Pro All Stars Series
Kate Re Going All in for PASS Fall Foliage 150 at White Mountain
Sep 16, 2022
For the 2022 racing season, second-generation racer Tom Carey III decided to up his personal fun level with his ACT-type Late Model, doing a pick and choose schedule mixed between races at his home track Thompson Speedway along with American-Canadian Tour championship itself.
What started with a promising spring has unfortunately led to a summer of lumps for the Massachusetts driver. But entering this Saturday night’s ACT Fall Foliage 200 at White Mountain Motorsports Park, Carey’s mood is as bright as his No. 5MA Late Model. With the car’s battle wounds healed, Carey is heading ready to return to one of his favorite race tracks.
“Looking forward to getting back up there, getting that first ACT win last year was big for us. It’s also just a great place to race, I enjoy it because you can also bring the camper up there; the wife likes it, the kid likes it. Plus, the racing is great,” Carey told Racing America.
Carey is also optimistic that he will be able to get some family photos in victory lane with the trophy and $5,000 winner’s check.
“We’re going to have a good shot at winning it. The car came out really nicely after all the work we put into to it. As far as setup goes, we just went back to the same notes we had. We’ve added a few things we found lately. We also had to fix up the crash damage from Oxford, new radiator, nose, and left side door. We got a good package overall, it’s good timing that we’re heading back to a track that we feel good about, and have a great specific setup for.”
Despite the struggles he and his team had at the end of July at White Mountain in the ACT Midsummer Classic 250, it was a night that started them onto the path of turning things around.
“The last time we were there for the Midsummer 250 we found a big problem that we had just missed, and explained why we struggled a bit. So, we’ll be right back where we were.”
Celebrating it’s 30th racing season, White Mountain Motorsports Park has become a destination for awesome racing in northern New Hampshire, including the ACT Late Models. With the track being purchased by ACT & Thunder Road owners Cris Michaud and Pat Malone prior to 2020, the ACT Tour has made WMMP its second home.
“In my opinion, it’s the perfect short track. A quarter-mile, high-banked, and its got a lot of grip; the pavement is all old and worn out. It allows you to be able to race side-by-side and it’s challenging to complete a pass. With ACT, the cars are so close together as far as speeds go that it forces us to go side-by-side for so many laps, especially on those restarts. It’s great for the fans and so much fun to drive for us.”
Originally schedule for this Sunday, an unfavorable weather forecast now has Fall Folliage 200 being run on Saturday night, September 17 along with the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models who have their own 150-lap feature; plus 50-lap features for both the PASS Modifieds and Flying Tiger Sportsmen.
While the change is a monkey wrench for ACT teams, Carey is welcoming it with open arms, both as a driver and race fan.
“I like that, it’s good for the cars horsepower wise, it’s good for the tire wear, and should make for the best race possible. I like to race at night, Saturday night is always the time to race at a short track. The cool weather is going to help the racing and again providing that great show for the fans. Everybody did a great job with getting the word out. I’m looking forward to the doubleheader, being able to watch the PASS race. It’s going to be packed and a real bang for your buck!”
