ACTion News Wednesday, June 13, 2007
-by Justin St. Louis

Thunder Roads Late Models are going to have to prove their mettle against another NASCAR Nextel Cup invader on
Thursday, June 28.  Theyve fended off Kevin Lepage a time or two, disposed of Ken Schrader two years running, and
now theyll have to take Kenny Wallace to school on Sanel Parts Plus Night.  Herman has announced his intentions
to drive the Merchants Bank car wrenched by Jeff Laquerre, owned by Scott Fearn, and usually driven by
former Queen of the Road Tracie Bellerose.

Wallace, the Nextel Cup driver, SPEED TV commentator, and new author of Inside Hermans World published by New
England racing enthusiasts Coastal 181, will

Ive heard about that legendary little race track for many, many years, said Wallace.  Ken Squier has always
talked about how great the fans are at Thunder Road.  Were racing the Cup car at New Hampshire that weekend, and
Coastal 181 asked me to do a book signing at Thunder Road while I was in New England.  I figured I might as well
race while Im there!  Ive raced at almost every track Ive visited, and I need to add Thunder Road to my resume.

Wallace is no stranger to short track racing.  In fact, hell race his dirt cars as many times in 2007 as his
Nextel Cup car, with 36 events planned for the season.  The St. Louis, MO native was a feature winner at Peoria
(IL) Speedway behind the wheel of in IMCA-style Modified in May.  Wallace has also done some racing with a few
American-Canadian Tour (ACT) drivers in his day, competing in a few events on the former Stock Car Connection
series in the late 1980s.  In fact, his best finish in the series came at Sanair Super Speedway in St-Pie, QC in
1988, when he finished 7th behind ACT drivers Junior Hanley and Beaver Dragon, and just ahead of Claude Leclerc
and Roger Laperle.

Sanair will host the ACTion Super Series $50,000 La Mega Classique 150 on July 7/8.  Leclerc will be there, and
Laperle will likely be in the pits helping his nephew, Patrick.  No word yet on whether or not we can get Herman
to stick around.

***

The Serie ACT Castrol keeps setting em up and knocking em down.  The Canadian tour hauled in to its nations
capital on Saturday, and the TOROMONT CAT 100 at Ottawas Capital City Speedway was a gem.  A quality field of 31
Late Models filled the pit area, including the first foray into a Castrol event by American teams.  Vermonters
Eric Chase of Milton and Dave Pembroke of Montpelier tackled the 3/8-mile, and Pembroke had a chance to steal the
whole show.

Alexandre Gingras had other plans, though.

Gingras destroyed his car in a flip at Autodrome St-Eustache outside of Montreal two weeks prior to Capital City
Speedway, and was looking for a way to bounce back.  Gingras took the lead from Pembroke on lap 74 and never
looked back, beating the Thunder Road regular and fellow Quebec racer Patrick Laperle to the finish.

Pembroke battled defending track champion Rick Rump at the front of the pack for 33 laps before taking solid
control of the race.  Gingras approached as the laps began to dwindle, and Pembrokes car faded some.

We made the decision to go to Ottawa at 7:30 on Friday night, Pembroke said.  We ran the Thunder Road setup in
the car, and Im surprised it held up as long as it did.

Pembroke said that he knew the pressure was on when Gingras came to the front.

I knew the Canadian fans wanted to see an American in the race, but I dont think they wanted one to win, he
laughed.  When the 27 (Gingras) pulled up on me to pass, I could actually hear the crowd out my window cheering
for him.  It was pretty intense, Id never heard the crowd under green before.  I tried to hold him off for a lap
or two, but I knew he was faster.  It was tough to give up a win, but we still had a great run at a track wed
never seen before.  Im glad we went, and Eric Chase, too, and that we could represent the U.S. as well as we did.

The TOROMONT CAT 100 presented by 1000 Islands RV and Pepsi went off in a lightning-quick 38 minutes, with only
one caution period for a minor spin.  Reports across the board are that the Serie ACT Castrol is exactly what
Canadian teams and fans had been looking for exciting, respectful racing with a diverse field of cars.

Normand Lavigueur, winner of the St-Eustache 100 in May, said everyone connected to the Serie ACT Castrol seems to
be very happy.

There used to be a big rivalry between Quebec and Ontario, and also between Montreal and Quebec City, he
said.  Its not like that this year.  Were all racers now, and we get along well.

***

John Donahue of Graniteville, VT returned to his old stomping ground at Maines Oxford Plains Speedway for the L/A
Harley-Davidson Late Model Challenge 100 on Sunday (after Saturdays attempt rained out), and left for home with a
winners trophy.  Donahue represented the ACT Late Model Tour by beating fellow Tour driver Rocket Roger Brown
to the finish.

OPS regular Doug Coombs continued a strong season in third place.  Other ACT regulars in the field included David
Avery (6th), Brian Hoar (7th), Jean-Paul Cyr (9th after spinning early), Ron Henry (13th), Ryan Vanasse (14th),
Joey Becker (22nd), Jamie Fisher (33rd), and Jimmy Linardy (36th).

In addition to his trophy, Donahue took home $2,500 and finds himself 7th in point standings after two of the five
events.  Coombs is the point leader with 117 over Brown (107), Cyr (103), Avery (102), and OPS King Mike Rowe
(99).  Next up for the Oxford Late Model Challenge Series is the granddaddy of them all the 34th TD Banknorth
250 on July 22.

***

Did you know?

-Three drivers have scored a victory on both the ACT Late Model Tour and the Serie ACT Castrol.  Gingras posted
his second career Castrol win on Saturday at Capital City Speedway.  His first came last season at Autodrome St-
Felicien, and his ACT Late Model Tour win was at the same track in 1999.  Donald Theetge is a 10-time winner on
the Castrol side, and has a pair of Tour victories at Circuit Ste-Croix.  Sylvain Lacombe has nine Castrol wins
and is also a Tour winner at Ste-Croix.

-Kenny Wallace will look to become the first Nextel Cup driver to finish in the Top 5 at Thunder Road on June 28. 
Before him, Ken Schrader posted finishes of 9th in 2005 and 6th last season.  Kevin Lepage looked to play the part
of a race winner in 1998, but was stopped by Mother Nature.  When the make-up date was announced, Lepage had a
prior commitment and was unable to return.

-Were holding a contest at www.acttour.com!  From now until the July 22 TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains
Speedway, well be asking trivia questions about ACT, Thunder Road, and the TD Banknorth 250 during weekdays. 
Send your answers to acttrivia@yahoo.com, and the person with the most correct answers for the week will win a TD
Banknorth 250 t-shirt!  Just to keep it fair, were limiting t-shirts to one per person.

Oh, and in case you hadnt heard, THURSDAY THUNDER IS BACK!   Ferguson Waterworks presents a full card of Late
Models, NAPA Tiger Sportsmen, Allen Lumber Street Stocks, and Power Shift Junkyard Warriors on Thursday night. 
Post time is 7:00pm, and on tap is a special appearance by the New England Antique Racers.  As always, check the
websites at www.acttour.com and www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com for all the information you might need.  For any
other inquiries, email media@acttour.com or call (802) 244-6963.