Thompson, Ct. – Eddie MacDonald took control of the American Canadian Tour (ACT) 75-lap season finale at Thompson Speedway Saturday and sped off to a dominant win.
Four spots back, Scott Payea nailed down the 2017 ACT championship in the Harrison Redi-Mix No. 37. With his eighth top-five finish in nine races.
MacDonald, driving the Hancock Electric No. 17, took the lead briefly from Thompson regular William Wall on lap 12, regained it for keeps on lap 19 and then survived four restarts before drawing away once the race stayed under green.
“It’s an awesome way to end the season for us,” MacDonald said. “We finally got a Late Model win here.”
“The restarts grouped things up and made it tough for a while,” MacDonald added, “but it was definitely fun.”
Woody Pitkat was a stout but distant runner-up several car-lengths ahead of a racy, close-quarters duel between third-place Jean-Francois Dery and Dillon Moltz.
Payea started 15th. He drew close for a ringside seat to the Dery/Moltz battle, but with a championship in hand, didn’t force the issue.
Positions 6-10 went to Wall, Ray Parent, Glenn Boss, Tom Carey III and Rowland Robinson, who raced back up through the 28-car field after a spinout on lap 28.
“We had a great car,” Payea said. “I just had to play it smart and bring it home. When I got up to 8th, all the cars were dicing pretty hard. There were a lot of unknowns. It was no time to get greedy. On the last run, it stretched out and you could relax a bit.”
Payea’s well-earned championship season included five wins and eight top-5’s in nine starts.
“It’s unbelievable,” Payea said. “It was a phenomenal season. Every week I had a car to win. It was always - the bridesmaid - and now it’s the bride. It finally happened.”
Dery’s run began from sixth on the grid. He was third by lap 12 and held second until Pitkat slipped by him on lap 30. Moltz – the 2017 ACT Runner-up – wound up the year with two wins and six top-5’s.
Macdonald’s win was his 16th ACT career victory.
ACT World Series 75 at Thompson Speedway – start in (*)
- Eddie MacDonald (5) 2.Woody Pitkat (9) 3. Jean-Francois Dery (6) 4. Dillon Moltz (11) 5. Scott Payea (15) 6. William Wall (1) 7. Ray Parent (7) 8. Glenn Boss (4) 9. Tom Carey III (12) 10. Rowland Robinson Jr. (3) 11. Josh Masterson(16) 12. Jimmy Hebert (2) 13. Jason Corliss (13) 14. Rich Dubeau (8) 15. Matthew Lowinski-Loh (10) 16. Ray Christian III (19) 17. Mark Jenison (25) 18. John Warren (22) 19. CJ McLaughlin (24) 20. Mark Hudson (27) 21. Ryan Morgan (17) 22. Vincent Arrenegado Jr.(28) 23. Ryan Kuhn (20) 24. Jimmy Linardy (23) 25. Jared Materas (18) 26. Michael Benevider (14) 27. James Capps III (26) 28. Walter Sutcliffe (21)
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