MacDonald Tames New Hampshire Again for 4th Invitational Win
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACT092615-129
Eddie MacDonald celebrates with his team and Bond Auto Parts representatives after winning the 7th Annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Heather Aube photo)
Loudon, NH – Eddie “The Outlaw” MacDonald took advantage of a well-timed caution to surge to the lead with 15 laps remaining and win the 7th Annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 26.
The Rowley, MA driver started 20th and was running a distant third to Jimmy Hebert and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. when the caution came out for early leader Jeff Rocco’s spin in turn four on lap 31 of the 50-lap event. But MacDonald came to life on the restart, eventually grabbing the lead from “Joey Pole” and holding on through a final caution to beat the impending darkness and score his fourth Invitational win.
“I was a little worried,” MacDonald said. “I didn’t think that there would be a caution, but Hebert and Pole had almost a straightaway on us, so I knew that if I really pushed it hard I would haven’t anything for them at the end. It was kind of a gamble, and luckily for us it worked out and the caution came out at the right time.”
Wallingford, CT’s Rocco surged to the lead on the start from the outside pole and led the first five laps. Hebert then grabbed the top spot from his 10th starting position followed shortly thereafter by Pole. The two then drew away from the field on a long green-flag run, as Pole eventually caught Hebert in lapped traffic and was riding on his bumper when Rocco spun.
Pole outgunned Hebert for the lead on the restart, but MacDonald sliced around both to take the lead on lap 36. The field had one more shot at MacDonald on a restart with six laps to go following John Donahue’s spin, but Pole came under attack from rival Wayne Helliwell Jr. for second, allowing MacDonald to drive off into the sunset.
Pole nipped Helliwell by 0.022 seconds at the finish line for second. Patrick Laperle took fourth while Hebert faded to fifth. Woody Pitkat, Jonathan Bouvrette, Tom Carey Jr., Dillon Moltz, and Alex Labbe completed the top-10.
The ACT U.S. Tour and Série ACT travel to Plattsburgh, NY’s Airborne Park Speedway for the 41st Fall Foliage 200 next Saturday, October 3. It will be the season finale for Série ACT with the Tiger Sportsman/Renegade Team Challenge also on the card. Post time is 2:00pm.
For more information contact the ACT offices at 802.244.6963, media@acttour.com, or visit
www.acttour.com.
7TH ANNUAL BOND AUTO ACT INVITATIONAL
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Pos, Start Pos, Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
( 20 ) Eddie MacDonald ( 17MA ) , Rowley, MA , 50 Laps
( 16 ) Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH , 50 Laps
( 21 ) Wayne Helliwell, Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH , 50 Laps
( 17 ) Patrick Laperle ( 91QC ) , St-Denis, QC , 50 Laps
( 10 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 50 Laps
( 15 ) Woody Pitkat ( 07MA ) , Sturbridge, MA , 50 Laps
( 23 ) Jonathan Bouvrette ( 41QC ) , Blainville, QC , 50 Laps
( 6 ) Tom Carey, Jr. ( 10MA ) , New Salem, MA , 50 Laps
( 27 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5CT ) , Waterford, CT , 50 Laps
( 19 ) Alex Labbe ( 48QC ) , St-Albert, QC , 50 Laps
( 13 ) Brandon Atkins ( 4NY ) , Au Sable Forks, NY , 50 Laps
( 30 ) Jean-François Déry ( 21QC ) , Quebec, QC , 50 Laps
( 14 ) Ray Parent ( 17RI ) , Tiverton, RI , 50 Laps
( 25 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 50 Laps
( 26 ) Brad Babb ( 15NH ) , Windham, ME , 50 Laps
( 28 ) Bobby Santos ( 15VT ) , Noblesville, IN , 50 Laps
( 5 ) Ryan Vanasse ( 11RI ) , Warwick, RI , 50 Laps
( 3 ) Walt Hammond Jr. ( 98NH ) , Orange, NH , 50 Laps
( 7 ) Josh Masterson ( 11NY ) , Charlotte, VT , 50 Laps
( 24 ) Guy Caron ( 8NH ) , Lempster, NH , 50 Laps
( 11 ) Dave Farrington Jr. ( 23ME ) , Jay, ME , 50 Laps
( 12 ) Rowland Robinson, Jr. ( 28ME ) , Steuben, ME , 50 Laps
( 1 ) Todd Davis ( 34NH ) , Claremont, NH , 50 Laps
( 35 ) Bucky Demers ( 26NH ) , Cornish, NH , 50 Laps
( 9 ) Larry Gelinas ( 91CT ) , Buxton, ME , 50 Laps
( 2 ) Jeff Rocco ( 68CT ) , Wallingford, CT , 50 Laps
( 43 ) Paul Charette ( 14CT ) , Woodstock, CT , 50 Laps
( 22 ) John Donahue ( 31VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 50 Laps
( 36 ) Alby Ovitt ( 0NH ) , Somersworth, NH , 49 Laps
( 38 ) Mike Ziter ( 54VT ) , Barre Town, VT , 49 Laps
( 37 ) John Lowinski-Loh ( 20MA ) , Milford, MA , 49 Laps
( 39 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Plainfield, NH , 49 Laps
( 40 ) Martin Goulet Jr. ( 83QC ) , Marcouche, QC , 49 Laps
( 31 ) James Linardy ( 77MA ) , Somerville, MA , 49 Laps
( 8 ) Matt Anderson ( 49NH ) , Franklin, NH , 49 Laps
( 41 ) Mike Kenison ( 3NH ) , Lancaster, NH , 49 Laps
( 42 ) Ryan Olsen ( 61NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH , 46 Laps
( 34 ) Scott MacMichael ( 7NH ) , Newbury, NH , 36 Laps
( 4 ) Kyle Welch ( 9NH ) , Newport, NH , 27 Laps
( 29 ) Aaron Fellows ( 29NH ) , Croydon, NH , 24 Laps
( 18 ) Dany Trepanier ( 19QC ) , St-Edouard, QC , 19 Laps
( 33 ) Ricky Roberts ( 3VT ) , Washington, VT , 16 Laps
( 32 ) Jean-Pierre Ouimet ( 07QC ) , Terrebonne, QC , 0 Laps
Lap Leaders: Todd Davis, 0; Jeff Rocco, 1-5; Jimmy Hebert, 6-31; Joey Polewarczyk Jr., 32-35; Eddie MacDonald, 36-50. (4 Lead changes among 5 drivers)
Cautions: 3 (Laps 2, 31, 44)
Time of Race: 39 minutes and 9 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.363 seconds
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=22014.msg114541#msg114541
