ACT Season Opener at Lee USA April 9
Lee, NH — It’s been over five months since Oktoberfest 2105 closed out last year’s racing action at Lee USA Speedway, but the off-season is coming to a close next weekend. Saturday, April 9 will be the first time the roar of race engines will be heard this spring, as teams from all over the region take advantage of an open test and tune session from noon-5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, April 10, it‘s the highly-anticipated 2016 season opener, featuring the annual running of the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model event along with the NEMST Mini Stocks and Northeast Classic Lites in competition at “New Hampshire‘s Center of Speed“.
Last year’s Governor’s Cup winner and eventual 2015 ACT champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. of Dover will be opening up his title defense at his longtime home track, and will be looking to bring car owner Bruce Bernhardt, a former Lee USA champion himself, the team’s fourth championship in five years.
Helliwell has compiled an enviable record in the Governor’s Cup since joining the ACT Tour, with a win (2015), a runner-up (2012), a third place finish (2014), and a fourth place result (2011) among his accomplishments. He’s only been outside the top five once in the past five editions of the race.
Although Rowley, MA racer Eddie MacDonald’s laurels in the ACT point standings have been less notable, it’s only because he picks and chooses his races, typically competing on a limited ACT schedule that fits in around his other racing commitments. That looks like it might change in 2016, as “The Outlaw” has filed a full-season entry with ACT.
MacDonald, who picked up podium finishes in each of the past three Governor’s Cups (third in 2015, winner in 2014, and third again in 2013), has also collected trophies in some of the biggest ACT races on the schedule, including four wins in the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015), and the 2014 Milk Bowl event, his first career win at the storied Thunder Road oval in Barre, VT.
Helliwell and MacDonald are clearly among the favorites again this year, but dozens of other drivers will be trying to get their names on the Governor’s Cup, including last year’s runner-up to Helliwell, Brad Babb of Windham, ME.
Babb was third overall on the ACT in 2015, picking up wins at Thunder Road (VT) and Beech Ridge (ME) before closing out the season with his second runner-up finish of the year, this one behind eight-time ACT champ and two-time Governor’s Cup winner Brian Hoar at the Thompson Speedway (CT).
Geographic diversity will come to field with the entries of Waterford, CT-based Pro Stock ace Dillon Moltz, former ACT Rookie of the Year and fifth-place points man in 2015, Brandon Atkins of Au Sable Forks, NY, and Scott Payea of Colchester, VT, who finished third in 2009 Governor’s Cup, among others.
In addition to defending champ Helliwell, a contingent of Granite Staters including Kyle Welch of Newport, 2015 ACT Rookie of the Year and tenth-place points finisher Rich Dubeau of Lebanon, and Ryan Olsen of North Haverhill are also among those expected for the Governor‘s Cup.
Devin O’Connell of Madison, CT, Jimmy “Scruffy” Linardy of Somerville, MA, and Mark Jenison of Warwick, RI, are just a few of the drivers from southern New England looking to knock off the favorites, and there are always a few Canadian entries like Donald Theetge of Boischatel, Quebec who make the trek south to join the Governor’s Cup action.
In addition to the ACT Late Models, the Northeast Mini Stock Tour will be competing in the first race of their 2016 points season, which will see them compete at speedways from Maine to Connecticut over the course of the year. 2015 series champion Toby Wells is the defending race winner.
The Northeast Classic Lites will fill out the opening day schedule, with a strong field of the high-speed open-wheelers anticipated to be in the pit area. Defending champion Eric Skofield, Dave Helliwell, Jake Cray, C.J. McLaughlin, Eddie Gilman, and Duane Skofield were among the winners on the Classic Lites tour last year.
Lee USA will be revving up the weekend with a test and tune session on Saturday, April 9, open to teams from any track and/or division in advance of the season opener the next day.
Sunday action gets underway at noon with a couple of quick practice sessions, with the first qualifying heat slated to hit the track at 1:15 p.m., as New Hampshire’s Center of Speed opens up the northern New England racing season.
Pit passes for Sunday will be only $35, while grandstand tickets will be available at just $25 for adults, $20 for juniors, and kids 12 and under are free.
For more information on this or any other upcoming event at Lee USA, log on to our website at www.leeusaspeedway.com, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
Sources: Lee USA Speedway PR