Redemption Podium In Rain-Shorted ACT Pine Tree State Excursion At Oxford Plains

(Press Release from American-Canadian Tour)

The persistent spring rains once again aggravated officials, teams and fans of the American-Canadian Tour during the start to the 2024 season on their return to Oxford Plains Speedway. While early morning rains dried off, grey clouds returned just after the halfway point of the American-Canadian Tour special and added area-wide lightning threats pushed both ACT and Oxford Plains officials to end the program early with the ACT Pine Tree State event official after completing 65 of the originally scheduled 125 laps.

Thirty-six drivers from across New England and Quebec, Canada joined the field at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday with championship hopefuls Derek Gluchacki, D.J. Shaw, Brandon Barker and Jonathan Bouvrette claiming the four heat race wins. By earning a +4 handicap in the fourth heat, Center Conway, New Hampshire’s Gabe Brown led the American-Canadian Tour field to green with Steuben, Maine’s Rowland Robinson, Jr. to his outside after earning a +3 in heat one.

Brown made quick work in the preferred bottom groove of the 3/8-mile Maine oval while several spins in the opening laps from the back-half of the field continued to show Brown’s restart dominance at the front. With the field getting their first long-term green flag run following a lap 19 scuffle, an adversary in Jesse Switser appeared in the rear-view mirror. Stalking Brown from the initial green in the third-place starting position, Switser had followed the former Oxford Plains Speedway champion by just inches off his back bumper until he could wait no more.

With the help of a blanket of lapped cars ahead, Switser used the opportunity to split the Bryan Mason machine with Brown and seize the lead. During the same melee, Blainville, Quebec’s Jonathan Bouvrette also crested into the top five and underneath Brown for second as the intensity continued at the front of the field. Unfortunately for the top pilots out front, ominous clouds once again filled the skies and two late-race spins allowed enough time for the rains to come and end the event two laps after the halfway point.

With the field reaching the halfway point, the Pine Tree State was declared official on the lap 65 caution for a stalled Reilly Lanphear and post-race technical inspection officially gave Jesse Switser his second American-Canadian Tour victory followed by Gabe Brown and Jonathan Bouvrette. All three had spoiled runs in the Tour’s first event of the year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and all three found redemption under a grey sky at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday.

The American-Canadian Tour makes a quick turn-around this week in preparation for the 26th annual Community Bank N.A. 150 at the Nation’s Site of Excitement, Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. The American-Canadian Tour will also pay respects for one its founders, Ken Squier with the Kenley Dean Extravaganza; A Celebration of Life for the One-and-Only Ken Squier on Saturday, May 4 before taking on the infamous highbanks Squier built way back in 1960 for the Community Bank 150 on Sunday, May 5 along with the Flying Tigers, Street Stocks and Road Warriors for a whopping season opener!

For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.acttour.com.  You can also get updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @ACTTour.

The Pine Tree State 125

Oxford Plains Speedway – Oxford, ME

Sunday, April 28, 2024

UNOFFICAL RESULTS

1.         25NH   Jesse Switser               W. Burke, VT

2.         47NH   Gabe Brown                Center Conway, NH

3.         41QC   Jonathan Bouvrette   Blainville, QC

4.         03MA  Derek Gluchacki         Dartmouth, MA

5.         04VT    DJ Shaw                       Center Conway, NH

6.         27NH   Cam Huntress             Rochester, NH

7.         23ME   Dave Farrington, Jr     Lewiston, ME

8.         72MA  Ryan Kuhn                  E. Bridgewater, MA

9.         45NH   #Kasey Beattie              St. Johnsbury, VT

10.       47ME   Brockton Davis            Whitefield, NH

11.       0NH     Brandon Barker          Windham, ME

12.       36NH   Erick Sands                  Derry, NH

13.       78QC   Michael Lavoie            Chicoutimi, QC

14.       68VT    Brooks Clark               Fayston, VT

15.       7MA    #Jeremy Sorel               Westfield, MA

16.       68NH   Tanner Woodard        Waterbury Ctr., VT

17.       21QC   Alexendre Tardif         Quebec, Canada

18.       74ME   Justin Eldridge            Tuftonboro, NH

19.       29MA  Joshua Hedges             New Bedford, MA

20.       77NH   Bryan Wall Jr.              E. Kingston, NH

21.       86VT    Marcel J. Gravel          Wolcott, VT

22.       30RI     Jacob Burns                E. Greenwich, RI

23.       1NH     Corey Mason              Groveton, NH

24.       18VT    #Kaiden Fisher              Shelburne, VT

25.       33QC   Remi Perrault             St. Paul, QC

26.       28ME   Rowland Robinson, Jr. Steuben, ME

27.       91CT    Jake Johnson              Rehoboth, MA

28.       73MA  #Cole Littlewood          Orange, MA

29.       10NH   Bryan Mason              Milan, NH

30.       11RI     Robert Pelland III        Cranston, RI

31.       31CT    Ryan Morgan              N. Franklin, CT

32.       21VT    Reilly Lanphear           Waterbury, VT

33.       11QC   Claude Leclerc             Lanoraie, QC

34.       69ME   Dave MacDonald        New Gloucester, ME

35.       92ME   Colby Meserve            Buxton, ME

36.       39VT    Mike Foster                 Williston, VT