Fall Foliage 200 Returns to ACT Schedule This Sunday at White Mountain

Daniel Holben photo

$5,000-to-Win Event Part of Two-Day, Nine-Division Extravaganza

Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) completes the season trifecta at North Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park this Sunday, September 26. The $5,000-to-win Fall Foliage 200 concludes a two-day, nine-division festival of racing that begins the final quarter of the ACT season.

Sunday’s Fall Foliage 200 is the first edition of the historic event since 2016. With more than $30,000 in posted awards and crucial ACT championship points on the line, racers like D.J. Shaw, Jimmy Hebert, Tom Carey III, Ben Rowe, Dillon Moltz, and Mark Jenison will be fighting for every square inch of real estate.

The history of the Fall Foliage 200 dates to 1972. It began at the former Catamount Stadium as the New England 200, expanding to 300 laps in its second edition. When Catamount closed following the 1987 season, the event moved to Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. The Fall Foliage moniker was adopted after the event went New York’s Airborne Speedway in 1991, and it went to 200 laps when the ACT Late Models inherited the event in 1996.

A single edition of the Fall Foliage 200 was held at Thunder Road in 2002, and then the event went on break from 2006 to 2008. It returned in 2009 and was held at Airborne through 2015 before going back to Beech Ridge for a season. The Fall Foliage 200 is now on the ACT calendar once again following a four-year hiatus. Sunday will be the 43rd edition of the event.

Along the way, the Fall Foliage 200 has showcased the best racers of the Northeast. Robbie Crouch leads the way with seven Fall Foliage victories while Quebec’s Patrick Laperle has four. Other stars who have triumphed include Junior Hanley, Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Brian Hoar, Dick McCabe, and Alex Labbe. Two Southerners, L.D. Ottinger and the late Butch Lindley, won the event in the 1970s when it was part of the NASCAR Late Model Sportsmen national championship.

Now, after four long years, a new name will be added to the list. The $5,000 winner’s purse and the prestige of a Fall Foliage victory are attracting notable names beyond the ACT Tour core. New Sharon, ME’s Dillon Moltz, the 2020 Midsummer Classic 250 winner, is looking for redemption after his repeat 250 bid ended early. Warwick, RI’s Mark Jenison, a recent Thompson Speedway Late Model winner, returns to White Mountain after a breakout Midsummer 250 where he earned the pole and finished 10th.

Sunday’s race also marks the return to competition for 2019 ACT Champion Rich Dubeau. Lebnaon, NH’s Dubeau has filed an entry for the Fall Foliage 200, which will be his first race in more than a year. He had two top-five finishes at White Mountain in that championship season, making it a good location to shake off the rust.

Meanwhile, the three-man battle for the championship is hitting overdrive. Center Conway, NH’s D.J. Shaw and Turner, ME’s Ben Rowe, two multi-time Pro All Stars Series (PASS) champions, continue to be one-two in the standings. Shaw has a series-leading six top-five finishes and wanted the victory that slipped away in the final corner of the Midsummer 250. Rowe has used remarkable consistency to stay within 10 points.

Behind them, it’s now or never for New Salem, MA’s Tom Carey II. He’s now 29 points behind Shaw with three races to go. However, the next two ACT Tour events are at White Mountain and Thompson Speedway, both tracks where he has won Late Model races this year. It’s the perfect opportunity for the third-generation racer to make his move.

They’re going to have their hands full with the rest of the ACT elite. Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert is trying to continue his late-season rebirth at a track where he has multiple victories. North Dartmouth, MA’s Derek Gluchacki earned a runner-up finish at White Mountain in the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup earlier this summer.

Graniteville, VT’s Stephen Donahue has fallen on hard times recently, but he knows his way around White Mountain. Rookies Shawn Swallow and Erick Sands will be ones to watch, as will the local Late Models who try once again to defend their track against the ACT intruders.

John Raper photo

Eight other divisions are in action across Fall Foliage Weekend. Racing begins Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm with the R&R Raceparts Street Stock Open. The 100-lap, $5,000-to-win continues to attract new entries, with Franklin, NH’s Mike Williams and Williston, VT’s Justin Prescott being the latest to throw their names in the ring. Saturday’s program also includes season finales for the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Cars, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Truck.

On Sunday, the ACT Late Model Tour is part of a five-division card. The GoMotorsportsShop.com NELCAR Legends and NELCAR Bandoleros are also coming to town. Small-car studs like Trevor Krouse, Luke LeBrun, Frankie Sweeney, and Aliyah Neale will battle for INEX regional and national championship points.

The local Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers crown their 2021 champion on Sunday. Many Tiger drivers, such as point leader Jason Woodard, are doing double-duty thanks to a rules option that allows them to compete in Saturday’s Street Stock Open. Finally, the Burnett Scrap Metals of Thunder Road are making their annual visit for a pair of 20-lap Milk Bowl-style segments.

The ACT Late Model Tour travels at New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park this Sunday, September 26 at 1:00pm for the 43rd Fall Foliage 200. The $5,000-to-win event caps two days of racing that also includes the $5,000-to-win R&R Raceparts Street Stock Open, NELCAR Legends and Bandoleros, White Mountain’s weekly divisions, and the Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors.

Two-day tickets for Fall Foliage Weekend are just $35 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-12, and free for kids ages 5 and under. Single-day adult tickets are $25 for Sunday-only and $17 for Saturday-only.

For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com or www.whitemountainmotorsports.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.