Brian Hoar wins 2009 ACT Late Model Tour Title
6th Championship for Vermont Stock Car Driver
Oct 19, 2009
It was the sixth career American Canadian Tour title for Hoar. His most recent championship was in 2000 after which he went to become the NASCAR Busch North Series Rookie of the Year in 2001. Hoar won ACT events this season at Beech Ridge Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl, fortifying his position as the all-time ACT win leader (25).
Hoar returned to the Late Model Tour in 2009 to drive for car owner Rick Paya, who had won seven prior ACT championships. He moved into first place in the Tour standings for the first time after placing fourth in the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic at Thunder Road. That top-five propelled him past eventual 2009 ACT Runner-up Scott Payea of Milton, VT. Payea finished second on the ACT Tour for the second year in a row.
Airborne Speedway Mohawk Casino 300
Hoar strengthened his point lead at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Hall Foliage 300 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY. Although overtaken for the win by Patrick Laperle, who came back up through the field after pitting for tires, Hoar held off Brent Dragon for second. In all, he had eight top-5 finishes and 11 top-10’s in 13 starts.
Oxford Plains Speedway
At Oxford, former Thunder Road Late Model champion Eric Williams of Hyde Park, VT, scored his second ACT Tour win of the season and his first career win at the Maine track. Williams took the lead from John Donahue on lap 119 and held off Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. during several restarts in the final ten laps. Polewarczyk held on for second followed by Donahue, Hoar and Oxford regular Tim Brackett.
Seven ACT Titles for Paya and Jean-Paul Cyr
Hoar and Paya agreed that their first season together started to really kick into gear when they finished second at Thunder Road’s Memorial Day Classic. “That was the turning point,” Paya said. “It was the first time Brian was comfortable all the way through a 100-lap race as well as in practice and a heat race. You’d think that Brian and Jean Cyr, both knowledgeable and smooth, would use the same set up, but far from it. It opened my eyes as to how many driving styles there are. Some drivers go by how they feel in the corner, others go more by how they get off the corner. Jean for instance used more brake than Brian. These cars are very sensitive and they’re so evenly matched that you need to get the driver feeling 100 per cent confident and comfortable to run up front.”
"I like to be consistent and my driving suits that style," said Hoar, who owns the all-time mark of 25 career ACT wins. "It seems that maybe Jean, the car took a bigger swing for him. They obviously figured out what they needed to do for him in the past. So he was doing for me what he would do for Jean, and it just wasn't working (early in the season). We just have different driving styles, more so than I ever would have imagined. A lot of the guys that came over with me, they've never won a race, let alone a championship, after six or seven years so it's awesome for them. To do it the way we did it, driving for a car owner, it's kind of a dream come true."
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