ACT Opener Anything But Ordinary For “Outlaw” MacDonald
Driver to attempt ACT/NASCAR double duty weekend
Stock car driver “Outlaw” Eddie MacDonald has lofty goals. The Rowley, MA driver plans to run the American-Canadian Tour Late Model Championship season opener – the prestigious New Hampshire Governor’s Cup – at his home track, Lee USA Speedway, on Sunday, April 20. Ordinarily for MacDonald, that would mean a simple 40-mile drive north across the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.
This time, it’s going to be a bit different. About 2,000 miles different.
The 27 year-old will climb from the seat of his NASCAR Camping World East Series car at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina on Saturday night, then drive to Charlotte, NC and board a flight to Boston on Sunday morning. That’s when he can begin the more familiar drive to Lee, NH.
“It’s going to be awful tight trying to get to Lee in time for the drivers’ meeting and practice and everything that goes on in the morning,” MacDonald predicted. “I’m scheduled to arrive in Boston at 10:30am, so we’ll really have to make some good time on the way to the track.”
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Eddie MacDonald (Chris Roy photo) |
Making good time is a task Eddie MacDonald has proven he can handle. While running part-time schedules last year with no less than four racing organizations, he won the second-fastest ACT Late Model Tour event on record by capturing the Time Warner Cable 100 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway in under 29 minutes. Earlier in the season, he outran several multi-million dollar NASCAR teams to win at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway. Even before that, he stole the show at the Lee USA Speedway season opener by making up two laps under green flag conditions to finish inside the Top 10.
“We did pretty well in 2007, and I hope the Late Model runs as well at Lee as it did last year,” said MacDonald. “There’ll be a lot of tough competition with all the ACT teams in town, and with all the weekly Lee regulars racing we’re going to have to come prepared. It wasn’t easy last year, and it’s going to be even harder this year.”
‘Not easy’ is a colossal understatement: nearly 30 ACT Late Model Tour teams have filed full-season entries to date, with additional entries for the NH Governor’s Cup event at Lee USA Speedway expected to flow in prior to the race. Already included on the list of drivers are former ACT Champions Jean-Paul Cyr, Patrick Laperle, Phil Scott, Brad Leighton, and Donald Theetge, as well as title contenders Scott Payea, Brent Dragon, Randy Potter, and Joey Polewarczyk. Lee USA Speedway regulars expected to enter the race include former Track Champions J.R. Baril and Ricky Wolf, Jr., and young guns Miles Chipman, Jeff Labrecque, Jr., Jeremy Harclerode, and Katrina Canney.
The NH Governor’s Cup, round one of 12 for the 2008 ACT Late Model Tour, will take place at Lee USA Speedway on the New Hampshire seacoast on Sunday, April 20 at 1:00pm. For more information, contact ACT at (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com. For information on Lee USA Speedway, call (978) 462-4252 or visit www.leeusaspeedway.com.
Sources: ACT LM PR