PHOTO ALBUM: Série ACT Castrol at Autodrome Chaudière on 2011-05-21

This is a 109 photo album taken at Autodrome Chaudière on May 21st, 2011. The first race on the American Canadian Tour schedule for this season.



The pictures were taken by Chantal Roy of M.P. Roy's Oval Racing Blog.

ACT INVITATIONAL AT NHMS FILLED WITH 24 PAST CHAMPIONS

ACT INVITATIONAL AT NHMS FILLED WITH 24 PAST CHAMPIONS

Waterbury, VT – The field is set for the inaugural American Canadian Tour (ACT) Invitational to be held this weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in Loudon, NH. The 36-car field for the historic first-ever Late Model stock car race is filled with the best short track drivers in the Northeastern US and provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada. The $65,000 event is slated to take green at 5:30 Saturday afternoon, following the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 'Heluva Good! 200'.

ACT teams from throughout the Northeast have spent the past six months battling each other for a coveted spot in what will be the most unique racing opportunity most have had in their careers.

Veteran racer from Barre, VT, Joey Laquerre said, "This has to be the highpoint of my 50-plus years of racing. I had so much fun at the 'test and tune' (over 50 ACT teams were invited to a test session at NHMS in August) and I really wanted to get an invitation to this race. I hope this will be good for the future of Late Model racing. I think it is just great for the young kids like Joey 'Pole' (Polewarczyk), those two 16- and 17-year olds, (Brandon Watson from Stayner, ON and Joey Doiron from Berwick, ME). They are the future, but I wish I could be starting all over again with them. They are going to have a lot of fun racing in the next ten years or so". Laquerre was a former Thunder Road Track Champion and has raced at just about every track in New England for over 5 decades, in just about every kind of stock car.

The starting grid for the ACT Invitational will have twenty-four former and present Track Champions and Series Champions. Three of the hottest drivers in ACT racing represent each of the Touring Series which the sanctioning body manages.

Montreal's Patrick Laperle has the most wins entering the Invitational, with four (4). Laperle is contending to win his second Série ACT Castrol Championship on Sunday, following the NHMS event. He is chasing two-time Castrol Série Champion Donald Theetge from Quebec City, who leads the Series by 33 points going into the 300 lap finale at Autodrome Ste. Eustache outside of Montreal. Laperle will receive a $2,000 bonus for his 4 Invitational wins.

Veteran driver Brent Dragon from Milton, VT enters the Invitational with three qualifier wins and is coming off an impressive third place finish after starting twelfth at the Fall Foliage 300 at the Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh last Sunday afternoon. Dragon battled eventual winner Laperle for over 100 laps in the final half of the event, swapping the official lead a half dozen times. Laperle won the 300-lap event, but only after running out of fuel while pitting during the final caution, on lap 255.

Former NHMS Track Champion, and now full-time ACT competitor, Brian Hoar of Williston, VT took over the ACT Tour point lead following the Fall Foliage 300. Hoar leads Scott Payea, of Milton, VT by 28 points going into the final event of the campaign at Oxford Plains Speedway on October 11^th. "I really am not thinking about the ACT title with the Invitational in front of us. When I was racing on the old NASCAR Busch East Series, this was a place I just loved to come to. Being named as the NHMS Track Champion ranks right up there with my five ACT titles. I can't wait until 5:30 on Saturday, and I think fans are going to have some fun also. During the testing we found out that these cars can draft, carry big speed through the corners, and that the outside lane is the place to be. That should provide a good combination for putting on a great show. MY RPM team is pumped up and ready", said Hoar.

Nine tracks from throughout the Northeast and Canada will be sending their 2009 champions to the ACT Invitational, along with 6 other past track champions from throughout the region. There are 5 ACT TOUR Champions entered, 3 Serie Castrol Champions and a multi-time PASS Super Late Model Champion.

"The starting field for this event will be the very best 36-car field in the 25-year history of ACT racing. These teams all deserve to be here based on what they have accomplished either in the Qualifiers or in their racing careers, and we are proud to have them represent ACT and Late Model racing. We are grateful to Jerry (Gappens, Vice President and Executive Manager of NHMS), Bob Bahre (founder and former owner of NHMS and lifelong supporter of short track racing) and the entire NHMS staff for their support and confidence in short track racing in our region", said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour. "I am especially happy to have such a great mix of veteran teams and new young stars who will get the chance to have this experience. I guess it is now time to 'start the engines' and let them get after each other", concluded Curley.

The ACT Invitational will take place at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway as part of the weekend-long NASCAR 'Chase for the Sprint Cup' activities. The Invitational will post at 5:30 on Saturday, September 19, 2009 and will be run over a distance of 50 miles. Information for tickets can be obtained by contacting the ticket office at NHMS or their web site at www.nhms.com

For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com

ACT Releases 2008 Tour Schedule

WATERBURY, VT - A completely redesigned championship format will be used for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model stock car racing season in 2008. A diverse slate of twelve events at seven speedways in the northeastern United States and Canada will comprise the schedule, while also giving race teams several options during the course of the April-to-September campaign.

The ACT driver and owner championships will be decided using the best ten results for each individual during the 12-race season, thus giving teams the benefit of dropping their two worst outings of the year. ACT President Tom Curley says that offering teams options like this will help raise the level of competition across the board.

"ACT - and the short track racing industry as a whole - is in a restructuring phase right now, and we are listening to what our racers are saying," Curley explained. "The times have changed, and we want to meet the current demands of our race teams and the fans that support them. We feel we have a schedule that is regionally attractive, but also one that does not require an overwhelming budget or too much weekly travel.

"With the 10-race championship decided in a 12-race season," Curley continued, "teams will, in a sense, not be penalized for a bad finish. Because we draw such huge fields of cars at tracks like Thunder Road, Oxford, Lee USA, White Mountain, and others, our drivers will not have to scramble and play 'catch-up' as much if they fail to qualify for an ACT race; they can drop their worst two events of the season. There are many scenarios that could develop, and there is the great potential for a very exciting point battle. We entertained the idea of a format similar to this last season, but felt that the timing was better for 2008. We are confident that our new schedule and format will be a favorite for both teams and fans."

The ACT Late Model Tour season kicks off at the high-banked, 3/8-mile Lee USA Speedway on the New Hampshire seacoast on Sunday, April 20 with a 100-lap event. Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway hosts the first of its three 150-lap races on April 26, while Barre, VT's Thunder Road will hold the 10th Annual Merchants Bank 150 on May 4. Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY presents the 34th Annual Spring Green 100 on May 17, followed by Thunder Road's Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 100 on May 25.

ACT returns to Waterford Speedbowl in southern Connecticut on Saturday, June 7 for the first time in four years. "Rocket" Roger Brown won in the series' debut at the 3/8-mile oval in 2004. The Tour then travels back to Oxford Plains Speedway on June 21 before the ¼-mile White Mountain Motorsports Park bullring in North Woodstock, NH hosts a 150-lap event on June 28. Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ontario returns for the second straight season with the Summer Sizzler 200 on a new date, Sunday afternoon, July 13. The 30th Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 is at Thunder Road on Sunday, August 31, before the final Oxford Plains event on Saturday, September 13. The season concludes with the 45th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl on the weekend of September 27/28 at Thunder Road.

Also new to the American-Canadian Tour schedule for 2008 is the first-ever "ACT Showdown at Chaudière" - a non-points all-star invitational event for the Top 10 drivers competing on the ACT Late Model Tour and Canada's Série ACT Castrol, Saturday, September 6. Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jct., QC will present the "Showdown," paying $5,000 to the winner and a healthy $1,000 for the last-place finisher. The 35th Annual TD Banknorth 250 on Sunday, July 20 at Oxford Plains Speedway will again be a non-points "open competition" event for ACT-type Late Model cars.

Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton, VT wrapped up his fifth consecutive and seventh overall ACT Late Model Tour Championship in 2007, and will reportedly try for an unprecedented sixth-straight in 2008. Other lead contenders include veterans Brent Dragon and Randy Potter, young guns Brown, and Joey "Pole" Polewarczyk, and 2007 ACT runner-up Scott Payea.

For more information on the American-Canadian Tour, call (802) 244-6963 or visit http://www.acttour.com/ .

2008 AMERICAN-CANADIAN TOUR SCHEDULE
# DAY DATE TRACK LAPS
1 Sun 4/20 Lee USA Speedway 100
2 Sat 4/26 Oxford Plains Speedway 150
3 Sun 5/04 Thunder Road 150
4 Sat 5/17 Airborne Speedway 100
5 Sa/Su 5/24-25 Thunder Road 100
6 Sat 6/07 Waterford Speedbowl 100
7 Sat 6/21 Oxford Plains Speedway 150
8 Sat 6/28 White Mountain Motorsports Park 150
9 Sun 7/13 Kawartha Speedway 200
** Sun 7/20 Oxford Plains Speedway - TD Banknorth 250 250
10 Sun 8/31 Thunder Road 200
** Sat 9/06 Autodrome Chaudière - "ACT Showdown at Chaudière" 200
11 Sat 9/13 Oxford Plains Speedway 150
12 Sa/Su 9/27-28 Thunder Road 150
** - Non-ACT Championship events
(schedule subject to change)
Driver and Owner Championships/Point Fund based on best 10 events during season

From Justin St. Louis / ACT Tour