Lee, NH – “We gotta beat ‘em!”
“We’re not backing down from a good fight.”
“This is our home, our playground, and our guys are going to defend it.”
These were just some of the comments offered by Lee USA Speedway veterans, regarding the ACT Late Model Tour season opener.  ACT will help lift the lid on Lee USA Speedway’s 2005 racing season with a 100-lap event on Sunday, April 24.
Defending ACT Late Model Tour Champion Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton, VT will try to begin his title defense at Lee USA, against the likes of cross-town rival Brent Dragon, St-Denis, Quebec’s Patrick Laperle, and former ACT Champion Phil Scott of Middlesex, VT.  And as if Cyr was not facing a tough enough challenge already, a new twist has been added: Cars and drivers from the weekly Lee USA Late Model division will be allowed – and are encouraged – to compete against the ACT regulars.
Reportedly, eight of Lee USA Speedway’s Top 10 Late Model drivers from the 2004 season have already entered the event, including defending Track Champion and NASCAR New England Regional Champion Ricky Wolf, Jr. of Northwood, NH.  Other top performers planning on defending their home turf include Eddie MacDonald, Scott Watts, Jeff Labrecque, defending Rookie of the Year Mike Collins, and former champions Bobby Gahan, Babe Branscombe, and three-time Lee USA Champion Scott Bonney, the 2004 runner-up.
The season-opening event will be the first of two ACT visits to the Granite State third-mile oval this season.  Laperle, who won in ACT’s inaugural race at Lee USA in 2003, battled tooth-and-nail with Cyr and Dragon for the 2004 ACT championship.  “I think I’ve got a shot (at winning the Lee USA opener),” said the 29 year-old Canadian.  “We’re pretty good at Lee, and I would like to make up for last year’s race with a win.”  Laperle was strong in the ACT event at Lee USA Speedway in September 2004, only to suffer a flat tire while leading.  He’ll look for revenge on April 24, as well as at the $10,000-to-win Late Model National 150 on September 25.
Former Lee USA Speedway regular Mark Durgin of Lynn, MA will be one of over 35 drivers campaigning full-time on the ACT Late Model Tour in 2005, and is looking forward to the season opener.  “My team and I love the touring concept that ACT has,” said Durgin, “and we really think we can be competitive this season.  We’ll begin to find out at Lee in April.  There is going to be some big competition there, and a lot of good drivers are not going to qualify.  I’ve always run fairly well at Lee, and I hope I’m not one of the guys that doesn’t make it.”
A special qualifying format will be utilized for the event, taking a percentage of cars from each faction, based on the total number of ACT and Lee USA entries, to make up the 33-car starting grid.  ACT Late Model Tour entrants will be grouped together in the traditional heat races and consolation rounds.  The Lee USA regulars will qualify as a separate group, and all cars not already qualified for the 100-lap main event will be brought together in a last-chance “B” feature.  Two ACT provisionals and one Lee USA provisional will be awarded after the “B” feature.
“The idea of having the ACT teams and the Lee teams conduct their own qualifying for the season opener is truly unique in our 20-year history,” said ACT President Tom Curley.  “We think we have tweaked the rules so things will be fair to both the Lee competitors as well as the Tour teams, and the end result will provide an interesting twist for race fans to keep track of during the 100-lap main event.”
The starting grid for the 100-lap feature event will be determined by an innovative new “plus/minus” handicap system, which will reward hard-charging qualifiers with starting positions near the front of the field for the 100-lap feature.  A $4,000 “team bonus” has been posted, based on combined overall results for the ACT drivers and Lee USA regulars.  The group with the best total percentage score will split the fund.  “We are always looking for new ideas to try and stay ahead of the curve,” Curley said, “and this race should prove to be fun and entertaining.”
The Lee USA Speedway opener on Sunday, April 24 will kick off the ACT Late Model Tour’s 14th season of competition.  Additional events include stops at Vermont’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl, Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway, New York’s Airborne Speedway, Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts, and New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park and Canaan Fair Speedway.  For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com.