ACT Announces Schedule for 30th Late Model Tour Season
American Canadian Tour
Waterbury, VT – The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) has announced the 2021 schedule of events for the ACT Late Model Tour. Twelve point-counting events are slated for the Tour’s 30th season across nine tracks throughout New England and Quebec.
ACT will also sanction multiple big-money, non-point events throughout 2021. Highlights of the schedule includes six sanctioned events that pay at least $5,000 to win, six doubleheader events with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS), long-awaited returns to several tracks throughout the Northeast, and the renewal of one of ACT’s oldest events.
ACT & PASS Confirm Weekend for Inaugural Northeast Classic at NHMS
2-Day Event to be Held Weekend of April 16-18
Waterbury, VT and Naples, ME — American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) officials have confirmed the dates for the inaugural Northeast Classic at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The long-awaited event will be held on the weekend of April 16-18, 2021.
A two-day schedule is planned with open practice on day one and qualifying/features on day two. Whether the event has a Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday schedule will be determined over the winter.
Road Courses, New Venues Highlight 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Slate
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 30, 2020) – NASCAR today announced the 2021 schedule for the NASCAR Xfinity Series™, which will mirror many of the historic changes in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule that was announced in September.
The Xfinity Series will join the Cup Series for 32 of its 33 weekends, including running for the first time at Circuit of the Americas (May 22) and for the first time since 2011 at Nashville Superspeedway (June 19). The series will return to Mid-Ohio on June 5 for the only event at a venue apart from the Cup Series.
Thompson, CT — The high banks of Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park will roar once again in 2021. American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) have announced a six-event schedule for the coming season that features the new Thompson Outlaw Open Modified Series.
The Outlaw Open Series consists of half a dozen high-paying events for Tour-type Modifieds that are expected to attract the top teams in the region. The series begins at the 46th annual Thompson Icebreaker from Friday, April 9 to Sunday, April 11. A 150-lap, $10,000-to-win Outlaw Open Series event will highlight the weekend card.
The stakes get even higher at the season-sending 59th Annual Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing from Friday, October 8 to Sunday, October 10. ACT and PASS have organized the return of the historic Thompson 300, which was last contested in 2005. A $20,000 minimum prize has been posted for the winner of the 300-lap showdown.
Pole Clinches GSPSS Championship With A Win at The Speedbowl
Hudson NH’s Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk finished off his championship 2020 with a win on Saturday night. The driver of car 97 dueled with Angelo Belsito over the final 17 laps winning by just .103 seconds and clinching the 2020 Granite State Pro Stock Series Championship.
Cloudy skies greeted the teams of the Granite State Pro Stock series as they arrived for the second time in a month. On tap was a 100 lap affair and the crowning of the 2020 champion. Unfortunately mother nature would make the teams wait a bit longer than expected to get this done.
Angelo Belsito couldn’t best his track record but still set fast time in The Crazy Horse Racing Fast Time Challenge. Time trials were run with heavy moisture in the air slowing the pace and jumbling the order a bit. Behind Belsito, Gabe Brown and “Pole”would complete the top three in time trials.
Granite State Pro Stock Series Headed to Speedbowl for Finale
The Granite State Pro Stock Series will wrap up its 2020 season and crown their champion with a one hundred lap event at the New London Waterford Speedbowl, Saturday October 24th.
Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk came into the season intending to run a partial season but early success changed the Hudson NH drivers plans and he comes to Waterford as the series point leader. “I really enjoy going to Waterford and we are going there with the same mind set we’ve had all year” said Polewarczyk. “ Obviously we need to be smart, but we hope to be competing for the win” He went on to say “I’m extremely proud of our team to be in the position we are in, headed into the final race”.
Rowe Snaps Long ACT Winless Drought at Oxford as Hebert Locks up First Title
Belanger Overwhelms Field in Flying Tiger Oxford Open
American Canadian Tour
Oxford, ME — Turner, ME’s Ben Rowe and Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert took home the glory of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) season finale at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, October 18. Rowe broke a long ACT dry spell with his victory in the Lee’s Family Trailer Sales & Service 150 while Hebert’s third-place finish clinched his first ACT Late Model Tour championship.
For Rowe, it was the multi-time Pro All Star Series champion’s first win in an ACT-sanctioned event since 2006 — a drought of more than 14 years. Hebert, meanwhile, finally claimed a title after having finished second or third in the ACT standings four different times during his career.
Stark, NH’s Jamie Swallow Jr. set the early tempo, snatching the lead from polesitter Marcel J. Gravel amidst a trio of early cautions. Once the field got going, Swallow checked out, putting several seconds between himself and a raging battle that included Ryan Kuhn, Rowe, Tom Carey III, D.J Shaw, Derek Gluchacki, and others.
Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is slated to descend on Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm for the final event of the 2020 racing season. The Lee’s Family Trailer Sales & Service 150 for the ACT Late Model Tour and Oxford Open for the ACT Flying Tigers send off the 35th season of ACT competition with a bang.
Despite a season with unique challenges never before seen in ACT’s long history, the finale is still brimming with excitement and intrigue. Late Model stars like Jimmy Hebert, D.J. Shaw, Ben Rowe, Dylan Payea, and Derek Gluchacki are ready for 150 more laps to decide who will end the campaign on a high note. They’ll be joined by Flying Tiger standouts Jason Woodard, Cameron Ouellette, Colin Cornell, and more in an encore trip to the famous 3/8-mile oval.
Christopher Jr., Pitkat Book Big Paydays on Sunoco World Series Saturday
Thompson, CT — Wolcott, CT’s Mike Christopher Jr. and Stafford, CT’s Woody Pitkat took it to the bank with a pair of big victories at the 58th Annual Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing on Saturday, October 10. Christopher passed Chase Dowling with 10 laps remaining to win the $5,000 top prize in the Budweiser Modified Open 75 while Pitkat copped a $4,800 total winner’s purse for dominating the ACT-type Late Model Open at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
It was the first career victory in a Tour-type Modified for Christopher, whose late uncle Ted is the all-time winningest driver at Thompson Speedway. Christopher and his Tommy Baldwin Jr.–owned team combined a fast car with a well-played midrace strategy to come on strong and top the 31-car field on a busy Saturday at the Sunoco World Series.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Title on the Line at Sunoco World Series
Thompson, CT — The 2020 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship will be decided this Sunday, October 11 with the Sunoco World Series 150 at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The final race of the 58th Annual Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing will tie a bow on the tour’s 36th season with two modern greats battling for the title.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule took several unexpected turns this year due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Several venues had to be dropped while new ones were added in a constant shuffle. Despite it all, the season draws to a close with two familiar sights: a trip to Thompson for the Sunoco World Series, and Justin Bonsignore and Doug Coby in the hunt for a championship.
Local Divisions Returning to Thompson for 58th Annual Sunoco World Series
Thompson, CT — Some of New England’s top weekly competitors will arrive at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park looking to chase more than $16,000 in purses as part of the 58th annual Sunoco World Series on October 9-11.
The Sunoco Modifieds, Twisted Tea SK Light Modifieds, Sam Adams Limited Sportsman and Mini Stocks will all hit the high-banks for their second races of the season. Although it looked like divisions might remain dark for the season, a new agreement with the American-Canadian Tour and Pro All Star Series leasing the track in the summer allowed these divisions to return and chase a lucrative payout to close the oval season at Thompson.
The World Series is well-known as the top short-track racing weekend in the New England region, and with 19 divisions set to compete again this year, fans won’t want to miss the action over three days in Connecticut.
Sunday October fourth, the Granite State Pro Stock Series made its annual trek to Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest at Lee USA Speedway and for the second year in a row Derek Griffith bested all comers.
Under a picture perfect sky the teams of the GSPSS assembled at one of the traditional events in New England to contest a 100 lap affair. Practice was smooth for most and all looked to be well until it was time for The Crazy Horse Fast Time Challenge. Due to a tight schedule and a short turn around from practice, time trials were canceled and heat races were lined up based on final practice speeds.
Heat number one was won by Dylan Estrella who was making his first start of the season. He beat Rusty Poland to the line and would redraw pill number one and start the main event on the pole.
Barre, VT — Barre’s Nick Sweet reigned in the Pro All Star Series (PASS) Super Late Models for the third straight year on Vermont Milk Bowl Weekend as part of Mekkelsen RV Milk Bowl Friday on October 2. Sweet snatched the lead from point leader D.J. Shaw of Center Conway, NH with 29 laps remaining and pulled away late to win the Prelude to the Milk Bowl 150 at Barre’s Thunder Road.
After starting 11th in the 21-car field, Sweet was content to run mid-pack in the early going. Polesitter Travis Benjamin of Morrill, ME set the early pace but surrendered the lead to Shaw following the first caution at lap 18 for Allan Wilson’s turn-one spin.
Granite State Pro Stock Series Headed to Lee for Oktoberfest
As the 2020 racing season winds down, the action for the Granite State Pro Stock Series heats up. October fourth, the series will headline the Sunday portion of the annual Russ Conways Oktoberfest at the Lee USA Speedway.
For the first half of the season it was Ray Christain III dominating the point standings. The Uncasville CT driver suffered a parts failure at the Sept. race at Claremont Motorsports Park and was involved in a hard crash at the last event in Waterford CT. Christain III now sits 26 points behind Hudson NH’s Joey “Pole” Polewayczyk with Angelo Belsito forty points behind Pole. All three drivers have entered to compete at Lee and gather all the points they can.
Derek Griffith is the defending winner of this race and comes in as the hottest driver in the northeast. In his last three starts, Griffith has won two races carrying a $10,000 winners check at each and finished second at the prestigious Star Classic. Griffith will look to keep his hot streak going at Lee this weekend.
Lutz Takes Sunoco World Series Win as Bonsignore Secures Modified Title
Thompson, CT — Miller Place, NY’s Craig Lutz ended the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season on the highest of highs with his second win of the year at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Sunday, October 11. Lutz swiped the lead from Jon McKennedy with seven laps remaining and hung on to win the 150-lap event at the 58th Annual Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing as Holtsville, NY’s Justin Bonsignore secured his second series championship.
The 26-year-old Lutz earned his fourth career Whelen Modified Tour win and first at the historic Thompson Speedway. For the 32-year-old Bonsignore, the title was the capstone on a 2020 season where he finished no worse than fifth at any event.
Six-time champion Doug Coby, who was the only driver who could catch Bonsignore entering the Sunoco World Series, started on the pole and led the first 30 laps. Chelmsford, MA’s McKennedy then surged ahead of him entering turn three and paced the field unto the fourth caution flag at lap 73 for Dave Sapienza’s spin.
