Hoar Steals Second Merchants Bank 150

The sun shined on eight-time American Canadian Tour Champion Brian Hoar, as his trademark patience brought him his second Merchants Bank 150 in as many years on a beautiful afternoon at Barre, VT's Thunder Road on Sunday, April 28.  Middlesex, VT’s Dave Pembroke came home a stout second, and 7-time ACT Champion Jean-Paul Cyr brought home a third place finish.

The race began with pole sitter Jay Laquerre running to a large lead in the early going, but it wasn’t long before Pembroke and Hoar muscled their way to the front in the outside lane, with Pembroke snatching the lead on lap 36.  From there Pembroke surged, making short work of lap traffic and building his lead during a long 82-lap green flag run.  ACT Rookie of the Year competitor Bobby Therrien impressed early, working his way towards the front of the pack as high as third in his third career ACT event before the caution. 

When the race restarted, Pembroke was away again while young Therrien battled the veteran Hoar for second place.  Meanwhile, Cyr, 2012 King of the Road Nick Sweet, and New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 Champion Jimmy Hebert crept through the field on their way to the leaders.  When lap 100 struck, the veterans knew it was time to show their hand.

Pit Notes for Saturday, April 27 Practice

The stars of the American Canadian Tour and Thunder Road’s local divisions lit up Barre, VT for the annual Car Show on Saturday, April 27 before heading to The Nation’s Site of Excitement for a practice in preparation for the 15th Annual Merchants Bank 150 on Sunday, April 28. 

Over 80 stock cars were displayed on Main Street in Barre, VT for Thunder Road’s Annual Car Show.  A large gathering of fans were treated to blue skies, driver autographs and pictures, remote-controlled cars, Troy Kingsbury’s Race to Read program, and WDEV Radio.  The annual Pit Stop contest featured last year’s champions battling to see who could complete the fastest two-tire change.  2012 Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman Champion Bobby Therrien stole the show with a fast time of 32.93. 

MacDonald Files Late Entry to Merchants Bank 150 

Eddie MacDonald, a two-time New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner with the American Canadian Tour (ACT), has entered the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road this Sunday, April 28, adding to a star-studded entry list for Thunder Road’s season opening event.

MacDonald, who finished third at the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup ACT season opener, has a long racing resume in New England. He currently races on the K&N East Tour as well as ACT. 

ACT Announces New Champions Program

The American Canadian Tour has partnered with the Quebec Sportsman Series to provide a new contingency program for their racers in Eastern Canada called the ACT New Champions Program.

ACT Experiences Youth Movement

Young Racers Rule At Season Opener

2012 ACT Rookie of the Year Jimmy Hebert claimed an emotional victory in the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, but his victory did more than cement his name in the history books of ACT.  For an afternoon, it appeared to usher in a new regime of racers to the 27-year old sanctioning body. 

Hebert Surges To First ACT Victory

American Canadian Tour Rookie of the Year Jimmy Hebert disproved any ideas of a sophomore slump by earning his first-career ACT victory in style at the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 14th.  North Haverhill, NH’s Travis Fadden and Rowley, MA’s Eddie Macdonald finished out the podium for the season opening event. 

The race began with Tiverton, RI’s Ray Parent going door-to-door with pole sitter Fadden for the first six laps, until overtaking him for the early lead.  Fadden stayed hooked to Parent’s back bumper as the field stretched out, bringing defending ACT Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. into third behind the two leaders.  As the pair worked through lap traffic, Hebert worked his way from the 15^th starting position to tenth, highlighting a string of daring moves with a 3-wide blast on lap 32.  By lap 57, Hebert had maneuvered his way through the field to 6^th place.  Parent and Fadden continued to battle for the lead through lap traffic until a quick move by Fadden left Parent pinned behind a lapped car.  Fadden stole the lead back, and showed the way until the first of six cautions on lap 89. 

Entries Pile for Lee USA Opener

Macdonald, Theetge File Entries 

Race season is finally upon us as the American Canadian Tour kicks off their 2013 season with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 14^th.  The pressure will be on for last year’s winner Brian Hoar and 8-time Lee USA Speedway Champion and defending ACT Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr., but the competition will be hungry after a long offseason away.

Rowley, MA’s Eddie Macdonald, a 2-time Bond Auto ACT Invitational winner, will make the trek to Lee, NH, making him one of the early favorites.  He led laps late in last year’s opening event, but was caught up in an altercation with Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. that ended both drivers’ hopes at the win. 

Merchants Bank 150 Opens 54^th Season At Thunder Road

Car Show Returns to Barre

The snow is finally melting as race teams and fans prepare for the first real sign of springtime: The 15^th Annual Merchants Bank 150 at Barre’s Thunder Road on the weekend of April 27/28. 

The race serves as the opening point-counting event for the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks, but will also bring in the stars of the American Canadian Tour to challenge the local Late Model division.  Last season fans saw 8-time ACT Champion Brian Hoar pick up his second win of the season at the Nation’s Site of Excitement, with eventual ACT champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. on his tail.  Helliwell will be looking to score the victory at his home track, but he joins a long list of favorites to steal the opening event.

Bonuses Announced for International 500

The biggest stock car racing event of the summer keeps getting better as American Canadian Tour officials have announced a bonus program for participating racers in the Inaugural International 500 at Airborne Speedway on the weekend of July 20/21. 

Drivers who file their entry by the Tuesday, April 16 deadline will be eligible for Goodyear Halfway Bonus awards, which will make the leader of the half-way mark of each segment $1,000 richer, leaving a potential for a driver to gain up to $3,000 in Goodyear bonuses alone.  On top of that, every team that has filed their entry by the deadline will be entered into a drawing for eight (8) Goodyear tires, a $960 value, to be used for the 300-lap special event.