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N. Woodstock, NH — A hot and humid day among the White Mountains greeted thirty-nine American-Canadian Tour teams with the international stars invading New Hampshire’s Favorite Short Track for the Tour’s longest event of the year. The $10,000-to-win Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 has been marked on many a calendar since last November’s ACT schedule release and the teams proved it on Saturday.
Three rounds of qualifying whittled thirty-nine teams down to twenty-nine starters. Rookies Jeremy Sorel and Kaiden Fisher split the heat race wins with former American-Canadian Tour champions D.J. Shaw and Patrick Laperle while Erick Sands and Bryan Wall, Jr. took down the consolation round. Leading Serie ACT Quebec driver Raphael Lessard took the Last Chance, B-Feature to qualify into Saturday’s main event.
By virtue of his +5 handicap in the ACT Plus/Minus qualifying system, defending champion D.J. Shaw led the field to green with Tom Carey III to his outside. The early circuits gave way to a nose-to-tail freight train as the field kept it calm and cool with plenty of laps to go. As the event kept on, Jamie Swallow, Jr. and Gabe Brown came up on D.J. Shaw just in time for lap traffic to take its toll on the leaders.
Several one-car spin cautions slowed the field but it was the competition caution on lap 126 that played into the game. Tires and fuel were added to the majority of the field during their 5-minute caution before retaking the field for the final 124 circuits. Shaw, Brown and Swallow continued to dominate the front of the field. With Shaw up high, Brown dug deep on the low side as Swallow, Jimmy Hebert and Tom Carey III.
The final fifty laps proved to be the best of the evening starting right on lap 200 as Shaw, Carey and Brown ran nose-to-tail on the high groove around lap traffic to start the final sprint to the end. Fourteen laps later, and clear of lap traffic, Brown only gained on Shaw for the lead until calamity struck on lap 226. A piece of wire would lodge itself in the sidewall of Gabe Brown’s right front tire and send the second-place runner nearly into the turn three tire barrier.
The chaos continued just four laps later as Jamie Swallow, Jr. and top-five runner Kasey Beattie traded paint and more with Swallow going around in turn three after pin-balling through the top-10. A thirty-lap shoot-out ensued with Shaw and Beattie duking it out lap after lap. Beattie attempting to psych Shaw from behind, moving up and down lanes before drawing alongside under the ten-to-go signal. Try as he might, Beattie just couldn’t get the car to stick alongside Shaw. Under the twin checkered flags it was D.J. Shaw taking home his second career Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 followed by Tom Carey III beating Kasey Beattie at the line to take to take second from the 2023 King of the Mountain track champion.
The Stars and Cars of the American-Canadian are back in action to headline the ‘Saturday Night Before the Oxford 250’ on Saturday, August 24 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway. The Oxford Plains 125 will once again showcase the international stars on one of New England’s biggest weekends of stock car racing! Post Time Saturday, August 24 is set for 4:00pm.
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.
7thannual Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250
White Mountain Motorsports Park – N. Woodstock, NH
Saturday, August 3, 2024
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
1. 04VT DJ Shaw Center Conway, NH
2. 5MA Tom Carey III New Salem, MA
3. 45NH #Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury, VT
4. 25NH Jesse Switser W. Burke, VT
5. 21QC Alexendre Tardif Notre Dame des Pins, QC
6. 47NH Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
7. 18VT #Kaiden Fisher Shelburne, VT
8. 91QC Patrick Laperle St-Denis, QC
9. 77NH Bryan Wall Jr. E. Kingston, NH
10. 03MA Derek Gluchacki Dartmouth, MA
11. 97NH Joey Polewarczyk Hudson, NH
12. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
13. 68VT Brooks Clark Fayston, VT
14. 7MA #Jeremy Sorel Westfield, MA
15. 53NH Jeremy Davis Tamworth, NH
16. 48QC Raphael Lessard St-Joseph, QC
17. 41QC Jonathan Bouvrette Blainville, QC
18. 33QC Remi Perreault St. Paul, QC
19. 27NH Cam Huntress Rochester, NH
20. 0VT Scott Dragon Milton, VT
21. 4NH Jamie Swallow Jr. Lancaster, VT
22. 10NH Bryan Mason Stark, NH
23. 58VT Jimmy Hebert Williamstown, VT
24. 11QC Claude Leclerc Lanoraie, QC
25. 68NH Tanner Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
26. 92VT Jaden Perry Hardwick, VT
27. 00VT Brandon Gray E. Thetford, VT
28. 01VT Stephen Martin Craftsbury Common, VT
29. 78NH Quinten Welch Groveton, NH
DNQ 73MA #Cole Littlewood Orange, MA
DNQ 29ME Cole Robie Windham, ME
DNQ 22VT Peyton Lanphear Waterbury, VT
DNQ 61NH Ryan Olsen N. Haverhill, NH
DNQ 32NH Jeff Marshall Littleton, NH
DNQ 2VT Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT
DNQ 55VT Keegan Lamson Berlin, VT
DNQ 46x Brian Hoar S. Hero, VT
DNQ 04NH Shawn Swallow Groveton, NH
DNQ 21VT Reilly Lanphear Waterbury, VT
