WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, led a Ford Motor Company sweep of the podium Sunday afternoon, posting his eighth Top-5 in his last nine races by finishing third in the ACT Late Model Tour Spring Green 112 at Devil's Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt. Theriault recovered from a poor draw in qualifying, starting 20th in the main event before driving all the way into the Top-10 by Lap 50. Six laps later, the No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion was in sixth place with his sights set on the battle between leaders Wayne Helliwell Jr. and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. With worn-out tires, Theriault had to settle for third with a car that had advanced more positions than any other driver in the field at the checkered flag.
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
WHAT: ACT Late Model Tour Spring Green 112
WHERE: Devil's Bowl Speedway, West Haven, Vt. (.500-mile oval)
STARTED: 20th
FINISHED: 3rd
LAST RACE: April 29, Merchants Bank 150, Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Barre, Vt. (9th)
NEXT RACE: May 20, Oxford 150, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
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AUSTIN, DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A GOOD CAR DESPITE YOUR STARTING SPOT?
“Even though we were starting back in the pack, I knew we had a good car. We made some adjustments and figured some things out. We didn't really ride around – by Lap 50 we'd broken into the Top-10. I knew we had a Top-5 car. A couple times I thought we might have had a shot to win it, but by the end of the race, our tires were gone and I was just maintaining once I got to third. I knew Joey and Wayne had checked out with plenty of lapped traffic between us, so there was no use in taking a chance. I just defended what we had worked for all day.
“We had one of the fastest cars coming up through the field. It was just unbelievable. By the time I got to Top-5, though, we were pretty used up.”
WAS THIS THE KIND OF REBOUND YOU WERE LOOKING FOR AFTER LAST WEEKEND?
“This is the kind of weekend I expected. You have to expect to run good every weekend and have that confidence. I think we're capable of running like this every week, but we do need to get a win before too long into the season.
“But the races are proving to be quite competitive this year, for sure.”
IS THIS A GOOD TIME IN THE SCHEDULE TO HAVE A WEEKEND OFF NEXT WEEKEND?
“I think it's good to have a break, but we're still going to be thinking about racing – thinking setup, thinking things we can do at the shop to make us better. I don't think there's ever really a break from racing.”
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