Pole, Dubeau Help Push Richmond Entry List Past 30

The entry list is continuing to grow for the inaugural American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Commonwealth Classic 65 at Virginia’s Richmond Raceway on Saturday, March 30 at 1:00pm. Four more entries have arrived in recent weeks, meaning 31 racers are now officially registered for the $5,000-to-win event.

The latest round of entrants includes one of the biggest names in the history of ACT Late Model racing. Hudson, NH’s Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., the 2014 ACT Champion, is one of the latest to sign up for the trip down south. “Joey Pole” has competed sporadically in ACT Late Models in recent years, but is still fast whenever he gets behind the wheel.

He and his Pole’s Automotive family team will head to Virginia after also competing in previous ACT special events at New Smyrna Speedway (Florida) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Pole will drive the car piloted in recent seasons by Mike Ziter and Ryan Olsen, which the team recently finished work on as part of a make-over of their entire racing fleet.

“I mean, it’s Richmond,” Polewarczyk said. “It’s a track that pretty much everyone who’s going has never been to before, and it’s obviously a pretty big deal. It’s a big track with a lot of media and a lot of attention. It’s always cool to go to tracks that you’ve watched races at on TV. I think it’s going to be a good deal – it’s going to be fun, I think it’s going to race well, it’s going to be fast, and pretty much everyone is going to be on the same page.”

“It reminds me a lot of when ACT first went to New Smyrna back in 2011 and when they went to Loudon for the first time back in 2009,” Pole added. “It brings back those memories – it’s something new, and it’s something special. It’s something that I think Tom Curley would have been really proud of. It’s big for the series – they have a lot of cars going down there, and it’s a good stage to promote the racing the series puts on.”

The Commonwealth Classic 65 now can count in another one of the top current ACT Late Model Tour drivers as well. Lebanon, NH’s Rich Dubeau, who has emerged as one of the Tour’s starts in recent years, has entered the event with his Upper Valley Equipment Rental team.

Dubeau finished fourth in points this past season and fifth the year before, cementing him as an ACT frontrunner. He put in his strongest performance of 2018 at the 5/8-mile Thompson Speedway by leading 68 laps before getting caught up in a late accident. This breakthrough on bigger tracks could be a strong foreshadowing for Richmond.

Larue Motorsports, a longtime supporter of ACT Late Model racing, has made a late entry into the Commonwealth Classic. Alex Guénette will pilot the car that previously won Série ACT championships with Alex Labbé and Karl Allard at the controls. Guénette has multiple starts on both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoor Truck Series. He also won at Autodrome Montmagny in 2018 with the Canadian Stock Car Championship.

A surprise entry was also submitted by Freeport, NY’s Gerard Giordano Jr. The Long Island racer is a multi-time winner on the Exit Realty Pro Truck Series and finished second in 2018 points. His team recently announced they have purchased an ACT Late Model for the 2019 season. They will make their debut with the car at Richmond Raceway.

Registration is still open for the ACT Commonwealth Classic. Those who enter will be part of a card that includes racers from up and down the Eastern seaboard. The schedule also includes 75-lap, $7,000-to-win “crate engine” and “open”  national events for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models plus events for the Tour-type Modifieds, MASS 8-cylinder Street Stocks, and North East Mini Stock Tour. Nearly $165,000 in total awards have been posted for the Saturday afternoon of short track racing. Open practice for all divisions will be held Friday, March 29 beginning at 11:00am.

2019 ACT Commonwealth Classic Entry List

       CAR#    DRIVER                             HOMETOWN                         TEAM

1     4NY       Brandon Atkins               AuSable Forks, NY                Northline Utilities Dodge Charger

2     5MA     Tommy Carey III              Warwick, MA                        Brookside Equiment Sales/Lyon Auction Chevy Monte Carlo

3     9QC      Mathieu Kingsbury        Blainville, QC                         DuroKing/Dynamitage Piche Ford Fusion

4     10ME    Jesse Switser                   Whitfield, NH                        Laflamme's Landscaping

5     13VT     Boomer Morris               Barre, VT                                K. Bellevance/Classic Auto Chevy Impala

6     15MA   Jake Johnson                   Rehoboth, MA                      Daffodil's Gift Shop/Lin's Propane Trucks Chevy Monte Carlo

7     15NY     Gerard Giordano Jr.       Freeport, NY                         K-1 Logistics Chevy Impala

8     18QC    Jean-Philippe Bergeron                                                Saint-Donat, QC  Prolon Controls/JC Perreault Chevy Impala

9     19NH    Bryan Kruczek                Newmarket, NH                    Little Webb's Fuel/Sunoco Chevy Camaro

10   21QC    Alexandre Tardif            Notre Dame des Pins, QC   Gestion Roy Electrique Ford Fusion

11   22RI      Mark Jenison                  Warwick, RI                           Jenison Motorsports Ford Mustang

12   26VT     John Donahue                Graniteville, VT                     Donahue Motorsports Chevy Monte Carlo

13   27NH    Wayne Helliwell Jr.        Dover, NH                              E Keys 4 Cars/Unique Ford Ford Fusion

14   28VT     Stephen Donahue          Graniteville, VT                     Donahue Motorsports Chevy Monte Carlo

15   29MA   Joshua Hedges                New Bedford, MA                Chuckran Audo Parts/Nlarophoto Toyota

16   30NH    Rich Dubeau                   Lebanon, NH                         Upper Valley Equipment Rental Toyota Camry

17   32NH    Jeff Marshall                   Gilman, VT                             Knudson Salvage/Fadden Automotive Chevy Monte Carlo

18   37QC    Marc Begin                      St-Philibert, QC                     Begin Auto Parts Chevy Impala

19   38VT     Tyler Cahoon                  Danville, VT                           Berlin Optical Expressions/P&H Transportation Chevy Impala

20   40VT     Nick Sweet                      Barre, VT                                Mansfield Heliflight Chevy Impala

21   41QC    Jonathan Bouvrette       Blainville, QC                         Globocam/DLGL Chevy

22   48QC    Alex Guenette                Terrebonne, QC                   Larue Industrial Snow Blower Chevy SS

23   58VT     Jimmy Hebert                 Williamstown, VT                  Hebert Excavation/Lowrey's Auto Chevy SS

24   64VT     Chris Pelkey                    Graniteville, VT                     Vermeer Chevy

25   72MA   Ryan Kuhn                       East Bridgewater, MA          Everetts Auto Parts/Berniers Liquors Chevy SS

26   72VT     Scott Coburn                   Barre, VT                                Coburn Motorsports Chevy Impala

27   77MA   Jimmy Linardy                 Malden, MA                          Kayem Hot Dogs Chevy SS

28   83QC    Martin Goulet Jr.            St. Calixte, QC                       Goulet Motorsport Chevy Impala SS

29   97NH    Joey Polewarczyk Jr.      Hudson, NH                           Pole's Automotive/Headman Headers Ford Fusion

30   00MA   TJ Moreshead                 Seekonk, MA                        T. Moreshead Landscaping/Miller Chiropractic Chevy Impala

31   04NH    Shawn Swallow               Lancaster, NH                       North Conway Incinerator/Central Paving Chevy Impala

as of 02.25.19