ACT Late Model Tour: Taylor Martin
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Race Report
LOUDON, N.H. – Taylor Martin of Windham, N.H., finished 26th in the fifth annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., on Saturday, September 21. Martin, who was making just her second career Late Model start, started 30th by virtue of the ACT Late Model Tour’s unique handicapping system for the starting grid in the event. She avoided a multi-car accident on the frontstretch in the early laps of the 50-lap race, and she later avoided disaster when a car directly in front of her began spraying oil on the track. Martin’s day got off to an auspicious start with an overheating problem in practice, but that was quickly repaired and the No. 20 Matt Brown Truck Repair Ford returned to the track during the session. Martin capped off her history-making day, in which she became the first driver to compete in two Invitational events on the same day at NHMS, by finishing third in the Granite State Legends Car Series Gifford’s Ice Cream 25 on the mini-oval.
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Sep 26, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour rolls into Airborne Speedway this Saturday, September 28 for the Fall Foliage 200 season finale. The 2013 ACT Championship battle has been narrowed down to three contenders. Defending ACT Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. leads the way over Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. and Jimmy Hebert, who are both eager to take home their first championship title.
Helliwell and his E-Keys 4 Cars Ford claimed the 2012 ACT Championship with a win in the Fall Foliage 200 last season. This year he has to fend off Hudson, NH’s Polewarczyk, who claimed the biggest win of 2013 in the ACT International 500 at Airborne back in July. Breakout star, Hebert is also in the mix with two ACT wins of his own already this year.
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