ACT Starts Big Stretch at Oxford on Saturday

Waterbury, VT —The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) travels north to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Saturday, August 29 for round six of the 2020 season. A special “Night Before the 250” card also kicks off a three-week stretch that could decide who wins the 29th ACT Late Model Tour championship.

Saturday’s 150-lap event is the second of three visits this year to the famous 3/8-mile oval. While it may officially be the undercard to Sunday’s Oxford 250, the Saturday program will be star-studded in its own right with household names such as Jimmy Hebert, D.J. Shaw, Ryan Kuhn, Bryan Kruczek, and Dillon Moltz trying to grab the glory.

Eight days after the Oxford 150, the ACT Late Model Tour is back at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road for the Optical Expressions Berlin Labor Day Classic 200. Then on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12, ACT invades New Hampshire Motor Speedway as part of Full Throttle Weekend. Three events in 15 days on three of the biggest stages in New England means everyone will need to be on-point if they want to bring home some trophies.

The battle starts at the top for the 2020 ACT championship. It is still a three-horse race between Williamstown, VT’s Hebert, Center Conway, NH’s Shaw, and East Bridgewater, MA’s Kuhn. Each is at a different stage of their racing career, but for all, an ACT title would be a crowning achievement.

Hebert has been nearly unstoppable this year, finding his way onto the podium at four of the five events contested to date. Despite this, he still only has a 12-point edge over Shaw, who has been just as fast and simply needs a little good luck to go with it.

The Gardiner & June Leavitt Memorial 150 last time out was a textbook example. Hebert steadily worked his way through the field to finish second while Shaw cut a tire mid-race and still rallied to finish fourth. Kuhn earned his first podium finish of the year in the same event, and if the 19-year-old can snare his first ACT win, he would cut a big chunk off the current 32-point gap to Hebert.

The man to beat at Oxford, though, could well be 4th-place point drive Bryan Kruczek. The Newmarket, NH veteran had a rough start to 2020, which included losing an axle in the first Oxford event as he was running in the top-three. However, he dominated at Riverside Speedway, leading all but one lap on the way to victory. Kruczek swept last year’s events at Oxford, and he knows he needs to keep winning to have a chance at the title.

There are plenty of other things to watch when the feature rolls onto the track Saturday. West Burke, VT’s Jesse Switser sits fifth in points in his first full-time ACT season with low-bucker Dylan Payea not far behind. Graniteville, VT’s Stephen Donahue and his father John Donahue are fast almost every time out but are searching desperately for some good luck. Meanwhile, Derek Gluchacki, Marcel J. Gravel, and Tom Carey III are locked in a close battle for Rookie of the Year.

Several other intriguing names will be added to the mix as they often are at Oxford. New Sharon, ME’s Dillon Moltz is making his first ACT appearance since winning $10,000 in the Midsummer Classic 250. Turner, ME’s Ben Rowe is doing double-duty in the ACT event and the Oxford 250. N. Haverhill, NH’s Ryan Olsen was fast at the first trip to Oxford before fading late. Southern New England racers Randy Cole and Mike Benevides are also planning a trip north to be part of the Night Before the 250.

The ACT Late Model Tour heads to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Saturday, August 29 at 4:30pm for the “Night Before the 250”. The Oxford Plains 150 is part a program that also includes the PASS Modifieds, Oxford Street Stocks, Northeast Classic Lites, and Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association.

The full event will be broadcast live for $20 on Speed51 TV at www.speed51.com/oxford250/. Spectator attendance is not permitted at this time due to state health and safety guidelines.