American-Canadian Tour Celebrates Quebec’s Iron Man at Autodrome Chaudiere
Barre, VT — Growing to become one of the most exciting and anticipated events on the yearly American-Canadian Tour schedule over the last several seasons, the Claude Leclerc 150 at Autodrome Chaudiere is next up for North America’s most historic late model touring series. Teams on both sides of the US and Canadian border have been steadily preparing their machines to duke it out in honor of the Iron Man of ACT competition at one of the most dynamic and exciting ovals in North America.
The Claude Leclerc 150 celebrates Claude Leclerc, a Canadian who needs no introduction. The Iron Man of American-Canadian Tour competition, Leclerc made it to every single ACT Tour race between 1979 through 1995 and competed in the evolution from the steel-bodied Sportsman of the 1970s through the fiberglass, big-motor Pro Stocks of the late 1980s through the 1990s and into today’s modern Late Model. In that time, Leclerc has started nearly 600 events under American-Canadian Tour sanctioning, a feat that will never be surpassed, and found himself standing in the victory lane podium in each of the last five decades.
Although off the schedule in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 border closures, the two events run by the American-Canadian Tour have been evenly won by both sides of the border. New Hampshire’s Rich Dubeau won an emotional first ACT victory in the inaugural Claude Leclerc 150 on his way to the 2019 ACT championship while Jonathan Bouvrette turned a devastating season around last season by winning the $5,000 grand prize over fellow standouts William Larue and Dany Trepanier.
For the first time since 2017, the American ACT teams will also battle against local Canadian Serie ACT Quebec front runners with the likes of D.J. Shaw, Derek Gluchacki, Gabe Brown, Jimmy Renfrew Jr., and Jason Corliss up against Quebec’s hot-shoes like Raphael Lessard, Patrick Laperle, Jeff Cote, and Alexendre Tardif. Although not a point-counting event for the Quebec Serie, many Canadians will be on hand to defend the home turf.
The $32,000-USD purse has attracted many of the American hopefuls North of the Border including fellow full-timers Erick Sands, Bryan Wall Jr., Andrew Molleur, and Tanner Woodard with Shawn Swallow among the American invaders looking for his first taste of Chaudiere. Among the Québécois will also include ACT Tour full-timer Jonathan Bouvrette, with Autodrome Chaudiere confirming the return of longtime star Jean-Francois Dery along with Mathieu Kingsbury, Patrick Cliché, Sebastien Couture, Remi Perreault, and Marc Begin.
The American-Canadian Tour returns to Vallee-Jonction, Quebec’s Autodrome Chaudiere on Saturday, June 24th for the Claude Leclerc 150. The $5,000-to-win showdown will pit the best of the United States against the best of Quebec at one of the North America’s most dynamic short tracks for the showdown of the summer. Along with the Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Series Vintage, Trucks and Sport Compacts, qualifying will begin at 4:30pm with Feature Racing set to start at 6:00pm. The Claude Leclerc 150 will be streamed on Racing America for subscribers to the streaming service.
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
Sources: Cale King/American-Canadian Tour PR
(IMG_6152.jpg): The Claude Leclerc 150 at Autodrome Chaudiere is the first American-Canadian Tour event North of the Border in 2023 with a $5,000USD grand prize waiting in Victory Lane for the triumphant American invader or a bold Canadian defender!
(IMG_6167.jpg): The Claude Leclerc 150 celebrates the Iron Man of ACT competition, a driver who stood in the Victory Lane podium in each of the last five decades with nearly 600 ACT-sanctioned starts under his belt.
(Sylvain Fournier photos)