ACT Announces International 500 for Airborne Next Year
Posted By Tj Ingerson On October 28, 2012
Categories: Airborne | American-Canadian Tour
PHOTO: Airborne Speedway will host the International 500 next year on July 20 and 21, which will feature a $25,000-to-win Late Model open event. (Leif Tillotson photo)
--by T.J. Ingerson
BARRE, Vt. -- American-Canadian Tour officials have announced a major event weekend, to be known as the International 500, for the weekend of July 20 and 21, 2013 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
The event will include a $25,000-to-win, three-segment 300-lap Late Model non-point counting event with a minimum $100,000 purse, a two-segment 100-lap DIRT Modified feature, the Sportsman Quebec series, the Tiger Sportsman, the Renegades, and the Bombers.
The International 500 event will also include a 100-lap non-qualifiers feature event.
“We’re going to have the biggest weekend of racing this region has ever seen on either side of the border, ever,” American-Canadian Tour president Tom Curley said. “We’re excited about the prospects of it. (The Fall Foliage 200) was the greatest race I’ve seen in the 20-years we’ve been doing this.
“It wasn’t just Helliwell and Hoar. That race from third to tenth was just unbelievable, all day long, for 200-laps. You throw them out there with three, 100-lappers, and I’m telling you, you’re going to see racing like you’ve never seen before.”
The American-Canadian Tour’s announcement comes after the announcement two weeks ago that Pro All Stars Series promoter Tom Mayberry purchased Oxford Plains Speedway, an ACT Late Model hotbed, and will revert the Oxford 250 back to Super Late Model-type cars.
“That’s fine, we lose one (tour) race and that’s not an issue for us, we can replace those races ten times over,” Curley said. “We never had the 250, it wasn’t us. What you saw was a blueprint of ACT on it with our influence over it. We fought with Oxford to get the tires down from 14, to 12, down to eight last year.
“It bothers me we lost that big race. I fought hard to get it.”
The new International 500 at Airborne Speedway will go head-to-head with next year’s Oxford 250.
“I truly believed I was going to retire after (the 50th Milk Bowl),” Curley said. “I wanted to get through the 50th, and 35-years (in the business) will finish today for me. I’m going to be 70-years-old and can’t do physically what I’m use to doing. I think we can thank Tom Mayberry for me sticking around for a few more years.
“I never had an issue with Tom Mayberry, until he came after these cars. Booking his races is one thing, and I didn’t have an issue with them going to (Autodrome) Chaudiere. My problem was when they started messing with the cars and then they want to take us and knock us out of Quebec.
“My competitive juices have been (high). I like a good fight and I’ve never backed away from it. This is going to be a battle. And maybe I’ll lose this one, but it’ll be another chapter in the book.
“But I think we’ll get a lot of support from a lot good teams. We’ll lose teams, no question, and that’s fine. But we’re very blessed with 300 race team (in the ACT program).”
Vermont Motorsports Magazine will have more on the International 500 soon.