ACT Releases 2010 Castrol Series Schedule

WATERBURY -- The American-Canadian Tour announced a 12-race schedule for the Série ACT-Castrol, the Québec/Ontario-based sister series to the ACT Late Model Tour, on Tuesday. Included on the schedule is the "Can-Am Confrontation by the Seaway" at Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix, Qué., a 200-lap combination championship event for the Série ACT-Castrol and ACT Late Model Tour on August 14. The last point-counting combination event for the two series was at Autodrome St-Eustache in 2007.

The 2010 Castrol schedule opens and closes at St-Eustache near Montréal, with a 100-lapper on May 22 and the annual St-Eustache 300 on September 26. The series will travel twice each to Autodrome Montmagny and Autodrome Chaudière, has a total of three each events at Riverside at St-Eustache, and will make single stops at Captial City Speedway in Ottawa, Ont. and the quirky Autodrome St-Félicien in the Lac St-Jean region of northern Québec. Dates have also been reserved for the TD Bank 250 at Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway on July 18 and the third-annual "Showdown at Chaudière" all-star race on August 28. A return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway is also expected for 2010, which would include several Série ACT-Castrol drivers.

Donald Theetge of Boischatel, Qué. beat Patrick Laperle by one point to win the Série ACT-Castrol championship in 2009. Trampas Demers of South Burlington competed in seven events in 2009 and finished 15th in points, while Milton's Brent Dragon became the first American-born driver to win a Castrol race when he took an event at Riverside in June. The 12-race slate for 2010 is the longest schedule for the series in three years, after a nine-event campaign this year and just eight races in 2008.

SÉRIE ACT-CASTROL 2010 SCHEDULE

#-Day-Date-Track-Location-Laps

1. Sat., May 22 -- Autodrome St. Eustache, St-Eustache (Montréal), Qué. -- 100
2. Sat., May 29 -- Autodrome Montmagny, Montmagny, Qué. -- 100
3. Sat., June 5 -- Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué. -- 150
4. Sat., June 12 -- Capital City Speedway, Ottawa, Ont. -- 100
5. Sat., June 19 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix (Québec City), Que. -- 100
6. Sat., July 3 -- Autodrome Montmagny, Montmagny, Qué. -- 250
7. Sat., July 10 -- Autodrome St-Félicien, St-Félicien, Qué. -- 135
-- Sun., July 18 -- Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me. -- 250 (non-points)
8. Mon., July 26 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix (Québec City), Que. -- 100
9. Sat., July 31 -- Autodrome St. Eustache, St-Eustache (Montréal), Qué. -- 100
10. Sat., Aug. 7 -- Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué. -- 150
11. Sat., Aug. 14 -- Riverside Speedway, Ste-Croix (Québec City), Que. -- 200 (Castrol/Tour combo)
-- Sat., Aug. 28 -- Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué. -- 200 (non-points)
12. Sun., Sept. 26 -- Autodrome St. Eustache, St-Eustache (Montréal), Qué. -- 300

Dragon Wins ACT Showdown at Chaudière

VALLÉE-JONCTION, Qué. -- Brent Dragon of Milton won the second annual Coors Light 200 Showdown at Chaudière, a non-points all-star event for top U.S.- and Canadian-based ACT teams, on Sunday.

ACT Late Model Tour point leader Scott Payea, also of Milton, and top Série ACT-Castrol driver Karl Allard of St-Félicien, Qué. traded the lead several times over the first 91 laps before Dragon took command. Dragon led the final 109 laps, and led the U.S. group to its second "team" victory in the two years of the event.

Payea finished second, with Randy Potter of Groveton, N.H. third. Castrol point leader Donald Theetge of Boischatel, Qué. was the top Canadian in fourth place, while Graniteville's Pete Potvin, III had a career day with a fifth-place showing.

The Showdown was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was pushed back by rain to Sunday afternoon.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Coors Light 200 Showdown at Chaudière

Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown-(Team)

1. Brent Dragon, Milton (USA)

2. Scott Payea, Milton (USA)
3. Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H. (USA)

4. Donald Theetge, Boischatel, Qué. (CAN)

5. Pete Potvin, III, Graniteville (USA)

6. Brian Hoar, Williston (USA)

7. Karl Allard, St-Félicien, Qué. (CAN)

8. Jean-François Déry, Québec, Qué. (CAN)

9. Joey Doiron, Berwick, Me. (USA)

10. Chip Grenier, Graniteville (USA)

11. Patrick Cliche, St-Jean-de-Chrysostome, Qué. (CAN)

12. Jacques Poulin, East-Broughton, Qué. (CAN)

13. Yvon Bédard, St-Nicolas, Qué. (CAN)

14. Dany Ouellet, La Pocatière, Qué. (CAN)

15. Brooks Clark, Fayston (USA)

16. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Twp., Me. (USA)

17. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué. (CAN)

18. Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, Qué. (CAN)

19. John Donahue, Graniteville (USA)

20. Alexandre Gingras, Québec, Qué. (CAN)

21. Patrick Hamel, St-Édouard-de-Lotbinière, Qué. (CAN)

22. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H. (USA)

ACT Saturday Recap: Hoar, Laperle Double Up

Brian Hoar didn't win for nine years, now he can't stop. Patrick Laperle, well, that's old news.

After snapping a winless streak at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on July 25 -- one that dated back to September 2000 -- Hoar won his second-straight ACT Late Model Tour event at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday night after a wild finish.

Hoar, of Williston, and Brad Leighton were running side-by-side for the victory entering the final lap before the lapped car of Howard Payne drove down into Leighton, handing Hoar the lead. The final lap of the Nutmeg State 100 -- which ran its first 28 circuits on June 13 before rains moved in -- was run under caution, and the finish is still under review by ACT officials. Unofficially, the top five was completed by Randy Potter, Tim Jordan, Scott Payea, and John Donahue.

For Laperle, of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Que., a victory at Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jct., Que. was also his second-straight on the Serie ACT-Castrol, and his third of the season. Laperle dominated the Luminaire Napert 150, leading the final 106 laps. Sylvain Lacombe finished second over Donald Theetge, Karl Allard, and Jean-Francois Dery.

Like the Nutmeg State 100, the finish of the Luminaire Napert 150 is still under review.

Theetge Takes Castrol Win at Chaudière

Becomes Eighth NHMS Qualifier

VALLÉE-JONCTION, Qué. -- Donald Theetge's decision to return full-time to the Série ACT-Castrol in his native Canada is proving to be a good one; Theetge earned his first win of the season in the Le AIM Québec 150 at the Autodrome Chaudière bullring on Saturday night, padding his point lead over Patrick Laperle and others.

Theetge the 2006 champion of the series, worked his way from 15th at the start to take the lead from sophomore driver Patrick Hamel on lap 55. From there, he held off challenges from Hamel, Karl Allard, and Patrick Cliche before earning his 13th career victory on the series and third at Autodrome Chaudière. Cliche finished a career-best second ahead of Allard, while Jacques Poulin and Stéphane Descoste turned in surprise finishes of fourth and fifth, respectively. Claude Leclerc, Mike Lavoie, Hamel, Jean-François Déry, and Laperle completed the top ten finishers.

Trampas Demers of South Burlington finished 22nd, with Graniteville's Pete Potvin, III in 25th.

With the victory, Theetge becomes the eighth driver in eight events to earn an invitation to the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway, joining countrymen Laperle and Déry, winners of the first two Castrol races of the season, and ACT Late Model Tour winners Brad Leighton, Eric Williams, Scott Payea, Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., and Dave Pembroke. Like Pembroke, Theetge will have the advantage of having track time on the NHMS superspeedway, as he was part of a Goodyear tire test there in April.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- Le AIM Québec 150
Série ACT-Castrol -- Autodrome Chaudière, Vallée-Jonction, Qué.
Saturday, June 6, 2009

Pos.-Driver-Hometown

1. Donald Theetge, Boischatel, Qué.
2. Patrick Cliche, St-Jean-Chrysostome, Qué.
3. Karl Allard, St-Félicien, Qué.
4. Jacques Poulin, East-Broughton, Qué.
5. Stéphane Descoste, Oka, Qué.
6. Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, Qué.
7. Mike Lavoie, Chicoutimi, Qué.
8. Patrick Hamel, St-Édouard-de-Lobinière, Qué.
9. Jean-François Déry, Québec, Qué.
10. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Qué.
11. Sylvain Lacombe, Terrebonne, Qué.
12. Dany Ouellet, La Pocatière, Qué.
13. Justin Holtom, Ottawa, Ont.
14. Martin Lacombe, Terrebonne, Qué.
15. Valérie Chiasson, Le Gardeur, Qué.
16. Spencer MacPherson, Carleton Place, Ont.
17. Alexandre Gingras, Québec, Qué.
18. Pierre-Luc Ouellette, Terrebonne, Qué.
19. Yvon Bédard, St-Nicolas, Qué.
20. Éric St-Gelais, St-Nicolas, Qué.
21. Jonathan Desbiens, Lévis, Qué.
22. Trampas Demers, South Burlington
23. Etienne Lemay, Leclercville, Qué.
24. Daniel Bergeron, Mirabel, Qué.
25. Pete Potvin, III, Graniteville
26. Marc-André Cliche, Vallée-Jct., Qué.

Demers Headed to Castrol Series

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- Trampas Demers is thinking outside the box this year. "I need more seat time out front, so I'll be more comfortable in situations like this," Demers said on Sunday, referencing his pole position for the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in Barre.

Demers has been a solid competitior in Thunder Road's weekly Late Model division for nearly a decade, but has loftier goals. Among them, of course, is earning a trip to Loudon, N.H. for the inaugural ACT Invitational at the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. Race winners from the primarily U.S.-based ACT Late Model Tour and its sister series, the Série ACT-Castrol in Québec and Ontario, will be guaranteed a starting spot in the Invitational.

The South Burlington racer has done the touring thing before, including a frustrating 18th-place season last year on the U.S. tour, but wants to improve his program and become a top contender wherever he goes. So he's headed north of the border, to race with the Castrol regulars and take a different approach to his racing operation.

The Série ACT-Castrol has some tough competition -- outgoing ACT Late Model Tour champion Patrick Laperle, defending Castrol champion Alexandre Gingras, and top drivers like Karl Allard, Donald Theetge, and Lacombe brothers Sylvain and Martin among the marquee names -- but the car counts are significantly lower than the U.S. series; last year's Tour averaged over 40 cars per event, while the Castrol series averaged about 24 cars, which, in turn, took some pressure off of teams at Castrol events.

"With the Tour last year, at best we were usually the first car to finish one lap down," Demers said. "I don't like struggling to qualify, and I don't like struggling to keep up. You look at guys like Scott Payea and Jean-Paul Cyr that can easily get into races, and they have a big advantage over everyone else. They let the 15 teams that are struggling beat themselves. If you're not playing defense you can play offense and try stuff more often. I want to be there, and I think we can get there running the Castrol races."

Demers said he is scheduled to race the first four Castrol events at St-Eustache near Montréal, Montmagny and Chaudière near Québec City, and Capital City in Ottawa. "After the first four, we'll decide what we do from there. If things are going good, we'll probably keep going. The Thunder Road weekly schedule begins right around that time, and we'll figure out whether or not the Castrol series is still an option for us then. It's less of a risk [than running the Tour], and we're hoping to steal a win and get into Loudon."

Demers will be at the ACT Late Model Tour's Furniture World of Vermont Spring Green 100 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this weekend, then makes his Série ACT-Castrol debut at Autodrome St-Eustache on Saturday, May 16.

(Photo: Trampas Demers (85) paces the field at Thunder Road prior to the start of Merchants Bank 150 last Sunday. He will head to Canada's Série ACT-Castrol in 2009. Justin St. Louis/VMM photo)

Nation's Site of 'Smoke': Stewart to Compete at Thunder Road Governor's Cup

Officials from Barre's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl confirmed on Tuesday evening that two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will compete in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 on Thursday, June 25, as part of the 50th anniversary season at "The Nation's Site of Excitement".

"Of all the people, in any form of racing, the one driver I wanted to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thunder Road was Tony Stewart," said track co-owner and promoter Tom Curley. "I have always thought that Tony Stewart represents what stock car racing is supposed to be about. He will definitely be coming to race, and that is what Thunder Road fans and competitors expect."

To date, Stewart is a 33-time winner in Sprint Cup Series competition, earning the series' championship in 2002 and 2005 and the Rookie of the Year title in 1999. He also owns eight victories in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, including his season-opening win at Daytona (Fla.) Int'l Speedway, and finished a season-best third behind the wheel of his own Stewart-Hass Racing #14 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series' Goody's 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last weekend. "Smoke" currently ranks seventh in Sprint Cup point standings after the first six races.

Rumors swirling around a possible appearance by Stewart at Thunder Road began in early 2008 after he praised the track on his Sirius radio program, and were further fueled by an ambiguous "no comment" from track co-owner and promoter Tom Curley in January. Stewart and Thunder Road founder Ken Squier have reportedly been speaking about a deal to put Stewart in an American-Canadian Tour-legal Late Model at the track since 2007. A news column posted by Curley in February touted the planned appearances of two Sprint Cup-level drivers at the track; Stewart is the first to confirm his intentions to compete there.

Before Stewart, Sprint Cup Series drivers Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader competed at Thunder Road; Wallace finished 12th in a regular 50-lap feature at Thunder Road in June 2007, while Schrader finished sixth at the Governor's Cup in 2006 and ninth in a 50-lap feature in 2005.

"Thunder Road has been on my list of short tracks I just had to race at in my career," Stewart said. "I have heard so much about this track from so many different people around the country."

Stewart said that some help from Schrader might aid him in his quest to win at Thunder Road. "Thanks to my friend Kenny Schrader for getting (Thunder Road) to add some laps to the Governor’s Cup," he said. "From what he tells me the competition is tough and whoever wins needs all the laps he can get." Schrader's start in the Governor's Cup event came when the race distance was 100 laps; officials raised the distance to 150 laps this year in honor of the 50th anniversary.

Stewart's appearance in the CARQUEST Vermont Governor's Cup 150 adds to the luster of the already highly anticipated race: it is one of four special events that will award the winner a starting berth in the inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. The other three such events are the TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains (Me.) Speedway in July, and August's Center of Speed 150 at Wiscasset (Me.) Raceway and the Coors Light 200 "Showdown at Chaudière" at Autodrome Chaudière near Québec City. Should Stewart win the Governor's Cup at choose to compete at New Hampshire, NHMS officials will add an extra starting position to the field to allow another pre-qualified local Late Model driver to start the event.

In addition to his Sprint Cup and Nationwide success, Stewart owns victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Re/Max Series, was the 2006 International Race of Champions (IROC) title winner, the 1997 Indy Racing League champion, the 1996 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, and the first driver to win the USAC "Triple Crown" as he swept the Midget, Sprint Car, and Silver Crown championships in the same year.

Stewart is the owner of Ohio's Eldora Speedway, and is deeply involved in short track racing on both dirt and asphalt as a team owner and competitor.

(Photos courtesy NASCAR and http://www.tonystewart.com/)

NHMS "Invitational" is Just That

The northeastern stock car racing community has been abuzz about the first-ever American-Canadian Tour Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, and justifiably so. But it seems that some of that group has overlooked one stipulation of the event: the word "Invitational."

Green-White-Checker's Travis Barrett is reporting that ACT President Tom Curley wants to make perfectly clear that the event is essentially open to all teams running an ACT-legal Late Model car, provided they gain the approval of ACT to compete in the 50-lap, $65,000 all-star race.

Race winners and point leaders or champions from the ACT Late Model Tour, the Série ACT-Castrol, and nine weekly Late Model tracks in the U.S. and Canada, including Barre's Thunder Road, as well as winners of three special non-championship events at Thunder Road, Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway, and Québec's Autodrome Chaudière, will be invited to compete at New Hampshire as long as they meet a level of previous experience and have a car with the proper safety equipement required by ACT to race at the fast 1.058-mile NHMS superspeedway.

"(The ACT Invitational) is not and never was intended to be an 'open house' for the 400-plus Late Models in our region to get to play around for an afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway," Curley told Green-White-Checker. "By original design, we will put the most experienced and highest quality teams into New Hampshire to give us the maximum opportunity to have some success."

The potential for a rookie driver or backmarker with very little on-track experience but the right amount of luck to earn an NHMS starting berth exists, but raises many concerns.

"We cannot allow this to be a lark for someone who just wants to race at NHMS but has neither the equipment, the experience or existing knowledge to be successful both personally and for the good of the initial project," said Curley. "There are legitimate safety concerns that ACT must be aware of in issuing invitations. We must have confidence in the teams we are asking to participate in the event.

"Automatically giving an invitation to a (driver) that has very little experience in a Late Model, or may be in his first year of competition, would be irresponsible."