Win Number Two Is A Big One For Theriault
If there were any doubts about Fort Kent’s Austin Theriault’s short track ability they were dispelled by the win at the ARCA Shore Lunch 250 at Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota. Theriault grew up racing on that type of track which he said were similar to Oxford Plains Speedway and had some similarity to his home track, Spud Speedway in Caribou.
Practice found Theriault at the top of the charts yet fell to 5th in qualifying. During the race it appeared that he had a fourth or fifth place ride until he took on four new tires at his last pit stop.
The four tires seemed to boost Theriault’s confidence with the grip they provided as he became a contender for the top spot. If you have not seen the video yet I have added it below.
Christian Eckes could have driven Theriault into the wall if he had desired when he slid beneath Theriault in turn four with 3 laps to go. Instead he chose the high road. This allowed Theriault in the #52 Federated Auto Parts Toyota to do a crossover move and the classic “bump and run” passing Eckes. Eckes never gave up as he reciprocated in the final turn of the last lap yet was unable to catch Theriault. The margin of victory .029 seconds or about 2 feet.
Matt Beaulieu of Caribou was contacted for information about an Aroostook County Car Club called Aroostook Imports. I noticed several posts began to show up on my Facebook page earlier this spring and I became curious . Matt gave me the run down.
“AroostookImports was spawned accidentally last summer when myself and a few close friends took our “Tuner” cars for a 6 hour road trip to Oxford Plains Dragway for a car show and race event called Wicked Pissah.”
“We grouped up and rode down together in a pack of four. Two Subaru WRX’s and two Mitsubishi 3000GTs. On the way down, the driver of one of the GT’s took a photo of the four cars inline and posted it to Facebook with the comment, ‘#AroostookImports’”.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Theriault Wins Close ARCA Race By Two Feet,” an article by contributing writer Tom Hale, please follow this link to the BDN online.
