ACTion News
Eighteen year-old Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk, Jr. joined the list of American-Canadian Tour race winners on Saturday night at Seekonk Speedway on the Massachusetts seacoast. Pole is the second first-time ACT winner at the legendary 1/3-mile “Cement Palace,” equaling a feat recorded by Steve Fisher back in 2004.
Both drivers were due to take their first victories, both scored them at one of the toughest bullring joints around, and both were good enough, lucky enough, or a combination of the two to beat Jean-Paul Cyr.
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The ACT officials are car pooling to two vastly different race tracks this Saturday for a rare split doubleheader: the ACT Late Model Tour returns to the round 3/8-mile at Oxford Plains (ME) Speedway for a second try at the Time Warner Cable 100, while the Série ACT Castrol revs back up at Circuit Ste-Croix for the Ste-Croix 100, the season’s third and final stop at the 5/8-mile paperclip-shaped track on the banks of the mighty St. Lawrence River.
The Time Warner Cable 100 was originally added to the ACT Late Model Tour schedule on the date of the cancelled event at Sanair Super Speedway, but was rained out on July 7 with 49 cars in the pits. The race is also part of the five-race L/A Harley Davidson Challenge Series at Oxford. ACT drivers Randy Potter, “Irish” John Donahue, and “Rocket” Roger Brown have all scored major victories at OPS in 2007 and are certainly among the favorites to win the Time Warner Cable 100, but it would be a mistake to count out Oxford stalwarts Travis Adams, Ricky Rolfe, Doug Coombs, and Scott Robbins as potential spoilers. Shawn Martin was the last OPS regular to win an ACT race in July 2006.
Circuit Ste-Croix has been kind to Alexandre Gingras and Sylvain Lacombe this year on the Série ACT Castrol, but the drivers to really watch in the Ste-Croix 100 will be Karl Allard, J.F. Déry, Jacques Poulin, Steven Boissonneault, and Marc-André Cliche, all drivers that are eagerly searching for a win in 2007.
Post time for the Ste-Croix 100 at Circuit Ste-Croix near Québec City is 5:00pm on Saturday. Just 275 miles to the southeast, the Time Warner Cable 100 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway begins at 6:30pm.
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Folks, don’t look now, but the summer is at the beginning of the beginning of the “wind down” stage. School starts up soon, leaves aren’t too far away from starting to do whatever they do in the fall, and the Thursday night schedule at Thunder Road is paring itself down. Thursday’s NAPA Auto Parts/Make-A-Wish event is one of only three remaining Thursday programs, plus the Tuesday, August 28 make-up of the Fisher/Federated Auto Parts rainout.
After that, it’s time for the ACTion Super Series Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 and the 44th Vermont Milk Bowl, and then the snow flies in the Green Mountains.
Yeah, it’s that quick.
But the good news is that the action has never been better at Thunder Road, and the races for the “Kings of the Road” crowns are the only things hotter than the summer sun, which is still shining, by the way.
Jamie “Hurricane” Fisher is in the race of his life for his second Thunder Road Late Model title, and for the moment is holding off the likes of three-time champ Cris Michaud and first-time hopefuls Dave Pembroke, Joey Becker, and rookie Chip Grenier. Just 17 points separate the top three, with a too-close-for-comfort 45 points from first to fifth.
Nick Sweet has a commanding 99-point edge over Matt White in the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division, but it’s a total toss-up between everyone else. Joey Lauqerre sits a mere 10 points behind White with Tom Therrien fourth, eight points behind Laquerre, and Craig Bushey and rookie Joel Hodgdon tied for fifth just seven more markers behind Therrien. Chuck Beede and Rick Garand, tied for 14th overall, are even within 100 points of Laquerre.
Not to be outdone, the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Power Shift Online Junkyard Warriors have tight title clashes of their own. Bobby Therrien, perhaps the leading “super-rookie” at Thunder Road this season, leads veteran Lloyd Blakely by only 10 points in the Street Stock division, while Bunker Hodgdon paces Jamie Davis by just 20 in the Warrior brigade.
All four divisions will get it on this Thursday at NAPA Auto Parts/Make-A-Wish night, along with the brave (or is it crazy?) race fans in the annual “Run What You Brung” event. Regular general admission rates are in effect at $9 for adults, $3 for kids 6-12 (kids under 6 get in free!), and just $18 for a family ticket, good for any two adults and two children. Post time is 6:30pm.
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Did you know…?
-To date, rookie drivers have won eight feature events at Thunder Road, tying a record set in 1996 and 1999. The breakdown for 2007 is this: Chip Grenier (Late Model) – 2, Joel Hodgdon (Sportsman) – 1, Bobby Therrien (Street Stock) – 4, Mike Ziter (Street Stock) – 1. Combining all remaining championship-counting events for all divisions, there are 16 opportunities for the freshman crowd to set the new record.
-Only two drivers – Donald Theetge and Brent Dragon – have been able to repeat from last season as winners on the ACT Late Model Tour this year. Theetge won at Circuit Ste-Croix in June 2 (as he did in May 2006), while Dragon won at White Mountain Motorsports Park on June 30 (Brent won the Milk Bowl at Thunder Road last October).
-Thunder Road has seen multiple drivers take their first career win on four occasions this season. Scott Payea, Bruce Melendy, and Dale Bickford pulled it off on opening day in May, followed by Scott Weston and Mark LaFleche on July 3. Two days later, Chip Grenier and Leonard Sanborn carried the checkers for the first time. Mike Ziter and Chad Brown pulled it off at last week’s Calkins Portables/Pelletier Quick Lube event.
As always, check the websites for updates, news, photos, and a whole lot more at www.acttour.com and www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com!
Sources: Justin St. Louis/ACT Tour PR