The American Canadian Tour (ACT) is a

late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

stock car racing series based in the northeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The current American-Canadian Tour Late Model Tour was founded in 1992 as a cost-cutting, regional touring division conducts races across New England and Quebec. The ACT Late Model Tour will open its 29th season in April 2020 at

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a Oval track racing, oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nickna ...

in Loudon, New Hampshire.

History

In 1979, television and radio journalist

Ken Squier Kenley Dean Squier (born April 10, 1935) is an American sportscaster and motorsports editor from Waterbury, Vermont. From 1979 to 1997, he served as the lap-by-lap commentator for ''NASCAR on CBS'', and was also a lap-by-lap commentator for T ...

and his business partner Tom Curley formed the NASCAR North Tour for late-model Sportsman-type cars. With sponsorship from companies like Coors, Molson, Skoal, STP, Valvoline and General Motors, the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

North Tour visited the short track showplaces of the northeastern United States and Canada: Thunder Road in Vermont,

Oxford Plains Speedway Oxford Plains Speedway is a 3/8 mile racetrack located in Oxford, Maine. Established in 1950, the track was originally a half mile before being shortened to a 3/8 mile track. With 14,000 seats, the speedway has the largest seating capacity of ...

in Maine,

Stafford Motor Speedway Stafford Motor Speedway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile paved oval located in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Stafford Speedway holds weekly racing every Friday night May through September. This track is known as the home of the SK Modifieds and driv ...

in Stafford Springs, Connecticut,

Thompson Speedway Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a asphalt oval racetrack and a road racing course. Once known as the "Indianapo ...

in Thompson, Connecticut,

Sanair Super Speedway Sanair Super Speedway is a motorsports park with a 0.826-mile (1.33 km) paved triangular oval race track, a quarter-mile dragstrip, a 1/3-mile oval, as well as a 0.12-mile mini-oval and 0.15-mile karting course. It also formerly had a -mile r ...

in Saint-Pie, Quebec,

Cayuga Speedway The Jukasa Motor Speedway (formerly known as Cayuga Speedway and the Cayuga 2000 Speedway) was an auto racing track located near Cayuga in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Famous stock car drivers including Dale Earnhardt, Matt Kenseth, Bobb ...

in Ontario, and

Dover Downs International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...

in Dover, Delaware. Southern stars Butch Lindley,

Bill Dennis Bill Dennis (born December 9, 1935) is a former NASCAR driver and rookie of the year in the Winston Cup Series. Racing career Dennis made his debut at age 26 at the 1962 Capital City 300 in the No. 98 and finished 15th. After three part-time se ...

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940), known for his many nicknames such as "The Ban ...

Tommy Ellis Tommy Ellis (born August 8, 1947) is an American former stock car racing driver who competed in the 1970s and 1980s. Often referred to as "Terrible" Tommy Ellis for his rough tactics, he won the last national late model sportsman championship in 1 ...

, Gene Glover, L.D. Ottinger and Bosco Lowe were frequent visitors to NASCAR North Tour events, along with national icons

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

and

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

. In 1980, there was more sponsorship support for the tour. Molson was signed as the major sponsor and car counts kept growing. 1982 was a banner year for the tour as it made their its appearance at Dover Downs Speedway as the support division for the

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

race. Purses and point funds kept growing to levels over $1 million by 1985. However, several lawsuits filed by various competitors had soured NASCAR on the tour and NASCAR dropped its sanction of the tour at the end of the 1985 season. Following the decision by NASCAR to cease sanctioning the Coors Tour following the 1985 season, Curley formed the independent American-Canadian Tour in 1986, continuing the series as the ACT Pro Stock Tour. In 1992, a second series was added, the ACT Late Model Sportsman International Series. With the closing of the Pro Stock Tour after the 1995 season, this series, known as the ACT Late Model Tour, became the ACT's premier circuit. The reborn series began with a lower cost GM 403

crate engine A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport or store large, heavy items. Steel and aluminium crates are also used. Specialized crates were designed for specific products, and were often made to be reusa ...

. Two years after its inception in 2005, the ACT took over the Canadian-based Serie Nationale Castrol LMS Quebec, renaming it as the Séries ACT and casting it as a Canadian sister series to the New England centered Late Model Tour.

All-time drivers and guest appearances

Brian Hoar, possibly the greatest ACT late model driver of all time and the most successful driver of the series, started collecting his ACT points championships early, winning his first in 1993. He later won the ACT points championship four years in a row from 1997 to 2000 and later three years in a row from 2009 to 2011. Hoar also holds the record for the number of wins in the ACT racing league with 42. Outside of Hoar's eight championships, he has finished in the top three in the points standings fourtimes.

Jean-Paul Cyr Jean-Paul Cyr (born December 8, 1965 in Milton, Vermont, United States) is an American racing driver. He competes in the American Canadian Tour. Seven times Champion of the ACT Tour in 1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He won 19 races ...

, another of the great ACT late model drivers, also started his successes early, winning his first and second ACT points championship in 1994 and 1996. Cyr won a record five straight ACT points championships from 2003 to 2007, bringing his all time ACT championship total to seven. Cyr also holds third place on the all-time ACT wins list with 19 career wins.

Patrick Laperle Patrick Laperle (born February 24, 1976 in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian racing driver. He competes in the Série ACT and in the PASS North Series. He is considered one of the best stock car drivers in Quebec. Three t ...

is the only driver to win both the ACT Tour Championship and the ACT Castrol Series Championship, doing it in back-to back-years (2007, 2008). Laperle is fourth on the all-time wins list for the ACT late models with 18 wins, behind Hoar's 42 wins and Cyr's and Joey Polewarczyk Jr.'s tie for second all-time, each with 19 wins. In 2009, Laperle lost the ACT Castrol series championship by one point to twice champion

Donald Theetge Donald Theetge (born October 3, 1966) is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 74 Toyota Camry for Visconti Motorsports, as well as the NASCAR Pinty's Series driving hi ...

in a controversial final race that in which Theetge was involved in a crash and also Laperle go a lap down because of a flat tire and receiving a one lap penalty for a pit infraction. Laperle went on to win Serie ACT points championships in 2011, 2012 and 2016. The

star

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...

took on the ACT regulars on July 21, 2008, at the New England Dodge Dealers TD Banknorth Oxford 250 in

Oxford, Maine Oxford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,229 at the 2020 census. Oxford is home to the Oxford Plains Speedway, the annual Oxford County Fair, and Oxford Casino. The town includes the village of Welchville. ...

. Harvick won the race, showing that he was able to take home wins even on small town short tracks.

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

, one of NASCAR's best, and now an owner in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, took part in the CarQuest Vt Governors Cup on June 25, 2009, at

Thunder Road International Speedbowl Thunder Road International Speedbowl, more commonly known as just Thunder Road, is a high-banked, paved short track motor racing, short track speedway located in the town of Barre (town), Vermont, Barre, Vermont. The track was founded by Ken S ...

. Stewart had a 16th-place start for the race and finished in the 16th-place position. He later said that Thunder Road beat him. The young star Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. from

Hudson, New Hampshire Hudson is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located along the Massachusetts state line. The population was 25,394 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-largest mu ...

, won the non-points event.

David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox ...

, then a young and up-and-coming star in the NASCAR series, took part in the August 27, 2009, race at Thunder Road International Speedway. It was Thunder Road's 50th year and Ragan raced in the final evening program during its 50th season celebrations. NASCAR Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and Pinty's Series driver D. J. Kennington is the only driver in ACT Late Model Tour history with a win in his only career start with the tour. Kennington won the New England Dodge Dealers 150 at

Lee USA Speedway Lee USA Speedway is a short-track oval race track located in Lee, New Hampshire. History The facility opened as Lee Raceway in 1964 as a dirt tri-oval, in length. Original owner Bob Bonser later recounted that he initially bought the land the ...

on September 26, 2004.

ACT Late Model Tour champions

Série ACT champions (2007 - 2017)

NASCAR North (1979-1985) and ACT Pro Stock Tour (1986-1995) Champions

– Robbie Crouch was originally awarded the 1985 title, but the title was handed over to LaJoie in 1988, when a lawsuit over a controversial disqualification at a season-deciding race at Catamount Speedway was decided in LaJoie's favor.

ACT Late Model Tour tracks

ACT Pro Stock Tour, Serie ACT and Special Event Tracks

References

External links

American Canadian Tour official website

La Série ACT official website
{{American Canadian Tour late model racetracks Auto racing series in Canada Motorsport in Canada Stock car racing series in the United States