{"id":20813,"date":"2020-04-04T06:45:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T10:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maineracing.com\/wp\/?p=20813"},"modified":"2020-04-04T06:49:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T10:49:44","slug":"star-studded-entry-list-growing-for-first-season-of-challenge-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/2020\/04\/star-studded-entry-list-growing-for-first-season-of-challenge-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Star-Studded Entry List Growing for First Season of Challenge Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Waterbury, VT <\/em>\u2013 The inaugural New England Late Model Challenge Cup (NELMCC) presented by American Racer is already shaping up to be one of the biggest stories of the Northeast stock car racing season. With several weeks still left to register, the entry list is already a who\u2019s-who of Late Model racers in the region, with drivers such as Scott Dragon, Quinny Welch, and Wayne Helliwell Jr. signed up for the program\u2019s first season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first season of the Challenge Cup is expected to be the start of a long-running program to reward the grassroots weekly racer. Five tracks in four different states are slated to participate with more than 60 qualifying Late Model events scheduled at these tracks. From this long list, registered drivers will take their 10 best results using a special point system based on finishing position, car count, and cars passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The season-long NELMCC presented by American Racer champion is guaranteed a minimum of $3,000 on top of their weekly winnings. With a total point fund that now exceeds $12,000 and season-ending contingency prizes posted by Crazy Horse Racing, Port City Race Cars, ARBodies, and Five Star Race Car Bodies, there are plenty of reasons for even more drivers to sign up before the April 24 deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Multiple drivers from all five tracks have already put in their names to contend for the crown. Currently, Barre, VT\u2019s Thunder Road and N. Woodstock, NH\u2019s White Mountain Motorsports Park (WMMP) lead the way in sheer volume with several clear favorites in the title chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groveton, NH\u2019s Quinny Welch and Milton, VT\u2019s Scott Dragon headline the early entry list among Northern New England racers. Welch won his fifth straight WMMP Late Model title last year and eighth overall while finishing in the top-5 in every event. Dragon, meanwhile, has won two of the last four Thunder Road Late Model championships and collected a track-high four victories in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several other racers from these two tracks figure to be contenders. Barre, VT\u2019s Cody Blake tied Dragon for the most top-5 finishes at Thunder Road last year and also has been impressive in occasional visits to WMMP, giving him a viable second option to pick up points. St. Johnsbury, VT\u2019s Stacy Cahoon is a five-time WMMP champion while his son Tyler of Danville is coming off a bounce-back season at Thunder Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vermont Governor Phil Scott has entered the Challenge Cup as the three-time Thunder Road champion comes off his best season in years. Monroe, NH\u2019s Oren Remick won two features at WMMP last year and is always a contender at the track. Stephen Donahue, Andy Hill, and John Donahue are among the other drivers who have accepted the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern New England will also have a strong presence. The two biggest name in the region to join the Challenge Cup are Dover, NH\u2019s Wayne Helliwell, Jr. and Sturbridge, MA\u2019s Woody Pitkat. Helliwell, a three-time American-Canadian Tour champion and former Oxford 250 winner, is a true wild-card in the NELMC season. With past success at all the participating tracks, one could see the orange #27NH show up to chase Challenge Cup points anywhere on any given night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitkat, on the other hand, could be a sleeper for the title. Thee Modified standout is also a top Late Model racer in his own right, winning the 2002 Late Model championship at Connecticut\u2019s Thompson Speedway and nearly winning it again last season. The track is participating in the NELMCC, and the program gives Pitkat an incentive to branch out in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warwick, RI\u2019s Mark Jenison should also be a factor in the overall standings. The veteran finished top-5 in points at both both Thompson Speedway and Massachusett\u2019s Seekonk Speedway in 2019, showing multi-track versatility that could be vital under the Challenge Cup system. Teenager Derek Gluchacki of Dartmouth, MA finished runner-up in Thompson Speedway points and also had a podium finish at Seekonk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norton, MA\u2019s Mark Hudson was a Seekonk winner last year and is already a Challenge Cup winner this year. He and Middletown, MA\u2019s Randy Cole, Jr., a Star Speedway regular, each won two free American Racer tires as part of a drawing for early entrants. Epping\u2019s NH\u2019s Star Speedway will also be represented by Hampton, NH\u2019s Jay Sands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivers have until Friday, April 24 to register for the NELMCC presented by American Racer. Forms are available at www.acttour.com<\/a> as well as participating track websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com<\/a>, or visit www.acttour.com<\/a>. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.Toggle panel: Monarch Settings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waterbury, VT \u2013 The inaugural New England Late Model Challenge Cup (NELMCC) presented by American Racer is already shaping up to be one of the biggest stories of the Northeast stock car racing season. With several weeks still left to register, the entry list is already a who\u2019s-who of Late Model racers in the region, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1305,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-act","category-latest-touring-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20813"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20816,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20813\/revisions\/20816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}