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.
