LOUDON, N.H. – Eddie MacDonald made history when he won the inaugural ACT Invitational back in 2009. He became the first driver to win two ACT Invitationals when he took the checkers in 2011. On Saturday, he became the first to win it a third time, crossing the Granite Stripe to win the American-Canadian Tour Bond Auto Parts ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
MacDonald (Rowley, Mass.) drove away from the field over the final 10 laps of the 50-lap feature, capping off a great day at the 1.058-mile speedway. MacDonald joins 15-year-old Cole Custer (K&N Pro Series East) and Todd Szegedy (Whelen Modified Tour) as Saturday’s winners.
MacDonald ran a strong race, avoiding trouble and staying ahead of the likes of ACT points leader Wayne Helliwell Jr. and Brian Hoar.
“I just love racing at NHMS,” said MacDonald. “These guys are the best in the sport, it is tough to get by them. We are all pretty equal. You are not going to fool these guys too much.”
Helliwell, a native of Dover, N.H., who leads the ACT with 12 top-10s in 13 starts, ran up front for most of the second half of the race, but didn’t have enough left in the tank for MacDonald at the end.
“We made really good strides with this team,” said Helliwell. “We definitely crossed the T and dotted the I today. I am not complaining about second.”
Hoar (Williston, Vt.) led twice for 13 laps, but knew he didn’t have anything for MacDonald.
“I got to the outside and made a pretty good move and got to the front,” said Hoar. “I tried to save something. I knew with Eddie going fast it was going to be tough to chase him down.”
For more details and ticket information on events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, or to purchase tickets to the SYLVANIA 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, please stop by our Ticket Office, visit the speedway website at www.nhms.com, or call our Ticket Hotline at (603) 783-4931.
Contact: Kristen Costa: (603) 513-5708/ kcostra@nhms.com or
Gavin Faretra: (603) 513- 5706/ gfaretra@nhms.com
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