Apr 25, 2014 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
Next Up: 16th Annual Merchants Bank 150
Emily Packard Photo
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – After starting the ACT season with a top 12 finish, Packard heads back to Thunder Road carrying some momentum that she hopes to turn into another strong finish. “We have started the season off well having a solid finish at Lee USA Speedway two weeks ago,” said Packard, “We’ve also learned some things with the car that we hope can be transferred to this weekend.”
Emily Packard and her No 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels sponsored team are returning to Thunder Road this weekend for the 16th Annual Merchants Bank 150. This is the second race of the ACT Tour this season and the first points race for Thunder Road. “I am excited to be back at Thunder Road. We struggled a lot last season, and it was discouraging for us throughout the year,” said Packard, “But at the end of the season, we had some good runs that helped to give us a better mindset.”
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Apr 15, 2014 | American Canadian Tour, Lee Speedway, NE Racing News, Touring Series News
The American Canadian Tour kicked off its 23rd season at Lee USA Speedway again this year with the Governor’s Cup 150 on Sunday April 13th. Hitting the track for her first race of the season, Emily Packard, the 17 year old East Montpelier native, brought home her 9X Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels sponsored car in 12th place.
Rain early in the day changed the track and the schedule, shortening day and allowing little to no practice to feel the car out prior to the heat races. Starting 5th in the heat race, Packard dropped back a position early on fighting a pushing race car, but battled her way up to 4th by Lap 4. The closing laps found her in a battle of side by side racing for the last three laps holding off the 5VT car to cross the line in 4th place to secure her place in the show. “I hope it was an exciting race for the fans to watch, because it was definitely exciting from the driver’s seat,” said Packard of her tight racing with the 5vt car, “it was a good (heat) race and a good start to the season.”
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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 24, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, NHMS, Touring Series News
ACT Late Model Tour: Emily Packard
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Race Report
LOUDON, N.H. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., finished 42nd in the fifth annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., on Saturday, September 21, after being collected in an accident involving other drivers just four laps into the event. Packard was among the 15 fastest cars in the 43-car field during final practice earlier in the day, and she started 32nd after ACT’s unique handicapping system for the event. She had already started gaining positions in the opening laps of the 50-lap race, but two cars tangled in a three-wide race on the frontstretch of the 1.058-mile oval. Packard was caught up in it, and a broken radiator hose ultimately kept the No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Ford from returning to the event.
WHO: Emily Packard, East Montpelier, Vt.
TEAM: No. 9x Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Neal Woodward, Georgia, Vt.
WHAT: Bond Auto ACT Invitational 50
WHERE: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (1.058-mile oval)
STARTED: 32nd
FINISHED: 42nd
NEXT RACE: September 28, Fall Foliage 200, Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (.500-mile oval)
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May 7, 2013 | American Canadian Tour, Touring Series News
ACT Late Model Tour: Emily Packard
Devil’s Bowl Speedway Race Report
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., scored a career-best ACT Late Model finish of 10th in the Spring Green 113 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Sunday, May 5. Packard’s first career ACT Top-10 came on the heels of a 15th-place qualifying effort, after which she patiently steered the No. 9 Northstar Fireworks/Berlin Optical Expressions Chevrolet through traffic to begin her march into the Top-10. Packard, 16, fought for track position over a couple of late-race restarts, but emerged from the side-by-side battle on the half-mile oval with one of the best results of her young Late Model career.
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