Touring Series News
Richards "Not Sure" If ACT Race Will Be Made Up At Albany-Saratoga
MALTA, N.Y. -- Nearly a year's worth of hype at Albany-Saratoga Speedway may have been all for naught. After the track announced in July 2009 that it would be switching form dirt to asphalt for the 2010 season, news broke one month later that the American-Canadian Tour Late Models would visit the track the following spring. When rains washed out the race on April 25 of this year, both ACT and Albany-Saratoga officials said that a make-up date would be announced in the future.
Six weeks later, no make-up date has been released. The Albany-Saratoga 100 was to be the second of 14 events on the ACT Late Model Tour championship schedule for 2010.
"There is no date as of yet," Albany-Saratoga Speedway promoter Bruce Richards lamented on Tuesday, adding, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to find one." Richards told Vermont Motorsports Magazine that a lack of open dates for both organizations was the cause of the delay and the possible cancellation of the event, but that he and ACT President Tom Curley continue to work together to find a suitable reschedule date.
Curley confirmed on Wednesday that negotiations for the race are ongoing: "We are working on some ideas to get the race rescheduled," he said.
ACT will oversee or endorse at least one event each weekend now through October 10, including eight weekends with events at two different tracks in the United States or Canada. ACT often splits its staff during events scheduled against each other -- on Friday, for example, the ACT Late Model Tour is at Lee, N.H., while its sister series, the Canadian-based S�rie ACT-Castrol Edge, is at Autodrome Chaudi�re north of Qu�bec City at the same time -- and the possibility exists for a simliar split during some weekends to make up the Albany-Saratoga event.
Among the possible options is a New York doubleheader weekend in July. As part of its summer weekly schedule, Albany-Saratoga has a Friday-night event penned for Friday, July 9; the ACT Late Model Tour is scheduled to race 130 miles north of Albany-Saratoga at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y., the next night.
Both Richards and Curley said they will continue to work toward a make-up date for the Albany-Saratoga race.
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PHOTO: The ACT Late Models put on a successful show at Devil's Bowl Speedway last month, but now they may not get the chance at sister track Albany-Saratoga Speedway. (Photo by Leif Tillotson)
