Tiger Oxford Open Shaping Up as Perfect Season-Ender
Waterbury, VT – The first-ever visit to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Flying Tigers is coming up this Saturday, October 19. The Flying Tiger Oxford Open 75 ends the 2019 ACT season with a landmark event for the sanctioning body’s longest-running division.
The entry list continues to grow as the big day approaches with more than 30 cars now expected. Weekly racers from Vermont’s Thunder Road and New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park (WMMP) and Riverside Speedway have jumped at the chance to race on the historic 3/8-mile oval. Other former regulars from around the region have worked out one-race deals for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“It’s something different,” Milton’s Robert Gordon. “A lot of the excitement is because the Tigers have never raced at Oxford in the past. It’s also the end of the year, so nobody has any other events that are depending on their car being wrecked or not. I think it’s great. Anytime you can bring attention to the Tiger division, whether it’s at home or away, is a good thing.”
Ever since its founding in 1986, the Flying Tigers have been a staple of ACT and its sanctioned tracks. The Tigers recently wrapped up their 38th straight year of competition at Thunder Road and have had long stints at WMMP and Riverside Speedway. They also competed for many years at New York’s Plattsburgh Airborne Speedway and the former Catamount Stadium of Vermont. The former Tiger Tour visited tracks such as Quebec’sSanair Super Speedway and New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway and Canaan Fair Speedway.
Names continue to be added to the entry list on an almost daily basis. Entries have been received from Barton’s Shane Sicard and Plainfield’s Michael Potter, the top two drivers in White Mountain Motorsports Park points this season. Thunder Road regulars Gordon and Jason Pelkey have signed up for the event as have brothers Craig and Brad Bushey of Riverside Speedway. Gordon and Craig Bushey, who have significant experience at flatter tracks such as Airborne and Devil’s Bowl Speedway, might have a good starting point to work with when practice gets underway.
I’m hoping that experience helps,” Gordon said. “Of course, I had a whole different car and setup when I was racing at those tracks. I think Devil’s Bowl turns 3 and 4 are going to be the closest as far as the type of corners it’s going to have. I’ve never been on the track, though, so I really don’t know what to expect – and I think pretty much everyone else feels the same.”
The Flying Tiger Oxford Open is going international as Dave O’Blenis, a Super Late Model racer at New Brunswick’s Speedway 660, is making his first Tiger start. Multi-time former Flying Tiger winners Tucker Williams of Hyde Park and Eric Johnson of Randolph Center are returning to the division’s ranks in one-event deals. St. Johnsbury’s Kasey Beattie will make his Flying Tiger debut at Oxford after spending the last three years competing in the Street Stock ranks. ACT announcer Aaron Maynard is taking the weekend off from the microphone to pilot his Tiger car around Oxford.
They join some of the biggest names in Northeast auto racing making the trek to western Maine. Three-time Thunder Road Flying Tiger champion Jason Woodard, 2019 Thunder Road Rookie of the Year Stephen Martin, former North East Mini Stock Tour Champion Cody LeBlanc, and multi-time ACT Late Model winner John Donahue are just a few of the drivers getting ready for the landmark event.
Weekly racing stars Tyler Austin, Logan Powers, Kevin Boutin Jr., and Kyle Streeter are also among the Oxford entries. Saturday’s event will be a family affair as well with four father-child combinations – Jason and Kelsea Woodard, Mike and Stephen Martin, Kevin and Kyle Streeter, and John and Stephen Donahue — in the field along with the Bushey brothers and the uncle/nephew combo of Michael and Matthew Potter.
The Flying Tiger class travels to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Saturday, October 19 at 1:00pm for the Flying Tiger Oxford Open. The event is part of the PASS 400 Weekend season finale that includes the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models, PASS Modifieds, Honey Badger Street Stock Series, and Bandit Triple Crown Series. The pits open at 8:00am and the grandstands open at 10:00am. Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-12, and $45 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).
For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
FLYING TIGER OXFORD OPEN
OFFICIAL ENTRY LIST
As of 10/16/19
Car # Driver Hometown Sponsor/Car
2VT Michael Clark Bethlehem, NH Beech Hill Automotive Chevy Monte Carlo
4NH Shane Sicard Barton, VT Foley Oil and Propane Chevy Impala SS
5VT Tyler Austin East Calais, VT Creative Visions Chevy Monte Carlo
7VT Cooper Bouchard Hinesburg, VT KAS Inc. Chevy Lumina
10NH Christian Laflamme Whitefield, NH Laflamme’s Landscaping Chevy
12VT Craig Bushey Fairfax, VT Abba Fuels Ford Thunderbird
15VT Dave O’Blenis Boundary Creek, NB O’Blenis Motorsports
17VT Michael Martin Craftsbury, VT Gene Depot Pressure Washing Chevy Monte Carlo
20NC Eric Johnson Randolph Center, VT Ridge Runner Restoration Chevy Monte Carlo
20VT Robert Gordon Milton, VT H20 Well Drilling Chevy Monte Carlo
21VT Jon Boutin Fairfax, VT Waste Oil Heating Systems of VT Pontiac Grand Prix
23NH Michael Potter Plainfield, VT Jeff’s Auto Body Chevy Monte Carlo
23VT Matthew Potter Marshfield, VT Jeff Potter’s Auto Body Chevy Monte Carlo
25NH Kevin Boutin Jr. Fairfax, VT Pigeon Brothers Excavating Chevy Monte Carlo
25VT Brian Delphia Duxbury, VT CDR Concrete Chevy
26VT John Donahue Graniteville, VT Wells River Chevrolet Chevy Celebrity
31VT Logan Powers Middlesex, VT Til Dark Roofing Chevy Monte Carlo
37VT Kyle Streeter Waterbury Ctr., VT Streeter Concrete Ford Thunder Bird
44NH Jerrad Ledger Groveton, NH Brians Auto Body Chevy Monte Carlo
45NH Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury Ctr, VT Creative Counters Chevy Monte Carlo
46VT Aaron Maynard Lyndonville, VT Jeni’s Day Care Pontiac Grand Prix
49VT Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT Duxbury Auto Chevy Monte Carlo
52VT Brad Bushey Vergennes, VT 802 Diesel Chevy Monte Carlo
54VT Colin Cornell E. Burke, VT Dana Young Construction Chevy Monte Carlo
55NH Cody LeBlanc Berlin, NH Potter Racing Chevy Monte Carlo
55VT Kelsea Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT Blue Flame Gas Chevy SS
57VT Adam Maynard Milton, VT Manpower Services LLC Pontiac Grand Prix
64VT Jason M. Pelkey Barre, VT Memorial Sandblast Chevy Monte Carlo
67VT Kevin Streeter Waitsfield, VT Streeter Concrete Chevy Monte Carlo
68VT Jason Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT All Metals Recycling Chevy SS
71VT Tucker Williams Hyde Park, VT Cancer Sucks Chevy Monte Carlo
01NH Brian Gosselin Whitefield, NH Brian’s Autobody Chevy Monte Carlo
01VT Stephen Martin Craftsbury, VT Goodrich Maple Farms Chevy Monte Carlo
07VT Sam Caron Milton, VT Caron’s Auto Body Pontiac Grand Prix