ACT Tour Results: Pole Fends off Helliwell for Commonwealth Classic Victory

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Hudson, NH's Joey Polewarczyk Jr. (center foreground) celebrates his Commonwealth Classic win at Virginia's Richmond Raceway with runner-up Wayne Helliwell Jr. (right) and third-place finisher Rich Dubeau (left). (Alan Ward photo)>>

Waterbury, VT – Hudson, NH’s Joey Polewarczyk Jr. scored one of the biggest wins of his already illustrious American-Canadian Tour (ACT) career by taking the inaugural Commonwealth Classic 65 at Virginia’s Richmond Raceway on Saturday, March 30. “Joey Pole” took the lead for good on lap 42 and survived a pair of bids from Dover, NH’s Wayne Helliwell Jr. en route to the victory.

For Pole, the $5,000 score in ACT’s inaugural visit to the legendary raceway was yet another crown jewel on his racing résumé. The veteran ACT Late Model racer, who was the 2014 ACT Champion and previously earned wins in the ACT NHMS Invitational and the Vermont Milk Bowl, said the day before the event that a Richmond win would rank up there with his biggest racing accomplishments. The huge smile on his face in Victory Lane backed up that statement.

Pole started fourth in the 38-car field and was content to ride in the early going as polesitter Nick Sweet darted out to a big lead. Once Pole cleared outside polesitter Jimmy Hebert for second on lap 11, he began reeling in Sweet, and the race’s first caution on lap 14 for Bryan Kruczek’s solo spin allowed Pole to pull alongside. He then got the jump on the restart to take the lead for the first time.

It was then Pole’s turn to draw out to a large advantage. But fellow former ACT Champion Helliwell was steadily working his way up from the ninth starting position. Helliwell took second from Sweet on lap 25 and began closing the gap on Pole as the two worked through lapped traffic.

A pair of cautions on lap 40 allowed the duo to go head-to-head. The initial yellow flew for Blair Bessett’s single-car spin. On the restart, the lapped car of Gerard Giordano Jr. got turned around near the front of the field. In the ensuing scramble, Jim “Boomer” Morris also got turned and was nailed head-on by fellow Thunder Road Late Model regular Stephen Donahue. The accident, which brought out the third and final caution, sidelined both competitors for the day.

When the race finally went green again, Helliwell who grabbed the top spot and led lap 41. But Pole flew back by him a lap later to regain command. Sweet and Helliwell then got to racing for second, allowing Pole to scoot away. He then continued outpacing the field even after Helliwell finally re-established himself in the second spot on lap 51.

A pack of lapped traffic held up Pole in the closing stages and allowed Helliwell to close back in with hopes of another charge. But Pole was able to get clear of the traffic with a few laps to go and motored off for the win.

Lebanon, NH’s Dubeau was one of the fastest cars on the track in the late going. He came from the 10^th starting spot to get around Sweet for third with 10 laps to go and was closing on Helliwell before getting hung up by the same traffic. The third place still matched the best result of Dubeau’s ACT career.

Sweet ended up fourth while Rehoboth, MA’s Jake Johnson was solid all race to earn fifth. New Salem, MA’s Tom Carey III was sixth and Hinesburg, VT’s Bobby Therrien was seventh. Alex Guenette was the highest-finishing Quebec racer in eighth. Au Sable Forks, NY’s Brandon Atkins and E. Bridgewater, MA’s Ryan Kuhn rounded out the top-10.

Blainville, QC’s Jonathan Bouvrette won heat one and earned the distinction of being the first ACT driver ever to win at Richmond Raceway. Dubeau and Carey won the other qualifiers. Sweet earned the pole after coming from 12^th to 4^th in heat one for a +8 under ACT’s “plus-minus” qualifying system.

ACT heads to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, April 14 at 1:30pm for the season’s first point-counting ACT Late Model Tour event. The Oxford Plains 150 is part of a card that also includes the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models, Honey Badger Street Stock Series, and North East Mini Stock Tour. The pits open at 8:00am and the grandstands open at 10:00am. Admission is $25 for adults, $12 for kids ages 6-12, and $60 for a family of four (two adults, two kids).

For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.

AMERICAN-CANADIAN TOUR

COMMONWEALTH CLASSIC 65

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps

1. ( 4 ) Joey Polewarczyk ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH , 65 Laps

2. ( 9 ) Wayne Helliwell Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH , 65 Laps

3. ( 10 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Plainfield, NH , 65 Laps

4. ( 1 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 65 Laps

5. ( 7 ) Jake Johnson ( 15MA ) , Rehoboth, MA , 65 Laps

6. ( 12 ) Tom Carey III ( 5MA ) , New Salem, MA , 65 Laps

7. ( 3 ) Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 65 Laps

8. ( 5 ) Alex Guenette ( 48QC ) , Terrebonne, QC , 65 Laps

9. ( 23 ) Brandon Atkins ( 4NY ) , AuSable Forks, NY , 65 Laps

10. ( 13 ) Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E. Bridgewater, MA , 65 Laps

11. ( 6 ) Patrick Laperle ( 91QC ) , St-Denis, QC , 65 Laps

12. ( 11 ) Jonathan Bouvrette ( 41QC ) , Blainville, QC , 65 Laps

13. ( 19 ) Mark Jenison ( 22RI ) , Warwick, RI , 65 Laps

14. ( 15 ) Mathiew Kingsbury ( 9QC ) , Blainville, QC , 65 Laps

15. ( 24 ) Alexandre Tardif ( 21BC ) , Notre Dame des Pins, QC , 65 Laps

16. ( 2 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 65 Laps

17. ( 17 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 65 Laps

18. ( 16 ) Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) , Danville, VT , 65 Laps

19. ( 31 ) Shawn Swallow ( 04NH ) , Lancaster, NH , 65 Laps

20. ( 26 ) Nicholas Johnson ( 6MA ) , Rehoboth, MA , 65 Laps

21. ( 14 ) Joshua Hedges ( 29MA ) , N. Bedford, MA , 65 Laps

22. ( 30 ) Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 64 Laps

23. ( 38 ) Marc Begin ( 37QC ) , St-Philibert, QC , 63 Laps

24. ( 8 ) John Donahue ( 26VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 63 Laps

25. ( 27 ) Jeff Marshall ( 32NH ) , Gilman, VT , 63 Laps

26. ( 22 ) Tyler Chapman ( 81CT ) , Quaker Hill, CT , 63 Laps

27. ( 33 ) CJ McLaughlin ( 04MA ) , Bellingham, MA , 63 Laps

28. ( 29 ) Blair Bessett ( 20VT ) , Barton, VT , 63 Laps

29. ( 25 ) Gerard Giordano Jr. ( 15NY ) , Freeport, NY , 63 Laps

30. ( 32 ) James Linardy ( 77MA ) , Malden, MA , 63 Laps

31. ( 35 ) Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) , Barre, VT , 63 Laps

32. ( 37 ) Jesse Switser ( 10ME ) , Whitfield, NH , 61 Laps

33. ( 28 ) Martin Goulet Jr. ( 83QC ) , St. Calixte, QC , 49 Laps

34. ( 18 ) Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) , Barre, VT , 40 Laps

35. ( 34 ) Stephen Donahue ( 28VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 40 Laps

36. ( 21 ) Jean-Philippe Bergeron ( 18QC ) , St-Donat-de-Montcalm, QC , 40 Laps

37. ( 20 ) Bryan Kruczek ( 19NH ) , Newmarket, NH , 18 Laps

38. ( 36 ) TJ Moreshead ( 00MA ) , Seekonk, MA , 13 Laps

Lap Leaders: Nick Sweet, 1-14; Joe Polewarczyk Jr., 15-40; Wayne Helliwell Jr., 41; Polewarczyk, 42-65. (3 lead changes among 3 drivers)

Time of Race: 45:52   Margin of Victory: 1.505 seconds

Cautions: 3 (laps 14, 40, 40)

Heat Winners: Jonathan Bouvrette, Rich Dubeau, Tom Carey III

Mini Stocks Looking To Crown New Champion in 2019

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo, Wayne G.Barber Library

Rising Bourgeois Looks To Continue Family Tradition of Championships Against List of Challengers

By Kyle Souza, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

THOMPSON, Conn. – With defending division champion Eric Bourgeois moving on from full-time action this season, a new champion will be crowned in the Mini Stock division at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

That champion could be right inside the Bourgeois family, as Evan looks to continue the family tradition of winning championships and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father to the top of the class. Last year, in his rookie season, Evan was able to finish eighth in the championship standings with three top-five finishes.

“The beginning of the year and most of the year, was all about seat time, getting used to the car and the track,” Evan said. “As the year went on, we just tried to get better, get faster and run up towards the front. We were able to pass more cars as the year went on, so there isn’t much for me to complain about.”

Evan, who started his career racing at Stafford Motor Speedway before the transition to Mini Stocks, is hoping with one year on the high-banks under his belt, the crucial experience he gained will help him chase Victory Lane this year.

“I’m not really so sure what to expect, but I know we are going to run as fast as we can and get up there as high in the points as we can,” Evan said. “That’s the whole reason we go there, is to win. We have to just run for the best position we can, and if the win comes, it comes.”

With his father, Eric, moving on from full-time action and having registered for the newly-formed SK Light Modified® division, Evan is going to have even more assistance from his father at the track. Last year, it was the two of them fighting tooth and nail for each position against each other on the track, but now, they will be able to work together to figure out what will be best for Evan.

“Even in the shop, he’s always there working and I’m by his side while he shows me things about the car,” Evan said. “Going out on the track, he’s always showing me where to be, where to pass.”

But, if the Bourgeois name will stay on top, it’s going to have to run through a long list of challengers. Thompson’s Mini Stock division is well known for a long list of veterans, and Steve Michalski, of Brooklyn, Connecticut, is one of them.

Michalski has been around the Mini Stock division for just about a decade – maybe even longer – and has not been able to seal a championship yet to this point. This year, he’s hoping to change that. 

“It would mean a lot to me because I’ve worked at it for a long time,” Michalski said. “It’s like a big family with all of the drivers out there. We have a lot of upcoming drivers as well. Just to go there every week and finish in the top three, hopefully win… we’d really like to rip off a couple of wins and get the championship this year.”

Michalski, who started racing at the go-kart track, seems to have found a home in Thompson’s Mini Stocks – a division centered around driver ability and one that usually warrants building your own cars. Recently, he’s hooked up with Mark and Suzanna Woodcock as car owners and with the support of his wife, Julie, he’s enjoying every second he spends at the track and in the shop as part of the racing family.

“The highest I finished in the points was third, and even though that was a while back, it’s an entry level division that still takes a lot of experience to run up front even today,” Michalski said. “There are a lot of tricks to the trade in every division. We found something wrong in the engine department last year, and after we fixed that, we were competitive looking for the win for the last half of the year.”

Joining Bourgeois and Michalski, Jared Roy, who finished third in the point standings last year, are also expected to battle for the title. The roots run deep for the Trudeau family as well, as Dave and David Jr. both finished inside the top five in the championship standings last year. Additional entries at this point in the offseason include Russell Barboze, Keith Ballou, Joseph Bavolacco, Stuart Besser, with more to come before the 45thannual Icebreaker weekend opens the season.

The Mini Stock season consists of 10 races – as the Division V class will compete as part of the entire NASCAR Whelen All-American Series slate.

With the 45thannual Icebreaker weekend closing in, track officials remind fans to make sure they have reserved their camping spot before this Friday, March 29. for $50. Any camping spots reserved following that deadline will be for $75. Camping check-in hours will open this weekend and will last through the duration of the event. Please check the website for specific times for each day of the week.

Icebreaker weekend begins on Friday, April 5, with a Test & Tune session for all cars competing during the weekend except the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Pro All Star Series. Admission into the paddock area for the day is $20, and teams are reminded this pit pass is separate from the rest of the weekend.

Action kicks into high gear on Saturday, where qualifying begins at 12:15 p.m., and feature action is scheduled to get underway at 3:35 p.m.

Sunday, the annual Fan Appreciation Party returns on the track at 11 a.m., and pre-race ceremonies follow with racing starting promptly at 12:30 p.m., ending with the third race of the season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.