ACT: Star-Studded Field Ready for Thunder Road Bond Auto Labor Day Classic

BARRE, VT - A huge cast of Late Model stock car racing stars will flock to Barre, VT's Thunder Road on Sunday, August 31 for the 30th running of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200. The $5,000-to-win event is the tenth of 12 races for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT), and will feature the region's top short track talent, as many as 50 or more championship-caliber drivers.
ACT Late Model Tour point leader Scott Payea of Milton, VT and second-place Patrick Laperle of Montréal will continue a heated battle for the ACT championship. Each is a multi-time winner at Thunder Road, and the pair fought for a recent victory at New Hampshire's White Mountain Motorsports Park before late contact sent both drivers to the rear of the field. Payea, who won the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in May, and Laperle, the
2007 Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl winner, enter the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 separated by 51 points (671-620).
Seven-time and defending ACT champion Jean-Paul Cyr, also from Milton, VT, sits just seven points behind Laperle in third place. Brent Dragon, Payea and Cyr's Milton, VT neighbor, is in a tight fourth-place battle with defending Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 winner John Donahue of Graniteville, VT, and New Hampshire drivers Randy Potter of Groveton and young Joey "Pole" Polewarczyk of Hudson. The four drivers are only 11 points apart.
Turner, ME's Glen Luce, Barre, VT rookie Nick Sweet, and Scott Dragon of Milton, VT complete the top ten in order.
Joining the ACT Late Model Tour top ten at Thunder Road will be star drivers Donald Theetge of Québec City, recent Thunder Road feature winner Jamie "Hurricane" Fisher of Shelburne, VT, London, ON rookie Jonathan Urlin, and Wilton, ME's "Neon" Leon Heckbert. Former Labor Day Classic winner and ACT champion Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH will also compete. In only two starts this season, Leighton has finishes of third at Waterford
(CT) Speedbowl and fifth at White Mountain.
Thunder Road's local divisions will qualify on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30pm, in conjunction with an optional practice session for ACT Late Models. Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 qualifying begins at 1:30pm on Sunday, Aug. 31. Discount advance sale tickets are available at all 36 Bond Auto Parts stores in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Save $5 on the front gate Adult price by purchasing tickets at any Bond Auto Parts; visit www.bondauto.com for locations. Tickets at the Thunder Road gate will be $25 for adults and $5 for children (6-12), and are good for both days' events. Gates open at 12:00 noon on Saturday and 10:00am on Sunday. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or www.acttour.com.
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Contact: Justin St. Louis / ACT

NCATS: Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagalini at Cayuga Motor Speedway this Saturday

Return to Cayuga Motor Speedway for Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani

 

Montreal, August 27^th, 2008: There has been a lot of action since May 24^th, the date of the first race of the year for the NASCAR Canadian Tire series! It happened at Cayuga Motor Speedway in Hagersville in Ontario. On that day, Andrew Ranger was starting his championship title defense and was welcoming into his team Alex Tagliani from the Champ Car World Series. Three months later, on August 30^th, the oval racetrack will again be host to the participants of the Series for the 10^th round of the season.

 

Third in the overall standings, a mere 11 points from second place, Andrew, at the wheel of the #27 Tide / Wal-Mart car, is counting on his experience and his sense of racing to better his result from May and to position himself for a strong finish for the championship. "I am my share of bad luck here at the first event of the year. I will not let myself be surprised again. I am increasingly comfortable of oval tracks and I am confident that I can do well here this weekend."

 

For Alex Tagliani, this second visit to Cayuga is full of promise. It could very well signal a return to the front of the pack. Currently in 14^th place in the overall standings, he still leads the Rookie of the year championship despite his retirement in Trois-Rivières on August 17^th. "Without the accident in Trois-Rivières, I could have won that race. The car was quick. If we find the right set-up and the car holds together, I can aim for a top-5 finish." Alex is the driver of the #7 Ubisoft / Wal-Mart car.

 

With four events remaining in the championship, nothing is guaranteed in the NASCAR Canadian Tire series. Knowing that the rest of the season will be held exclusively on oval tracks where anything can happen, each race now becomes crucial for the drivers and teams. The sprint to the finish line starts this Saturday, August 30^th.

 

 

The Victory Lap Charity Program

 

The Victory Lap Charity Program, affiliated to Opération Enfant Soleil in Quebec and to Children's Miracle Network in the rest of Canada, aims to raise funds to help sick children across the country. Since the program's inception in 2003, over $700,000 have been raised for 14 children's hospitals in Canada.

 

In 2008, the Victory Lap takes an even bigger leap forward and plans to break the $1,000,000 mark in donations since 2003. To do so, the program counts on the support of 95 Wal-Mart stores in Canada, the participation of prestigious brands and on the generous input from Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani as program ambassadors.

 

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Source: Professional Sports Management

Autodrome Edelweiss: show cancelled Aug 29... Laurent Ladouceur champ!

Edelweiss Speedway cancels, Laurent Ladouceur 2008 Modified track champion!

 

Cantley, PQ – Martin Bélanger – Friday, August 29, 2008 – Everyone was anxious to see who would be winning the final race in the modified point's race but mother nature decided that she would have the last decision. Steady precipitations throughout the day on Friday forced promoter Serge Lagacé to cancel his final point's night.

 

2008 Track Champion

 

With this cancellation, Laurent Ladouceur is crowned the 2008 Modified champion with only five points over Eric Gauvreau. Joel Doiron finishes third followed by Pierre Dagenais and Bobby Herrington completes the top 5. Gage Morin is named rookie of the year in this category with his 6^th place in the point's race. Ladouceur wins his third title in a row at Edelweiss.

 

Mini-Series

 

Eric Gauvreau wins the Fondation BRL Series in front of Laurent Ladouceur and Bobby Herrington who completes the podium.

 

Denis Gauvreau won the Gilles Masson Inc Pro-Stock series. He won 3 of the 4 races. Stéphane Lebrun finishes second followed by Joey Ladouceur who completes the podium.

 

Nico Leblanc is the champion of the Toitures Marcel Raymond Semi-Pro Series in front of Marc Lalonde and Bruno Boivin.

 

Pierre Dagenais wins the hard-charger Coffrage 20-20 with only one position over Joel Doiron. Dagenais will receive a cool 750$ courtesy of Mario Morissette.

 

Semi-Pro, 4 cylinders, Mod-Lite

 

An amendment is to be done from this week's press release, the point's race will continue for these 3 categories on September 5 and 19. The drivers will have a chance to get extra points

 

3 great nights to come

 

There are still 3 races programs to be done on the schedule. Next week will be the Mr.DIRTcar Pro-Stock Series a 100-lap feature event paying $1,500 to the winner with over $7,000 in prize money given out. A complete race program is also on the schedule with double features for 4 cylinders plus the addition of the Centre Sports Motorisés 4-wheelers, a special powder puff race is scheduled for them. The modifieds are done for the 2008 season.

 

On Saturday, September 13, it will be the annual enduro race with 100 laps for 8 cylinders, 50 laps for 4 & 6 cylinders and also a women's race. The race starts at 2pm.

 

The season will end in fashion with the visit of the Empire Super Sprints plus a special 50-lap feature race for the Semi-Pro category, the winner will get $600 and more than $3,500 could be distributed! The 4 cylinders, Mod-Lite and the Centre Sports Motorisés 4-wheeler will also be in action on that final night.

 

A lot of action is still to be done at Edelweiss!

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series - GP3R on TV

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race from the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres will be on TSN on Saturday night at 1 a.m.

Wrapping up the Week

Look out Sunday for a special report from PPP on the changing electorate of North Carolina. I'll post excerpts from it here and the full thing will be on our website.

I don't know why I'm just getting to this today but an independent analysis from the wise sage of fivethirtyeight.com found earlier this week that there is no Democratic lean in PPP's numbers. Check it out here.

I'm not surprised in the least because whatever anyone wants to believe, we just put the numbers out the way they come. We certainly don't hide the fact that we're Democrats, and most of the analysis I do focuses on taking the numbers and tying them into what Barack Obama/Kay Hagan/Bev Perdue needs to do to win but the numbers themselves are completely unbiased. I know some folks like to take every poll we release and add five points for McCain, and I don't have a problem with that, but I'm guessing you're going to be really disappointed on election day if you let that shape your expectations.

Have a good weekend!

AIM Autosport taking it down to the wire; Frisselle and Wilkins strive for another podium in New Jersey

Millville, NJ (08.29.2008) AIM Autosport arrived in Millville, New Jersey ready to attack the brand new Thunderbolt circuit at New Jersey Motorsport Park (NJMP) for the penultimate round of the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. This is a brand new facility and the circuit is an unknown factor for all the teams. AIM Autosport, coming off its third consecutive podium with a third place at Infineon Raceway just last weekend, is looking to be on the pace early with the Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley.

 

“Back to back race weekends on opposite coasts put us under a bit of pressure commented team principal Ian Willis. “We took an extra day in Sonoma to prep the car before sending the hauler straight to New Jersey and the team arrived at Thunderbolt early Wednesday to get the car ready for practice the next day. Being a new track, we needed to do a track walk with the drivers and engineers before we could come up with ideas for setup. We’ll get that setup on the car tonight and spend the first session sorting out the details.”

The Thunderbolt circuit is 2.25 miles with twelve turns. A narrow course with only slight elevation changes, it will prove a difficult track when it comes to passing. After two races featuring only the Daytona Prototypes, this weekend the GT class will also be on track which will make passing even more of a challenge.

 

Both drivers of the No. 61 Ford Riley noted that there is no room for error on this circuit. While it appears there is plenty of runoff around the track, it is all soft dirt at this point. Someone going off will bring a lot of dirt and debris back onto the track making it bit of an adventure especially for the faster DP cars. There will also be large dust clouds to deal with as was evidenced during practice on Thursday.

 

The Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley is on track for two official practice sessions on Friday (29^th) with additional practice and qualifying Saturday. The Supercar Life 250 is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. (ET) Sunday (31^st) and will be broadcast live on SPEED TV.

 

AIM Autosport Facts:  Established in 1995, AIM Autosport has a mandate to identify, train and manage emerging motorsport talent. AIM has provided many young drivers with a solid foundation on which to build a career in professional racing. The success of the AIM driver development programs has been achieved through the dedication of our employees and the ongoing support of our commercial and technical partners. Away from the track, AIM Autosport serves the needs of the racing community with a purpose-built preparation shop situated in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, Ontario. AIM fields the Exchange Traded Gold #61 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Grand Am series with drivers Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle. The team also competes in the Star Madza Championship presented by Goodyear with John Edwards at the wheel of the #7 Formula Mazda.

 

From Chris Jameson  // Level Ten Communications

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY PARK: Aug. 29th Cancelled

Races for Friday night at Brighton Speedway have been cancelled due to weather conditions.

Don't forget to join us  Saturday August 30th as the Southern Ontario Sprints return to Brighton to run a double feature and on Sunday August 31st as the Southern Ontario Sprints wind up their season with their championship night as well as Prostock drivers from Merritville and Comp 4 drivers from Kawartha also invade Brighton

 

Be sure to mark your calendars for the Brighton Speedway Labour Day Classic Weekend.
Featuring the Southern Ontario Sprints, the FAB 4 and plenty of other racing action!!
Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 29, 30 & 31. Free Camping Available!
Advance tickets available by emailing info@brightonspeedway.com or calling 1-866-681-1102.