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Sylvain Fournier photo
Barre, VT — Ever since its inception in 1986, the American Canadian Tour has built and maintained a concrete connection with stock car racers and fans on both sides of the United States and Canadian border. Never did anyone believe something could ever break that bond but in walked COVID-19 in March 2020. The pandemic forced the 35-year partnership between Americans and Canadians to virtually cease, without warning. Over-optimistic outlooks forced many disappointments among officials, drivers and fans over the last two years, but the time has finally come to reunite international friends North of the Border.
The second edition of the Claude Leclerc 150 presented by J.A. Larue will feature the best of New England’s touring stars against the strength of Canada’s finest short trackers at Quebec’s fastest bullring, Autodrome Chaudiere. Heralded as the ‘Little Bristol’ of Quebec, Chaudiere posts lightning speeds for the American-Canadian Tour on a track surface that promotes constant two and three-wide racing across the one-third-mile speedway.
Among the American hopefuls are two that have had experience in Vallee-Jonction are New Hampshire natives D.J. Shaw and Cody Leblanc. While Leblanc is playing catch-up in the Rookie of the Year standings, Shaw is on the hunt for his first American-Canadian Tour championship. In two previous trips North of the Border, Shaw has stood victorious in Autodrome Chaudiere victory lane with the Pro All Stars Series but looks to add the American-Canadian Tour Claude Leclerc 150 trophy to his mantle.
“I’m excited to go back up there,” said number-two-point-man D.J. Shaw on Monday. “It’s been a long time and it’s a really nice facility that puts on great racing for the fans. It will for sure have an awesome crowd and hopefully I can carry some of my past successes up there into the ACT side of things and give the 04 team a shot at another win!”
The Claude Leclerc 150 celebrates the Iron Man of American-Canadian Tour competition who has been a fixture in Northeast racing since the Northern NASCAR circuit of the 1970s to today. Leclerc has nearly 600 ACT Sanctioned starts to his credit and a decades-long reputation as a gentleman towards his competition whether on the flat corners of Martinsville, high banks of Nashville or his local haunts at Catamount Stadium, Sanair, Thunder Road and Oxford Plains.
The Claude Leclerc 150 presented by J.A. Larue features a $5,000 USD-to-win purse for the best American and Canadian competitors to battle for at Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec on Saturday, June 25th. For $40 CAD, fans can take in the return of the American-Canadian Tour for the first time in Quebec since 2019 along with the NASCAR Trucks, Vintage and Sport Compacts that call the Autodrome home weekly. The Claude Leclerc 150 will also be broadcast live, around the world on Racing America to monthly and yearly subscribers.
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
