Alex Labbe Looking Forward To Busy Season
Alex Labbe will focus on a very busy schedule in 2016. He will run full time on the NASCAR Pinty Series and a limited ACT Tour and Serie ACT schedule in Quebec.. Labbe ran in his first ACT Tour race of the season at Lee USA Speedway. Labbe finished in 4th on Sunday in the Governor’s Cup 150. He is planning to run 3 more races this season the ACT Tour. His next one will be air Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY on Saturday May 14th. He is also planning to run the ACT Tour Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend on Saturday September 24th and the season finale at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on World Series Weekend on Saturday October 15th. He is also planning to run a race or two on the PASS Series Super Late Models.
Labbe has never ran at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park before. He has tried on the simulator and has watched a lot of the races at the 5/8 mile oval. He thinks it could not be compared to any tracks in Quebec since the groove is higher but believes it can look Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix The closest track he feels he has race close to Thompson is New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
Labbe will run 4 races in the Serie ACT in Quebec. He is planning to run Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Junction, Quebec for two races and Autodrome Montmagny and Autodrome St-Eustache for one race. Labbe believes the Serie ACT in Quebec is very competitive. “ Our Quebec Series is very competitive. I think every week we can have guys like us, Laperle, Dery, Theetge, Trepanier, Bouvrette winning for sure and that’s what makes it fun because you don’t always fight with one or two different guys You can fight with six or seven of them.” Labbe Said
When Labbe is racing on the U.S. Side on the ACT Tour. He always enjoys racing with Joey Polewarczyk, JR because it is always hard racing but it stays clean. “ In the Quebec Tour, it gets a little more aggressive but I’d say over the last few years I liked racing with Dany Trepanier a lot. Probably 4 years ago, he was really an aggressive driver and it got rough pretty often but I’d say over the last year or two. He’s got more fun to race with because we can have pretty good battles with a lot of respect and that’s fun.”
Pinty’s Delicious Foods Inc. join NASCAR in sponsoring the series in Canada this season. With NASCAR being big here in the United States. Labbe believes NASCAR has become bigger in Canada. “ Pinty’s helped promote lots of athletes here in Canada and it has helped a couple of sports for example curling. They really put that sport to another level and they already started promoting us the drivers way more than what Canadian Tire had ever done before with TV time etc. I think NASCAR does a really good job promoting us and giving us a way better visibility than any other series I could run in Canada.”
Labbe would describe last year as a tough deal to close the deal in both the NASCAR Pinty Series and in ACT. On the ACT side, they were always top 3 in practice and in the qualifying heat races but for a certain reason, he could not get the speed he wanted after halfway during the feature. Labbe still had a couple great runs but felt there was more to add to the table. When he made his 6 starts with the NASCAR Pinty Series, Labbe felt he had the speed but felt he couldn’t seal the deal in two races where he was contention to win but would be involved in wrecks.
Labbe is hoping to turn it around this season running full time on the NASCAR Pinty Series. He is looking forward to going to Autodrome Chaudiere as they will race a 300 lap race on June 11th and Autodrome St.Eustache on September 10th as he felt he has had strong run in two of his three oval starts on the NASCAR Pinity Series. Labbe is more looking forward to the road courses. Labbe has had strong run on the road courses the last couple years and he is looking forward to getting stronger on the road courses this season.
Labbe would like to thank his sponsors on the NASCAR and ACT side. On the NASCAR Side he would like to thank Can-Am, Kappa Clothing, Cyclops Gear Cameras, Lou’s BBQ, Cathcart Trucking, and everyone at Go Fas Racing. On the ACT side, he would like to thank Larue Snowblowers, Leeboy, Desjardins Ford, Garoy Construction, VR Victoriaville, and all the team at Larue Motorsports.
Labbe will also like to thank all his family, friends, and everyone who supports him at all the races he is at. Labbe’s goals is to be a contender for the NASCAR Pinty Series championship and win races in the ACT Tour and Serie ACT in Quebec.
The season opener for the NASCAR Pinty Series will be held on Sunday May 22nd at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The season opener for the Serie ACT in Quebec will be on Sunday May 22nd at Autodrome St. Eustache for a 100 lap race. The next race for the ACT Tour is this weekend Sunday May 1st at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT for the 18th Annual Merchant’s Bank 150.
Story By: Matthew Wiernasz/Yankeeracer.com