Austin Theriault PR: Lee USA Speedway Race Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 4.17.11 For more information, visit www.RPMEnginesVT.com/motorsports or email TbarrettGWC@hotmail.com     Austin Theriault: ACT Late Model Tour Lee USA Speedway Race Report     Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, finished eighth in the ACT Late Model Tour season-opening NH Governor's Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 17. It was Theriault's best career finish at Lee USA and it came in his Tour debut with RPM Motorsports. Theriault started 23rd after qualifying for the 30-car field through the consolation round and moved into the Top-10 just after the 100-lap mark. Theriault's RPM teammate Brian Hoar won the event.

 

WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine TEAM: RPM Motorsports No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford   WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour NH Governor's Cup 150 WHERE: Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. (.333-mile oval) STARTED: 23rd FINISHED: 8th   ACT Late Model Tour NEXT RACE: May 1, Merchants Bank 150, Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval)   ********************   AUSTIN, TALK ABOUT YOUR DEBUT WITH RPM AT LEE USA SPEEDWAY.   Coming out with RPM, I know it's a great experience to learn a lot from Brian and Rick. My goal was just to come out with a Top-10. Top-10s lead to Top-5s, and Top-5s lead to wins – but we'll just take it one race at a time. I'm pretty pumped up for the season.   HOW WAS YOUR CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACE?   There was a lot of side-by-side racing. I was pretty surprised. There were a lot of wrecks, too.   In the middle of the race, you can't really judge your car. It will just free right up, and that's something that we have to learn. Next time we come here, we'll just have to make sure to start out a lot tighter at the beginning of the race.   DID YOU THINK YOU HAD MORE THAN AN 8th-PLACE FINISH IN THE CAR?   We had a pretty good car. We unloaded (for practice on Saturday) and we were decent. We just kept working on it and working on it.   The car just kept getting stronger and stronger. Toward the middle of the race, I thought we had a Top-5 car. We were coming. We passed quite a few cars. But that final caution came out, and the car just got a little too free.   All in all, I'm not disappointed at all. I think we can learn a lot from this experience.   RICK PAYA, RPM MOTORSPORTS OWNER RICK, IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE.   It's very good to win the opener, of course, and to have both of our cars in the Top-8 was pretty awesome. The first time out for Austin, I think he did a helluva job.   We made a lot of progress with Austin and his team, and our guys are spot on right now. We just picked up where we left off from last year. I'm pretty excited about the year.   --30--

 

Theriault PR : Lee USA Speedway Race Preview

 

 

THE STORY   Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, makes his official ACT Late Model Tour debut with RPM Motorsports when the 2011 season begins with the NH Governor's Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., on Sunday afternoon, April 17. Theriault left his family-owned team during the offseason to drive for the seven-time ACT championship organization, and this will be his first points race with RPM after competing in two non-championship events at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in February. Theriault has competed twice at Lee USA Speedway in a Late Model; once in this event last season and once in a weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event at the .333-mile facility.

 

THE FACTS   WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine TEAM: RPM Motorsports No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, West Paris, Maine   BEST CAREER LEE USA SPEEDWAY FINISH: 9th (June 2010) LAST RACE AT LEE USA SPEEDWAY: 9th (June 2010)   WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour NH Governor's Cup 150 WHERE: Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. (.333-mile oval) WHEN: 1 p.m., Sunday, April 17   ACT LATE MODEL TOUR NEXT RACE: May 1, Merchants Bank 150, Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (.25-mile oval) FINAL POINTS POSITION (2010): 7th (second in Rookie of the Year standings)       DID YOU KNOW?   Austin Theriault has been attending flight school this spring in Frenchville, Maine, near his hometown in Fort Kent. RPM Motorsports has won seven of the last eight ACT championships. Austin Theriault posted his first Top-10 finish on the ACT Late Model Tour in this event last season.       WHAT THEY'RE SAYING   AUSTIN THERIAULT, Driver of the No. 57 Varney Insurance Ford, On his impressions of Lee USA Speedway: “It was a cool track. As a new driver, everything there was new, but we went out and we got a Top-10. I really like the track. It seems to suit my driving style. I remember as the race went on, we got better and better. I don't know if it was me or the car getting better and better.   “Being back at tracks we've seen before, that is going to be the key thing for us this year.”   On the importance of qualifying better in 2011: “That will be a big step for us (qualifying). Don't get me wrong, the cars were great last year. But I think we'll unload off the trailer better this year and be closer to where we want to be right off. (Team owner Rick Paya) has setups down pat. We wont' be scrambling from track to track every week, and that will really help our qualifying.   “But whose to say we won't have times where the car doesn't unload well? I'm sure at times that will happen, but I can tell you I'm pretty pumped for all of the packages Rick has for me.”   On the track configuration at Lee USA Speedway: “It's a unique track. It's a fun track, too. You can pass pretty easily there as the race goes on, as the track gets a little slicker. Drivers usually like a track they can pass on.”   RICK PAYA, RPM Motorsports owner, On racing at Lee USA Speedway: “I love it. It's a very challenging track. It's unique, so it's hard to get a handle on it. I really always look forward to going to Lee.   “It has an inside groove and an outside groove, especially as the tires start to wear out. The wall all the way around the track on the outside is intimidating for a lot of people. I like it. It's a challenging track from a setup standpoint.”       UP NEXT   The ACT Late Model Tour heads to the Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl on Sunday, May 1 for the second race of the season... Austin Theriault garnered significant attention in his Thunder Road debut in June of 2010, qualifying for the VT Governor's Cup there and finishing seventh in his first race on the quirky quarter-mile track. ACT president and Thunder Road owner Tom Curley called it at the time “the most impressive Thunder Road debut since Dave Dion.”       SOCIAL MEDIA   Follow Austin Theriault on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/atracing Follow GWC Motorsports Marketing on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-White-Checker/45527276443 Follow GWC Motorsports Marketing on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/GWCNewEngland

 

ACT NEWS : Sophomore Drivers Babb and Theriault Ready for 2011 ACT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                             ACT-030211-12 Waterbury, VT – After competing in one of the closest Rookie of the Year battles in American Canadian Tour (ACT) history, Windham, Maine’s Brad Babb and Fort Kent, Maine’s Austin Theriault are ready for 2011. The two finished just three points apart in the 2010 Rookie of the Year standings.

 

Babb came out on top of the standings and claimed the 2010 ACT Rookie of the Year honors after capturing his first career top five in the season finale at Waterford (CT) Speedbowl. With the help of his crew chief and father, Bobby, a former ACT competitor, he also earned an impressive sixth place in the 2010 ACT standings. Babb is in his senior year of high school, but has made time to work for his father’s logging company, snowmobile and prepare the car over the winter months. “We only have a couple small things left. If Lee (the 2011 season opener) was next week we’d be ready,” said Babb. The 18 year old has now seen nearly every track on the 2011 ACT schedule and credits the 2010 season for teaching him how to adapt to new tracks. He hopes to use that knowledge to better his 6th place effort in the 2010 standings and top his career high 5th place finish at Waterford last October. “We’d really like to finish in the top five in the standings and win a couple races, but we’ll see how everything goes before we set too high of goals,” said Babb. “I’m really looking forward to going back to White Mountain (Motorsports Park). We were going pretty good there before we broke (in 2010).” The White Mountain 150 was Babb’s only finish outside of the top 20 and the only event he did not finish. Fellow Maine resident, Theriault has joined forces with Rick Paya Motorsports (RPM) of Georgia, Vermont, during the off season. RPM has won the ACT Late Model Tour Championship the past two seasons with driver Brian Hoar. Theriault had a successful rookie season in 2010, earning his first career top five with a second at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. He also took second in the rookie standings and seventh in the overall standings. The 17 year old high school student took a break from his varsity wrestling schedule this winter to join his new team at the 2011 Goodyear Speedweeks Cup at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He started his sophomore season early with a respectable 13th place finish in the Cup standings with an 11th and 16th place effort in the two 100 lap events. “I’m really looking forward to this year. I’m still just grateful to be driving an RPM car,” Theriault said. “We’re still working on the team chemistry with a brand new car.” Babb will kick off his sophomore season and Theriault will continue his in the ACT season opening New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire on Sunday, April 17. -30-

 

ACT VETERAN CHAMPIONS WILL BE CHALLENGED AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY

For Immediate Release                                        ACT – 020311-10           Waterbury, VT –Veterans of the American Canadian Tour (ACT) will find plenty of eager young and veteran talent to challenge them at the inaugural Goodyear Speedweeks Cup event to be held at the New Smyrna Speedway during the upcoming World Series of Asphalt Stock Car racing this month.

 

Past American Canadian Tour Champions, Brian Hoar from Williston, VT, Karl Allard, Ste Felicien, QC, Donald Theetge, Quebec City, QC and Patrick Laperle from Ste-Denis sur Richeleau, west of Montreal, have all won multiple championships during their successful careers.   Hoar is a seven time and defending ACT Champion. He has been winning races at all levels of competition for nearly 20 years. After winning five ACT Late Model championships between 1993 and 2000, he moved over to the former NASCAR Busch East division. He became a top competitor, won Rookie of the year in 2001, a Busch East race at Thunder Road Speedbowl in ’03, and the yearly track championship at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2006.   “The New Smyrna events are going to be great for our team. First we want to have some fun. We also want to try and get some momentum heading into the coming season. I think this will be the ultimate ‘neutral track’ for all our teams. I guess Joey (Polewarczyk), Patrick (Laperle) and Eric Chase are the only guys to have been there. I might have to follow Joey around for a few laps, but we are kind of tired of finishing behind him after his great run last September. Hopefully we can turn that around in a few days,” said Hoar.   Theetge and Allard are two of the most successful short track ‘long track’ (tracks ½ mile or longer) stars in the ACT organization. Laperle is the only driver to win both the ACT US title and the ACT Serie Castrol title. Laperle has also competed, won, and nearly won the overall title in the crate division at New Smyrna Speedway’s 10 days of short track racing two years ago.     Joey Pole, from Hudson, NH is currently the leader of the pack among ACT’s 21 year-old and under group of talent. He won five races in the last half of the 2010 season, with two career highlights: in September, the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the 48th annual Milk Bowl at Thunder Road in Barre, VT. Among others, Pole will be joined by Série Castrol Rookie of the Year Alex Labbe from Ste-Albert, QC, and U.S. Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Austin Theriault from Fort Kent, ME.     Long-time ACT followers will be surprised to see Mike Bruno from Rutland, VT returning to ACT after a number of years off racing on the former Busch East Series, the Dirt Modifieds in New York and Vermont, and more recently Dirt Asphalt Modifieds.   2010 Lee USA Speedway track champion, Wayne Helliwell, Jr. and Twin State Speedway, Claremont, NH champ Aaron Fellows have joined the field for the Goodyear Speedweeks Cup.   Twenty-eight teams from New England, New York, Quebec and Ontario will head south for the unique ACT twin 100-lap format event. Sunday, February 13th and Monday February 14th will start the 2011 stock car season for those teams. Northern style qualifying and double file restarts will be in effect. On Monday the best will have to come from the rear following results from Sunday.   The traditional New Smyrna Speedway World Series opens Friday, February 11 and continues until Saturday, February 19, 2011. The ACT events, February 13 and 14 will post at 7:30 each night.     For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963, www.acttour.com, or media@acttour.com.                                             -30-

 

 

 

ACT CHAMPION, AN OUTLAW, AND A YOUNG STAR ENTER NEW SMYRNA

For Immediate Release                                        ACT – 011211-04           Waterbury, VT – On Saturday, January 22, 2011 Brian Hoar will be crowned American Canadian Tour (ACT) Champion for a record-tying 7th time since 1992. Hoar, from Williston, VT will celebrate by driving his RPM race team Chevrolet in the inaugural New Smyrna Speedway (NSS) ACT Goodyear Speedweek Cup event to be held on Sunday, February 13 and Monday, February 14, 2011 in New Smyrna, Florida.

 

Rick Paya, owner of RPM Motorsports, who also has won seven titles as former owner and crew chief for Jean-Paul Cyr and now Hoar, has also entered his newest team member, ACT runner-up rookie of the year in 2010, Austin Theriault from Fort Kent, Maine in the first-ever race in Florida for ACT. The formidable RPM team will field both a Chevrolet and Ford in the event.   “We have a Ford being prepared for Brian for the coming ACT season, but with the addition of Austin to our RPM team, we are a little too busy to get Austin’s Ford done and also the new car for Brian. I actually like the idea of having both our Chevy and Ford at New Smyrna. It should give us some valuable information as we look toward the 2011 ACT campaign this season,” said Rick Paya, owner of RPM Motorsports.   Theriault is just a junior in high school and also an outstanding Maine State champion contending wrestler. With school commitments, and a Maine State wrestling Championship meet the weekend of February 12, it looked like Theriault would miss the first race of the year with his new race team. “We will get him there after his wrestling obligation, probably will have to fly him down on Sunday morning, but we don’t want him to miss this chance to race,” said Paya.   ACT also received an entry from New England’s premier ‘Outlaw’, Eddie MacDonald form Rowley, MA. MacDonald has been a successful independent running on the NASCAR K&N Series (formerly Busch East) and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His ACT Late Model short track efforts have been nothing short of spectacular with back-to-back wins in one of the country’s most prestigious events, the Oxford 250 at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. MacDonald also won the inaugural ACT Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009. “I just love to race, and this looked like a great way to get the 2011 season started. We get real busy with our NASCAR schedule in the spring and summer, but we try to make some of the ACT type shows during the season, and this NSS trip will give us a chance to relax and have some fun,” said MacDonald.   Entries for the first ACT Goodyear Speedweek Cup have come in from Ontario, Quebec, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The non-point event will qualify using the northern heat style of racing, followed by a 100-lap main event on Sunday, February 13th. The field will be inverted for Monday’s 100 lap event. Both 100 lap events will pay a moderate purse, with a combined purse making up the bulk of the $33,000.00 posted purse.   For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963, www.acttour.com, or media@acttour.com.                                             -30-