Canadian Drivers To Join SpeedSTR Field During Kutztown Fair Week Nationals at JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA

Kutztown, PA – In its rural Berks County setting, the annual Kutztown Fair literally oozes with rich Pennsylvania Dutch traditions like funnel cake and the display/judging of farm animals. For a few nights this week, though, the 142nd edition of the fair will be sparked with an international flare.

Five racers from north of the border – as in Canada – will test their skills against the best SpeedSTR pilots in the northeastern United States on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and 14, at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA located on the Kutztown Fairgrounds. And one of them just happens to be the defending National (perhaps that should be “International”?) SpeedSTR Champion, a 16-year-old phenom named Maxime Plante.

Hailing from St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Plante will visit Kutztown for the first time, and he’s bringing some additional family members with him. Sister Josianne and father Rejean Plante will also compete in the SpeedSTR “Prelim to the National” on Tuesday and in the SpeedSTR Nationals on Wednesday evening.

Joining the Plante family in their maiden voyage on the Action Track USA clay surface will be Carl Labonte` of Drummondville and Dave Coursol of Saint-Jerome in Quebec. Labonte` owns and operates REVSTAR, the Canadian dealership for Rich Tobias’ SpeedSTR and Slingshot racecars.

Labonte` is planning to race both his SpeedSTR and All Star Slingshot at the Kutztown Fair, while the other French-Canadian speaking racers will take part in the SpeedSTR events.

At the tender age of 15, Maxime Plante captured last year’s National SpeedSTR Championship by winning an exciting season finale` at Path Valley Speedway Park in early November. The humble teen, who like his family speaks very little English, held off a determined Dale Planck in a thrilling side by side run at Path Valley to clinch the title.

Now 16, Maxime is enjoying another outstanding season of SpeedSTR competition. He’s been a winner on both dirt and asphalt surfaces in Canada this season, with his most recent triumph occurring on Saturday, August 10, at RPM Speedway. The victory was his fourth of the 2013 campaign, and he currently leads the SpeedSTR point standings at RPM Speedway as well as the Canadian Regional Tour standings.

His sister, Josianne, ran second to her father in the May 18 Canadian opener for the SpeedSTR’s, and she sits fourth in the REVSTAR Canadian Region championship standings. She’s been a consistent top-five finisher through the first half of the season.

Rejean Plante, father of the wheel-twisting siblings, registered a win in the May 18 opener at RPM Speedway. He’s suffered through some mechanical issues in other races, but is looking forward to broadsliding with his American counterparts this week at the Action Track USA.

Dave Coursol, who dates Josianne Plante, is currently eighth in the REVSTAR Canadian Region point standings. He’s also been a steady finisher among the top five and top ten in both dirt and asphalt SpeedSTR events, and is set to make his American debut this week in Kutztown.

This will not be the Plante family’s first 2013 trip to Pennsylvania. On June 28, they made the trek to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, when the SpeedSTR’s ran as a companion division to the 410 Sprint Cars.

In that event – won by John Kovatch of Nesquehoning, Pa. – Maxime Plante finished seventh while Josianne wound up tenth and Rejean took the checkered in the 13th position.

The Canadian drivers will be competing against Action Track USA regulars Billy Pauch (Junior and Senior), Kenny and Brad Brightbill, Jeff Strunk, Craig Von Dohren, Brian Montieth, Dale Planck, Mike Mahaney, Freddie and Brandon Rahmer, and many more when the green flag waves for this week’s Kutztown Fair Nationals.

On Tuesday, August 13, the SpeedSTR’s will be joined by the winged 270 Micro-Sprints and Junior Slingshots. The 270cc Micros will take part in their Fair Week National that pays $750 to the winner, while the younger Slingers compete in a Junior National Tour event. The Insinger Performance/ Sunoco SpeedSTR’s will race in a Prelim to the National on Tuesday. Wingless 600cc Micro-Sprints are also invited to come out for some practice sessions that will be sprinkled into the evening’s agenda.

Wednesday, August 14, will find the Pioneer Pole Building Wingless 600’s fighting for the $750 that goes to the winner of their Fair Week National event. Incredibly competitive races have highlighted the Wingless 600cc season at the Action Track, and Wednesday’s lucrative 30-lap A-Main should ratchet up the intensity level even more.

Joining the Wingless 600’s that night will be the Insinger Performance/ Sunoco SpeedSTR’s, sanctioned by USAC, for their big Fair Week National event. The NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots will also be on Wednesday’s menu, as the Slingers take part in a regular point-paying race and one-on-one Challenge Matches that have proven to be a very popular end-of-season attraction at the Kutztown oval.

Thursday, August 15, will see the return of the Daniel Boone 200 stock car race, an event made famous many years ago at the former Reading Fairgrounds half-mile known as the Home of Champions.

The Action Track’s version of the Daniel Boone 200 will be contested by Enduro-type racecars. The race is being presented by J&J Demo and is attracting interest among the Enduro racers from Big Diamond and Grandview Speedways. Always highly entertaining on the one-third mile tracks, these cars and drivers should generate even more excitement on the progressively banked quarter-mile at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.

Along with the Daniel Boone 200, Thursday’s agenda includes an event for wingless 270cc Micro-Sprints, giving the pilots of the mighty Micros a chance to race without the “barn doors” bolted to the top of their rollcages.

A Demolition Derby will be held on Saturday, August 17.

Championship Night will conclude the 2013 season at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA on Sunday, August 18.

The SpeedSTR’s, Wingless 600’s, All Star Slingshots, and winged 270cc Micro-Sprints will compete in the Dick Tobias Memorial, honoring the memory of a true racing legend and innovative car builder, the late Dick “Toby” Tobias.

The SpeedSTR’s will race in a 45-lap main event that night, and the winner will pocket $3,500. Point Champions – the first champions of the Action Track USA era – will be crowned in each of the speedway’s four weekly divisions as the inaugural season under the control of co-promoters Rich Tobias and Doug Rose comes to a close.

All of the Fair Week events, along with Sunday’s Championship Night, will begin with warm-ups at 6 p.m.