HOLYOKE, Mass. – The New England Auto Racers (NEAR) President April May Preston-Elms is honored and pleased to announce the 2023 NEAR Hall of Fame (HoF) Class. The landmark 25th class for the region’s most highly regarded motorsports shrine was formally inducted into the NEAR Hall of Fame on Sunday, November 5, at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, Ma.
Barre, VT — Over 300 people were on hand Saturday evening to celebrate the 2023 American-Canadian Tour season and that of home-track Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. The packed-house gathered to wrap up the 2023 season in style. Just before award presentations began, a series of prizes were raffled off to the top supporting competitors on the American-Canadian Tour courtesy of a series of contingency partners.
Jonathan Bouvrette was pulled for the AR Bodies ‘A’ Package prize while Andrew Molleur’s name was pulled for a set of four Bassett racing wheels. A Five Star Bodies NextGen Body package was awarded to Cam Huntress, Gabe Brown earned a complete set of four QA1 Shocks and Jimmy Renfrew was gifted a 54-gallon drum of 110 Sunoco Racing Fuel.
D.J. Shaw and car owner Arny Hill collected their hardware, the $10,000 championship bonus, the $2,000 Brookside Equipment Triple Crown championship bonus and a series of contingency prizes that included three drums of Sunoco 110 Race Fuel and certificates from Kirkey Racing Fabrication, KRC Power Steering, Bassett Racing Wheels and Allstar Performance. Shaw thanked his many supporters from crew chief Andrew Cimonetti and car owner Hill to his sponsors A.H. Fence Company and Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and his family for all their combined efforts in bringing home his second-consecutive American-Canadian Tour championship.
ACT Championship runner-up Gabe Brown and car owner Gene Brown collected their plaques, point fund and contingency certificates from Bassett and Kirkey while third-place finisher Jimmy Renfrew Jr. and car owner Jim Renfrew added a $1,250 prize for his Brookside Triple Crown run and prizes from Edelbrock Corporation, Tilton Racing, Kirkey and Bassett for his third-overall finish.
Fourth-place finisher Derek Gluchacki was also on hand to collect his 2023 trophies, check and a $750 bonus for his third-in-points run in the Brookside Equipment Southern New England Triple Crown Series. Rookie of the Year Tanner Woodard and car owner Jason Woodard took home $1,000 as the top rookie along with the fifth-in-points accolades and certificates from Allstar and DRP Performance.
Fellow top-10 overall finishers Erick Sands, Andrew Molleur and Bryan Wall Jr., along with car owners Jay Sands, Jason Glaude and John Wall Sr., were also on hand to celebrate their respective 2023 seasons.
While unable to attend, Rochester, New Hampshire’s Cam Huntress earned the ACT Most Improved Driver Award in his sophomore season with Blainville, Quebec’s Jonathan Bouvrette gifted the Tour’s Sportsmanship Award to join fellow honorable Canadian award winners Claude Leclerc, Tom Kenyon and Dave Whitlock.
Leader of ACT Race Day Operations, race director, graphic designer and lifelong member of the racing community, Scott Tapley was chosen as the 2023 recipient of the Tom Curley Award in memory of the founder of the American-Canadian Tour. The prestigious Don MacTavish Award was given to a similarly lifelong driver, car owner and sponsor John Wall Sr. for his dedication to Northeast stock car racing.
The 2024 schedule and rule book are set to be released by the Barre, Vermont offices in the coming weeks before Thanksgiving. For more information, contact the Thunder Road offices at (802) 244-6963, media@thunderroadvt.com, or visit www.thunderroadvt.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ThunderRoadVT.
