2015-06-09

ACT Awards Three Stars for People's United Bank 100 at Devil's Bowl

ACT Awards Three Stars for People's United Bank 100 at Devil's Bowl

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     ACT060915-57

 

<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_4297-1064.jpg): Devil's Bowl Speedway point leader Josh Masterson earned a career-best fourth place ACT Tour finish on Saturday night. (MemorEvents photo)>>

 

<<ATTACHED PHOTO (IMG_6357.jpg): Former New London-Waterford Speedbowl Late Model Champion Dillon Moltz (right) finished sixth in his first ACT Tour start on Saturday. (MemorEvents photo)>>

 

Waterbury, VT – The American Racer Three Star program is designed to recognize three teams in no particular order of performance that had outstanding races at American-Canadian Tour (ACT) U.S. Tour events. There are no specific criteria for deciding who might receive the award of a free American Racer Tire (value $125.00), but a special effort by a team, exceptional race, just plain old hard luck, or any other accepted reason is used to decide the award recipients.

 

The Three Stars are chosen by ACT officials and will receive certificates for use of a free American Racer tire at a race of their choosing during the 2015 season.

 

DEVIL'S BOWL SPEEDWAY

PEOPLE'S UNITED BANK 100

 

The People's United Bank 100 at Devil's Bowl Speedway on Saturday, June 6 saw one of the most diverse fields of the 2015 ACT Tour season so far. In addition to the top Tour regulars, the starting grid included weekly competitors from Devil's Bowl, Claremont Speedway in New Hampshire, and the New London-Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, CT, as well as several "outlaws" and part-time Tour competitors. Despite the relative infamiliarity between drivers, the ACT Tour staged one the cleanest events in recent memory. The 100-lap race went flag-to-flag without a caution, almost exactly one year after the last caution-free Tour race at Speedway 51 on June 7, 2014. In fact, the only incident of the day came in the final corner of heat 2!

 

But the lack of cautions didn't come closing to telling the story. Wayne Helliwell Jr. and Nick Sweet locked horns for the first 2/3 of the event, before eventual winner Joey Polewarczyk Jr. chased both of them down. Behind the lead trio, a number of other drivers had outstanding drives in their own right. Among those drivers, the following have been chosen for the Three Stars Award:

 

*Dillon Moltz, Waterford, CT – #5CT – "Thrillin' Dillon" Moltz is no stranger to the Late Model scene. He was groomed at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, CT as well as his hometown New London-Waterford Speedbowl, where he won the Late Model Championship in 2012. Moltz added another line to his racing resumé in 2014 by winning the Granite State Pro Stock Series title. This season, Moltz and his Mark Brackett–owned team are running a mix of Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model, ACT Late Model, and Granite State Pro Stock Series events.

 

The #5CT team made their first ACT start at Devil's Bowl with a car purchased from former Oxford Plains Speedway Champion Ricky Rolfe. It had been two years since Moltz climbed behind the wheel of a Late Model, but he quickly got back up to speed. Moltz started 12th and ran in the top-10 for nearly the entire event, putting on an outstanding battle in the second half with Brad Babb, Emily Packard, and Brian Hoar. Despite not getting a caution that would help him close up to the field, Moltz ended with an impressive 6th-place finish. The #5CT team receives a Star Award for hitting the ground running in their ACT debut and will be a team to watch at future events.

 

*Arthur Heino Jr., Newport, NH – #07ME –Arthur Heino Jr. has been transitioning to ACT-type Late Models the past two years after doing much of his formative racing in the Modified ranks. Heino, who is from the same town as ACT Tour contender Kyle Welch, is a former winner in pavement Modifieds at Monadnock Speedway and in dirt Modifieds at Legion Speedway. He now competes weekly in the Claremont Speedway Late Models, where he currently ranks second in points.

 

Heino made his ACT Tour debut at Devil's Bowl on Saturday in a Crazy Horse Racing car formerly driven by Maine racer Scott Luce. A 16th-place finish may not seem like a grand entrance to the touring ranks, but it marked quite the accomplishment for the #07ME team. Heino began the night by finishing third in his heat race, which earned him the 15th starting spot in the feature. He then ran a clean and respectful 100-lap event, earning valuable seat time while holding his own against the Tour and Devil's Bowl regulars. This Star Award goes go to a team still gaining experience in both Late Model and long-distance racing; if Saturday was any indication, then they may be on their way to bigger things.

 

*Josh Masterson, Bristol, VT – #11NY – Josh "Kid Rocket" Masteron took the Devil's Bowl Late Model world by storm in 2013, finishing second in points in his first year after moving up from the Mini Stocks. He scored another runner-up points finish in 2014 and already has a weekly feature win this season. Masterson also competes regularly whenever the ACT Tour visits his home track or travels to Plattsburgh, NY's Airborne Speedway. Recently, he led 23 laps in last month's Spring Green 115 at Airborne.

 

Saturday marked Masterson's best ACT Tour performance to date. Masterson noted before the event that, while his car was fast in weekly features, he was still working on finding the right combination for long-distance events. But may have found it on Saturday. Masterson never ranked worse than sixth in the field throughout the race, eventually bringing home a fourth-place result. The #11NY team had by far the best result of any of their fellow Devil's Bowl weekly teams, and was only a tick off from challenging the Helliwell/Sweet/Pole lead trio. The current Devil's Bowl point leaders receives a well-deserved Star Award for taking another important step forward with their program.

 

The ACT Tour has a week off before making their annual visit to White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, NH on Saturday, June 20. Wayne Helliwell Jr. and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. bring their tight championship battle to the ¼-mile oval to take on local standouts such as Tyler Cahoon and Travis Fadden. Post time is 5:00pm.

 

For more information, contact the ACT offices at 802.244.6963media@acttour.com, or www.acttour.com.

 

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NASCAR Canadian Tire Series News & Notes: Chaudiere

 

For Immediate Release

 

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series News & Notes: Chaudiere

·        Budweiser 300 Will Mark Series' Milestone 100th Race

·        Defending Chaudiere Winner Hathaway Shares In Historic Event

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 9, 2015) – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will make history with the drop of the green flag in Saturday's Budweiser 300 at Autodrome Chaudiere, and defending race winner Jason Hathaway will share in the milestone event.

 

Hathaway is one of just three drivers that have competed in each of the series' first 99 races, and a victory in last year's inaugural Budweiser 300 ranks among his career highlights. Despite turning in a dominant performance throughout the race, Hathaway needed to out-duel Mark Dilley in a tense green-white-checkered flag finish to reach Victory Lane.

 

The St. Thomas, Ontario, native is eager to return to the wide and banked quarter-mile oval in Valle-Jonction, Quebec, to chase another victory.

 

"I can't wait to get there, I'd drive there right now," Hathaway said. "It's a great race track. It's great for the fans to see us run up there on that nice oval."

 

Hathaway will share the history of Saturday's event with D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly, who will also make it 100-for-100 by starting the Budweiser 300.

 

"It's quite an accomplishment," Hathaway said. "From where I started as a kid running go-karts and street stocks in Ontario, there wasn't a thought in my mind I'd run 100 NASCAR races in Canada."

 

Like Kennington and Steckly, Hathaway has enjoyed team stability throughout his career, a big factor in making it to each and every event.

 

"It's an accomplishment for myself, but also for my family and my team," Hathaway said. "I've been to all 99 races with Ed Hakonson Racing and Team 3 Red, so I haven't been like an old hockey player traded around a few times."

 

While Hathaway will get to share in the exclusivity of the 100th Canadian Tire Series event on Saturday, he'll primarily be driven to repeat as the Budweiser 300 winner.

 

"It was nice to win up there last year on Father's Day and have the kids there, so hopefully we can win again and bring home another trophy," Hathaway said.

 

RACE:  Budweiser 300

PLACE:  Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que.

DATE:  Saturday, June 13

TIME:  8 p.m. ET

TELECAST:  TSN – June 21 at 12 p.m. ET; RDS2 – July 3 at 10 p.m.

TRACK LAYOUT:  .25-mile asphalt oval

2014 POLESITTER:  Steve Mathews

2014 RACE WINNER:  Jason Hathaway

EVENT SCHEDULE:  Practice 12-12:30 p.m., Final Practice 1-1:30 p.m., Qualifying 4:15 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:45 p.m.

TRACK CONTACT:  Marie-Claude Levasseur, 418-806-5201relationniste@autodromechaudiere.ca

TRACK TWITTER:  @AutChaudiere

EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG:  #Bud300

NASCAR CONTACT:  Jason Christley, 386-547-2469jchristley@nascar.com, Twitter: @jay_christley

If photographs or graphics are needed for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, please contact Jason Cunningham at jcunningham@nascar.com.

 

Fast Facts:

The Race:  The Budweiser 300 will be the second of 11 events on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule, and the first of four trips to the province of Quebec.

 

The Procedure:  The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 300 laps (75 miles) and will have a five-minute midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 150. This is an impound race with two change tires allowed.

 

The Track:  Autodrome Chaudiere held its inaugural Canadian Tire Series event in 2014. The quarter-mile, high-banked oval opened in 1992 with a dirt racing surface and was paved for the first time in 2005.

 

Budweiser 300 Notes:

The 300 is No. 100:  Saturday's Budweiser 300 will mark the 100th event in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 history. Ontario's Cayuga Motor Speedway played host to the inaugural race on May 26, 2007, and the series visited 16 other tracks across six provinces through its first eight seasons.

 

Oval Expertise:  The same three drivers that have started all 99 previous Canadian Tire Series races – Jason Hathaway, D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly – also make up three of the top four most successful competitors on ovals. Kennington leads the trio with 17 triumphs, the series' ovals record, while Steckly is just one behind with 16. Don Thomson Jr., now the crew chief for rookie Cayden Lapcevich, ranks third with seven oval wins while Hathaway follows with five.

 

Ontario Winners at Quebec Ovals:  There have been seven oval races in the province of Quebec in Canadian Tire Series history, and each has been won by an Ontario driver. Hathaway won the inaugural Autodrome Chaudiere race last year and the six events at Autodrome St-Eustache have gone to Steckly (4), Kennington and Dave Whitlock.

 

L.P. Dumoulin to Reach a Milestone of His Own:  Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, native and defending series champion L.P. Dumoulin will reach a milestone of his own at Autodrome Chaudiere as the Budweiser 300 will be his 50th career start. Dumoulin earned his first Quebec win a year ago in his hometown Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, and notched his first oval victory last year as well, at Saskatchewan's Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

 

First Oval Test for J.F. Dumoulin:  The Budweiser 300 will be the first career oval start for J.F. Dumoulin, older brother of the reigning champion. Each of J.F. Dumoulin's first 20 Canadian Tire Series starts has come between the road courses at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Circuit ICAR, Circuit de Trois-Rivieres and Toronto Exhibition Place.

 

Labbe Set to Return:  Alex Labbe will return to action in the Budweiser 300 after an injury just prior to green flag at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park prevented him from participating in the season-opener on May 17. Labbe, from Victoriaville, Quebec, grew up closest to Autodrome Chaudiere of any of the Canadian Tire Series competitors.

 

Inaugural Events:  Last year's inaugural Budweiser 300 marked the first new oval event for the series since Ontario's Delaware Speedway joined the schedule in 2009. Following this week's second running at Chaudiere, the Canadian Tire Series will return to Ontario for another inaugural event, the Leland Industries 300 presented by Johnsonville on June 20 at Sunset Speedway.





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