ACT Visits the Waterford Speedbowl
By Dave & Hazel Meredith

June 8, Waterford, CT--- Current American Canadian Tour point leader, Scott Payea, wins for the second time this season. The win was his fourth career win on the ACT Series. Scott Payea of Milton, VT, had all he could handle from Waterford regular, Bruce Thomas Jr., of Groton, CT, who finished second. Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, NH, in the #55 was third, while another “Bowl” regular, Ron Yuhas Jr., in the #96 was fourth. Yuhas, also from Groton, added to the crowd-pleasing finish. Rounding out the top-five was Nicholas Sweet of Barre, Vermont.  

The American Canadian Tour Series (ACT) races across the Northeast and Canada tracks: Lee USA Speedway, NH; Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford ME; Thunder Road, Barre, VT; Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, NY; White Mountain Park, N. Woodstock, NH; Kawartha Speedway, Fraserville, ONT, Canada; Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Junction, Quebec, Canada.  

The ACT Tour used four qualifying heats and the top four from each heat started. The rest of the field was set from the 2 consolation heats with the top four finishers from each moving to the feature. ACT included a Waterford Speedbowl driver provisional and two ACT Competitor provisional starting spots to complete the field.  

Bruce Thomas took the lead on lap three from pole starter Donald Theetge of Boischatel, Quebec, Canada, as Theetge in the #80 lost control in turns 3and 4 and opened the door for Thomas. Thomas, Ron Henry and Payea thrilled the crowd with a side-by-side battle for several laps until the leader Thomas settled in first until the caution waved again.  

The restart saw Bruce Thomas Jr. hot-foot the start blatantly too soon for the ACT officials.  On the second try the green held. Brad Leighton in the #55 is on the move towards the front. Leighton started 8^th and has moved to fifth by lap 11. Thomas continues to lead with Payea, Glen Luce, Henry, Leighton, Jamie Fisher, Ron Yuhas Jr. and Randy Potter the lead pack cars.   

Caution on lap 30 when local driver Ed Reed Jr. spins by contact in turn one. He brought the car to pits.  Thomas drew away on the restart with the #35 checking out by10 car lengths. Payea is second, followed by Henry, Leighton, and Yuhas.  

The #91 of Patrick Laperle raises the next caution as he hit the frontstretch wall and came to rest in turn one. Laperle stayed on the track and did not pit. The #24 of Steve Fisher was involved in the stack up that ensued and went to the pits for service. Leaders under caution: Thomas, Payea, Henry, Leighton, Yuhas, Sweet, Luce, and Potter. 

Payea asserted a strong challenge to Thomas on the restart, but Thomas held strong. Lap 47 brought a big pile up in turn three causing the yellow hankie to fly again. Included in the caution were Joe Curioso in the #38CT, Rick Thompson Jr. in the #8NH, and local contender, Allan Coates, in the #90. Coates’ car has some seriously bent sheet metal. Caution again on the restart as Leon Heckbert spins. After a bad restart, the field went green again.  

On lap 49 Payea successfully passed Thomas, however, the next (and ultimately last) caution comes out as the #90 of Coates stops on track. The right flat and fire on the #90 ended his night. 

Payea and Thomas battle for the point as Leighton and Yuhas lay in wait for a mistake by the leaders. By lap 60, Payea has opened up a 6-car length lead over Thomas. Payea and Thomas would work lapped traffic for the next 15 laps.  With 10 laps to go, Payea still leads with Thomas second, and Leighton and Yuhas in the top four.  

Waterford Speedbowl fans were rooting for Thomas and Yuhas to close in on the leader, but Payea saved his car just enough to take the checkers. The ACT Series showed that it is a professional racing organization.  

The winning driver was very magnanimous in victory, thanking the Speedbowl and his fellow competitors.  

Scott Payea in victory lane: “The 35 car was really good at the beginning of the race. We ran side-by-side for while - he [Thomas] ran me clean. I thank him for that. This was my first time here at the track. I really like it. I go home with a victory and I have to thank my crew -- they did a good job today. I’ll be happy to come back here.” said Payea. The #89 is sponsored by Ouellette Plumbing& Heating, AC Sports and Leahy Press.  “My car was really tight so I used the yellows to cool the tires and that was the key to me beating Thomas tonight. The weekly racers here restart differently than we do,” referring to the restarts called back during the race. 

Bruce Thomas Jr. on pit road for the post race interview was a little hard to hear as the cheering fans showed their support for the hometown driver. “I have to thank my crew, my brother who’s my spotter, and I have to thank Curley [Tom, ACT President]. Thomas was asked what happened on the restarts. “I don’t really don’t know,” he said laughing. “I was digging as hard as I could. I’m happy with second. I want to thank everyone for coming, and we’ll see you again next week.” Bruce Thomas is sponsored by Mystic Transportation, Aarsand Floor Sanding, and Critical Signs.                                                                 

 Brad Leighton on the track after the race congratulated Thomas and Payea’s performances on the track. Leighton drives the #55 Irving Oil/Subway sponsored ACT Late model. Leighton earlier in the day had had engine problem (skip). He wasn’t sure if would race tonight, but did. “The guys did a nice job to get the thing working right. We had a great car, this a tough series. The Spec motor and the tires are tough. These guys (Waterford Drivers) are really tough. I want to thank Irving Oil for sponsoring me. They’ve been with me for six years. I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight.”  

AMERICAN CANADIAN TOUR 100: 1. Scott Payea, Milton, VT; 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton, CT; 3. Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, NH; 4. Ron Yuhas Jr., Groton, CT; 5. Nicholas Sweet, Barre, VT; 6. Randy Potter, Groveton, NH; 7. Ron Henry, New Gloucester, ME; 8. Jonathan Urlin, London, ON; 9. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, VT; 10. Brent Dragon, Milton, VT; 11. Scot Dragon, Milton, VT; 12. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richeliue, QC; 13. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, VT; 14. Glen Luce, Turner, ME; 15. Pete Potvin III, Graniteville, VT; 16. Eric Chase, Milton, VT; 17. John Donahue, Graniteville, VT; 18. Rick Thompson Jr., Derby, VT; 19.Leon Heckbert, Wilton, ME; 20. Joe Becker, Jeffersonville, VT; 21. Don Theetge, Boischatel, OC; 22. Steve Fisher, Shelburne, VT; 23. Trampas Dermers, South Burlington, VT; 24. Joe Curioso, Pawcatuck, CT; 25. Tyler Cahoon, St. Johnsbury, VT; 26. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 27. Ricky Wolf Jr., Northwood, NH; 28. Allen Coates, Ledyard, CT; 29. Tim Jordan, Jewett City, CT; 30. Ed Reed Jr., Groton, CT.  (Bold Indicates Speedbowl drivers.)

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Dave and Hazel Meredith of Stratford, CT, have covered auto racing for many different medias including NASCAR Online, Mod Series Scene, Pitstopper Magazine, and currently with Busch East Scene as a modified reporter and photographer. Dave my be contacted at RACEnFISH@aol.com.