Blainville, QC’s Jonathan Bouvrette took the high road to victory at Vallée-Jct., QC’s Autodrome Chaudiere in the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Bacon Bowl 200 on Saturday, August 18. The former Serié ACT Champion grabbed the lead on lap 81 and was never headed from there on his way to the $10,000 CAD top prize.

Bouvrette started 10th on the grid following a redraw among the top-12 starters. He stayed quiet in the early going as front row starts Karl Allard and Jean-Francois Dery put on a back-and-forth duel for the top spot. But following a pair of cautions on lap-68 – first for Randy Goulet’s spin exiting turn two, then again when Allard spun on the restart – Bouvrette’s machine roared to life on the high line.

Working the third and even the fourth groove, Bouvrette cut through the field, eventually diving underneath Samuel Charland for the top spot. While three more caution flags would bunch up the field, the eventual winner easily leaped out to a big advantage following each restart.

Fellow former Serié ACT Champion and current NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Alex Labbé eventually got the second spot following a long battle with Charland and seemed primed to challenge for the victory. But just when it looked like he was starting to close in the late going, Bouvrette found something more in the tank and pulled away down the stretch.

Labbé settled for the runner-up spot. Raphael Lessard, who hopped in the Marco Bilodeau machine following qualifying, charged from dead-last on the grid to swipe third from Charland following a thrilling battle in the final laps. Despite losing out on a podium spot, Charland managed to win the Autodrome Chaudiere Triple Crown by two points over St.-Denis, QC’s Patrick Laperle.

Colchester, VT’s Scott Payea was the highest-finishing American, as the current ACT Late Model Tour point leader came from 18th at the start to finish fifth. The result secured him the ACT Triple Crown over Barre, VT’s Nick Sweet, who ended up ninth. Laperle, Allard, Dany Trepanier, and Steve Cote also earned top-10 finishes.

Cote set the fastest speed in time trials and also won the first heat. Charland, Labbé, and Sweet earned heat race wins as well. Dany Poulin and Jeff Cote won the consolation races. Thirty racers attempted to qualify for the 24-car starting field.

ACT will be back in action Saturday, August 25 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway. The Oxford Plains 150 for the ACT Late Model Tour is part of Oxford 250 weekend and highlights a packed evening at the famed 3/8-mile oval that also includes the North East Mini Stock Tour, PASS Modifieds, North East Classic Lites, and Wicked Good Vintage Racers. The front gates open at 12:00pm with a 5:00pm post time. Admission is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors/military, $12 for kids ages 6-12, and $60 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).

BACON BOWL 200

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps

1. ( 10 ) Jonathan Bouvrette ( 41QC ) , Quebec, QC , 200 Laps

2. ( 4 ) Alex Labbe ( 48QC ) , St-Albert, QC , 200 Laps

3. ( 24 ) Raphael Lessard ( 75RL ) , St-Joseph-de-Beauce, QC , 200 Laps

4. ( 5 ) Samuel Charland ( 41 ) , Victoriaville, QC , 200 Laps

5. ( 18 ) Scott Payea ( 37VT ) , Colchester, VT , 200 Laps

6. ( 7 ) Patrick Laperle ( 91QC ) , St-Denis, QC , 200 Laps

7. ( 1 ) Karl Allard ( 7A ) , Levis, QC , 200 Laps

8. ( 9 ) Dany Trepanier ( 19QC ) , St-Edouard, QC , 200 Laps

9. ( 11 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 200 Laps

10. ( 8 ) Steve Cote ( 1QC ) , Montreal, QC , 200 Laps

11. ( 12 ) Marc-Andre Cliché ( 98QC ) , Vallee-Jonction, QC , 199 Laps

12. ( 2 ) Jean-Francois Dery ( 21QC ) , Quebec, QC , 199 Laps

13. ( 3 ) Marc Begin ( 37 ) , St-Philibert, QC , 199 Laps

14. ( 19 ) Simon Roussin ( 6QC ) , Quebec, QC , 199 Laps

15. ( 17 ) Jeff Cote ( 51 ) , Beauceville, QC , 199 Laps

16. ( 16 ) Dany Poulin ( 2 ) , Vallee-Jonction, QC , 198 Laps

17. ( 20 ) Dominique Jaques ( 3DJ ) , Vallee-Jonction, QC , 198 Laps

18. ( 14 ) Alexandre Tardif ( 21 ) , St-Georges, QC , 197 Laps

19. ( 21 ) #Christopher Pelkey ( 41VT ) , South Barre, VT , 197 Laps

20. ( 23 ) Marc Verner ( 77 ) , Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, QC , 195 Laps

21. ( 13 ) Elie Arseneault ( 03EA ) , Laval, QC , 102 Laps

22. ( 6 ) Randy Goulet ( 43 ) , Quebec, QC , 102 Laps

23. ( 15 ) Mathieu Kingsbury ( 9QC ) , Blainville, QC , 102 Laps

24. ( 22 ) Rock Poulin ( 16 ) , St-Georges, QC , 67 Laps

Lap Leaders: Karl Allard 1-2, Jean-Francois Dery 3, Allard 4-5, Dery 6, Allard 7, Dery 8-71, Samuel Charland 72-80, Bouvrette 81-200. (7 lead changes among 4 drivers)

Time of Race: 1 hour, 12 minutes Margin of Victory: 3.708 seconds

Cautions: 5 (laps 68, 68, 100, 102, 140)

Heat Winners: Steve Cote, Samuel Charland, Alex Labbe, Nick Sweet

Consi Winners: Dany Poulin, Jeff Cote