Wayne Helliwell Jr. Puts Orange Crush On ACT Field In Full Throttle 75 At NHMS

LOUDON, N.H. – Dover, NH’s Wayne Helliwell Jr. reigned supreme at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday, September 12 by taking the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Full Throttle 75. Helliwell took the lead for good from Newmarket, NH’s Bryan Kruczek on lap 42 and crushed the competition down the stretch in his familiar orange #27NH to earn the 14^th point-counting win of his ACT Late Model Tour career.

The three-time ACT champion was slated to start 10^th for the main event but got a lucky break before the field even came to the grid when multiple cars, including scheduled polesitter Ryan Kuhn, flunked pre-race technical inspection. As a result, Helliwell took the initial start in seventh while rookie Derek Gluchacki of Dartmouth, MA led the field to the green.

Gluchacki led the first 10 laps after an opening-lap wreck that collected Tom Sheehan, Nick Johnson, and Jimmy Linardy. Center Conway, NH’s D.J. Shaw then took command, getting inside Gluchacki to grab the lead and pick up crucial bonus points in his championship battle with Jimmy Hebert.

Shaw’s stay on top lasted eight circuits before New Sharon, ME’s Dillon Moltz swung underneath him to pick up the point. Moltz spent the next eight laps pulling away as Shaw, Helliwell, Gluchacki, Kruczek, and others jockeyed behind him.

Helliwell was up to second when Stephen Donahue came to a halt near the start/finish line to bring out the second caution. On the restart, Helliwell got the jump to lead lap 32. Moltz hung tough, getting back alongside Helliwell before Kruczek dove three-wide entering turn three. After Moltz edged Kruczek by a hair at the line on lap 33, Kruczek took over the lead until a competition caution at the halfway point.

Once drivers returned to the track after getting fresh tires and adjustments, Helliwell again got a great restart to steal the lead back. This time, Helliwell showcased the true potential of his Bruce Bernhardt–owned Ford, leaving the field far in his rear-view mirror.

Things closed up one more time when Moltz spun out of the third spot with six laps remaining, drawing the fourth and final yellow. Although Kruczek mounted a brief challenge on the restart, Helliwell soon got the best of him and launched away from the pack for his second ACT victory on the “Magic Mile”.

Point leader Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, VT came alive late, passing Kruczek on the final lap for second. It was Hebert’s third straight runner-up finish at NHMS dating back to the last two ACT Invitationals in 2016 and 2017.

Rookie Tom Carey III of Salem, MA was strong all day and finished fourth in his career-best ACT effort. Shaw took fifth while Bellingham, MA’s Woody Pitkat charged from the 24^th starting spot to come home sixth. Moltz, Kuhn, Dylan Payea, and Jesse Switser rounded out the top-10. Unofficially, Hebert now has a 40-point lead over Shaw with one point-counting event remaining.

Many of ACT’s best will head to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road for the 58^th Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4. Booth Bros./H.P. Hood Qualifying Day is Saturday with the three-segment Milk Bowl on Sunday. Eight other divisions are scheduled for action across three days of racing.

Advance tickets for the Vermont Milk Bowl are available now at http://happsnow.com/event/thunder-road-speedbowl. Visit www.thunderroadvt.com for the full event schedule, pricing, and camping details.

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

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR

NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

FULL THROTTLE 75

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

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

1. ( 10 ) Wayne Helliwell Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH , 75 Laps

2. ( 12 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 75 Laps

3. ( 11 ) Bryan Kruczek ( 19NH ) , Newmarket, NH , 75 Laps

4. ( 8 ) #Tom Carey III ( 5MA ) , New Salem, MA , 75 Laps

5. ( 4 ) D.J. Shaw ( 04VT ) , Center Conway, NH , 75 Laps

6. ( 24 ) Woody Pitkat ( 07MA ) , Bellingham, MA , 75 Laps

7. ( 13 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5ME ) , New Sharon, ME , 75 Laps

8. ( 1 ) Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E. Bridgewater, MA , 75 Laps

9. ( 7 ) Dylan Payea ( 7NH ) , Milton, VT , 75 Laps

10. ( 18 ) Jesse Switser ( 25NH ) , W. Burke, VT , 75 Laps

11. ( 21 ) Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 75 Laps

12. ( 6 ) #Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 75 Laps

13. ( 20 ) Jamie Aube ( 41VT ) , Charlotte, VT , 75 Laps

14. ( 14 ) Mike Benevides ( 50RI ) , Westerly, RI , 74 Laps

15. ( 15 ) Matt Anderson ( 49NH ) , Andover, NH , 74 Laps

16. ( 2 ) #Derek Gluchacki ( 03MA ) , Dartmouth, MA , 73 Laps

17. ( 17 ) Gerard Giordano Jr. ( 15NY ) , Freeport, NY , 73 Laps

18. ( 25 ) Mark Jenison ( 22RI ) , Warwick, RI , 72 Laps

19. ( 16 ) Michael Lindquist ( 71CT ) , Sandy Hook, CT , 72 Laps

20. ( 3 ) James Linardy ( 21VT ) , Somerville, MA , 71 Laps

21. ( 5 ) Ben Rowe ( 4ME ) , Turner, ME , 64 Laps

22. ( 22 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 34 Laps

23. ( 19 ) Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 27 Laps

24. ( 23 ) Tom Sheehan ( 65NH ) , Bow, NH , 0 Laps

25. ( 9 ) Nick Johnson ( 6MA ) , Rehoboth, MA , 0 Laps