The best regional drivers from the Northeast and Canada will once again cap off a Tripleheader of Saturday racing action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this September. Speedway officials announced the return of the American-Canadian Tour Invitational, which will drop the green flag on Saturday, Sept. 23.
The ACT Invitational, a 50-lap non-points race that includes the best local late model racers in the region, will be the third race on a Saturday that includes the opening race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoff and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Granite State 100. The New England 300, the second race in the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, will run the following day on Sunday, Sept. 24.
The race will be headlined by two-time defending ACT Invitational champion Eddie MacDonald. The native of Rowley, Mass., is no stranger to Sunoco Victory Lane at NHMS, having visited it nine times in his career. He is a five-time ACT Invitational winner, a four-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and he also has a Pro All-Stars Series win.
MacDonald also has three NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series starts, one start in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series, and two starts in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at NHMS.
"The ACT Invitational is an awesome event and one that I, and a lot of the other short track racers from the region, really look forward to every year," said MacDonald, who won the inaugural ACT Invitational in 2009 and has won it four times since, including 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016. "For a lot of us, it's the biggest race of the season - both in the sheer size of the facility and the amount of fans that come out to watch. This is a huge race and I can't wait for September to get here."
Last year's race was one of the best in its near decade-long history. MacDonald came from the 31st starting position and used a late restart with four laps remaining to make a thrilling inside pass and hold off Jimmy Hebert for the victory.
ACT Returns for 9th Annual Invitational
Friday, February 24, 2017