Raphael Lessard Leads Packed Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour Banquet of Champions

The Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour officially closed out the 2025 season on Saturday night with the annual Banquet of Champions at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Montpelier, Vermont. Drivers, team members and supporters from all six New England states and the Canadian Province of Quebec joined in the annual end-of-season festivities.

Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) champion Derek Gluchacki started the night by collecting his Brookside Equipment Sales Triple Crown championship honors, later earning his seventh-place points award and a special recognition from the American-Canadian Tour for his successful Kulwicki Cup efforts.

Four-time winner Gabe Brown and his car owner Gene Brown were on hand to collect their runner-up honors as well as the ACT Winner’s Circle award for the 2025 season. Orange, Massachusetts young-gun Cole Littlewood celebrated his first full Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour season with an 11th-place finish. Littlewood’s never-give-up attitude and on-track respect also earned him the ACT Perseverance Award while his number was later pulled for a complete set of Series 63 Shocks courtesy of QA1.

While driver Alexendre Tardif was unable to attend, Connecticut car owner Jason Glaude was on hand to collect their season-long hardware. Glaude’s longtime efforts on the Tour and his frequent involvement with ACT Late Model racing in Southern New England also earned him the new ACT Award of Excellence. Vermont’s Kaiden Fisher collected his season long hardware along with the Most Improved Driver Award for 2025. Glaude’s #31CT was pulled for a $1,500 certificate courtesy of AR Bodies towards a new Late Model body while Fisher’s #18VT was pulled for a complete NextGen body courtesy of Five Star Race Car Bodies.

Fellow Quebec racers Jonathan Bouvrette and Remi Perreault were also unable to attend due to previous engagements. Bouvrette was announced the winner of the prestigious Jean-Paul Cabana award for his commitment to international racing with ACT while Perreault’s number was pulled for a $300 Longacre Racing Products certificate during Saturday’s ceremonies.

New Hampshire’s Erick Sands and car owner Jay Sands were on hand to collect their 5th-place accolades with Erick later honored again with the inaugural Milton CAT Award for living the joined values of the American-Canadian Tour, Milton CAT and the worldwide Caterpillar brand. Sands was also pulled for a 55-gallon drum of Sunoco Race Fuels courtesy of New England Race Fuels.

ACT Rookie of the Year Justin Storace collected his freshman award while also being another of the lucky seven drivers to earn a blind draw contingency award, a set of four wheels courtesy of Bassett Racing Wheels. West Burke’s Jesse Switser took a lion’s share of awards along with his fourth-place trophy. Switser’s crew earned the 2025 Best Appearing Team Award while top wrench Derek Ming earned the coveted Crew Chief of the Year Award.

D.J. Shaw and car owner (and wife) Mallory Shaw collected their third-place awards while Shaw was also given the ACT Sportsmanship Award for his recurring role as mentor on the international circuit. The #60BH chip was also pulled for a complete set of 30 Series Shocks from longtime ACT partner Koni Shocks.

St-Joseph, Quebec’s Raphael Lessard and his car owners Denis and Louis Larue collected the big awards Saturday night including the $20,000 Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour championship check and all the hardware to go with it! Lessard also earned the Hard Charger Award for the most improved starting position, bettering his starts by 58 positions across the season.

2008 American-Canadian Tour champion Patrick Laperle was on hand to pass the torch to his fellow Quebecer as the last Canadian champion of the international series. Laperle and his longtime racing family were also awarded the prestigious Don MacTavish Award for their lifetime contributions and commitment to Northeast stock car racing.

The Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour has officially wrapped up the 2025 season with 2026 officially off and running with the new year! Find the 2026 Schedule of Events for the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour online at www.acttour.com/schedule and follow along on social media for more information as it becomes available this off-season.

For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

For more information about Milton CAT, visit their website at www.miltoncat.com or get updates from their Instagram account at @milton_cat.

-ACT Media Press Release
-Photo credit: Alan Ward