2021 ACT Season: By the Numbers
/0.043 seconds — The margin of victory for Ben Rowe over D.J. Shaw in the Haunted Hundred at Seekonk Speedway, which also decided the ACT championship. It was the smallest margin of victory in an ACT race this season.
1 — Brooks Clark was the only driver with a perfect record on the ACT Late Model Tour this year. He started two events (the Thunder Road visits) and won both.
2 — Ben Rowe has now won the ACT season finale two straight years.
2 — Ben Rowe and D.J. Shaw were the only drivers running at the finish of all 12 point-counting ACT events this year. When you add in the two events at Hickory Motor Speedway, Rowe finished all 14 races he started.
3 — The number of wins for 2020 ACT champion Jimmy Hebert. It’s the first time he’s ever won three ACT Tour races in a season.
4 — D.J. Shaw had a series-leading four 2nd-place finishes — an ironic stat for the driver who finished second in points.
4 — Jimmy Hebert led ACT with four heat race wins. Ben Rowe, D.J. Shaw, and Tom Carey III all had three heat race victories.
4 — Hebert also holds the longest active ACT streak with feature wins in four consecutive seasons. Jason Corliss and Ben Rowe are the only other drivers to even have feature wins the last two years.
5 — Ben Rowe’s final point margin over D.J. Shaw for the championship, which is equal to the bonus points for one lap led.
5.58 — Ben Rowe’s average finish on the ACT Late Model Tour in 2021. D.J. Shaw was just behind him at 5.83.
6 — ACT had six first time winners in 2021: Brooks Clark, D.J. Shaw, Tom Carey III, Jimmy Renfrew, Mike Hopkins, and Derek Gluchacki. This included a streak of five straight from the Community Bank N.A. 150 to the Oxford 150.
7 — Including the pair of non-point Hickory Motor Speedway events, Ben Rowe had seven ACT podium finishes in 2021, more than any other driver (1 win, 1 second, 5 thirds).
8 — D.J. Shaw’s eight point-counting top-5 finishes were more than any other driver. Ben Rowe also had eight top-5s when you add non-point events.
11 — Ben Rowe and D.J. Shaw both finished in the top-10 in 11 of the 12 point-counting events.
15 — The number of lead changes at the Midsummer Classic 250 on July 31. It was the most at an ACT event this season and the most at White Mountain Motorsports Park in ACT history.
17 — The number of drivers who had at least one podium finish in a point-counting ACT event this year. This increases to 23 when considering ACT-sanctioned non-point special events (Hickory 125, Easter Bunny 125, Bacon Bowl, and Milk Bowl).
18 years, 117 days — Jimmy Renfrew Jr.’s age when he won at Hudson International Speedway on June 20, making him the youngest winner of the season.
22 — The number of drivers who won an ACT heat race this year out of a possible 34.
23 — At the World Series 75, 23 of the 24 starters were running at the finish. It was the closest ACT came all year to having every starter finish a race.
24 — Twenty-four different drivers led a lap in ACT Late Model Tour competition this year.
30 — The ACT Late Model Tour completed its 30th season of competition in 2021. The series was founded in 1992 as the ACT Late Model Sportsmen International Series.
36 — The number of years since the American-Canadian Tour sanctioning body was founded in 1986.
37 — Jimmy Hebert’s five top-5 finishes give him 37 for his career, which moved him up to 10th all-time. Joey Polewarczyk, meanwhile, strengthened his hold on third all-time by notching his 65th career top-5 finish.
46 years, 167 days — Ben Rowe’s age when he won at Seekonk Speedway, making him the oldest driver to win with ACT this year. He was the only feature winner over the age of 35.
84 — There have now been 84 different feature winners in ACT Late Model Tour history.
98 — Number of drivers who ran at least one point-counting event with the ACT Late Model Tour this year.
101 — Jimmy Hebert has now started 101 ACT Late Model Tour events, making him the 19th driver to reach the century mark.
150 — Mike Hopkins led every lap at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 11. He became the first driver since Eddie MacDonald at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on October 14, 2017 to lead wire-to-wire in an ACT Tour feature.
195 — Laps led by Derek Gluchacki, the most of any driver in ACT this year.
332 — Number of point-counting events that have now been held in the 30-year history of the ACT Late Model Tour.
1,721 — D.J. Shaw was the only driver to complete all 1,721 laps run on the ACT Late Model Tour in 2021. Champion Ben Rowe completed 1,720 laps. (He finished one lap down at the Midsummer Classic 250.)
1,930 — Wayne Helliwell Jr. moved up to fourth all-time in ACT Tour laps led with 1,930. Brian Hoar is the all-time leader with 2,677.
$10,800 — Jason Corliss took the largest single-event prize in ACT point-counting competition this year with $10,800 in prize money and contingencies for winning the Midsummer Classic 250 on July 31.
$12,280 — Nick Sweet’s haul at the Vermont Milk Bowl on October 17 was the largest prize won at an ACT-sanctioned event.
$24,905 — Total race purse money, point fund money, and contingency awards for ACT champion Ben Rowe this season. D.J. Shaw ($24,540) and Jimmy Hebert ($23,525) also topped the $20,000 mark.
$153,131 — Jimmy Hebert’s 2021 haul made him the ninth driver in ACT Late Model Tour history to exceed $150,000 in earnings. Brian Hoar remains the all-time leader with $287,389.40.