(Press Release from Devin O’Connell Racing)
Devin O’Connell claimed the 2016 American Canadian Tour (ACT) Rookie-of-the-Year Title following his eighth place finish at the Thompson Speedway Sunoco World Series on Saturday.
Heading into the final ACT Tour race of the season, O’Connell trailed rookie leader Ryan Olsen by 2 points. The rookie duo swapped the lead several times throughout the 13-race ACT Tour season.
The World Series was the first time O’Connell and his Hallstrom Motorsports team visited the 5/8-mile track. Concerned about hitting the correct setup, the team was able to dial in the car during the early afternoon 1-hour test session. O’Connell started his respective heat race in 6th place and drove his number 1 late model to the front, claiming his first heat race win of the 2016 season.
After the heat race O’Connell reported, “The car was fantastic! I could put it anywhere on the track and it would stick.”
The qualifying efforts landed O’Connell a 4th place start among the 31 car entries for the 75-lap feature event. O’Connell drove a clean and steady race, battling New England’s best late model drivers. At the conclusion of the race, Devin finished 8th overall and first among the rookie contenders. The result was a two point lead in the rookie point standings earning Devin the ACT Tour Rookie-of-the-Year.
During the post race interview O’Connell stated, “It’s just unbelievable. With a team that’s new to the tour and with myself being brand new to late models this year, after graduating from Legend Cars, to be able to come out here and win rookie-of-the-year in one of the most prestigious late model tours in North America…I’m stoked right now and I can’t believe we were able to pull it off.”
O’Connell is a 2016 graduate of Daniel Hand High School and lives in Madison. In addition, he is the 2015 Legend Cars Semi-Pro World Road Course, National Asphalt, and Stafford Motor Speedway Champion. Devin’s next race will be the Myrtle Beach 400 on November 17th driving for AK Performance of Kannapolis, NC. This is one of the biggest NASCAR Late Model Stock Car races in the country.
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