Recently I was commenting on, what I perceived to be, a low car count at Airborne’s spring green ACT Tour event. My thinking is that when high calibre drivers like Chris Michaud, Eric Chase, Eric Williams, Dave Pembroke and Phil Scott are not present at a Tour race this early in the year, what will the car count be later on?
Obviously it did not affect the quality of the show as the Airborne race was a good one. Nor is a 25 car field something to be ashamed about especially considering 17 out of 25 were on the lead lap.
Maybe, I was naive by expecting 30 – 40 cars at every Tour event because of the pool of cars in relative proximity. I assumed the Tour’s championship purse would motivate the racers to participate in all the shows. I expected the Quebec drivers’ participation to raise the car count over 30. In fact had it not been for 5 of them present, it would have been a 20 car field. It is still disappointing that not more Quebecois were present. I was counting on long time ACT competitor Yvon “the bullet” Bédard to be there, or one of the Lacombe brothers, or Jacques Laperle and Normand Lavigueur.
As an Outsidegroove forum member Andy researched and came up with over 200 LMS cars are competing week after week. Thanks to Tom Curley’s vision and rule unification process. Despite this, not one American based team competed last weekend in the St-Eustache 100. Why not use it as a testing ground for the upcoming Tour event or even for the high prestige September Cari-All 300 race? Oh yes, there was the matter of the Memorial Day Classic being run the following day.
With the Series Castrol drivers off this weekend, what will be the car count at the Ste-Croix event? For sure Theetge will be there.
- Will Sylvain Lacombe, who earlier this year commented that he would not race Tour events, be there?
- What about Leclerc, who had significant damage to his car, will he be there?
- Will Alexandre Gingras, who barrel-rolled and totalled his 4 race old car, be there with another car?
What about the others? Care to comment or make a prediction on the participants or car count? Please leave a comment.
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Récemment j’ai fais un commentaire concernant, ce que j’ai peçu, être un nombre peu élevé de voitures au Spring Green de l’ACT Tour tenu à Airborne. Mon raisonement est le suivant : lorsque des pilotes de la tremble de Chris Michaud, Eric Chase, Eric Williams, Dave Pembroke et Phil Scott ne compétitionnent pas à une épreuve du Tour à ce moment de la saison, quel sera le nombre de voiture plus tard dans la saison?
Bien sûr, cela n’a enlevé en rien la qualité du spectacle. Même à 25 voitures pas de hônte à avoir là, surtout considérant que 17 des 25 voitures étaient encore sur le tour du meneur à la fin.
Ais-je été naïf en attendant 30 – 40 voitures à chacune des manches du championnat ACT? J’ai assumé que la bourse du Tour serait un facteur motivateur. Je m’attendais à ce que la participation des pilotes québécois amène le nombre de voiture à plus de 30. Sans la présence des 5 sur place, il n’y aurait eu que 20 voitures sur la grille de départ. C’est tout de même décevant qu’il n’y ait pas eu plus de québécois présents. Je comptais sur la participations de Yvon Bédard, d’un des frères Lacombe, de Jacques Laperle ou de Normand Lavigueur.
Andy, un membre du forum Outsidegroove écrivait, preuve à l’appui, qu’il a un bassin de plus de 200 LMS qui compétitionnent semaine après semaine. Merci à la vision et aux règles de Tom Curley. Cependant, pas une seule équipe Américaine de présente au St-Eustache 100 la fin de semaine dernière. Pourquoi ne pas en avoir profité pour se préparer pour l’épreuve à venir du Tour ou encore la prestigieuse Cari-All 300? Oh oui, il y avait une course le lendemain avec le Memorial Classic.
Avec les piltoes de la série Castrol en congé ce weekend, quel sera la quantité de compétiteurs présents? Theetge s’est commis à faire la série américaine.
- Est-ce que Sylvain Lacombe reviendra sur sa décision de participer aux épreuves du Tour?
- Et Leclerc, qui a subi d’important dommage à sa voiture?
- Quand à Alexandre Gingras, les tonneaux qui auraient détruis sa voiture vieille de 4 courses, aura-t-il trouvé une monture?
Et les autres? Prêt à partagez votre opinion ou à faire une prédiction sur les participants présents ou sur la quantité de voiture? SVP laissez un commentaire.
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1 comment:
Great site Marc!!!
After losing Robbie Crouch, Kip Stockwell, and Patrick Laperle to preseason injuries, I think the car count at Airborne was about what I expected.
I think Late Model racing is still in it's early stages of growth, however I'm very happy to see both series (Canadian & US) have solid numbers compared to other series (at least here in the US). Many Pro Stock tracks in New England are only getting 10 – 15 cars on a weekly basis. In the early 90’s there used to be 500 - 600 of these cars around, now there are less than 170!!! The trend for Pro Stocks is not good.
Maybe it's too early in the 1st season where Late Model rules are the same on both sides of the border to expect many to cross and run in the other country? Hopefully some of the big races like Sanair, Oxford 250, and the Milk Bowl will get many cars from both US and Canada.
I still think in the future car counts will be very good on both sides of the border with surprise entries at many races. Oxford is already getting Late Models from NY and MA for just their weekly races!!!
I will be going to Ste-Croix this weekend and I expect a good mix of US & Canadian teams and it should be a spectacular race. I hope car counts will be in the mid to upper 30s.
Also, I know it’s hard for teams to travel during the week, but if any teams are looking to get more experience at Thunder Road, the VT Governor’s Cup in July is a great opportunity. It’s a 100 lap race, but not ACT Tour, so usually the car count is around 30 or so. The competition is good, but a team with a decent setup has a good chance to qualify. Plus, there is usually a Cup driver competing in the Late Models that night too!!
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