Photo by Alan Ward
Waterbury, VT – The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) championship battles on both sides of the border are coming down to the wire as ACT heads to Plattsburgh, NY’s Airborne Park Speedway for the 41st Fall Foliage 200 this Saturday, October 3.
The combination event between the ACT U.S. Tour and the Quebec-based Série ACT at the fast ½-mile oval will crown the 2015 Série ACT Champion. St-Edouard, QC’s Dany Trépanier enters the event with a 30-point lead over 2013 Série ACT Champion Jean-François Déry. Trépanier is chasing his first series championship after finishing second to Alex Labbé in 2014.
“A lot of teams have a big budget to race, but I have a small, small budget,” Trépanier recently said. “We do it with my family and a couple of friends and we work hard every week.”
The Fall Foliage 200 is also the next-to-last event of the season for the ACT U.S. Tour. Two-time ACT Champion Wayne Helliwell Jr. holds a 13-point lead over defending Champion Joey Polewarczyk Jr., with the two having already swapped the point lead seven times this season. Both are former winners of the Fall Foliage 200, an event that dates back to 1972 at the former Catamount Stadium.
“The points battle has been so close that a bad finish will basically take you out of it,” Pole said. “A third-place finish is not a good day. That’s weird to say, but you’ll lose points that way. It’s definitely tough.”
The top ACT drivers from the United States and Quebec look to add their name to a winner’s list that includes seven-time champion Robbie Crouch, Bobby Dragon, Dave Dion, and Butch Lindley. Windham, ME’s Brad Babb seeks his third win of the season, while number-four point driver Jeff White of Winthrop, ME looks for his first win of the year. Youngsters Emily Packard, Kyle Welch, Brandon Atkins, and Rowland Robinson Jr. are trying to finish the year strong, while Jimmy Hebert comes off an impressive showing in the Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Among the Quebec contingent, Alex Labbé is gunning for his second Fall Foliage 200 win and fifth of the season. Patrick Laperle will challenge for his fifth Fall Foliage victory. Jonathan Bouvrette has a big lead in the Bond Auto Parts New Champions standings and could seal the top spot with a win. Patrick Cliche and Martin Goulet Jr. have secured positions in the top-five in points but are looking for more.
The 41st Fall Foliage 200 for the ACT U.S. Tour and Série ACT is this Saturday, October 3 at Plattsburgh, NY’s Airborne Park Speedway with a 2:00pm post time. The event also includes the Tiger Sportsman/Renegade American Racer Team Challenge, which features twin 25-lap features with both an overall winner and a team bonus for the division with the best combined results. Admission is $25 for adults and free for kids age 12 and under.
For more information contact the ACT offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.