Three father-son combinations highlight 40-car starting field
–by T.J. Ingerson (@TJIngerson)
VMM Editor
LOUDON, N.H. — Forty drivers that represent all six New England states and the province of Quebec will assemble at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday for the ninth annual ACT Invitational.
Nine drivers from Vermont and New Hampshire each will join eight drivers from Massachusetts and Quebec each at the Magic Mile in Loudon, N.H. Three drivers will represent Connecticut with two drivers hailing from Rhode Island. Maine will be represented with a lone pilot.
The field is highlighted by nine drivers making their first ACT Invitational start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as well as three pairs of father-son drivers.
Two-time NASCAR Souther Modified Tour champion Andy Seuss will lead the list of drivers that will represent the state of New Hampshire in Saturday’s 50-lap event. The Hampstead, N.H. driver will pilot the Chad Sullivan-owned 0nh car typically driven on the ACT Late Model Tour by Miles Chipman. Seuss will perform double duty as he will compete in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour F.W. Webb 100 just prior to the ACT Invitational.
Joining Seuss as New Hampshire representatives will be ACT Late Model Tour competitors Rich Dubeau and Kyle Welch, White Mountain Motorsports Park drivers Matt Anderson and James Capps, Granite State Pro Stock Series regular Scott MacMichael, father and son combo Allen and Aaron Fellows, and Bucky Demers.
Last year’s second place finisher Jimmy Hebert leads the Vermont contingent into Saturday’s invite-only event. The Williamstown, Vt. driver led 44 laps before he was overtaken by eventual race winner Eddie MacDonald.
Hebert will be joined by another father-and-son duo of John and Stephen Donahue. Will the elder Donahue has sat idle for much of the 2017 season, Stephen has enjoyed success at White Mountain Motorsports Park as he claimed the win during the track’s largest standalone event.
ACT Late Model Tour competitors Josh Masterson and Mike Ziter will also join their Vermont brethren at the Magic Mile, as well Ascutney’s Chris Riendeau. Devil’s Bowl Speedway Late Model champion Seth Bridge will make his first New Hampshire start, while White Mountain front runner Jeff Marshall will make his second invitational start. Ricky Roberts, a Thunder Road Late Model race winner this season, will make his sixth start in the event.
Massachusetts will see eight drivers, led by five-time race winner MacDonald. The Rowley, Mass. pilot will be in search of his record tying 11th career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and is the bonafide favorite to claim his sixth win.
The third father-and-son combination packs a big punch with Tom Carey Jr. and Tom Carey III. In their six combined starts, they have finished no worse than tenth.
Joining them will be former Thompson Speedway Late Model champion Brian Tagg, ACT Late Model Tour competitors Jimmy Linardy and Mark Hudson, and Monadnock Speedway competitors Adam Gray and Joel Monahan.
Serie ACT Quebec will send eight drivers to the one-mile oval, three of which will make their first start. The group is led by recently crowned Serie ACT Quebec champion Jonathan Bouvrette. Former ACT Invitational runner-up Patrick Laperle also sits at the top of the list of Quebec entrants.
The top two drivers from Serie ACT Quebec this season will be joined by former series champion Dany Trepanier and Jean-Francois Dery, as well as former championship contender Patrick Cliche. Mathieu Kingsbury and Gaetan Gaudreault will make their first starts at New Hampshire, while Michael Lavoie will do the same, but will do so behind the wheel of last year’s third place finishing car as Alex Labbe will vacate the seat as he closes in on his first NASCAR Pitny’s Series championship.
Second place ACT Late Model Tour point driver Dillon Moltz leads the list of Connecticut drivers into the ACT Invitational. The Waterford, Conn. pilot has earned two wins this season on the ACT Late Model Tour and will look to better his fourth place finish from one year ago.
Joining Moltz from Connecticut will be Modified standout Woody Pitkat. Pitkat has an average finish of seventh in his two ACT Invitational starts and will also be racing twice on Saturday as he will compete in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race just before the ACT Invitational, behind the wheel of the car that Ted Christopher was slated to drive before his tragic passing last weekend. Freshman ACT Late Model Tour full-timer Ray Christian will also represent Connecticut.
The 2012 ACT Invitational winner Ray Parent will lead the state of Rhode Island into New Hampshire. Parent is the current point leader at Thompson Speedway and will search for his first championship in October. Mark Jenison will also join Parent from the state of Rhode Island.
Rowland Robinson Jr. of Steuben, Maine will represent the Pine Tree State at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Robinson nearly pulled off an upset win earlier this season at Thunder Road before he settled for second.
The ACT Invitational will take place on Saturday, September 23 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 50-lap special event is scheduled to go green at 5:00pm.
ENTRY LIST — ACT Invitational
American-Canadian Tour
New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
No.-Driver-Hometown
0nh Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H.
2vt Stephen Donahue, Graniteville, Vt.
3ma Brian Tagg, Oxford, Mass.
3vt Ricky Roberts, Washington, Vt.
4vt Chris Riendeau, Ascutney, Vt.
5ct Dillon Moltz, Waterford, Conn.
5ma Tom Carey III, New Salem, Mass.
5qc Patrick Cliche, Levis, Que.
9nh Kyle Welch, Newport, N.H.
9qc Mathieu Kingsbury, Blainville, Que.
11ny Josh Masterson, Bristol, Vt.
17ma Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass.
19qc Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, Que.
21qc Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, Que.
22ri Mark Jenison, Warwick, R.I.
26nh Bucky Demers, Cornish, N.H.
26vt Seth Bridge, Mendon, Vt.
28me Rowland Robinson Jr., Steuben, Maine
28nh Scott MacMichael, Newbury, N.H.
29me Allen Fellows, Croydon, N.H.
29nh Aaron Fellows, Croydon, N.H.
30nh Rich Dubeau, Lebanon, N.H.
31me John Donahue, Graniteville, Vt.
32nh Jeff Marshall, Lunenburg, Vt.
38qc Gaetan Gaudreault, Quebec, Que.
41qc Jonathan Bouvrette, Blainville, Que.
48qc Michael Lavoie, Chicoutimi, Que.
49nh Matt Anderson, Franklin, N.H.
54vt Mike Ziter, Barre, Vt.
55ma Tom Carey Jr., New Salem, Mass.
58vt Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, Vt.
64nh James Capps, Penacook, N.H.
77ma Jimmy Linardy, Somerville, Mass.
82ma Mark Hudson, Norton, Mass.
91qc Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, Que.
93ct Ray Christian III, Norwich, Conn.
97ma Adam Gray, Granby, Mass.
98ri Ray Parent, Tiverton, R.I.
03ma Joel Monahan, Whatley, Mass.
07ma Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn.
PHOTO: Forty American-Canadian Tour Late Models will take to the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday for the ninth annual ACT Invitational. (Heather Aube/VMM file photo)
